Eagles legend Bill Bergey dies after long battle with cancer

Eagles legend Bill Bergey dies after long battle with cancer originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Legendary Eagles linebacker Bill Bergey has died after a long battle with cancer, his son announced on social media.

He was 79 years old.

Former professional lacrosse player Jake Bergey posted the news Wednesday morning on X, the former Twitter:

“After a long and hard battle of 3 years, dad lost his fight against cancer. The best father, friend, grandfather, soccer player and a great person in this world. I will really miss him. I love you dad.”

In an interview last year with the Eagles’ website, Bergey talked about how Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelley, a contemporary of Bergey’s, became a trusted confidant after he was diagnosed. jaw cancer in 2021.

“He’s been kind of an inspiration,” Bergey said. “He keeps me going. ‘Just remember,’ he told me, ‘you’re a football player, you’re tough, and you can beat this. You can take care of this.’

“He didn’t give me a Knute Rockne rah-rah talk. He just said, ‘Bill, one thing. Are you eating? And I said, ‘No, I’m not really eating much.’ And he was this direct: ‘Either you eat or you die.’ And I said, ‘Okay, I guess I’ll start eating then.’

“He talks about his five brothers, how one day he didn’t want to leave his room, and the five brothers said, ‘Well, you’re going to leave here whether you want to or not.’ And the five brothers just took him down the hall and told him. They took a long, pleasant walk. And he appreciated it.

“And I’ll tell you what. My kids have stepped up like I’ve never seen anyone do before. My three kids took me everywhere and gave my wife (Micky Kay) a break. I don’t know if I could have achieved without them”.

Bergey was originally a second-round pick of the Bengals out of Arkansas State in 1969. After five years and a Pro Bowl in Cincinnati, he was traded to the Eagles in 1974 and immediately became a difference-maker.

He made the Pro Bowls in four of his first five seasons with the Eagles (1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978) and was a first-team All-Pro after the 1974 and 1975 seasons and a second-team All-Pro in 1976, 1977. and 1978.

His last season was 1980 and his last game was Super Bowl XV against the Raiders in New Orleans.

Bergey and Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik are the only Eagles linebackers to make first-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 make more Pro Bowls than Bergey.

Bergey was one of 60 nominees the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s senior committee considered this fall, but he did not advance to the next round.

Even today, nearly a half-century after his retirement, Bergey’s 27 interceptions are the 10th most in NFL history by a linebacker, and five of the nine that preceded him are enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Canton. Eighteen of them came as an Eagle, and he is tied with Bednarik and William Thomas for the most in franchise history.

Although sacks did not become an official statistic until 1982, research on sacks before 1982 shows Bergey with 18 ½ career sacks, 14 of them with the Eagles. He also recovered 21 fumbles, including an NFL-high six in 1975.

Bergey was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 2009.

After retiring, Bergey colored on Eagles radio broadcasts and spent several years on the Eagles’ pre- 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 the Eagles’ training camp every summer.

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