Sid Luckman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sid Luckman
Luckman in his playing days
Position(s): Quarterback	Jersey #(s): 42
Born: November 21, 1916(1916-11-21) Brooklyn, New York
Died: July 5, 1998 (aged 81) Aventura, Florida
Career Information
Year(s): 1939–1950
NFL Draft: 1939 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2
College: Columbia
Professional Teams
Chicago Bears (1939–1950)
Career Stats
TD-INT	137–132
Yards	14,686
QB Rating	75.0
Stats at NFL.com
Career Highlights and Awards
1943 Joe F. Carr MVP Most touchdown passes in a game (7) Three-time league leader in touchdown passes NFL 1940s All-Decade Team Chicago Bears #42 retired Third in Heisman voting (1938)
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

Sidney Luckman, known as Sid, (November 21, 1916 – July 5, 1998) was an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears from 1939 to 1950. During his 12 seasons with the Bears he led them to four championships. Luckman was the first modern T-formation quarterback^[1] and is considered the greatest long range passer of his time.^[1][2] He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, inducted in 1965.

[edit] Early life

Luckman was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish immigrants from Germany. His father sparked his interest in football at age 8, by giving him a football to play with.^[1] He and his parents lived in a residence near Prospect Park and it was here that the young Sid started throwing the football around.^[3]

He played both baseball and football for Erasmus Hall High School, with his football skills impressing recruiters from about 40 colleges.^[4] Luckman chose Columbia University after meeting Lions coach Lou Little during a Columbia/Navy game at the university's Baker Field athletic facility.^[5] Despite being sought after by numerous colleges, Columbia never offered Luckman a scholarship. The university did however provide him with opportunities to work so that he could pay his own way through college. Sid, keen to remain in Columbia, took on jobs such as dish-washing, baby-sitting, and messenger delivery around the campus.^[3] At Columbia, as a part of the football team, he completed 180 of 376 passes for 2,413 yards and 20 touchdowns (impressive numbers for that era) and finished third in the 1938 Heisman Trophy voting, behind only Davey O'Brien and Marshall Goldberg.

[edit] Chicago Bears

[edit] The draft

1946 Chicago Bears - Luckman is second row from bottom - 5th from the right

Hearing of Sid Luckman's exploits as a single-wing tailback at Columbia University, Chicago Bears owner and coach George Halas believed Luckman had the ability to become an effective T-formation quarterback, and traveled to New York to watch him play. Halas then convinced the Pittsburgh Steelers to draft Luckman second overall and then trade him to the Bears because he was interested in using Luckman's skills to help him restructure the offensive side of the game of football. However, despite his successes at Columbia University, Luckman initially declined any further interest in pro football, instead preferring to work for his father-in-law’s trucking company.^[6] Halas went to work on convincing him otherwise.^[6] After gaining an invitation to Luckman's tiny apartment for a dinner which Sid's wife Estelle prepared, Halas produced a contract for $5,500 which Luckman immediately signed.^[4] At that time both at the college and pro levels, offenses were a drab scrum of running the ball with only occasional passes. In what was then the predominant single-wing formation, the quarterback was primarily a blocking back and rarely touched the ball. Most passing was done by the tailback, and then usually only on third down with long yardage to go. Halas and his coaches (primarily Clark Shaughnessy) invented a rather complex scheme building on the traditional T-formation, but needed the right quarterback to run it properly.

Upon starting with Halas, Luckman mastered an offense that revolutionized football, and became the basis of most modern professional offenses. Only Sammy Baugh of the Washington Redskins had the passing skills to match Luckman. Eventually, Luckman tutored college coaches across the Big Ten, Notre Dame and West Point in the intricacies of the passing game.

[edit] The T-formation

A common type of T-Formation

In only his second season with the Bears, Luckman took over the offense and led the Bears to the title game against Sammy Baugh and the Redskins. The Redskins had beaten the Bears 7–3 during the regular season. Using the "man-in-motion" innovation to great advantage, the Bears destroyed the Redskins 73–0. Luckman passed only six times, with four completions and 102 yards in the rout. This win was the beginning of over six years of Bear dominance of the NFL. From 1940–1946 the Bears played in five NFL championship games, winning four, and posted a 54–17–3 regular season record. In 1942, the Bears posted a perfect 11–0 record and outscored their opponents 376–84 (they lost the championship game to Baugh and Redskins). Luckman was central to the Chicago success. Perfecting Halas' complex offensive scheme of fakes, men in motion, and quick hitting runs, Luckman added the dimension of accurate downfield throwing. He was instrumental in his team's record-setting 73-0 over the Washington Redskins in the 1940 NFL championship game. Sportscaster Jimmy Cannon once said in reference to Luckman's years at Columbia, "You had to be there to realize how great Sid was."^[5]

[edit] Service with the Merchant Marines

In 1943, the middle of World War II and as soon as that year's season had ended, Luckman volunteered for service as an ensign with the U. S. Merchant Marine. He was stationed stateside and whilst he could not practice with the team, he did receive permission to play for the Bears on game days during the following seasons. He returned again to the Bears in full-time mode in 1946 and led them to a fifth NFL championship.^[7]

[edit] Numbers and accomplishments

During his career, Luckman completed 51.8% of his passes for 14,686 yards and 137 touchdowns with 134 interceptions. He averaged 8.4 yards per attempt, second all-time only to Otto Graham (8.6). His career touchdown rate (percentage of pass attempts that result in touchdowns) of 7.9% is easily the best in history. In 1943, Luckman's finest season, he completed 110 of 202 passes for 2194 yards and 28 touchdowns. His 13.9% touchdown rate that year is the best ever in a single-season, while his 10.9 yards per attempt is second all-time. During one game that year, Luckman threw for 443 yards and seven touchdowns, still tied for the most passing TDs in one game; it was also the first 400-yard passing game in NFL history. Luckman led the NFL in yards per attempt an NFL record seven times, including a record five consecutive years from 1939–43, and led the NFL in passing yards three times. Luckman was a five-time All-NFL selection, won the MVP in 1943, and led the "Monsters of the Midway" to championships in 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946. Despite the fact that his career ended in 1950, Luckman still owns most major Bears' passing records, including career yards and touchdowns.^[5]

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Later life

Following his professional football career Luckman became an executive with a Chicago Cellophane company,^[1] which was a part of ? the Rapid American Corporation of which he also obtained shares.^[8] In relation to those shares and the dividends paid, Sid and his wife Estelle in 1969 appealed the finding of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in relation to tax issues.^[8]

Luckman survived a triple heart bypass operation in 1982.^[9]

[edit] List of honors

1. Joe F. Carr Trophy - National Football League Most Valuable Player in 1943.
2. College Football Hall of Fame in 1960
3. Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.^[10]
4. Walter Camp Distinguished American of the Year Award in 1988.^[11]
5. Columbia University Football Hall of Fame in 2006.^[6]

[edit] Death

Luckman died on July 5, 1998, in Aventura, Florida. He was pre-deceased by his wife Estelle (nee Morgolin), in 1981 of cancer,^[9] He is survived by a son, Bob, and two daughters, Gale and Ellen.^[4][9]

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• Slater, Robert, 2003 Great Jews in Sports. Jonathan David Publishers Inc ISBN 0-8246-0453-9

[edit] External links

• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
• Profile
• AJHS profile