Matt Suhey, Bears Fullback on the 1985 Super Bowl Team, Dies at 68
Suhey scored Chicago's first touchdown in Super Bowl XX, blocked for Walter Payton for a decade and later became a father figure to Payton's family.
Matt Suhey, the fullback who played 10 seasons for the Chicago Bears and scored the team's first touchdown in Super Bowl XX, died Sunday at 68, the Bears confirmed. No cause of death was given.
What was his career like?
A second-round pick in 1980, Suhey played 148 regular-season games with 100 starts from 1980 to 1989, running for 2,946 yards and 20 touchdowns and catching 260 passes for 2,113 yards and five more scores. In the Bears' 46-10 win over New England in Super Bowl XX he opened the scoring on an 11-yard run and finished with 52 rushing yards and a 24-yard catch.
What was his connection to Walter Payton?
Suhey was Payton's lead blocker and close friend, and Payton was godfather to Suhey's youngest son. After Payton's death in 1999, his son Jarrett wrote, Suhey "became the biggest father figure I had" and "protected our family."
Sources
- ESPN: Bears' Super Bowl champion fullback Matt Suhey dies at 68
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