Bears Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers was ahead of his time as a dynamic athlete who could accelerate in an instant and change direction at high speed like few — if any — athletes of his day.
Unfortunately, medical procedures for knee injuries weren’t quite there yet. So when Sayers suffered torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments with cartilage damage in his right knee in 1968, the procedure to repair the damage was archaic by today’s standards.
‘‘He would have had a greater chance of coming back and looking like his old self,’’ said Dr.