Chicago Bears Claim 2nd-Best NFL Player From a Service Academy Ever

Memorial Day is about honoring veterans who died in service to the United States armed forces and their country. While several military academies around the country are primarily meant to prepare men and women for possible future combat, they also have their own sports programs. Football is among the most notable. The Chicago Bears, like many teams, have benefited from this in the past.

NFL.com released an interesting list for the holiday occasion. It singles out the 11 best players to ever come out of a service academy. Unsurprisingly, the man who took the top spot was Dallas Cowboys legend, Roger Staubach. He famously served in Vietnam as part of the U.S. Navy and wasn't able to begin his football career until he was 27-years-old.

However, the #2 pick for those rankings may come as a surprise. Save maybe for the more historically educated Bears fans. His name was Ed Sprinkle.

"A four-time Pro Bowler known as the "meanest man in football," Sprinkle terrorized quarterbacks for 12 seasons with the Bears. According to a New York Times obituary, in the 1946 NFL Championship Game, he sidelined three New York Giants -- a quarterback and two running backs -- with two broken noses and a shoulder separation. Bears owner and coach George Halas honored Sprinkle with the jersey No. 7, which Halas had worn as a player."

Ed Sprinkle was almost a nobody before George Halas got him

Sprinkle played football at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1943. Rather than go overseas to enter World War II in the Atlantic or Pacific theaters though, he joined the Bears in 1944. He tried out initially to play offensive guard. It didn't go well. That's when team owner and coach George Halas returned from the military at the war's end.

He immediately saw the problem and moved Sprinkle to defensive end.

It's unknown how many sacks he had at that position as the statistic was still decades away from becoming official. However, it was plain as day that Sprinkle was a dominant pass rusher. Quarterbacks always made sure to look his way before going back to throw. Not just because of his ability, but also the reputation he cultivated as a "physical" player.