(DailyDig.com) – A former NFL Chicago Bears quarterback, Bob Avellini, who played for Chicago for nine seasons in the NFL, died on May 4 at 70.
The Bears home office announced his death, stating that the cancer he had been battling was the cause.
Avellini was a former Maryland quarterback before Jim Finks, the Bears’ GM, selected him in the sixth round of the NFL draft in 1975.
The Bears official statement declared that Avellini was a tenacious competitor without a comparable fierce athletic counterpart. The incredible 1977 season, when the Bears made it to their first postseason game in 14 years, will forever mark his legacy.
Avellini threw a famous 37-yard touchdown pass to Greg Latta, a tight end, during a wild game with Kansas City. The touchdown occurred with only three seconds left to end the game, and the boost carried the team through their last six games with a record of 9-5 to reach the playoffs.
In 1977, Avellini and Walter Payton, the Bears’ running back, both had the pinnacle of their NFL careers. In the 14 games that Avellini played that year, he passed for 2,004 yards, the highest in his career, and 11 touchdowns. Payton ran for 1,852 yards and scored 14 touchdowns, becoming the Bears’ offensive centerpiece that year. In the NFL, Payton’s 1,852 yards were number one for the season.
In their first postseason game in 14 years, the Bears lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs by an embarrassing 37-7 score. Avellini completed just one touchdown pass, with four interceptions.
The total number of games Avellini played for the Bears from 1975 to 1984 was 73. His NFL stats show that the number of passing yards in the 73 games he played was a total of 7,111, which placed him in the top ten Bears quarterbacks of all time. The total number of touchdown passes from that total was 33.
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