Tom Waddle

G. Thomas Waddle (born February 20, 1967 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL. Waddle is currently a co host of "Waddle and Silvy" on ESPN 1000, as well as co-hosting "The Final Word" on WFLD FOX Chicago. He also appears on Pro Football Weekly and NFL Network. He spent his entire six-year career with the Chicago Bears. He attended Boston College.

High school
Waddle went to high school at Archbishop Moeller High School in Sycamore Township, Ohio. He aspired to be a professional baseball player but had tremendous difficulty hitting curveballs, and thus decided to focus his attention on football.

College career
Tom Waddle was an outstanding receiver for the Boston College Eagles. He is currently third all-time in career receptions with 139, and amassed 1,956 yards and 6 touchdowns for BC. Tom finished his collegiate career first on the school’s all-time list for receptions in a season with 70 in 1988, and is tied for first in all-time receptions in a single game with 13 against Notre Dame in 1988. Waddle's precise routes and excellent hands made him a standout receiver at the college level, earning him the honor of first-team All-East selection in 1988 and an appearance in the Japan Bowl. His achievements at BC resulted in his induction into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998. He also played alongside Doug Flutie's younger brother, Darren Flutie.


 * 1985: 8 catches for 122 yards.
 * 1986: 18 catches for 160 yards and 1 TD.
 * 1987: 43 catches for 781 yards.
 * 1988: 70 catches for 902 yards and 5 TD.

Professional career
In 1989, the Chicago Bears signed Waddle as an undrafted free agent. During his first two years with the Bears, he struggled to make an impact as a receiver. Lacking in size and speed, he fell to the lower rungs of the team’s depth chart. Waddle did, however, possess remarkable hands - even by NFL standards. In September 1991, due to injuries suffered by starters, he got his chance - and he made good on it. Most notably, in a nationally televised Monday night game against the Jets, where he had one of his best games as a pro - making eight catches for 102 yards in a thrilling overtime win. In Chicago's wild card playoff loss to Dallas (17-13), he was the Bears' sole standout performer on the offensive side of the ball, catching nine passes for 104 yards and a TD. His performance established him as a mainstay in the Bears lineup and clinched him a spot on the famed All-Madden Team.

In 1992, Waddle began the season as a starting wide receiver and became a fan favorite. He had several memorable performances early on that year. In the opener vs Detroit, he caught a last second game-winning touchdown pass from Jim Harbaugh. And in a week 4 victory over the Falcons, he managed to outrun Deion Sanders into the endzone for a score. Later on, he was slowed by injury in what was to be a very disappointing year for Chicago.

At the conclusion of the unsuccessful 1992 season (record 5-11) coach Mike Ditka was fired, and Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt was brought in to replace him. Wannstedt believed that winning football was primarily predicated on team speed, and Waddle was the oil to his water. After leading the Bears in receiving yards and receptions in 1993, Tom's career with the Bears’ took a turn for the worse in 1994, when Wannstedt demoted him to third wide receiver. Later that year, he suffered a concussion and a partially torn knee ligament on a highly questionable hit by Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive back Thomas Everett. The following off-season, the Bears offered Waddle a choice between a guaranteed contract at the league minimum salary, and a more lucrative deal that would be dissolved if he were cut. He instead attended the Cincinnati Bengals' training camp, but elected to retire, as he felt that his altered gait (from numerous leg injuries) no longer allowed him to compete at the professional level.

Waddle's career is best remembered for his relentless work ethic and effort. Even after sustaining punishing hits and injuries from bigger, stronger men, he was always eager to bounce back and re-enter games. Years after his retirement from professional football, he remains a well-regarded figure.

Broadcasting career


WFLD-TV: Following his retirement, he began working at the Fox Chicago affiliate WFLD doing pre and post game analysis for Bears games. During this time, he also began to work as a weekend and fill-in sports anchor as well doing feature segments that were mostly comedic in nature. Later he began co-hosting shows such as Chicago Bears Gameday Live, Fox Kickoff Sunday and The Final Word on Sunday nights, all of which he is still involved with as of September 2010.

