Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Jimbo Covert chooses Matt Suhey for introduction
Story Courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times
MIAMI — It has been a wild two weeks for former Bears left tackle Jimbo Covert since being elected to the Hall of Fame. He and his wife had no plans to be in South Florida this week, but there they were walking the red carpet at the NFL Honors.
Covert was on hand to be introduced with the new Hall of Fame class, something he wasn’t sure would happen. He finished playing in 1990 and was finally included this year as part of an expanded class to celebrate the NFL’s 100th season.
The league had the entire class take the stage during its award show, which was a surreal moment for Covert.
“I’ve been on Cloud Nine for two weeks,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun. Phone calls, texts—it’s been really cool.”
He spent the morning with an artist who will be working on his Hall of Fame bust, which took about 30 minutes, but he wasn’t able to get a sense of how the final product will look.
One thing he has settled: Former teammate Matt Suhey, a Bears running back from 1980 to ’89, will introduce him for his speech at the induction this summer.
“I think it’s appropriate,” Covert said. “Him and Walter [Payton] were such good friends, and it feels like both of them are going to do it together. It’s a great thing.”
Covert was an eight-year starter for the Bears and was selected as an all-pro in 1985 and ’86. The Bears were top-three in rushing for six of his eight seasons.
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