Sid Luckman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Sid Luckman

Luckman, circa 1950
No. 42
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1916-11-21)November 21, 1916 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died:	July 5, 1998(1998-07-05) (aged 81) Aventura, Florida, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	197 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school:	Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, New York)
College:	Columbia (1936–1938)
NFL Draft:	1939 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2
Career history
As player:
Chicago Bears (1939) →Newark Bears (1939)
As coach:
Chicago Bears (1954) Quarterbacks coach
As administrator:
Chicago Bears (1951) Vice president
Career highlights and awards
As a player 4× NFL champion (1940, 1941, 1943, 1946) NFL Most Valuable Player (1943) 5× First-team All-Pro (1941–1944, 1947) Second-team All-Pro (1946) 3× NFL All-Star (1940–1942) 3× NFL passing yards leader (1943, 1945, 1946) 3× NFL passing touchdowns leaders (1943, 1945, 1946) 3× NFL passer rating leader (1941, 1943, 1946) NFL completion percentage leader (1941) NFL 1940s All-Decade Team Chicago Bears No. 42 retired 100 greatest Bears of All-Time American Association champion (1939) First-team All-American (1938) Second-team All-American (1937) As a coach NFL champion (1963) NFL records Highest single-season passing touchdown percentage: 13.9% Highest career passing touchdown percentage: 7.9% Most touchdown passes in a game: 7 (tied)
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts: 1,744 Passing completions: 904 Completion percentage: 51.8% TD–INT: 137–132 Passing yards: 14,686 Passer rating: 75.0 Military career Allegiance United States Service/branch United States Maritime Service Years of service 1943–1946 Rank Ensign Battles/wars World War II
Player stats at PFR
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

Sidney "Sid" Luckman (born November 21, 1916 – died July 5, 1998) was a famous American football quarterback. He played for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League (NFL) from 1939 to 1950. During his 12 years with the Bears, he helped them win four NFL championships in 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946.

Many people, like sportswriter Ira Berkow, called Luckman the "first great T-formation quarterback." He was known as the best long-range passer of his time. In 1943, he was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player. Luckman was also a 3-time NFL All-Star and a 5-time First-team All-Pro. He led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns three times. His jersey number 42 was retired by the Bears, and he still holds the NFL record for the highest career touchdown percentage.

Luckman was added to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965. After he stopped playing, he helped college coaches learn more about the passing game.

Early Life and High School Football

Sid Luckman was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were immigrants from Germany. His dad gave him a football when he was eight, which started his love for the sport. Sid grew up in Brooklyn, where he began throwing a football around Prospect Park.

He played both baseball and football at Erasmus Hall High School. His football skills were so good that about 40 colleges wanted him to play for them! As a quarterback, he led his high school team to win two city championships.

College Years at Columbia

Luckman chose Columbia University after meeting the football coach, Lou Little. He wanted to stay close to his family in New York. To help pay for his studies, he worked different jobs like washing dishes and babysitting.

At Columbia, Luckman was a star player for the football team. From 1936 to 1938, he threw for 2,413 yards and 20 touchdowns. In 1938, he finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, which is a huge award for college football players.

Joining the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears owner and coach George Halas heard about Sid Luckman's amazing skills. Luckman played as a "single-wing tailback" in college, which meant he often ran with the ball and sometimes passed. Halas believed Luckman could become a great "T-formation quarterback." In the T-formation, the quarterback stands directly behind the center and is the main player who handles the ball, either handing it off or passing it.

Halas convinced the Pittsburgh Pirates (now the Steelers) to draft Luckman second overall in the 1939 NFL Draft. Then, they traded him to the Bears. At first, Luckman didn't want to play pro football. He wanted to work for his father-in-law's trucking company. But Coach Halas visited him and offered him a contract. Luckman signed it, starting his professional football journey.

Back then, football offenses were mostly about running the ball. Passes were rare. Halas and his coaches, especially Clark Shaughnessy, created a new, complex offense based on the T-formation. They needed the perfect quarterback to make it work, and Sid Luckman was that player.

The T-Formation Revolution

In 1940, his second year with the Bears, Luckman took charge of the offense. He led the Bears to the NFL championship game against the Washington Redskins. The Redskins had beaten the Bears earlier that season. But in the championship, the Bears used their new T-formation offense to win 73–0! This was one of the most one-sided games in football history. Luckman only threw six passes in that game, showing how powerful the new offense was.

From 1940 to 1946, the Bears were a dominant team. They played in five NFL championship games and won four of them. In 1942, they had a perfect 11–0 record, scoring 376 points while only giving up 84! Even though the T-formation existed before Luckman, he was key to its success for the Bears. He made Halas's complex plays work, adding accurate long passes to the team's strong running game.

Luckman later taught college coaches from big schools like the Big Ten and Notre Dame how to use the T-formation offense.

Serving His Country

In 1943, after the football season ended, Luckman joined the U. S. Merchant Marine as an ensign. He was stationed in the United States. While serving, he was allowed to play for the Bears on game days. He returned to play full-time in 1946 and led the Bears to another NFL championship.

Amazing Records and Wins

During his career, Sid Luckman completed 51.8% of his passes for 14,686 yards. He threw 137 touchdowns. He averaged 8.4 yards per pass attempt, which is one of the best averages ever! His career touchdown rate (the percentage of passes that result in touchdowns) is 7.9%, which is still an NFL record.

In 1943, Luckman had an incredible season. He threw for 2,194 yards and 28 touchdowns in just 10 games. His touchdown rate that year was 13.9%, the best ever in a single season. In one game that year, he threw for 443 yards and seven touchdowns! This was the first time an NFL quarterback threw for over 400 yards in a game, and his seven touchdowns in a single game is still tied for the most ever.

Luckman led the NFL in yards per attempt seven times, which is an NFL record. He also led the league in passing yards three times. He was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1943. He helped the "Monsters of the Midway" (the Chicago Bears' nickname) win championships in 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946. Even though he stopped playing in 1950, Luckman still holds several Bears' passing records.

Sid's Career Stats

Here are some of Sid Luckman's career statistics:

Regular Season Stats

Postseason Stats

After Football

After retiring as a player, Sid Luckman continued to work with the Bears as a vice president. In 1954, he became the team's quarterbacks coach part-time, helping players improve their passing skills. He held this job through the 1960s.

Later, he worked for a company that made cellophane products and eventually became its president.

Sid Luckman's wife, Estelle, passed away in 1981. He later moved to Aventura, Florida, where he died on July 5, 1998, at 81 years old. He is remembered as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.

Awards and Honors

Sid Luckman received many awards and honors for his amazing football career:

• Joe F. Carr Trophy – NFL Most Valuable Player in 1943.
• College Football Hall of Fame in 1960.
• Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.
• International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1979.
• Walter Camp Distinguished American of the Year Award in 1988.
• Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.

Images for kids

• 

  A common type of T-Formation

See Also

In Spanish: Sid Luckman para niños

• List of select Jewish football players