By John Turney 
When you think of great middle linebackers of the 1970s, you think of Hall-of-Famers Dick Butkus, Jack Lambert, Willie Lanier, Randy Gradishar ... and maybe even players not considered for the Hall, such as Tommy Nobis and Lee Roy Jordan.
But one name you don't hear is that of former Cincinnati Bengals' and Philadelphia Eagles' star Bill Bergey, and it's hard to know why.
Maybe it's because he was overshadowed by the names mentioned above. Maybe it's because he played in a small market for the first half of his career. Or maybe it's because his team the second half of his career lost Super Bowl XV and didn't cement his legacy.
I don't know what it is. What we do know is that when it comes to the Pro Hall of Fame, he hasn't gotten the consideration he deserves. As a modern-era candidate, he was never a finalist or semifinalist, and now that he's in the senior pool, he has no traction there, either.
But that should change, mostly because he has credentials comparable to many Hall of Famers at his position ... and the envelope, please:
--- Noted for his ability to cover, Bergey had 27 interceptions -- or as many as Hall-of-Famer Willie Lanier. Furthermore, of the 17 inside linebackers in Canton, only four (Nick Buoniconti, Ray Lewis, Sam Huff and Jack Lambert) have more.
--- Bergey had 21 fumble recoveries, too, or more than Ray Lewis, Bill George, Willie Lanier, Sam Huff, Joe Schmidt and nine others. Dick Butkus, Sam Mills and Ray Nitschke are the only Hall-of-Fame inside 'backers who recovered more.
--- Now do the math. When you add Bergey's interceptions and recoveries, you come up with 48 takeaways, which tie him with Nitschke. So which Hall of Famers had more? Only two: Dick Butkus and Ray Lewis.
--- Bergey also blitzed enough from his linebacker spot to record (unofficially) 18-1/2 career sacks.
Put all that together and what do you have? A big-play machine who ranks high among middle or inside linebackers already in the Hall. That may come as news to media outlets like the NFL Network or ESPN, but it wasn't when Bergey played. He was known then as an elite middle linebacker, a reputation that somehow has been lost to history.
So let's review his personal honors which, like his turnover total, should open some eyes -- and you can start with his being named the AFL's 1969 Defensive Rookie of the Year in a season where he went to the AFL All-Star game. However, his national notice began in earnest after his first season with the Eagles, who thought enough of Bergey in 1974 to trade two first-round picks and one second to the Bengals for him.
That was the year he was a consensus All-Pro (first-team AP and PFWA) and second to the Steelers' "Mean" Joe Greene in Defensive Player-of-the-Year voting. The following season, he was first-team All-Pro again, (AP) and in 1976 he was second-team All-Pro. No one was going to beat out Defensive Player-of-the-Year Jack Lambert for All-Pro, but Bergey was next-best at his position and best in the NFC.
In fact, the NFLPA voted him the 1976 NFC Linebacker of the Year.
He was the PFWA and NEA All-Pro in 1977 and followed that with a second-team All-Pro (AP) selection in 1978. After missing most of the 1979 season with a knee injury (some say caused by a cheap shot by Saints' guard Conrad Dobler), he ended his career in 1980 named to Pro Football Weekly's All-NFC team.
That means he was All-NFC every year from 1973-78, which means that in seven of his 11 full seasons, he was on the "honor roll' for his outstanding play. Those three All-Pro seasons were the same as Huff, Nitschke and Mills and more than Harry Carson.
I don't know if he was better than those linebackers. What I do know is that Bill Bergey won his share of honors -- which isn't easy in a league full of guys named Butkus, Lambert, Lanier and so on.
Originally from upstate New York, Bergey went to Arkansas State to play collegiate football on a partial scholarship. Pushed around as a freshman, he established himself as the best player to come out of that school after moving from running back to linebacker. He not only led the team in tackles as a junior and senior; he was a Little All-American as a senior, too.
What's more, he still holds the school record for tackles in a game with 33 (vs Eastern Michigan in 1968) and once set the mark for most tackles in a season. While that figure was broken, his record for average tackles per game still exists at the school.
A second-round draft choice by Cincinnati, Bergey in 1969 became an instant starter and went on to lead the Bengals in tackles every year from his rookie season through 1973. Twice he was part of playoff teams, and though the Bengals lost both games to the eventual Super Bowl champions (the Colts in 1970 and Dolphins in 1973 ), Bergey was a standout -- leading the defense in tackles vs. the Colts and tied for the team lead in 1973.
But things soon soured in Cincinnati, compelling the unhappy Bergey to sign with the WFL in 1974, fight the Bengals in court (where he won) and eventually get traded to Philadelphia. The Eagles not only gave him an immediate raise; then-coach Mike McCormack compared him to Hall-of-Famer Chuck Bednarik ... and Bergey did whatever he could to prove him right.
He led the Eagles in tackles from 1976-80, missing only in the one season (1979) he missed. There are no complete records in 1975, but he undoubtedly led them in that season, too (he had 19 tackles in one game). So it's safe to say he led the Philadelphia team in tackles every year he actually played with the Eagles.
But it wasn't only the number of tackles that mattered; it was the way he tackled, too. He hit hard. In fact, in a 1978 poll of NFL scouts conducted by the late Hall-of-Fame voter, Dave Anderson, Bergey was named one of the top 10 hardest hitters in the league.
"When Bergey hits you," said Rams' running back John Cappelletti, "you felt it."
But that's precisely what the beer-drinking, cigar-smoking linebacker liked most about football -- telling reporters that his greatest satisfaction was "when I hit a man, and he thinks, 'Wow, that must be Bergey.' "
Yes, I said beer drinking. It was one of his passions. But he had to limit it, and not because it was an issue; but because it had to go in 1977 when the Eagles' new defensive coach Marion Campbell installed a 3-4 defense. The reason: The 32-year-old Bergey felt he needed to trim down to remain an elite player ... and the hardest part, he said, was keeping to "a one-beer limit."
But it must have worked.. He played well, and the defense was one of the NFL's best. After ranking ninth in points allowed in 1976, the Eagles first rose to seventh ... then to fifth. Without Bergey in 1979 they dropped to ninth. But, when he returned the following season they ranked first and advanced to Super Bowl XV.
No doubt about it: Bill Bergey was the leader of an elite defense.
He played and hit hard, but he also played tough. In the Super Bowl loss to the Oakland Raiders, he suited up despite loose chips in his surgically repaired knee and calcium deposits (bone spurs) in both shoulders. But, like his playoff-exit games with the Bengals, Bergey's play in the Super Bowl was outstanding: He led the Eagles in tackles with 11 in what was his final NFL game.
When he retired afterward, Bergey said he wanted to be remembered, "as a linebacker who lined up on every single play and gave it everything I had." Well, then he succeeded. He was a mobile, agile and hostile linebacker -- the epitome of what NFL coaches wanted from their man in the middle.
He played hard, was a team leader and made a gazillion tackles. Plus, he had a knack of finding the football -- be it via interceptions, fumble recoveries, forced fumbles or as an effective blitzer -- and that didn't go unnoticed. He was annually recognized by writers and players in their annual All-Pro votes and was two votes short shy of being the 1974 AP Defensive Player of the Year.
And remember: He also played on five defenses ranked seventh or higher in points allowed, including one which was the NFL's best.
Nevertheless, he still hasn't been recognized by the Hall's voters ... at least not yet. But the seniors' committee meets annually to pick three finalists to present to the entire board of selectors, and maybe soon it will do what nobody has to this point.
Give Bill Bergey a chance to be enshrined.
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