Joseph Francis Fortunato (March 28, 1930 – November 6, 2017) was an American professional
football player who spent his entire 12-year
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) career playing
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
for the
Chicago Bears. A five-time
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
selection, he was the captain and signal-caller for the Bears defense, leading to an
NFL Championship in 1963. Fortunato is one of only four players, and the only defensive player named to the
National Football League 1950s All-Decade Team who has not yet been enshrined in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
.
Prior to the NFL, Fortunato played
fullback and linebacker for
Mississippi State University, and made
All-American in 1951.
Early life
Fortunato was born on March 28, 1930, in
Mingo Junction, Ohio
Mingo Junction is a village in eastern Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,347 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area.
Geography
Mingo Junction is located at ...
. He worked in his grandparents’ grocery store as a child and in the steel mill as a teen.
College career
VMI
Fortunato initially attended
Virginia Military Institute
la, Consilio et Animis (on seal)
, mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal)
, established =
, type = Public senior military college
, accreditation = SACS
, endowment = $696.8 mill ...
(VMI) where he was a member of the
VMI Keydets football
The VMI Keydets football team represents the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. The Keydets compete in the Southern Conference of the NCAA Division I FCS, and are coached by Danny Rocco, named head coach on December 3, 2022. VM ...
team in 1949.
Mississippi State University
In 1950, he transferred to Mississippi State College—now known as
Mississippi State University, reuniting him with head coach
Slick Morton who was previously the head coach at VMI. He played both fullback and linebacker since college football had reverted to primarily single-platoon football, meaning those players that were on offense had to switch to defense, and vice versa, when ball possession changed.
As a junior in 1951, Fortunato was tabbed first-team All-American and first-team All-
SEC.
In his senior season, he was selected honorable mention All-American and All-SEC after leading the Bulldogs with 779 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He became one of the first Bulldogs to rush for over 1,000 yards in a career, scoring six total touchdowns and registering four interceptions.
Professional career
Fortunato was selected in the seventh round of the
1952 NFL Draft
The 1952 National Football League Draft was held on January 17, 1952, at Hotel Statler in New York. Selections made by New York Yanks were assigned to the new Dallas Texans.
This was the sixth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick d ...
by the
Chicago Bears, 80th overall. He did not join the Bears until the 1955 season due to a military commitment. He became a full-time starter during his rookie season under
Hall of Fame coach and team owner
George Halas.
Together with fellow linebackers
Bill George and
Larry Morris
Larry Cleo Morris (December 10, 1933 – December 19, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Chicago Bears. The 1950 graduate of Decatur High School ...
, Fortunato formed the Bears' greatest linebacker threesome of all-time. However, after a disappointing season in which the team finished 8-4 and missed the playoffs, Halas decided to step down as head coach.
In February 1956, former Bears quarterback and
Hall of Famer
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
,
Paddy Driscoll
John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll (January 11, 1895 – June 29, 1968) was an American professional football and baseball player and football coach. A triple-threat man in football, he was regarded as the best drop kicker and one of the best overall pl ...
was hired by Halas as his successor as head coach. Driscoll lead the Bears to the
NFL Western Division a 9-2-1 record, which was tied for best in the league that year. The Bears lost to the
New York Giants in the
1956 NFL Championship game. The 47-7 loss in that game, coupled with a 5-7 season the following year, compelled Halas to reassign Driscoll and return as head coach in February 1958.
Under Halas's leadership, the Bears rebounded by finishing with an 8-4 record in both 1958 and 1959. The Bears continued to win at least eight games in 1960, 1961, and 1962, but missed the playoffs in six consecutive seasons. During the latter stages of the 1962 season,
George Allen George Allen may refer to:
Politics and law
* George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team
* George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...
replaced veteran
Clark Shaughnessy as Halas' top defensive assistant, effectively making him the Bears' defensive coordinator.
Allen's presence had a formative effect and in 1963, Fortunato guided the Bears league-leading defense (as captain and signal-caller) in scoring, total, rushing and passing as well as turnovers. After the Bears won the
1963 NFL championship
The 1963 NFL Championship Game was the 31st annual championship game, played on December 29 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The game pitted the visiting New York Giants (11–3) of the Eastern Conference against the Chicago Bears (11–1� ...
, Fortunato stood on a chair in the locker room and delivered a short speech on Allen’s importance to the team and tossed him the game ball.
Fortunato led the Bears in tackles for seven consecutive seasons. In addition to his 16 career interceptions, Fortunato also recovered 22 fumbles, which was an NFL record at the time of his retirement. The record stood until Bears teammate
Dick Butkus passed him.
During his career, Fortunato played in 155 of 156 possible games, starting 153. The Bears had eight winning seasons in his 12 years.
Coaching career
A knee injury ended Fortunato's playing career shortly before the 1967 NFL season. He stayed on with the Bears as an assistant coach, leading the linebackers in Halas' final season as head coach. He became
defensive coordinator after
Jim Dooley
James William Dooley (February 8, 1930 – January 8, 2008) was an American football player and coach who is best remembered for his tenures as a player and coach with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL).
College career
Bor ...
was elevated to Bears head coach prior to the 1968 season.
Personal life
He left the Bears after one year as defensive coordinator and made his home in
Natchez, Mississippi. He owned and operated Big Joe Oil Company, which explored for and drilled wells. He became known for his charity work in Mingo Junction, where a highway was named after him, and Natchez, where he started the Joe Fortunato Celebrity Golf Classic to raise funds for education in Mississippi.
He was a recreational
bluegill fisherman.
Awards and recognition
Fortunato played 12 seasons for the Bears (1955–1966), where he served as team captain.
He made the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
five times,
and was named to the NFL 300 Greatest Players team.
Fortunato was inducted into the
Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1978 and the
National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
In 2017, he was added to Mississippi State University's Ring of Honor on
Davis Wade Stadium
Davis Wade Stadium, officially known as Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field is the home venue for the Mississippi State Bulldogs football team. Originally constructed in 1914 as New Athletic Field, it is the second-oldest stadium in the Football Bo ...
, which is the highest recognition for
Mississippi State Football. He was the seventh Bulldog selected for that honor, following
Johnie Cooks,
Jack Cristil,
Kent Hull
James Kent Hull (January 13, 1961 – October 18, 2011) was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League and United States Football League, more precisely a center for the New Jersey Generals of the USFL and Buffalo Bi ...
,
D.D. Lewis,
Shorty McWilliams and
Jackie Parker
John Dickerson "Jackie" Parker (January 1, 1932 – November 7, 2006) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He was an All-American in college football and an outstanding professional football player in the Canadian Football League ...
.
Also in 2017, the
Professional Football Researchers Association named Fortunato to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2017
He was a recipient of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) HEROES award in 2000 for his founding of the Joe Fortunato Celebrity Golf Classic.
Death
Fortunato died on November 6, 2017. Upon his passing, Bears Chairman
George McCaskey issued a statement acknowledging that Fortunato "was a key figure in one of the greatest linebacker trios in Bears history alongside Hall of Famers
Bill George and
Larry Morris
Larry Cleo Morris (December 10, 1933 – December 19, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Chicago Bears. The 1950 graduate of Decatur High School ...
."
[https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bears/ct-spt-bears-joe-fortunato-dead-at-87-20171109-story.html]
References
External links
*
*
1930 births
2017 deaths
American football linebackers
Chicago Bears coaches
Chicago Bears players
Mississippi State Bulldogs football players
Western Conference Pro Bowl players
People from Mingo Junction, Ohio
Players of American football from Ohio
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