JOLIET, Ill. — Former Chicago Bears middle linebacker Mike Singletary will become the 18th Hall of Fame inductee to be featured as the guest speaker at the 45th Annual University of St. Francis Brown & Gold Night, the school announced on Tuesday morning. The fundraising event will take place at the Pat Sullivan Center on the campus of USF on Thursday, Feb. 22.
One of four Bears middle linebackers to earn the prestigious Hall honor, he will become the third to speak at Brown & Gold, joining Dick Butkus (1980) and Brian Urlacher (2019). The other inductee was Bill George in 1974.
A second-round selection of the Bears and the 38th player selected overall in the 1981 NFL Draft, Singletary went on to play all 12 of his professional seasons in Chicago, missing only two games in his career. During that time, he was twice named the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year in both 1985 and 1988.
Singletary went on to make 172 starts over his career, which is second-most in Bears history. In each of his last 11 seasons, he either led the team or placed second on the squad in tackles and amassed 1,488 over his career with 885 being solo stops. He also recorded seven career interceptions and 12 fumble recoveries.
After making his first start in the seventh game of his 1981 inaugural season, Singletary went on to earn all-rookie honors that year in a career that saw him gain All-Pro status eight times, claim All-NFC honors nine straight years from 1983-91 and make ten Pro Bowl appearances. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 56th on its list of the 100 greatest players in NFL history.
In the Bears’ only Super Bowl championship season, Singletary was the key orchestrator of the famed 46-defense, leading a unit that allowed less than 11 points per game, went 15-1 during the regular season and permitted just ten points in three postseason games combined. In Super Bowl XX, Singletary recovered two fumbles and the defense allowed a record-low seven yards rushing in a 46-10 trouncing of the New England Patriots.
Prior to his arrival on the NFL scene, Singletary was a two-time All-American at Baylor University (1979, 1980), where he averaged upwards of 15 tackles per game. For his career, he set a school record with his 662 total tackles. As a sophomore, he established the team’s single-season mark of 232 tackles, including 35 stops in one contest. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
Singletary becomes the tenth member of the Chicago Bears organization to speak at Brown & Gold joining the likes of Mike Ditka, Dan Hampton, Jim McMahon, Gary Fencik and Joliet’s own Tom Thayer. Also on the list of sports celebrities are John Wooden, Al McGuire, Ray Meyer, Paul Hornung, Bart Starr, Fergie Jenkins, Frank Thomas, Joe Maddon, David Ross, Dan Gable and Denis Savard.
The annual fundraiser begins with a cash bar at 5:30 pm, followed by dinner at 7 pm and the program at 8 pm. The event will also include both a silent and live auction. No autograph requests will be granted the night of the event.
Tickets are available for $65 each or a table of ten for $650. Corporate sponsorships are also available. For more information, contact the USF Athletic Department at 815-740-3842. To order tickets for the event, go to Tickets.
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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.
University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.
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