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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3 learn of the death of former Chicago Bears Coach Jim Dooley of
4 Lake Forest, who passed away on January 8, 2008; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Jim Dooley presided over four difficult years in
6 Bears history as head coach from 1968 through 1971; he was the
7 first coach after George Halas' permanent retirement; he came
8 to the job as the culmination of a Bears career that began as
9 the team's first-round draft choice in 1952 and featured major
10 contributions as an assistant to Coach Halas on offense and
11 defense; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Jim Dooley was an outstanding defensive back and
13 receiver on the Hurricanes at the University of Miami in his
14 native city; he lettered at the University in 1949-1951 and was
15 All-America his senior year; he intercepted four passes in the
16 Gator Bowl; he was inducted into the University of Miami's Ring
17 of Honor in 1997 and his jersey number 42 has never been worn
18 since his induction; and
 
19     WHEREAS, He led the Bears in interceptions as a rookie and
20 led the team in pass receptions his second year; his main
21 playing contributions came as a receiver in tandem with Harlon
22 Hill; when he retired, Jim Dooley was third on the Bears'

 

 

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1 career receiving list with 211 catches despite missing two
2 seasons while serving in the Air Force; and
 
3     WHEREAS, His first coaching assignment under Coach Halas
4 was to help defensive coach George Allen incorporate the
5 strategy the New York Giants employed under defensive
6 coordinator Tom Landry; for the first time, pass coverage by
7 linebackers became coordinated with defensive backs; Coach
8 Allen popularized the "nickel" defense of substituting a fifth
9 defensive back for a linebacker, called the "Dooley Shift"; he
10 also experimented with zone blitzes, dropping linemen into pass
11 coverage, a tactic considered revolutionary when other teams
12 adopted it in the 1990s; after the Bears won the 1963 NFL title
13 with a stifling defense, Dooley switched to offense and helped
14 coach the high-scoring 1965 team featuring league-leading
15 passer Rudy Bukich, rookie Gale Sayers, fullback Andy
16 Livingston, and receivers Mike Ditka, Dick Gordon, and Johnny
17 Morris; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Jim Dooley returned to the Bears at Coach Halas'
19 request in 1981 as an assistant coach and remained with the
20 Bears until 1990; he had the good fortune to coach Hall of
21 Famers Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus, and the bad fortune of
22 seeing both go down with knee injuries that would shorten their
23 careers; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, He proudly displayed a replica 1985 Super Bowl
2 trophy in his apartment that was presented by Bears' owner
3 Virginia McCaskey; late in his life he gathered some of his old
4 Bears pictures to raise money for a soup kitchen at his
5 family's church, Our Lady of Lourdes, on Chicago's North Side;
6 and
 
7     WHEREAS, Jim Dooley is survived by his wife of 56 years,
8 Elaine; his children, Jim Jr., Patrick, Tim, Bill, and Lisa;
9 and his sixteen grandchildren; therefore, be it
 
10     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
11 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
12 his family and friends, the passing of Jim Dooley; and be it
13 further
 
14     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15 presented to the family of Jim Dooley as a symbol of our
16 sincere sympathy.