Sid Gillman
| Sid Gillman | |
|---|---|
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Positions: End , Head Coach |
Jersey number (s): - |
| born October 26, 1911 in Minneapolis , Minnesota | |
| died on January 3, 2003 in Carlsbad , California | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1955 - 1974 | |
| College : Ohio State University | |
| Teams | |
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as a player
as head coach
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| Career statistics | |
| Games (as head coach) | 228 |
| gained from it | 122 |
| lost from it | 99 |
| Coaching stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Sidney "Sid" Gillman (* 26. October 1911 in Minneapolis , Minnesota ; † 3. January 2003 in Carlsbad , California ) was an American American football players and coaches. He played as a finish in the American Football League with the Cleveland Rams . Gillman was one of the most influential coaches in American football history. He was active as head coach in the American Football League (AFL) and in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams , the Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers and the Houston Oilers .
Player career
College career
Sid Gillman studied at Ohio State University from 1931 to 1933 . He played at his college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes as an end. In 1932 and 1933 he was voted All American . In 1933 he acted as his team's deputy captain and was selected for the Western Conference . In the same year he played in the East-West Shrine Game, a selection game of the best college football players. In 1934 he played in the Senior Bowl against the Chicago Bears . In the Senior Bowl, a college selection team faced the reigning champions of the NFL. His opponent was Bronko Nagurski , who attacked him hard. Gillman realized in this game that his sporting future was less on the field than on the sidelines as a coach.
Professional career
Gillman's professional career was short. In 1936 the American Football League was founded. He then joined the Cleveland Rams that year. At the same time he worked as an assistant coach. After a year of play with the team from Cleveland , he ended his playing career.
Coaching career
College coach
Sidney Gillman was an assistant coach at Denton University from 1935 to 1937 , before serving in the same capacity at Ohio State University for three years. In 1942 he got his first job as head coach at Miami University . In 1947 he and his team attracted national attention for the first time. The Miami RedHawks won this season, nine out of ten games and beat in 1948 in the Sun Bowl the team of Texas Tech University 13-12. In the same year, the RedHawks won the championship in the Mid-American Conference . Gillman became head coach at the University of Cincinnati two years later . With the Cincinnati Bearcats he was able to win the title in the Mid-American Conference in 1949, 1951 and 1952. In 1954 he resigned from office in Cincinnati . After he had unsuccessfully applied for the position of head coach at Ohio State University in 1955, Gillman joined the Los Angeles Rams.
Los Angeles Rams
Gillman found an NFL team in Los Angeles in which numerous All-Stars played. His players Norm Van Brocklin , Tom Fears , Andy Robustelli , Les Richter and Elroy Hirsch were accepted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after their careers . Gillman was able to win eight of twelve games with his team in 1955, but lost in the NFL final to the Cleveland Browns trained by Paul Brown with 14:38. After this game, however, the team's performance stagnated. In 1959, the Rams could only win two games and Gillman resigned and was replaced by Bob Waterfield .
Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers
Sidney Gillman became head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960, which were based in the newly formed AFL. Gillman managed to establish the team in the top group of the AFL right away. His team won ten of 14 games in the first season, but lost to the Houston Oilers 16:24 in the AFL final . After that season, the Chargers moved to San Diego and called themselves San Diego Chargers from then on . Also in 1961 Gillman failed with his Chargers in the AFL final at the Houston Oilers, this time he lost 10: 3. The year 1962 brought a drop in performance for the Chargers. However, before this season several young players such as quarterback John Hadl or wide receiver Lance Alworth were signed. In the following year, these commitments should have a positive impact. Alworth caught in his sophomore year passes for a space gain of 1205 yards and was able to use eleven passes to touchdowns . Together with the halfback Paul Lowe , who could run 1010 yards of space gain, Alworth contributed so decisively to the entry of his team in the AFL championship game. Opponents in the game were the Boston Patriots , who had no chance in the 51:10 win for the Chargers. Alworth and his teammate on the fullback position Keith Lincoln had been able to catch passes for a gain of 200 yards in this endgame.
