Sid Luckman
American football player (1916–1998)
title: "Sid Luckman" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1916-births", "1998-deaths", "20th-century-american-jews", "american-football-quarterbacks", "american-people-of-german-jewish-descent", "chicago-bears-coaches", "chicago-bears-players", "college-football-hall-of-fame-inductees", "columbia-college,-columbia-university-alumni", "columbia-lions-football-players", "erasmus-hall-high-school-alumni", "jewish-american-players-of-american-football", "jews-from-new-york-(state)", "nfl-most-valuable-player-winners", "nfl-players-with-retired-numbers", "people-from-aventura,-florida", "people-from-williamsburg,-brooklyn", "players-of-american-football-from-brooklyn", "players-of-american-football-from-miami-dade-county,-florida", "pro-football-hall-of-fame-inductees", "second-overall-nfl-draft-picks", "united-states-merchant-mariners-of-world-war-ii", "united-states-navy-officers", "american-association-(american-football)-players"] description: "American football player (1916–1998)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Luckman" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American football player (1916–1998) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox gridiron football biography"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Sid Luckman |
| image | Sid Luckman 1950 (cropped).jpg |
| caption | Luckman, circa 1950 |
| number | 42 |
| position | Quarterback |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Aventura, Florida, U.S. |
| height_ft | 6 |
| height_in | 0 |
| weight_lb | 197 |
| high_school | Erasmus Hall |
| (Brooklyn, New York) | |
| college | Columbia (1936–1938) |
| draftyear | 1939 |
| draftround | 1 |
| draftpick | 2 |
| highlights | ; As a player |
| statlabel1 | Passing attempts |
| statvalue1 | 1,744 |
| statlabel2 | Passing completions |
| statvalue2 | 904 |
| statlabel3 | Completion percentage |
| statvalue3 | 51.8% |
| statlabel4 | TD–INT |
| statvalue4 | 137–132 |
| statlabel5 | Passing yards |
| statvalue5 | 14,686 |
| statlabel6 | Passer rating |
| statvalue6 | 75.0 |
| embed | yes |
| allegiance | United States United States |
| branch | [[File:Seal of the United States Merchant Marine.svg |
| rank | [[File:US-O1 insignia.svg |
| serviceyears | 1943–1946 |
| battles | World War II |
| pfr | L/LuckSi00 |
| HOF | sid-luckman |
| CollegeHOF | 1470 |
| :: |
| name = Sid Luckman | image = Sid Luckman 1950 (cropped).jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Luckman, circa 1950 | number = 42 | position = Quarterback | birth_date = | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Aventura, Florida, U.S. | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 0 | weight_lb = 197 | high_school = Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, New York) | college = Columbia (1936–1938) | draftyear = 1939 | draftround = 1 | draftpick = 2 | pastteams =
- Chicago Bears () : →Newark Bears (1939) | pastcoaching =
- Chicago Bears () Quarterbacks coach | pastadmin =
- Chicago Bears () Vice president | highlights = ; 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× Pro Bowl (1940–1942)
- 3× NFL passing yards leader (1943, 1945, 1946)
- 3× NFL passing touchdowns leader (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)
- 2× First-team All-Eastern (1937, 1938) ; 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) | statlabel1 = Passing attempts | statvalue1 = 1,744 | statlabel2 = Passing completions | statvalue2 = 904 | statlabel3 = Completion percentage | statvalue3 = 51.8% | statlabel4 = TD–INT | statvalue4 = 137–132 | statlabel5 = Passing yards | statvalue5 = 14,686 | statlabel6 = Passer rating | statvalue6 = 75.0 | embed = yes | allegiance = United States United States | branch = [[File:Seal of the United States Merchant Marine.svg|20px]] United States Maritime Service | rank = [[File:US-O1 insignia.svg|6px]] Ensign | serviceyears = 1943–1946 | battles = World War II | pfr = L/LuckSi00 | HOF = sid-luckman | CollegeHOF = 1470
Sidney Luckman (November 21, 1916 – July 5, 1998) was an American professional football quarterback who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1939 through 1950. During his 12 seasons with the Bears, he led them to four NFL championships in 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946.
