The Chicago Bears have lost another figure from their celebrated 1985 Super Bowl championship team. Matt Suhey, the fullback whose work in the shadows helped power that group, has died at 68.
Suhey earned a reputation as the kind of teammate every locker room wants and every defense hates to deal with. His value went far beyond the stat sheet, but he still left one behind. Over a 10-year run with Chicago from 1980 to 1989, he piled up 2,946 rushing yards, 2,113 receiving yards and 25 total touchdowns.
His most memorable season came in 1985, when the Bears rolled to Super Bowl XX. Suhey made his mark there too, scoring the first touchdown of the game on an 11-yard run and carving out his place in franchise history.
Before his NFL career, Suhey starred at Penn State from 1976 to 1979. He rushed for 2,818 yards and 26 touchdowns in college, production that helped make him a second-round pick by the Bears in the 1980 NFL Draft.
His role in Chicago was defined by the dirty work as much as the ball-carrying. Suhey was known for clearing the way for Walter Payton, and that selfless blocking helped shape the identity of the 1985 championship roster.
He also brought rare durability. Suhey played in 148 games and never missed a regular-season game over seven of his ten seasons in the league.
A cause of death has not been publicly disclosed by those close to the family.
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Bears Fans Now Have The Official Word On Matt Suheys Death
Chicago Bears fans who remember the hard-nosed days of the 1980s got sad news recently with the death of former fullback Matt Suhey, a dependable piece of one of the franchises most celebrated teams. Suhey was found unresponsive in his Deerfield, Illinois home and later pronounced dead, closing the book on a career that included a key role in the Bears Super Bowl XX championship run, when he scored the opening touchdown in the title game.
The Lake County Coroners Office said there were no suspicious circumstances and reported that Suheys death was due to natural causes tied to a significant medical history. For Bears followers, it is a reminder of how much that era still means, and how quickly the teams icons from that championship team are moving into the realm of memory rather than game-day presence. [Read more 🡒]
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