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Richard Dent
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Richard Lamar Dent (born December 13, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Chicago Bears. He was the MVP of the Super Bowl XX. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
Key Information
Professional career
[edit]Chicago Bears
[edit]After playing four years at Tennessee State University and graduating in 1983, Dent was selected in the eighth round by the Bears, with the 203rd overall pick in the 1983 NFL draft. At 6 ft 5 in, 265 lb (120 kg), Dent was a great pass rusher who beat offensive tackles with his speed and thrived in defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan's aggressive 46 defense. He was part of the core of great players who made the Bears' defenses of the 1980s legendary. Between 1984 and 1985, Dent recorded 34.5 sacks while recording a then team-record 17.5 sacks in the former season.[1]
1985 season
[edit]When the Bears went on to defeat the New England Patriots in a 46–10 landslide in Super Bowl XX,[2] Dent was selected as the game's MVP. During the game, he had 1.5 sacks, forced two fumbles, and blocked a pass. Dent made a mere $90,000 in base salary for his efforts in 1985[3] ($269,000 in 2025 dollars).[4] He was a featured soloist of the "Shuffling Crew" in the video, the "Super Bowl Shuffle" in 1985.
After Chicago
[edit]Dent would remain with the team until the end of the 1993 season, after the Bears had won just one playoff game since their loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the 1988 NFC Championship Game, and head coach Mike Ditka had been replaced by Dave Wannstedt.
Dent won another Super Bowl ring after spending the 1994 season under contract with the 49ers, though he spent almost the whole year injured. Injuries would continue to hamper Dent after his return to Chicago in 1995. He would spend 1996 and 1997 with the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively, playing the so-called designated pass rusher for them.
Dent retired after the 1997 season. His lifetime statistics included 137.5 sacks and eight interceptions; he returned these picks for 89 yards and one touchdown. He also recovered 13 fumbles, returning them for 56 yards and one touchdown. He had 124.5 sacks during his first stint with the Bears, from 1983 to 1993. At the time of his retirement, his 137.5 sacks ranked him third in NFL history behind Reggie White and Bruce Smith.
Post-retirement
[edit]During Super Bowl XLIV, Dent joined other members of the 1985 Chicago Bears in resurrecting the "Super Bowl Shuffle" in a Boost Mobile commercial.[5]
Dent was nominated numerous times for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and in 2005–2009 he was among the top 15 finalists in the selection process. After several years of unsuccessful nominations, he was finally selected for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on February 5, 2011.[6] His induction speech was notable for omitting any mention of both Ditka and Ryan.[7] Since his retirement Dent has had a difficult relationship with Ditka because he publicly blamed Ditka for the Bears' inability to repeat as Super Bowl champions. In a 2012 interview on WSCR, Dent argued that the Bears would have won at least three Super Bowls if they had been able to find any consistency at quarterback.[8]
In addition to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dent was also inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.[9]
NFL career statistics
[edit]| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Super Bowl MVP | |
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
[edit]| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR | ||
| 1983 | CHI | 16 | 3 | 12 | – | – | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984 | CHI | 16 | 10 | 39 | – | – | 17.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 1985 | CHI | 16 | 16 | 38 | – | – | 17.0 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| 1986 | CHI | 15 | 14 | 75 | – | – | 11.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1987 | CHI | 12 | 12 | 34 | – | – | 12.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 1988 | CHI | 13 | 12 | 61 | – | – | 10.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 1989 | CHI | 15 | 15 | 70 | – | – | 9.0 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 1990 | CHI | 14 | 14 | 81 | – | – | 12.0 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 1991 | CHI | 16 | 16 | 84 | – | – | 10.5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1992 | CHI | 16 | 16 | 82 | – | – | 8.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 1993 | CHI | 16 | 16 | 64 | – | – | 12.5 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1994 | SF | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | CHI | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | IND | 16 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 6.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1997 | PHI | 15 | 0 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | 203 | 150 | 677 | 31 | 6 | 137.5 | 8 | 89 | 1 | 37 | 13 | |