Sportswriter Ira Berkow wrote that Luckman was "the first great T-formation quarterback", and he is considered the greatest long-range passer of his time.{{cite web | url = http://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=football&ID=11 | title = Luckman, Sid | publisher = jewsinsports.org | access-date = June 6, 2008 | url = http://www.ajhs.org/scholarship/chapters/chapter.cfm?documentID=301 | title = Sid Luckman, Legendary Quarterback | publisher = The American Jewish Historical Society | access-date = June 6, 2008 | archive-date = March 1, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120301010124/http://www.ajhs.org/scholarship/chapters/chapter.cfm?documentID=301 | url-status = dead
Luckman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965, and in 1988 he was declared a joint winner of the Walter Camp Distinguished American Award.{{cite web | url = http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=135 | title = Sid Luckman | publisher = NFL Internet Network | access-date = June 6, 2008 |url = http://waltercamp.org/index.php/teams_and_awards/awards/P100/ |title = Walter Camp Football Foundation Awards |publisher = Walter Camp Football Foundation Awards Inc. |access-date = June 6, 2008 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080609021344/http://waltercamp.org/index.php/teams_and_awards/awards/P100/ |archive-date = June 9, 2008
Early life
Luckman was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrants from Germany, Meyer and Ethel Druckman Luckman. His father sparked his interest in football at age eight, by giving him a football to play with.{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GWE_lEPfHpIC&q=sid+luckman&pg=PA189 | title = Sid Luckman – A great leader and football brain, p. 189 | publisher = Great Jews in Sports | date = June 6, 2004 | access-date = June 6, 2008 | isbn = 9780824604530 | url = http://www.jewsinsports.org/Publication.asp?titleID=3¤t_page=264 | title = Jews in American Sports, page 264 | publisher = jewsinsports.org | access-date = June 6, 2008
He played both baseball and football for Erasmus Hall High School, with his football skills impressing recruiters from about 40 colleges. Playing quarterback, he led the Erasmus Hall High School football team to two all-city championships.
Luckman chose Columbia University after meeting Lions coach Lou Little during a Columbia/Navy game at the university's Baker Field athletic facility.{{cite web | url = http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/sid_luckman.html | title = C250 celebrates Columbians ahead of their time | publisher = Columbia University | access-date = June 6, 2008
At Columbia, Luckman was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. Keen to remain in Columbia to stay close to his family, he took on jobs such as dishwashing, babysitting, and messenger delivery around the campus. At Columbia, as a part of the football team, he completed 180 of 376 passes for 2,413 yards and 20 touchdowns and finished third in the 1938 Heisman Trophy voting, behind Davey O'Brien and Marshall Goldberg.
Chicago Bears
Draft
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 Pirates (later the 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. 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. Halas went to work on convincing him otherwise. After gaining an invitation to Luckman's tiny apartment for a dinner which Luckman's wife Estelle prepared, Halas produced a contract for $5,500 ($ today), which Luckman immediately signed. 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. Eventually, Luckman tutored college coaches across the Big Ten, Notre Dame and West Point in the intricacies of the passing game.
T-formation
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/T_Formation.svg" caption="A common type of T-Formation"] ::
In 1940, during his second season with the Bears, Luckman took over the offense and led the Bears to the title game against Sammy Baugh and the Washington 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, in a game stated to be "the most one-sided game in the history of the sport".{{cite web | url = http://www.jewsinsports.org/Publication.asp?titleID=3¤t_page=274 | title = Luckman, Sid, p. 274 | publisher = jewsinsports.org | access-date = August 19, 2008
From 1940 to 1946, the Bears displayed their dominance in the game, playing 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, however, they lost the championship game to the Redskins. Although the T-formation had been used many years before Luckman joined the Chicago Bears, he was central to Chicago's successful use of this style of play because of his game-sense and versatility. 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 win 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." Luckman later became a sought-after tutor and instructor for universities wishing to install the T-formation as an offense.
Service with the Merchant Marine
In 1943, as soon as the season had ended, Luckman volunteered as an ensign with the U. S. Merchant Marine. He was stationed stateside and while 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, as a full-time occupation, in 1946 and led them to a fifth NFL championship.
Numbers and accomplishments
During his career, Luckman completed 51.8% of his passes for 14,686 yards and 137 touchdowns with 132 interceptions.{{cite web | url = https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LuckSi00.htm | title = Sid Luckman | publisher = Pro-Football-Reference.com | access-date = August 20, 2008}} He averaged 8.4 yards per attempt, second all-time only to Otto Graham (9.0), and also has a career touchdown rate (percentage of pass attempts that result in touchdowns) of 7.9 percent.
