Back to search

Chuck Bednarik

Center

Inducted 1969

Date of Birth

5/1/1925

Birthplace

Bethlehem, PA

School

University of Pennsylvania (1945-1948)

Bio

Chuck Bednarik was a hero long before he reached Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a 20-year-old veteran of World War II, a highly-decorated aerial gunner with 30 combat missions over Germany to his credit. The 6-3, 220-pound Bednarik proved just as devastating on the gridiron. In a day when the rules allowed for free substitution, Bednarik remained a 60-minute player, operating at center and linebacker. As a senior in 1948, Bednarik won the Maxwell Award, symbolic of the top collegiate player in America. His performance prompted the Philadelphia Eagles to make him their number one draft choice. When he retired from football in 1962, he left a game that had given him two consensus All-America awards as a collegian, eight All-Pro awards as a professional and world championships in 1949 and 1960. "Concrete Charlie" placed in the top seven of the Heisman vote two times. He retired as pro-football's last two-way player. In 1969, he was voted by a panel of sportswriters, coaches and hall of fame players as "The Greatest Center of All-Time."