Personal life
[edit]According to a DNA analysis, he descended mainly from Mende people of Sierra Leone and Balanta people of Guinea Bissau.[10] He is the godfather of football player Ahmaad Smith.[11]
Richard lives in Chicago and has four children: Mary, Sarah, R.J., and Shiloh. His son R.J. is a football player who played WR at Stevenson High School, and now plays at Miami University Ohio.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Rank, Adam (February 10, 2014). "NFL players from historically black colleges". National Football League. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
- ^ "Bears Trounce Patriots, 46–10, in Super Bowl". Los Angeles Times. January 27, 1986. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
- ^ Kluck, Ted. "'85 Bears vs. '07 Patriots - ESPN Page 2". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Greenberg, Jon (January 15, 2010). "Chicago Bears' "Super Bowl Shuffle" an enduring, endearing sports moment". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- ^ "Richard Dent makes Pro Football Hall of Fame". Chicago Tribune. February 5, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
- ^ ESPNChicago.com: Richard Dent clarifies Hall speech snubs
- ^ "Dent: Ditka to blame for 1985 Bears' failure to repeat". Chicago Tribune. October 31, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
- ^ "All Inductees". BlackCollegeFootballHOF.org. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IfrdWeru2c Richard Dent Ancestry Reveal
- ^ "ARGOS SIGN DB AHMAAD SMITH". argonauts.ca. January 29, 2010. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
- ^ "RJ Dent - Football".
External links
[edit]
Media related to Richard Dent at Wikimedia Commons
Richard Dent
View on GrokipediaEarly life and education
Childhood and high school
Richard Dent was born on December 13, 1960, in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] He grew up as the sixth of nine children in a working-class family, with seven brothers and one sister.[1] His father, Horace Dent, worked as a printer, while his mother, Mary Dent, operated a catering service to help support the large household amid limited resources.[7] The family's emphasis on hard work and staying together shaped Dent's early sense of resilience in Atlanta's urban environment during the 1960s and 1970s.[1] Local sports icons like Claude Humphrey, Tommy Nobis, Hank Aaron, and Muhammad Ali inspired his interest in athletics.[1] Dent attended J.C. Murphy High School (later renamed Alonzo A. Crim High School) in Atlanta, where he did not participate in any organized sports until his junior year.[8] Under the guidance of coach William Lester, who provided transportation to school for two years, Dent began playing football and quickly showed promise as a defensive standout.[1] Despite his late start and the challenges of emerging from a smaller program in a competitive talent pool, Dent's raw athleticism and determination earned him recognition, including induction into the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame in 2022 for his impact during the 1970s.[9] His mother's compassion and the family's supportive dynamic further fueled his drive to succeed beyond his circumstances.[10] This foundation led Dent to Tennessee State University, where he continued his football development at a historically Black college.[1]College career
Richard Dent attended Tennessee State University, a historically Black college and university (HBCU) in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1979 to 1983, where he played college football as a defensive end for the Tigers in the Ohio Valley Conference.[11][12] During his time there, he lettered all four years under head coach John Merritt, with defensive coordinator Joe Gilliam Sr., focusing on developing his pass-rushing skills while contributing to the team's defensive efforts in FCS-level competition.[11][12] Dent's performance on the field was standout, particularly in his senior year of 1982, when he led the team with a school-record 17 sacks, including a single-game high of 4.5 against Eastern Kentucky.[12] Over his career, he amassed 158 tackles, 39.5 sacks—a Tigers record at the time—and six fumble recoveries, earning recognition as a two-time All-American.[12][9] His disruptive presence helped Tennessee State compete in conference play, though the program operated at a smaller scale compared to Football Bowl Subdivision schools. Coming from an HBCU in a non-major conference, Dent's accomplishments were initially overlooked by many NFL scouts, affecting his draft prospects despite his dominant statistics; he was selected by the Chicago Bears in the eighth round (203rd overall) of the 1983 NFL Draft.[1][5] Dent graduated from Tennessee State in 1983, balancing his athletic commitments with academic requirements.[11]Professional football career
