Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of email questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
With the recent passing of John Siegal, who is now the oldest living former Bears player?
Andrew T.
Freeport, Illinois
According to the appropriately-named website oldestlivingprofootball.com, Larry Brink is now the oldest living former Bears player. Brink, who turned 91 last Sept. 12, was a defensive end from Northern Illinois. He played one season with the Bears in 1954, returning a fumble 84 yards for a touchdown in a 24-13 win over the Los Angeles Rams at Wrigley Field. Brink joined the Bears after spending his first six NFL seasons with the Rams from 1948-53. He is the last surviving member of the 1951 Rams team that won the league championship. The next oldest living former Bears players are Johnny Lujack (90 years old), Harper Davis (89), Fred Morrison (88) and Eddie Macon (88). I had the pleasure of speaking with John Siegal on his 95th birthday and wrote a story about it and have also written about Macon, the first African-American player in Bears history.
I know Robbie Gould has come close to becoming the NFL's most accurate field-goal kicker, rising as high to second on the list if I'm not mistaken. Where does he stand entering the 2015 season?
Matthew S.
Austin, Texas
Robbie Gould is currently the sixth most accurate kicker in league history, having made 85.6 percent of his field goal attempts (242 of 283). He trails Dan Bailey (89.8), Stephen Gostkowski (86.8), Mike Vanderjagt (86.5), Nate Kaeding (86.2) and Rob Bironas (85.7). Only kickers who have made at least 100 field goals qualify for the list, and Bailey only became eligible last season. Â
I was interested to read that the Bears' overtime win over the Giants in 1977 was the longest game in franchise history. But what about the game against the Ravens two years ago that started at noon and wasn't completed until about six hours later due to a weather delay?
Bryan G.
Fort Worth, Texas
The 1977 overtime win was the longest Bears game in elapsed time, but the Ravens contest you referred to on Nov. 17, 2013 at Soldier Field has to be the longest in actual time, given that it ended 5 hours and 16 minutes after it started. There was a delay for nearly two hours late in the first quarter due to severe weather that forced the evacuation of the stands. The Bears trailed 10-0 at the time of the delay but rallied to win 23-20 on Robbie Gould's 38-yard field with 8:41 left in overtime.
