To many Chicagoans, the number 23 in sports is significant because it’s what the legendary Michael Jordan donned during the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty in the 1990s. As someone way too young to experience any of that success, No. 23 makes me think of another person entirely.
I think of Devin Hester, the greatest return specialist in NFL history, the one “ridiculous” player (as Bears radio play-by-play announcer Jeff Joniak would say) most responsible for making me fall in love with professional football.
The former Chicago Bear was officially selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday night. At face value, you’d think nothing of this. Hester was exceptional at his job and deserved a bronze bust in Canton. But he was inducted on the third ballot … as a return specialist. That does not happen. Players who touch the ball maybe 10-12 times a game do not enter the Hall of Fame in their early 40s, if ever.
It speaks to the sheer magic Hester created every time he had the ball in his hands and a sliver of space to burst through in the open field.
The @ProFootballHOF Class of 2024!@D_Hest23 | #NFLHonors pic.twitter.com/OD251LrYis
— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2024
A native Chicagoan, I only began following professional football in 2006. While I did not know what consistent despair awaited me decades after, such naivety made me believe the 2006 Bears were the most outstanding sports team ever assembled and that Hester was a once-in-a-lifetime athlete. The latter was true, at least. This speaks to who Hester was as a football player because you didn’t need much knowledge or exposure to the game to understand his unique blend of speed, quickness, and vision was different, transcendent even.
From the moment Hester streaked across the field for an 84-yard punt return touchdown in his NFL debut against the Green Bay Packers, it was obvious he brought an element to the field no one else could even fathom replicating.
You’d have to be silly to ignore what your eyes screamed at you:
If getting emotionally invested in a team or player is about creating core memories, then the 2006 version of Hester was a one-man machine of highlights that will forever be embedded in my brain.
It never stopped, and it was never short on drama.
There was the game-winning punt return in Arizona, where the Bears scored zero offensive touchdowns and won despite falling behind 23-3. I can still hear the abrupt crack in Mike Tirico’s voice as he realized Hester had a seam he could exploit. There was the then-NFL record 108-yard field goal return in New York — a play already enshrined in Canton — and a sequence that even the iconic Al Michaels and John Madden were utterly flabbergasted by. No one did that … except Hester. There was scoring not one but two return touchdowns in St. Louis and making it look so easy that it was like someone was playing as Hester in a video game at home.
In many ways, even with the Bears’ unfortunate defeat to the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl 41, I’m not upset anymore. Their appearance alone in that game, with hundreds of millions of people watching at home, opened the door for Hester to do one of the most bonkers things in NFL history — score on the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl. I still get goosebumps hearing Jim Nantz exclaim, “NO FLAGS,” once Hester tumbled into the end zone. Everything that happened after doesn’t matter.
This was who Hester was as a player. A breathtaking ball of electricity who could get everyone — even some of the most memorable names in the sport, who had thought they had seen it all — jumping out of their seat in disbelief.
17 years ago today, Devin Hester started Super Bowl XLI with a BANG. 😤 pic.twitter.com/STGjcVZ3mh
— NFL (@NFL) February 4, 2024
I could go on and on about Hester’s time in the NFL, recounting every touchdown because I remember them as strongly as a loved one’s birthday. But that would ultimately be a fruitless endeavor, and I’m not sure I wouldn’t run out of breath even just typing them out. Instead, I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves:
- 14 punt return touchdowns — the most in NFL history
- 19 combined punt/kick return touchdowns — the most in NFL history
- 3,695 punt return yards — the third-most in NFL history (on over 148 fewer attempts than No. 1)
- A place on the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team and a member of both the 2000s and 2010s All-Decade Teams
- Three First-Team All-Pro selections and four Pro Bowl nods
- And again, the only player ever to return the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl
These days, special teams are emphasized less in the NFL. Because of adjusted rules, most kickoffs are launched through the end zone, finishing as touchbacks. If they’re returned at all, most players elect to simply take field position and have the offense start at the 25-yard line. If an offense faces a fourth down, an increased focus on maximizing the percentages means more fourth-down attempts and fewer opportunities for punt returners to flip the field for their team. Given growing concerns about player safety, it would not be remotely surprising to see the NFL abandon kickoffs and punts altogether sometime in the near future.
Beyond Hester’s individual excellence, this reality will cement his brilliance forever. While I don’t want to say it will never happen, I highly doubt a football player will ever be as gifted or as successful as a returner in the open field. If someone eventually possesses the talent to match, the shifted paradigm of the game will be oriented in a way where they won’t even be able to get within reach of Hester’s legacy.
When all is said and done, when Hester’s bronze bust is finally revealed this August, he can rest assured that his memory will persevere. He will be remembered as the greatest returner in football history. Bar none. And I will never forget seeing the back of that No. 23 jersey blaze past helpless defenders, wondering if Hester was about to make my jaw drop.
He would because he was ridiculous.
