Jimbo Covert had to wait a long time to get his call to Canton, Ohio. The best left tackle in Chicago Bears history was a lynchpin of the offensive that helped send Walter Payton to the status of greatest running back in history and winners of Super Bowl XX. A two-time All-Pro, he was voted to the 1980s All-Decade team. A man most of the great pass rushers of that era immensely respected. Unfortunately, his career was cut short by a neck injury. Hence why he had to bide his time.
Thankfully that wait is over. Covert is officially a member of the 2020 Hall of Fame class and is set to be inducted this summer before the start of the preseason. The only lingering question for him was finding somebody to present him. There seemed like a number of obvious choices. There’s his former head coach Mike Ditka. His quarterback Jim McMahon. Any one of his former offensive line teammates like Martz Bortz, Jay Hilgenberg, or Tom Thayer.
However, Covert pulled a surprise when he told the Chicago Sun-Times that he would be going with a different familiar face. One who holds the strongest connection to the late, great Payton.
One thing he has settled: Former teammate Matt Suhey, a Bears running back from 1980 to ’89, will introduce him for his speech at the induction this summer.
“I think it’s appropriate,” Covert said. “Him and Walter [Payton] were such good friends, and it feels like both of them are going to do it together. It’s a great thing.”
Jimbo Covert choice is unexpected but not surprising
One of the proudest accomplishments for Covert during his career was how consistently dominant the Bears running game was during most of the 1980s. From the year he was drafted in 1983 to 1990, the team finished in the top 5 in rushing all but one season. No offense “moved motherf**kers” as that one did. Suhey was a huge part of that, blocking for the final years of Payton and then the early ones of eventual star Neal Anderson. He’s one of those figures of the ’80s teams that are too often overlooked.
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