Former NFL linebacker Bill Bergey has died, his son announced on Christmas Day. He was 79 years old.
Bergey, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1974 to 1980, had been battling cancer for the past few years. His son, Jake Bergey, said his father was “a great person.”
The South Dayton, New York, native’s professional football career began in the late 1960s when he played for the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Bill Bergey of the Philadelphia Eagles stretches while warming up for the Redskins game at RFK Stadium on September 10, 1978, in Washington, DC. (Focus on sport/Getty Images)
“After a long, hard 3 year battle, dad lost his fight with cancer. The best father, friend, grandfather, soccer player and great person in this world. I will truly miss him. I love you dad,” Jake wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Bergey recorded nearly 1,200 tackles during his standout tenure with the Eagles. He earned Pro Bowl honors four times during his time in Philadelphia. Bergey received the first Pro Bowl nod of his career in 1969 when he was with the Bengals.
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The former linebacker was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 1988. He received another honor in 2011 when he became a member of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
Bill Bergey of the Philadelphia Eagles on the sideline during a preseason game against the Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium on September 2, 1977 in Pittsburgh. (George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
In 2023, Bergey shared some details about his relationship with Buffalo Bills legend Jim Kelly. The former Bills quarterback battled jaw cancer and became one of Bergey’s trusted confidants.
Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Bill Bergey kneels on Oakland Raiders tight end Raymond Chester in Super Bowl XV at the Superdome in New Orleans on January 25, 1981. (Manny Rubio-USA Today Sports)
“He’s been kind of an inspiration,” Bergey told the Eagles’ official team website last year. “He keeps me up and up. ‘Just remember,’ he told me, ‘you’re a football player, you’re tough and you can beat this. You can handle this.'”
Bergey played college football at Arkansas State. After retiring from the NFL, Bergey spent several years contributing to pre- and post-game coverage of the Eagles.
