Statue for Penn, Eagles football great Bednarik on hold

NO ONE LIVES forever, but some would say that the closest thing to immortality for sports heroes is to have their likeness cast in bronze.

Less than a month ago, a statue of former middleweight champion Joey Giardello was unveiled in South Philadelphia. The next legendary Philly athlete to be so honored is likely to be Penn and Eagles great Chuck Bednarik, a former center and linebacker who is called the last of the 60-minute men. If and when the necessary money is raised and the oft-discussed project is completed, the Bednarik statue would be placed at Franklin Field as the centerpiece of a proposed sports museum that includes a large mural that pays tribute not only to the Quakers' football past, but to the days when the Eagles also called the 116-year-old stadium their home.

"Fantastic. Fantastic. Unbelievable," Bednarik, 86, said from his Coopersburg, Pa., home when asked about his legacy being preserved for future generations in the form of a larger-than-life statue. "I hope I live long enough to see it."

Bednarik supporters are dedicated to the proposition that "Concrete Charlie," as much as or more than any currently statueless Philadelphia sports star deserves to be permanently recognized among the best of the best.

Statues of sports figures are not uncommon in Philly. A statue of Wilt Chamberlain is at the Wells Fargo Center. Julius Erving's statue is in storage and will be unveiled when Philly Live! opens at the former site of the Spectrum, along with Kate Smith's statue and the Flyers' Goal! statue of a Gary Dornhoefer playoff goal.

The Phillies have statues of Rich Ashburn, Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts and Connie Mack at Citizens Bank Park, with a statue of Harry Kalas to come.

Already at Franklin Field are statues of former Quakers football coach (and player) George Munger and Dan Lake, a longtime assistant coach. Villanova has a statue of Jumbo Elliott, its legendary track coach, at Villanova Stadium. Of course, the Rocky statue is at the Art Museum.

"I'm absolutely honored to sculpt the greatest warrior, maybe next to Smokin' Joe [Frazier], in Philadelphia sports history," said artist Brian P. Hanlon, from Toms River, N.J., who already has done some preliminary sketches for the statue, as well as for the 8-by-20-foot mural, which he would paint. "I think it's great that Chuck's statue will be placed at the site of his college and NFL careers. Franklin Field is the most sacred, historic athletic venue in Philadelphia.