On social media, his son revealed that legendary Eagles linebacker Bill Bergey had passed away following a protracted fight with cancer.
He was seventy-nine.
The news was announced Wednesday morning on X, the former Twitter account of former professional lacrosse player Jake Bergey:
Dad lost his battle with cancer after a grueling three years. The world’s greatest football player, friend, grandpa, father, and all-around wonderful person. He will be sincerely missed. I adore you, dad.
In an interview with the Eagles website last year, Bergey described how his contemporary, Jim Kelley, a quarterback in the Bills Hall of Fame, became a confidant after receiving a jaw cancer diagnosis in 2021.
“He has served as a sort of inspiration to me,” Bergey remarked. He helps me stay positive. Just keep in mind that he would say, “You’re tough, you’re a football player, and you can beat this.” This is something you can manage.
He didn’t talk to me like a Knute Rockne rah-rah. “Just one thing, Bill,” he said. Do you eat? “No, I’m not really eating much at all,” I replied. And he was this blunt, You either eat or you die. And I replied, “All right, I think I’ll start eating then.”
He talks about his five brothers, that he didn t want to get out of his room one day, and the five brothers said, Well, you re getting out of here whether you want to or not. The five brothers then simply led him down the hallway for a leisurely stroll. And he was grateful for that.
And I have one thing to tell you. My children have risen to the occasion like no one I have ever witnessed. My three boys drove me all over the place, gave my wife (Micky Kay) a break. Without them, I’m not sure whether I could have survived.
Bergey was originally a 2nd-round pick of the Bengals out of Arkansas State in 1969. After five years and one Pro Bowl in Cincinnati, he was traded to the Eagles in 1974 and immediately became a difference maker.
He made Pro Bowls in four of his first five seasons with the Eagles 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978 and was a 1st-team all-pro after the 1974 and 1975 seasons and a 2nd-team All-Pro in 1976, 1977 and 1978.
His final season was 1980 and his final game was Super Bowl XV against the Raiders in New Orleans.
Bergey and Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik are the only Eagles linebackers ever to make 1st-team All-Pro in consecutive years. Bednarik and Maxie Baughan, a Hall of Fame finalist this year, are the only linebackers in Eagles history to reach more Pro Bowls than Bergey.
Bergey was one of 60 nominees that the Pro Football Hall of Fame seniors committee considered this fall but didn t advance to the next round.
Even today, nearly half a century after he retired, Bergey s 27 interceptions are 10th-most in NFL history by a linebacker, and five of the nine ahead of him are enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Canton. Eighteen of those came as an Eagle, and he s tied with Bednarik and William Thomas for most in franchise history.
Although sacks didn t become an official stat until 1982, research into sacks before 1982 shows Bergey with 18 sacks in his career, 14 of them with the Eagles. He also had 21 fumble recoveries including an NFL-high six in 1975.
Bergey was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 2009.
After he retired, Bergey did color on Eagles radio broadcasts and spent several years on Eagles pregame and postgame shows. Bergey lived in Chadds Ford in Delaware County after his football career ended.
He was diagnosed with oral cancer in 2021 but continued to visit Eagles training camp every summer.
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