Bob Avellini cause of death: How did ex-Bears QB die?

Bob Avellini is not someone whom Chicago Bears fan will have in their minds when they think of their team's success in the mid-to-late part of the 20th century. Those fans will think of Walter Payton first, or the monstrous defense that played a major role in their Super Bowl XX win. But for a while, he was their No. 1 quarterback.

Bob Avellini cause of death

Avellini, 70, died on Saturday. A Bears official confirmed to the Chicago Tribune that he had been fighting cancer.

Since retirement, he had been struggling to get his life together. He filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012. Two years later, he pled guilty to aggravated DUI and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but not before claiming that head injuries stemming from his football career played a part.

Bob Avellini’s football career explored

Bob Avellini was drafted in the sixth round of the 1975 draft by the Chicago Bears, the same class as Walter Payton. As a rookie, he started the final four games of a season, most notably throwing three touchdowns against New Orleans Saints in the finale.

He was elevated to the starting role as a sophomore and went 7-7, passing for 1,580 yards and eight touchdowns against fifteen interceptions. In 1977, he had a career-best 2,004 passing yards and eleven touchdowns against eighteen interceptions. The Bears went 9-5 and made the playoffs, but they were blown out 7-37 at the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys.

Avellini regressed to 4-8 and a 5:16 TD-INT count in 1978 before being replaced by Mike Phipps. However, he still stayed in Chicago, making three more starts before being released after a 9-38 rout at the Seattle Seahawks. At the time, he said:

“I wasn’t surprised I was cut. (Head coach Mike Ditka) threatened me with that once a week. He thinks that’s going to make you play better. After the first pass I threw this year against Green Bay, he said he was going to cut me then, and I was the only quarterback who could play. He wanted to yank me out of there and put in someone that didn’t even know our snap count.”

He would retire in 1986 after brief stints with the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys.