One of the common misconceptions Chicago Bears fans have about Doug Atkins is that he was always a Bear. That’s how his career began. He was drafted by the team and became an eventual icon. This is not the case. The truth is Atkins was brought into the NFL by the Cleveland Browns. By rights, he should’ve been another in a long line of all-time greats under legendary head coach Paul Brown who had delivered names like Otto Graham and Jim Brown to professional football.
Atkins could’ve and should’ve been another. There was one problem though. He did not possess the personality that Brown had grown used to during his golden age in Cleveland. When he came to the pro level, this was a time when many of the men inhabiting football were former soldiers. They were used to taking instructions quietly, being good students and not talking back to their teachers.
However, as the years went on those men phased out of football and were replaced by a younger, more rebellious generation. Atkins was among them and according to Will Larkin of the Chicago Tribune, he was one of the biggest headaches Brown ever had to deal with. The best part though is how the future Hall of Fame defensive end finally broke him.
Doug Atkins got himself traded over a bodily “function”
Atkins was a notorious drinker. He loved his beer throughout his career and dabbled in martinis as well. Nobody would say he adhered do a strict dietary schedule. Anybody who drinks heavily knows that sometimes this can lead to gas buildup and it may come out at any time. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) for Atkins, he picked the wrong time to do it in Cleveland.
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Brown had a zero-tolerance policy for malcontents with his namesake franchise, and as his Browns won seven championships in 10 years in the All-American Football League and the NFL between 1946 and 1955, his word was golden. The Browns had selected Atkins with the No. 11 pick in the 1953 draft but quickly tired of his antics. The last straw, according to reports, came when Atkins belched loudly in the middle of a Brown-led meeting.
In 1955, Halas acquired Atkins and safety Ken Gorgal from the Browns for third- and sixth-round draft picks. Halas called the trade his best ever, and he always thought the way he prodded Atkins to produce gave him an edge over Brown when it came to dealing with players.
Halas declared getting Atkins was the best trade of his career. One that erased the memory of his disastrous decision to deal Bobby Layne years earlier to New York. It’s amazing to think that something as simple as a belch was the spark that lit the fuse. A good reminder that humans run this show and there’s no telling what will set them off.
