Could it be that 23 years have passed since William "The Refrigerator" Perry burst onto the "Monday Night Football" scene as a 350-pound defensive lineman who also could run and catch passes for touchdowns?"Yes, it does seem that long ago," Perry said Monday from his home in Aiken, S.C. "It even seems longer than that, trust me."Perry, 45, remains good-natured despite suffering the sometimes life-threatening effects of Guillain-Barré syndrome, which affects the peripheral nervous system and causes progressive weakness. He was hospitalized for five months and is using a wheelchair as he rehabilitates."I'm doing fine," Perry said. "I'm walking a little bit and rehabbing and doing what I'm supposed to. Tell everybody that I'm doing a whole lot better. It just takes time. I hope to be up and about in a walker real soon."
On Oct. 21, 1985, Perry became a national folk herowhen Bears coach Mike Ditka deployed him in the backfield. Perry took a handoff and scored on a 1-yard plunge against the Packers."I remember mainly playing on special teams that night, running up and down the field with guys like Ron Rivera and Jim Morrissey," Perry said. "I was also blocking for Walter [Payton] in the backfield. Then all of a sudden coach Ditka gave me the go-ahead and got me the ball to score a touchdown."Perry scored three touchdowns as a rookie, one on a 4-yard pass from Jim McMahon against the Packers
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