Draft and early years with Chicago Bears
Richard Dent was selected by the Chicago Bears in the eighth round of the 1983 NFL Draft, 203rd overall, out of Tennessee State University.[5] As a late-round pick, he signed a modest rookie contract typical for that draft position, reflecting the Bears' low initial expectations for the slender defensive end who had struggled with weight issues in college.[13] Despite his unheralded status, Dent joined a defensive line already featuring established players like Dan Hampton and Steve McMichael, forming the early core of what would become one of the NFL's most formidable units under defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan.[1] In his rookie season of 1983, Dent saw limited action due to his position on the depth chart and the need to bulk up for the professional level, appearing in all 16 games but starting only three.[5] He recorded 12 tackles and 3.0 sacks, showing flashes of pass-rushing potential in rotational duty while learning from veterans like Hampton, who initially viewed the newcomer as scrawny and unproven.[14] This modest debut allowed Dent to adapt to Ryan's aggressive schemes, which emphasized pressure on quarterbacks through multiple rotations on the line.[1] Dent's development accelerated in 1984, his second year, as he earned a larger role in the Bears' defense, starting 10 games and emerging as a key pass rusher with 17.5 sacks, leading the NFC and setting a franchise record at the time.[5] Under Ryan, who began incorporating elements of his innovative 46 defense during the season—named for safety Doug Plank's jersey number—Dent thrived in secondary pass-rush rotations alongside Hampton and McMichael, contributing to the unit's growing reputation for disrupting offenses.[15] His integration into the line's dynamics helped build momentum for the Bears' defensive dominance, as the group focused on coordinated blitzes and gap control to maximize individual talents like Dent's speed off the edge.[16]1985 season and Super Bowl XX
Dent's 1985 season represented a pinnacle of his early career, as he emerged as the Chicago Bears' premier pass rusher within defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan's aggressive 46 defense scheme, which overloaded the line with blitzes and leveraged Dent's explosive speed off the edge to disrupt opposing offenses.[1] Recording a league-leading 17 sacks alongside 38 combined tackles, two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), and seven forced fumbles over 16 starts, Dent anchored a unit that allowed just 12.4 points per game and propelled the Bears to a 15-1 regular-season record.[5] His dominance earned him his first Pro Bowl selection and a First-Team All-Pro designation from the Associated Press.[5] Dent's impact shone in several marquee matchups, including the Bears' lone defeat—a 38-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins on December 2—where he registered a sack and recovered a fumble amid a fierce defensive effort that kept the game close until late.[17] In the postseason, his ferocity fueled back-to-back shutouts: he tallied a playoff-record 3.5 sacks on Giants quarterback Phil Simms during a 21-0 divisional-round victory over New York on January 5, 1986, limiting the Giants to 32 rushing yards.[18] One week later, in the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams on January 12, Dent contributed two sacks on quarterback Neil Lomax, including a strip sack returned 61 yards for a touchdown by linebacker Wilber Marshall, sealing a 24-0 shutout and clinching Chicago's Super Bowl berth.[19] Overall, Dent amassed six sacks and four forced fumbles across the three playoff games.[18] In Super Bowl XX on January 26, 1986, at the Louisiana Superdome, Dent delivered a masterful performance that earned him MVP honors in the Bears' 46-10 demolition of the New England Patriots.[1] He recorded 1.5 sacks—split between quarterbacks Tony Eason and Steve Grogan—forced two fumbles (one leading to a field goal and another setting up a touchdown), and deflected a pass, as Chicago's defense held New England to 123 total yards and seven first downs.[20] Dent's early pressure, including a first-quarter sack and fumble on Eason, forced the Patriots into a conservative game plan, allowing the Bears' offense to pull away with 27 unanswered points in the second half.[21] Beyond the field, Dent's breakout season amplified the Bears' cultural phenomenon status, particularly through their participation in the "Super Bowl Shuffle" rap video released in December 1985, where he delivered a verse boasting, "Now I'm a Chicago Bear, and I'm here to stay / I'm Richard Dent, and I sack all day."[22] The track, which topped Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and raised over $300,000 for Chicago charities, captured the team's swagger and cemented Dent's nickname "Sackman" as emblematic of the "Monsters of the Midway" moniker for the fearsome defense.[5][23]Later career moves and teams
