“Concrete Charlie” is closer than ever to being cemented in Philadelphia sports history.
One of the last great 60-minute men, Chuck Bednarik will soon be recognized for his contributions to Philadelphia football in the form of a statue to be placed at Franklin Field. It will be the first statue of a football player in Philadelphia.
“For a long time, he was a trademark of Philadelphia football,” Director of Development Services Don Snyder said. “He was a star when he played here. He’s just one of those amazing Philly stories that people love.”
Bednarik was a two-time All-American for the Quakers and remained in the City of Brotherly Love for 14 years after being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles as the first overall pick in 1949.
Bednarik played on both sides of the ball as a linebacker and a center. At age 35, he played 58 minutes in the Eagles’ 1960 championship victory.
A group of Philadelphia businessmen and members of Bednarik’s family started a fundraising campaign in 2010 to pay for the statue, which will cost $100,000.
“It’s really been a grassroots thing,” Snyder said, adding that many donations have been for small amounts and accompanied by notes saying how much Bednarik is loved by this city.
While the University has not released detailed information on how much has been raised, it is “really close to moving the statue forward,” according to Snyder, and a lot of progress has been made just in the last two weeks.
Snyder, a former Penn football player who graduated from the College in 2006, has a personal connection to Bednarik, who once came and spoke to the team during practice.
“He spoke with such authority, having played football here as a Quaker and then as an Eagle, so to a bunch of kids who are just trying to figure out how to play Ivy League football, it really leaves an impression to be addressed by him,” he said.
The statue will be part of a new display inside one of the entry gates at the Weiss Pavilion to celebrate the history of Franklin Field.
“We’re looking at similar to what we did in the Palestra where we updated the concourses for a way of celebrating Franklin Field,” Athletic Director Steve Bilsky said. “When the Chuck Bednarik statue idea came to us, we thought that might be in one of the portal areas, that might be a nice way to kind of introduce Penn football.”
Brian Hanlon, the sculptor for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, was first asked to create the statue by Bednarik’s son-in-law. He has a reputation with the University, having completed sculptures for the Athletic Department before, including the Steinbrenner Family Memorial Award inside Franklin Field.
Hanlon grew up a New York Giants fan, but says that over the years, he has become “a sports fan and very interested in the history of each sport and each venue.” He called Franklin Field “the most historic athletic field in American history.”
Hanlon will also be painting a mural for the display “depicting the rich history of Philadelphia football,” he said.
The athletic office is working hard to be able to dedicate the new statue at a home football game this season, the last of which will be Nov. 19 against Cornell.
“I hope I live long enough to see [the statue],” Bednarik told The Philadelphia Daily News in June.
With the help of many dedicated Eagles fans, it seems like that vision will finally come true.
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