Joe Fortunato (linebacker)

Joe Fortunato
No. 31
Date of birth	March 28, 1930
Place of birth	Mingo Junction, Ohio
Date of death	November 6, 2017 (aged 87)
Place of death	Natchez, Mississippi
Career information
Position(s)	Linebacker
US college	Virginia Military Institute; Mississippi State
NFL draft	1952 / round: 7 / Pick 80
Career history
As player
1955–1966	Chicago Bears
Career highlights and awards
	NFL Champion (1963); 5× Pro Bowl (1958, 1962–1965); 3× First-team All-Pro (1963–1965); 3× Second-team All-Pro (1958, 1962, 1966); NFL 1950s All-Decade Team;
Career stats
Games played	155
Interceptions	16
Fumble recoveries	22
Touchdowns	2
	Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com;

Joseph Francis Fortunato (March 28, 1930 – November 6, 2017) was an American football linebacker in the National Football League.

Fortunato played 12 seasons for the Chicago Bears (1955–1966). As a linebacker, he made the Pro Bowl five times,^[1] and was named to the NFL 300 Greatest Players team. He wore #31 with the Chicago Bears. Fortunato played fullback and linebacker for Mississippi State University, and made All-American in 1951. He is a member of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Fortunato made his home in south Mississippi.

He spent two seasons as a coach with the Chicago Bears; 1967 as linebackers coach and 1968 as defensive coordinator.

In 2017, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Fortunato to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2017 ^[2]

Fortunato died on November 6, 2017.^[3]

References

Preceded by Jim Dooley	Chicago Bears Defensive Coordinators 1968	Succeeded by Jimmy Carr

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