In 1943, Luckman 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 touchdowns in one game; it was also the first 400-yard passing game in NFL history. His 28 touchdown passes in 1943 (in only 10 games) was a record that lasted until 1959, a 12-game season.
Luckman led the NFL in yards per attempt an NFL record seven times, including a record five consecutive years from 1939 to 1943, and led the NFL in passing yards three times. Luckman was a five-time All-NFL selection, was named the National Football League's Most Valuable Player Award 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 holds the record for touchdowns in single game with 7, and owns several Bears' passing records, including:
- Intercepted: career (132), season (31 in 1947)
- Yds/Pass Att: career (8.42), season (10.86 in 1943)
NFL career statistics
::data[format=table]
| Legend |
|---|
| Bold |
| Underline |
| :: |
Regular season
::data[format=table]
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Punting | Fum | GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Y/C | Lng | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Rtg | Pnt | Yds | Y/P | Lng | Blck | 1939 | CHI | 1940 | CHI | 1941 | CHI | 1942 | CHI | 1943 | CHI | 1944 | CHI | 1945 | CHI | 1946 | CHI | 1947 | CHI | 1948 | CHI | 1949 | CHI | 1950 | CHI | Career | 128 | 61 | 904 | 1,744 | 51.8 | 14,686 | 8.4 | 16.2 | 86 | 137 | 132 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 75.0 | 230 | 8,872 | 38.6 | 78 | 1 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 7 | 23 | 51 | 45.1 | 636 | 12.5 | 27.7 | 85 | 5 | 4 | 9.8 | 7.8 | 91.6 | 27 | 1,199 | 44.4 | 67 | 0 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 7 | 48 | 105 | 45.7 | 941 | 9.0 | 19.6 | 74 | 4 | 9 | 3.8 | 8.6 | 54.5 | 27 | 1,147 | 42.5 | 70 | 0 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 11 | 68 | 119 | 57.1 | 1,181 | 9.9 | 17.4 | 65 | 9 | 6 | 7.6 | 5.0 | 95.3 | 13 | 534 | 41.1 | 52 | 0 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 10 | 57 | 105 | 54.3 | 1,023 | 9.7 | 18.0 | 52 | 10 | 13 | 9.5 | 12.4 | 80.1 | 24 | 976 | 40.7 | 60 | 0 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | 3 | 110 | 202 | 54.5 | 2,194 | 10.9 | 19.9 | 66 | 28 | 12 | 13.9 | 5.9 | 107.5 | 34 | 1,220 | 35.9 | 78 | 1 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | — | 71 | 143 | 49.7 | 1,018 | 7.1 | 14.3 | 86 | 11 | 12 | 7.7 | 8.4 | 63.8 | 20 | 685 | 34.3 | 63 | 0 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | 2 | 117 | 217 | 53.9 | 1,727 | 8.0 | 14.8 | 65 | 14 | 10 | 6.5 | 4.6 | 82.5 | 36 | 1,299 | 36.1 | 61 | 0 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 5 | 110 | 229 | 48.0 | 1,826 | 8.0 | 16.6 | 48 | 17 | 16 | 7.4 | 7.0 | 71.0 | 33 | 1,235 | 37.4 | 69 | 0 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | 7 | 176 | 323 | 54.5 | 2,712 | 8.4 | 15.4 | 81 | 24 | 31 | 7.4 | 9.6 | 67.7 | 5 | 177 | 35.4 | 42 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | 7 | 89 | 163 | 54.6 | 1,047 | 6.4 | 11.8 | 53 | 13 | 14 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 65.1 | 10 | 384 | 38.4 | 49 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 2 | 22 | 50 | 44.0 | 200 | 4.0 | 9.1 | 34 | 1 | 3 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 37.1 | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | — | 13 | 37 | 35.1 | 180 | 4.9 | 13.8 | 44 | 1 | 2 | 2.7 | 5.4 | 38.1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| :: |
Postseason
::data[format=table]
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | Punting | Fum | GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | Y/C | Lng | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Rtg | Pnt | Yds | Y/P | Lng | Blck | 1940 | CHI | 1941 | CHI | 1942 | CHI | 1943 | CHI | 1946 | CHI | Career | 6 | 4 | 3–1 | 45 | 85 | 52.9 | 721 | 8.5 | 16.0 | 66 | 7 | 4 | 8.2 | 4.7 | 89.4 | 22 | 900 | 40.9 | 55 | 0 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1–0 | 3 | 4 | 75.0 | 88 | 22.0 | 29.3 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 156.2 | 1 | 55 | 55.0 | 55 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 2 | 2–0 | 13 | 21 | 61.9 | 201 | 9.6 | 15.5 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 93.6 | 5 | 184 | 36.8 | — | 0 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 0–1 | 5 | 12 | 41.7 | 2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 16.7 | 9.7 | 6 | 253 | 42.2 | — | 0 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | — | — | 15 | 26 | 57.7 | 286 | 11.0 | 19.1 | 66 | 5 | 0 | 19.2 | 0.0 | 135.6 | 3 | 111 | 37.0 | — | 0 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | — | — | 9 | 22 | 40.9 | 144 | 6.5 | 16.0 | — | 1 | 2 | 4.5 | 9.1 | 40.7 | 7 | 297 | 42.4 | — | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| :: |
Later years
Upon retiring as a player, Luckman remained with the Bears as a vice president. In 1954, he became the team's quarterbacks coach on a part-time basis, a position he held through the 1960s.