WGN-AM: In 1997, Tom began co-hosting Sports Central with David Kaplan weeknights from 7–9 discussing not just football, but all sports. This partnership ended in 2007 with his move to WMVP ESPN Radio 1000.

While at WGN he was also one of the trio of former Chicago Bears called "The Three Bears" with Glen Kozlowski and Dan Hampton.

Waddle and Silvy Show on WMVP-AM: Paired with Marc "Silvy" Silverman, his new show initially aired in the same 7–9 pm spot as Sports Central. After 2 months in this timeslot, they were moved to the weekday morning slot 9 am to 12 noon formerly occupied by Steve Rosenbloom and Sean Salisbury. The show was eventually expanded to four hours and to include weekly in-studio one hour segments with WLS-TV sports anchor Mark Giangreco each Tuesday. During football season, "Waddle and Silvy" host "The Jay Cutler Show" with the Bears' QB, which originates from various bar/restaurants throughout the greater Chicago area on Mondays or Tuesdays following each Bears' Game. Every Wednesday, a listener is invited to be a contestant in the game "Wife or Radio Partner" where Tom Waddle reads three statements and the contestant must decide whether they were made by his wife, Cara, or his radio partner, Silvy. Two out of three correct guesses wins the listener a prize from one of the show's sponsors (though prizes are often awarded for scores of zero or one.)

NFL Network: In 2007, he began working at the NFL network in Los Angeles as gameday analyst paired with retired offensive lineman Jamie Dukes. In the 2010 season, he contributed as an analyst on NFL GameDay Scoreboard and NFL Total Access.His NFL analyses are notable for being concise and cogent.

Other Media: In addition to his duties at WFLD, WMVP, and the NFL Network, Tom appears weekly during the football season on Pro Football Weekly. Also during the season he writes a weekly column for the Northwest Herald of McHenry County, IL.

He is also seen an analyst for Sprint Exclusive Entertainment, providing content on all sports for cell phones.

On several occasions in 2008 and 2009, he appeared as a fill-in host, alongside Mike Greenberg, on Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio. He and radio partner Marc Silverman have also hosted The Scott Van Pelt Show.

He has also done color commentating during CSN Chicago broadcasts of NIU Huskies Football and for a limited number of Chicago Rush games aired on the NFL Network.

Waddleisms
As a broadcaster, Tom has a uniquely engaging manner of self-expression which has brought into being a set of "Waddleisms", which are phrases or expressions that are distinctively his. The following is a non-inclusive list of Waddle-isms:

Hot Garbage: How Waddle describes a particularly poor game or team. e.g. The Bears' offensive line is hot garbage. Synonyms: hot trash, hot vomit in a bag.

Go Pound Sand: How Tom expresses that he doesn’t care for the point of view being expressed.

Nana Waddle: What Tom Waddle calls himself when advocating protecting players from injury due to overuse. e.g. Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Jake Peavy.

Cue the Lee Greenwood Music: The suggestion that something being said is wildly off base but the person suggesting it has the right to hold this nonsensical belief, because he lives in the U.S.A. (whereupon, Greenwood's God Bless the USA is played).

Striking up the Mouth Band: Tom's description of someone humming the instrumentals of a song in a non-melodic fashion.

Taking out the Boo Gun: Tom's description of someone who is loudly booing the team he or she roots for.

Holster Your Tweeter: Tom's way of saying how pro-athletes need to think before they express themselves through social media.

Personal life
Tom lives in Lake Forest with his wife, Cara and 4 daughters. Tom's wife Cara is the daughter of former Boston Patriots [RB] and AFL Hall of Famer Gino Cappelletti. His oldest daughter Georgia is a member of the Northwestern Wildcats soccer team.

In 2010, Waddle competed in the Illinois Open at Hawthorn Woods Country Club in Hawthorn Woods. After one round, he was tied for 146th after shooting a 17-over 86. He missed the cut after the second round after shooting another 86, finishing in a tie for 148th.