Paddy Driscoll

As a player

Hammond Pros (1919)
Decatur Staley (1920 )
Chicago Cardinals (1921-1925)
Chicago Bears (1926-1929)

As football coach

Chicago Cardinals (1920-1922)
Chicago Bears (1956-1957)

As a baseball player

Chicago Cubs (1917 )

8 × All-Pro selection (1920, 1922-1928 ) 1 2 team
NFL 1920s All- Decade Team
Pro Football Hall of Fame (1965 )
College Football Hall of Fame (1974 )
Northwestern University Athletics Hall of Fame (1985 )
Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame
NFL Champion (1925 )

John Leo " Paddy " Driscoll ( born January 11, 1895 in Evanston, Illinois, USA, † June 28, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois ) Nickname: The Wasp, was an American baseball player and American football player and coach. He has played as a quarterback.

Origin

The 180 cm and 73 kg Driscoll attended in his hometown high school. Even in high school he played American football and baseball.

Playing career

College Players

1915 Driscoll studied at Northwestern University. In the football team, he played in various positions - quarterback, tailback, kicker and punter. Driscoll was not an athletic appearance, but he resembled this shortcoming with its enormous speed again. In 1916 he was captain of the Northwestern Wildcats. Under his leadership, the Wildcats have won six of their seven games. Besides football Driscoll also played baseball. 1917, at the age of 22, he received from Fred Mitchell a contract with the Chicago Cubs baseball team of the MLB. However, he played only 13 games for this team.

In the year 1917 he did his military service with the U.S. Navy, however, did not come to a combat mission. Instead, he played for a football team in the Navy, the team at Great Lakes Naval Training Station. There he was a teammate of George Halas, his later coach of the Chicago Bears. Driscoll was able to move with his team in the Rose Bowl, where another Marine team was beaten with 17:0. Driscoll threw a touchdown pass to Halas, with whom he would remain friends throughout his life. The rest of the points he scored himself caught by a passport and a kick about 30 yards.

Professional players

1919 Driscoll received a contract with the Hammond Pros from the state of Indiana. The Pros played in any league. Rather matches were played against other teams, one league position was not determined here. 1920 Driscoll moved to the Decatur Staley, who belonged to the newly formed NFL and were a short time later renamed the Chicago Staley and later in Chicago Bears. After just one game, he left the Staley and joined the rival Chicago Cardinals. The change was also financially attractive for Driscoll - the Cardinals paid him $ 300 per game. In 1923, he scored 27 points in a game his team against the Rochester Jeffersons. Two rounds later, he scored in a game against the Columbus panhandles four field goals, which then, as his season high of 11 field goals, league record was.

In the same year the Cardinals won the NFL Championship. The championship was not without controversy. The Cardinals scored at the end of the season the best score, but lost on December 6, 1925 against the Pottsville Maroons with 17:21. The team from Chicago was nevertheless declared the champion, as the Maroons were disqualified for various rule violations by the NFL. In 1926, Driscoll joined the Bears, who were coached by his former teammate George Halas. Driscoll received an annual salary of $ 5,000 and was next to Ed Healey of the top earners of the team. With the Bears Driscoll managed no more championship. In 1929, he ended his career. Driscoll played a total of 118 professional games in 103 games, he ran it as a starter.

Coaching career

Driscoll coached even during his playing career from 1920 to 1922 the Cardinals. Then he coached from 1937 to 1940 the team of Marquette University. With the Marquette Golden Eagles in 1937, he could move into the Cotton Bowl, which, however, was lost with 6:16 against the Texas Christian University. Driscoll coached after a military team before he oversaw in 1956 and 1957, the Bears head coach. As Head Coach of the two professional teams, he won 31 of his 53 games. Driscoll died at the age of 73 years. He is on the All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois, buried.

Honors

Driscoll is a member of the NFL 1920s All- Decade Team in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in the Northwestern University Athletics Hall of Fame, in the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. He was elected to the All-Pro eight times.

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