Imrem: Doug Buffone was one of us
Add Doug Buffone's name to a list of Chicago athletes that includes the likes of Ron Santo, Keith Magnuson and Norm Van Lier.
They come here from elsewhere but spend all or most of their playing careers with one of our teams.
You can add Johnny "Red" Kerr, who played before the Bulls existed but coached and broadcast for them.
Then there is Billy Pierce, who remains a face of the White Sox and thankfully still is with us.
Every time one of those athletes from the 1950s, '60s and '70s dies - as Buffone did Monday at age 70 - it's striking how beloved they remained throughout their lives.
Each endeared himself to us by being an earnest competitor who reflected the work ethic that locals consider themselves to have.
They didn't necessarily have to become Hall of Famers or even all-stars like some of their more heralded teammates, though Santo became both.
The thing is, they played in an era in which an athlete wasn't an oddity if he played his entire career for one team. Then they stayed here after they retired. They didn't make obscene amounts of money as players, so they became business owners or salesmen or whatever it is that we do.
Meanwhile, they became contributors to the community, donating their time to charitable causes.
When one of them dies it's particularly sad because he has become one of us, albeit more visible.
So it was when news came that Doug Buffone was found dead in his home.
The loss is especially profound because Buffone continued to come into our homes as a Bears analyst on the Score. They were quite a team, Doug Buffone and Ed O'Bradovich, ranting about everything the Bears were doing wrong.
The thing about Buffone and O'Bradovich was that they had similar passions and opinions that Bears fans have. You know, they were like the guy who calls radio stations to comment on the Bears and starts out, "I played ball and this is how it's done"?
Buffone issued his analysis like a guy who also played some ball in his younger days.
Except that his frame of reference was a 14-year career as a Bears linebacker who went back to playing next to Dick Butkus in Wrigley Field.
Yet Buffone was that rare mix of a former excellent player and the guy who lives next door and sits on the next bar stool and drinks the same brand of beer as you.
Buffone was no stranger to night spots, having owned or part-owned a couple of popular ones.
Not to criticize modern athletes, many of whom are good people, but the environment and economics are so different now compared to then. Players of Buffone's caliber make so much money today that they don't have to spend off-seasons here and shovel driveways with us.
So very many of them move from team to team and city to city that we hardly get to know them. If we do, it's difficult to draw close because they might play for the Packers, Cardinals or Pistons next season.
Buffone's career started with the Bears in 1966. It ended with them in 1979. From start to finish he was one of Chicago's very own even if he came from western Pennsylvania.
It's always difficult to lose a friend like Doug Buffone, regardless of whether you ever met him.
So, condolences to the many families he left behind: His wife and kids, the Bears, the Score and sports fans throughout Chicago.
mimrem@dailyherald.com