DALLAS—At long last former Bears defensive end Richard Dent is a Hall of Famer. The Colonel, or Sack Man if you prefer remains the Bears all-time sack leader. He was named Super Bowl XX MVP as part of perhaps the best defensive unit for one season. Dent becomes the 27th Bear to be elected. He will join RB Marshall Faulk, LB Chris Hanburger, LB Les Richter, filmmaker and founder of NFL Films Ed Sabol, CB/ KR/PR Deion Sanders and TE Shannon Sharpe in the Class of 2011.

In two tours over 12 years with the Bears, Dent recorded a franchise record 124.5 sacks. Dent recorded a team single-season record and career-high 17.5 sacks in 1984, his second season in the NFL. One of the most dominant defensive ends of his era and a cornerstone of uddy Ryan’s “46” defense, Dent recorded double-digit sack totals each season from 1984 to 1988. Dent totaled eight double-digit sack seasons as a Bear while leading the team in sacks in eight seasons.

Dent moved on from the Bears to play a total of 15 years in the NFL, earning a Super Bowl ring with San Francisco in 1994 before finishing his career with single seasons with Indianapolis in 1996 and Philadelphia in 1997. Concluding his overall career with 137.5 sacks, Dent ranks tied for sixth all-time with John Randle in sacks in NFL history behind only Bruce Smith (200.0), Reggie White (198.0), Kevin Greene (160.0), Chris Doleman (150.5) and Michael Strahan (141.5).