http://chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=6354
December 1, 2009
Dent a Hall of Fame semifinalist for sixth straight year
By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 12/1/2009 11:05 AM
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – All-time Bears sack leader Richard Dent has been named as one of 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2010.
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=4 width=200 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
Richard Dent hopes to join 26 other Bears in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Dent played 12 of his 15 NFL seasons with the Bears, registering a franchise-high 124½ sacks. He was named Super Bowl XX MVP, was an integral part of a championship defense that is considered one of the best in NFL history, and was selected to four Pro Bowls.
Dent has been among the semifinalists every year since 2004, when the procedure of reducing the preliminary list of nominees to 25 was integrated into the selection process. Each of the past two years, Dent has survived the cut from 17 finalists to 10 before being eliminated when the list was pared to five.
Dent joined the Bears as an eighth-round draft pick from Tennessee State in 1983 and blossomed into one of the NFL’s most dominant defensive ends.
The 6-5, 265-pounder led the NFC with a team-record 17½ sacks in 1984 before recording a league-leading 17 sacks in 1985 in helping the Bears win their first NFL title in 22 years.
Dent registered 10 or more sacks in five straight seasons from 1984-88 and in eight of 10 years from 1984-93. The only times he failed to reach double digits in that span was when he had 9 sacks in 1989 and 8½ in 1992.
The Bears compiled a 119-72 record in his 12 seasons. In Dent’s first six years, the Bears went 70-25 with no losing seasons, winning at least 10 games five straight years from 1984-88.
Selected All-Pro four times and All-NFC five times, Dent still holds Bears post-season records with 10½ career sacks and 3½ sacks in a game Jan. 5, 1986 against the New York Giants. He was named Super Bowl XX MVP after registering 1½ sacks and two forced fumbles in a 46-10 thrashing of the New England Patriots.
When he retired in 1997, Dent’s 137½ sacks ranked third behind only Reggie White and Bruce Smith. Dent also played for the 49ers (1994), Colts (1996) and Eagles (1997).
The list of 25 semifinalists will be reduced to 15 candidates on Jan. 7. That list will then increase to 17 with the inclusion of two candidates recommended by the Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee.
The Class of 2010, which will consist of 4-7 finalist nominees, will be determined by the Selection Committee on Sat., Feb. 6, the day before Super Bowl XLIV, in South Florida.
The Bears have an NFL-high 26 Hall of Famers, including three of Dent’s former teammates: running back Walter Payton, middle linebacker Mike Singletary and defensive lineman Dan Hampton.
December 1, 2009
Dent a Hall of Fame semifinalist for sixth straight year
By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 12/1/2009 11:05 AM
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – All-time Bears sack leader Richard Dent has been named as one of 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2010.
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=4 width=200 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
Richard Dent hopes to join 26 other Bears in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Dent played 12 of his 15 NFL seasons with the Bears, registering a franchise-high 124½ sacks. He was named Super Bowl XX MVP, was an integral part of a championship defense that is considered one of the best in NFL history, and was selected to four Pro Bowls.
Dent has been among the semifinalists every year since 2004, when the procedure of reducing the preliminary list of nominees to 25 was integrated into the selection process. Each of the past two years, Dent has survived the cut from 17 finalists to 10 before being eliminated when the list was pared to five.
Dent joined the Bears as an eighth-round draft pick from Tennessee State in 1983 and blossomed into one of the NFL’s most dominant defensive ends.
The 6-5, 265-pounder led the NFC with a team-record 17½ sacks in 1984 before recording a league-leading 17 sacks in 1985 in helping the Bears win their first NFL title in 22 years.
Dent registered 10 or more sacks in five straight seasons from 1984-88 and in eight of 10 years from 1984-93. The only times he failed to reach double digits in that span was when he had 9 sacks in 1989 and 8½ in 1992.
The Bears compiled a 119-72 record in his 12 seasons. In Dent’s first six years, the Bears went 70-25 with no losing seasons, winning at least 10 games five straight years from 1984-88.
Selected All-Pro four times and All-NFC five times, Dent still holds Bears post-season records with 10½ career sacks and 3½ sacks in a game Jan. 5, 1986 against the New York Giants. He was named Super Bowl XX MVP after registering 1½ sacks and two forced fumbles in a 46-10 thrashing of the New England Patriots.
When he retired in 1997, Dent’s 137½ sacks ranked third behind only Reggie White and Bruce Smith. Dent also played for the 49ers (1994), Colts (1996) and Eagles (1997).
The list of 25 semifinalists will be reduced to 15 candidates on Jan. 7. That list will then increase to 17 with the inclusion of two candidates recommended by the Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee.
The Class of 2010, which will consist of 4-7 finalist nominees, will be determined by the Selection Committee on Sat., Feb. 6, the day before Super Bowl XLIV, in South Florida.
The Bears have an NFL-high 26 Hall of Famers, including three of Dent’s former teammates: running back Walter Payton, middle linebacker Mike Singletary and defensive lineman Dan Hampton.