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NFL Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik passed away today at the age of 89. Bednarik, of course, played for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is tied to New York Giants' history, though, because of a legendary hit on Frank Gifford that knocked the Giants' star out of action for nearly two years.
You can see that open-field body-slam of Gifford courtesy of NFL.com.
The tweet below shows Bednarik standing over the prone Gifford.
Eagles are saddened to learn of the passing of one of our all-time greats, @ProFootballHOF LB/C Chuck Bednarik. pic.twitter.com/jR3S9LM9n7
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) March 21, 2015
Bednarik's reaction infuriated Giants fans. In Lew Freedman's book, 'New York Giants, The Complete Illustrated History,' he clarified what happened:
"Athough the myth of Bednarik's coldness persists, the reality was that Bednarik did not revel in Gifford's injury. He later said he was happy because the Eagles got the ball. In fact, rather than being cold-hearted and ignoring the incident, Bednarik sent flowers to Gifford in the hospital, called to check on him and apologized for hurting him."
RIP, chuck. Perhaps you old-time Giants fans can share a few memories.