Following his standout 1985 season, Dent remained a key part of the Chicago Bears' defense from 1986 to 1993, maintaining solid productivity despite recurring injuries. He earned Pro Bowl selections in 1991 and 1994, recording double-digit sacks in six of those years, including a career-high tying 12.5 in 1987 during the strike-shortened season and another 12.5 in 1993. However, injuries began to impact his availability, such as a strained back in 1986 that caused him to miss a practice and a knee injury in 1989 that lingered into the following year, limiting his explosiveness at times.[5][24][25] In 1994, after becoming a free agent, Dent signed a two-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers, reuniting him with former Bears coordinator Buddy Ryan on the defensive line. He started the first two games, notching two sacks, but suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee during Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs, sidelining him for most of the regular season. Dent returned for the playoffs, contributing to the 49ers' Super Bowl XXIX victory over the San Diego Chargers with one sack on quarterback Stan Humphries.[26][27][5] Dent briefly returned to the Bears in 1995, appearing in three games with one start but no sacks before being released. He then joined the Indianapolis Colts in 1996 as a situational pass rusher, playing all 16 games but starting only one, while registering 6.5 sacks. In his final season, Dent signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, serving in a backup role across 15 games with no starts and 4.5 sacks, primarily on passing downs.[5][28] Dent retired after the 1997 season at age 37, having played 15 years in the NFL amid the cumulative physical toll of the sport, including chronic pain from repeated injuries and heavy reliance on painkillers during his career, which later contributed to nerve damage and an enlarged heart. His longevity as a pass-rushing specialist, even in reduced roles late on, underscored his enduring quickness off the edge, though the demands of the position accelerated his physical decline.[5][29][30]Career statistics and awards
Regular season and postseason stats
Richard Dent played in 203 regular season games over 15 NFL seasons from 1983 to 1997, recording 137.5 sacks, 8 interceptions, 2 touchdowns (one from an interception return and one from a fumble recovery), 1 safety, and 13 fumble recoveries.[5] His sacks total ranks 10th in NFL history.[31] Official NFL sack statistics have been tracked since the 1982 season, so all of Dent's sack data is officially recorded without the estimation issues affecting earlier eras.Regular Season Statistics
The following table summarizes Dent's regular season performance, focusing on games played, sacks, interceptions, and touchdowns.| Year | Team | G | Sacks | Int | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | CHI | 16 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | CHI | 16 | 17.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | CHI | 16 | 17.0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1986 | CHI | 15 | 11.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | CHI | 12 | 12.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | CHI | 13 | 10.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1989 | CHI | 15 | 9.0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1990 | CHI | 16 | 12.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 1991 | CHI | 16 | 10.5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992 | CHI | 16 | 8.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | CHI | 16 | 12.5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1994 | SFO | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | CHI | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | IND | 16 | 6.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | PHI | 15 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Career Total | 203 | 137.5 | 8 | 2 |
Postseason Statistics
The following table details Dent's postseason performance, emphasizing games and sacks.| Year | Team | G | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | CHI | 2 | 3.0 |
| 1985 | CHI | 3 | 6.0 |
| 1986 | CHI | 1 | 0.5 |
| 1987 | CHI | 1 | 1.0 |
| 1990 | CHI | 2 | 0.0 |
| 1991 | CHI | 1 | 0.0 |
| 1994 | SFO | 1 | 0.0 |
| 1996 | IND | 1 | 0.0 |
| Career Total | 12 | 10.5 |