22 Facts About Jim Covert

Jim Covert was selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the NFL's Chicago Bears.

Jim Covert excelled in both football and wrestling at Freedom Area High School in Beaver County, west of Pittsburgh.

Jim Covert began his collegiate career on the defensive line and played in every game as a freshman, especially in goal-line or short-yardage situations.

Jim Covert was a starter on Pitt's offensive front his final three seasons, surrendering just three sacks during that span.

In 1980, Jim Covert played for an elite Pitt team that included future NFL stars Russ Grimm and Mark May as teammates on the offensive line, along with future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino.

Jim Covert was chosen in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears and head coach Mike Ditka, himself a former Pitt All-American from Western Pennsylvania.

Jim Covert had the respect of all his teammates and all his coaches.

Jim Covert was a consensus All-NFL and All-Pro pick in 1985 and 1986.

Jim Covert was selected to two Pro Bowls, in 1985 and 1986.

Jim Covert was one of the best in my 30 years in football.

Three times Jim Covert squared off against the Giants and their Hall of Fame pass rusher Lawrence Taylor, and all three times Jim Covert held Taylor without a sack.

In 1986, Jim Covert appeared in a 20-man battle royal at WrestleMania 2 along with other NFL stars.

In November 1992, Baxter spun out the alternate site business called Caremark into an independent publicly traded company, and Jim Covert served as Vice President of Development for Caremark Physical Therapy from 1992 to 1995.

Jim Covert expanded Caremark's Physical Therapy presence from 50 to 127 sites in 14 states increasing revenue to more than $120 million.

Jim Covert led the growth effort for the Physical Therapy Division as they rapidly grew from 20 to more than 200 sites in a 16-month time frame.

In 2000, Jim Covert started Keystone Strategies, LLC, a healthcare consulting group focused on assisting emerging healthcare companies with their sales and marketing strategies.

In June 2004, Jim Covert joined the turnaround team at HealthSouth Corporation at its corporate headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama.

In May 2007, Jim Covert was named president and chief executive officer of The Institute for Transfusion Medicine, one of the nation's foremost non-profit organizations specializing in transfusion medicine and related services, and the leader in transfusion medicine in both the Pittsburgh and Chicago regions.

Jim Covert was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003, the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Hall of Fame in 2009, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Jim Covert had been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame on numerous occasions.

On January 15,2020, Jim Covert was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Centennial Class of 2020.

Jim Covert's wife Penny is a former cheerleader for the University of Pittsburgh.