Former Chicago Bears fullback Matt Suhey, a starter on the Super Bowl championship team in the 1985 season, has died at age 68, according to multiple reports on Sunday.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the team confirmed Suhey died on Sunday.
Chicago selected him in the second round of the 1980 NFL Draft out of Penn State, where he also was a standout player.
Suhey played his entire NFL career for the Bears from 1980-89. The durable runner had 828 carries for 2,946 yards and 20 touchdowns, and caught 260 passes for 2,113 yards and five TDs in 148 of 152 possible regular-season games (100 starts).
He also played in nine playoff games (all starts) and had 43 rushing attempts for 156 yards and one touchdown — an 11-yarder in the Bears’ 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX, the franchise’s lone Super Bowl championship.
Suhey was the lead blocker for eight seasons for Hall of Fame tailback Walter Payton, and the pair were famously close.
The Chicago Sun-Times ranked him No. 78 on its list of 100 Greatest Bears of All Time for the franchise’s 100th season in 2019.
Suhey, a native of Bellefonte, Pa., was a standout at Penn State (1976-79), where he had 633 carries for 2,818 yards and 26 TDs in 42 games.
His father, Steve Suhey, played guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1948-49. Steve Suhey’s father-in-law, Bob Higgins, played end for the Canton Bulldogs in 1920-21. All three men played at Penn State.