Richard Dent - Blood, Sweat, & Bears: Putting A Dent In The Game I Love

F red Mitchell and Richard Dent have collaborated in presenting some fantastic insights into the world of professional football. The excitement, the travail, the hard work and dedication, the disappointments and the thrills are all captured in this wonderful work by these two fellows who have been there, done that.

Marv Levy

Pro Football Hall of Fame Coach

Author

T he Sack Man! A tower of power at right defensive end for the Chicago Bears. Richard Dent was an afterthought on Draft Day and yet became one of the most wicked pass rushers in NFL history.

Dent tells his story on and off the field with the help of Chicago Tribune writer Fred Mitchell. This is truly a must read for Chicago Bears fans or anyone who appreciates pro football on the big-time level. Number 95 forced defensive coordinators to burn the midnight oil.

Chet Coppock

Chicago Sports Talk Radio

T he first time I saw Richard Dent on the Bears practice field, I told people this guy was going to be something special. Richard became the real deal as a player, and he pulls no punches in his book as he reveals details of his life and Hall of Fame playing career as the Sack Man.

Dan Jiggetts, Chicago sportscaster and former Bears offensive lineman

Copyright 2012 by Richard Dent

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher.

Requests for permission should be addressed to: Ascend Books, LLC, Attn: Rights and Permission Department 12710 Pflumm Road, Suite 200, Olathe, KS 66062

All names, logos, and symbols that appear in this book are trademarks of their individual organizations and institutions. This notice is for the protection of trademark rights only, and in no way represents the approval or disapproval of the text of this book by those organizations or institutions.

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ISBN: print book 978-0-9830619-8-4

ISBN: e-book 978-0-9830619-6-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publications Data Available Upon Request

Editor: Jeffrey Flanagan

Assistant Editor: Blake Hughes

Publication Coordinator: Christine Drummond

Sales and Marketing: Lenny Cohen

Dust Jacket and Book Design: Lynette Ubel

All photos courtesy of Richard Dent and Fred Mitchell unless otherwise indicated.

Use of the phrase The Shufflin Crew courtesy of Red Label Music Publishing, Inc.

Every reasonable attempt has been made to determine the ownership of copyright. Please notify the publisher of any erroneous credits or omissions, and corrections will be made to subsequent editions/future printings.

The goal of the enitre staff of Ascend Book is to publish quality works. With that in mind, we are proud to offer this book to our readers. Please note however, that the story, the experiences and the words are those of the authors alone.

Printed in the United States of America

www.ascendbooks.com

T his book is dedicated to
my mother, Mary Francis
Dent. I hope I made you smile;
I hope I made you proud.

From Richard

M y life has been filled with plenty of ups and downs exhilarating sports highlights and major accomplishments tempered by the kind of occasional humbling moments that all of us have to learn how to handle and endure.

Throughout it all, I stand tall and continue to strive to help others. My proud legacy is an ever-evolving story that will define my time here on earth.

I have so many people to thank when it comes to helping me tell my story through this book. That list includes Ascend Books Publisher Bob Snodgrass, Publications Coordinator Christine Drummond, Executive Editors Jeffrey Flanagan and Blake Hughes, Designer Lynette Ubel, and Publicity Director Bob Ibach.

I also would like to thank veteran sportswriter/author Fred Mitchell, who covered a great deal of my NFL playing career for the Chicago Tribune and helped me put my feelings and recollections into words.

My longtime personal assistant, Carol Freeman, was invaluable with her research work on this project. And I appreciate the photo resource information from Dan Yuska of the Chicago Bears and my friend, photographer Mike Kinyon and the statistical data gleaned from ProFootballHOF.com and the Chicago Tribune.

I also want to thank Dean Robert Murrell and his wife Dean Barbara Murrell from Tennessee State who kept me in school and took such good care of me.

To my former teammates and coaches at Murphy High School, Tennessee State and the NFL: Thanks for the memories.

Richard Dent

O ne of the most disturbing experiences in my life occurred early in my NFL career when some members of the Chicago Bears organization questioned whether I was selling and using cocaine in the early 1980s.

Its bad enough when fans and media try to attack you. But when your own employer questions your character and integrity that really hurts me to the soul, even to this day.

I cannot overstate the pride I felt wearing that Bears uniform and representing the fans of Chicago. Not only did I feel that I was representing the fans, but I also was representing my family, the community where I grew up and the coaches I came to respect, from my childhood days through college. So there was no way I would choose to disrespect those people in my life by engaging in something patently illegal and so self-indulgent as selling drugs.

Prior to my days playing organized football, my life lacked the kind of structure, discipline and purpose necessary to put me on a path toward success. With each opportunity from high school, college and the NFL I had to demonstrate what kind of football player I could be. I gained confidence, poise, determination and pride. Those were my tickets to success.

No way I was going to screw this up.

Sadly, I had a lot of older brothers who had been involved in drugs and fighting and serious crimes. I had a first-hand look early in my life at how criminal and other mischievous behavior can really mess up your life and the lives of others who care about you.

I saw the pain first-hand that my brothers caused my mother. Nobody finished high school, nobody went to college, nobody fulfilled his dream. I was the first son to finish high school and the first son to go to college in my family. I was proud of that. The rest of the boys in my family just couldnt seem to find their way in life. Sure, they had individual talents, but they didnt get a chance to bloom and show the world all of the good they could have done through a worthwhile career. Such a shame, such a waste.

With such a big family, it was difficult for all of us to get the proper individual attention to make the right choices in life. I had to make the choices on my own, and I wanted to make somebody proud of me. That always has been a driving force. I wanted to be the one to make my parents proud. But it was a very, very rocky road.