Former Chicago Bears quarterback Bob Avellini, who helped lead the team to the 1977 NFL playoffs after a 14-year drought, died at age 70, the team announced.
Avellini died Saturday, per the Bears. The team confirmed to the Chicago Tribune that the cause of death was cancer.
Avellini shared the backfield and the 1975 draft class with Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton. The Bears selected Jackson State’s Payton fourth overall while Maryland’s Avellini was the 135th pick, coming in the sixth round.
The starter in 1976 after four starts as a rookie, Avellini played with the Bears until he was released in the 1984 season. He threw for 7,111 yards, 33 touchdowns and 69 interceptions in 73 games as the team went 23-27 in his 50 starts.
His best season was in 1977, when the Bears started 3-5 but earned a wild-card berth by winning their final six games.
Avellini passed for career bests of 2,004 yards and 11 touchdowns that season as the Bears finished 9-5, tying Minnesota in the NFC Central. The Vikings won the division, while the Bears got the wild card and lost 37-7 to the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs.
“Bob was one-of-a-kind; a fierce and tough competitor,” the Bears said in a statement. “He’s perhaps best remembered for leading the Bears on an improbable run in 1977 to our first postseason appearance in 14 years. He will be missed.”
After his release from Chicago, where he disagreed with head coach Mike Ditka in the later stage of his career, he briefly was with the New York Jets and spent the 1986 preseason with the Dallas Cowboys before retiring.
