GALE SAYERS RECEIVED NFL/COLLIER AWARD ON JUNE 24, 2011
#40 came to town!
College and NFL Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers came to Lexington to receive the BLANTON COLLIER AWARD for giving back with integrity both on and off the field.
Gale Sayers set a standard of excellence in his football days, first at the University of Kansas where he earned the nickname the Kansas Comet and then with the Chicago Bears where injuries ended his career after five short years. Mr. Sayers is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sayers' NFL records include most touchdowns in a rookie season (22 in 1965), most touchdowns in a game (6, tied with others), highest career kickoff return average (30.56), and most return touchdowns in a game (2, tied with many others). His friendship and support of fellow Chicago Bear Brian Piccolo was the basis for the movie Brian's Song. The movie exemplifies the type of character that Mr. Sayers has shown throughout his life. Gale Sayers has had a successful career following his retirement from football. In 1976, Sayers was named Athletic Director at Southern Illinois University. In 1984 he founded Crest Computer Supply Company in the Chicago-area. Under Sayers' leadership, the company experienced consistent growth and was renamed Sayers 40, Inc. Gale Sayers and his wife are also active philanthropists in Chicago, Kansas and elsewhere. They support the Cradle Foundation'an adoption organization in Evanston, Illinois, and, most recently, they founded the Gale Sayers Center in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. The Gale Sayers Center is an after-school program for children ages 8'12 from Chicago's west side and focuses on leadership development, tutoring, and mentoring.
 Drew Newsome, Great-grandson of Blanton Collier, welcomes Gale Sayers to the Bluegrass Airport, Lexington, KY. |
 PALS kids are part of the airport welcome in Lexington, KY. |
 Carolyn Collier Ware, Gale Sayers, Dr. Kay Collier McLaughlin, Stephen Ware, Sam Ware and Susan Ware, members of the Collier family with Gale Sayers at the Blanton Collier Sportsmanship reception at the Lyric Theater, Lexington, KY. |
 Scott Brogdon, President of the Blanton Collier Sportsmanship Group, Dr. Kay Collier McLaughlin, Vice Chair of the KY Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Board member of the Blanton Collier Sportsmanship Group, Gale Sayers and Frank Minnifield, Executive Director of the KY Pro Football Hall of Fame and Board member of the Blanton Collier Sportsmanship Group. |
 Virginia Newsome, Great-granddaughter of Blanton Collier, sang the National Anthem at the 2011 KY Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. |
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