After departing the NFL, he went to work for Cel-U-Craft, a Chicago-based manufacturer of cellophane products, eventually becoming its president. The company was a part of the Rapid American Corporation of which he also obtained shares. In 1969, Rapid American was the subject of an Internal Revenue Service investigation over the payment of these shares and dividends, a case that Luckman and his wife appealed.{{cite web | url = http://vlex.com/vid/36739060#fn5_ref | title = Seventh Circuit – Sid Luckman and Estelle Luckman, Petitioners-Appellants v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent-Appellee. | publisher = VLEX | access-date = June 9, 2008
Luckman's wife, Estelle Morgolin, died of cancer in 1981, and he underwent a triple heart bypass operation the following year. Luckman eventually retired to Aventura, Florida, where he died on July 5, 1998, at the age of 81. He was survived by his son, Bob, and two daughters, Gail and Ellen.{{cite news | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E2D8123EF935A35754C0A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | title = Sid Luckman, Star for the Bears, Dies at 81 | work=The New York Times | access-date = June 6, 2008 | first=William N. | last=Wallace | date=July 6, 1998 | url = http://www.nndb.com/people/889/000166391/ | title = Sid Luckman | publisher = Notable Names Database | access-date = June 8, 2008
List of honors
- Joe F. Carr Trophy – National Football League 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.{{cite web | url = http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=9600&ATCLID=530125 | title = Sid Luckman | date = August 5, 2006 | publisher = GoColumbians.com | access-date = June 6, 2008
Notes
References
References
- "NFL Passing Touchdown % Career Leaders".
- Green, David B.. (2014-11-21). "This Day in Jewish History The Reluctant Quarterback Who Changed Football Forever Is Born".
- [https://archive.org/details/nationalforgotte0000daly/page/111 ''The National Forgotten League: Entertaining Stories and Observations from ...'' - Dan Daly]
- Wallace, William N.. (1998-07-06). "Sid Luckman, Star for the Bears, Dies at 81".
- (2009). "New College, Teachers College, Columbia University: A demonstration experimental teachers college (1932-1939)".
- "Varsity Football Squad has Six N.C. Students", New College Outlook (III) 1 (September 24, 1936):1.
- Slater, Robert, 2003, p. 189.
- Slater, Robert, 2003, p. 189–190.
- Slater, Robert, 2003, p. 190.
- The Bears were denied perfect seasons on two accounts. The first one was in the [[1934 Chicago Bears season. 1934]] when the 13–0 club lost to the [[New York Giants]] in the Championship game. The second occurrence happened in [[1942 Chicago Bears season. 1942]] when the 11–0 club was denied perfection and a "three-peat" by the [[Washington Redskins]]. See [[Chicago Bears seasons]] for full list
- Mayer, Larry. (October 23, 2012). "Tillman contains Lions star receiver". [[Chicago Bears]].
- (February 14, 1952). "Sid Luckman Quits as Player, Becomes Bears' Vice-President". [[Wisconsin State Journal]].
- (July 21, 1954). "Sid Luckman Rejoins Bears as Assistant". [[Marshfield News-Herald]].
- (July 6, 1998). "Sid Luckman quarterback extraordinaire". [[Chicago Tribune]].
- [http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/SidLuckman.htm Sid Luckman]
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