The two following years were also successful for the Chargers. However, they did not succeed in winning the title. After the regular season in 1964, the team from California had to admit defeat to the Buffalo Bills 20: 7 in the championship game, and in 1965 they were again defeated by the Bills 23: 0 in the final. The Chargers were able to establish themselves in the top group of the AFL in the next three years. A place in the final Gillman succeeded no more. In 1969, Gillman became seriously ill and was replaced by Charlie Waller during the season . Waller continued to coach the Chargers in the subsequent round of play before Gillman returned to the sidelines for the 1971 season. His poor health prompted him to resign after this season.
Houston Oilers
In 1973, Gillman received an offer from the Houston Oilers for the position of general manager . Gillman accepted and replaced the coach due to unsuccessfulness in the course of the season and sat himself in his place. The season of the Oilers could not be saved, however. The Houston team could only win one of 14 games. Gillman managed to lead the team to a balanced result the following year, which earned him the election of NFL Coach of the Year . After falling out with the owner of the Oilers Bud Adams , Gillman resigned from all positions after the 1974 season.
Activity as assistant trainer
Even after leaving the Oilers, Sid Gillman remained connected to professional football. In 1977 he became an assistant coach with the Chicago Bears. He was responsible for the team's offense there . After a year, he left the team again to join the Philadelphia Eagles in 1979 . Gillman was responsible for looking after the quarterbacks in Philadelphia . In 1980 his protégé Ron Jaworski managed to lead the team into the NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys . The Eagles won 20: 7, but were defeated in Super Bowl XIV by the Oakland Raiders 27:10.
In 1983, Gillman was the manager of the Oklahoma Outlaws , who played in the short-lived United States Football League (USFL). At the Outlaws, he was responsible for signing quarterback Doug Williams . After the league stopped playing, he returned to the Eagles as an assistant coach. In 1987 he became a consultant at the University of Pittsburgh . After this activity, he finally retired.
Significance for football sport
Sid Gillman was one of the first coaches in football history to establish the pass as the predominant attack tool in offense . He was of the opinion that decisive offensive moves can only be achieved through a pass. Gillman was the first coach to use the West Coast Offense as an attacking tactic. This attack variant is based on pulling apart the opposing defensive association with short, fast passes in order to create gaps for the running game or for long passes. Numerous coaches who achieved success in later years served under Gillman or were motivated by him. Gillman has one of the most impressive coaching trees in NFL history:
- Chuck Noll was Gillman's longtime assistant coach with the Chargers. He is one of the most successful coaches in football history and won the Super Bowl four times with the Pittsburgh Steelers . Noll is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- George Allen was Gillman's assistant at the Los Angeles Rams in 1957. He won the NFC Championship with the Washington Redskins in 1972. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
- Al Davis served as Gillman's assistant with the Chargers from 1960 to 1962. He was then coach of the Oakland Raiders , which he later acquired and as its general manager he acted. His team won the Super Bowl three times . Al Davis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
- Dick Vermeil was Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1980 and won the NFC Championship with his team that year. In 1999, he won Super Bowl XXXIV with the St. Louis Rams .
- Bill Walsh coached the San Francisco 49ers from 1979 to 1988 . He introduced the West Coast Offense there and developed it further. Walsh won the Super Bowl three times with the 49ers. In 1993 he was honored with induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- Don Coryell was a coach at San Diego State University when Gillman was coaching the Chargers. He studied Gillman's training methods and was one of his successors as a trainer for the Chargers, whom he coached from 1978 to 1986. Together with his quarterback Dan Fouts , he developed the West Coast Offense. From 1978 to 1983 and 1985, his offense was the league's strongest passing attack. His team went down in football history as Air Coryell .
Gillman was the initiator of the AFL – NFL World Championship Game . In 1963 he proposed to Pete Rozelle , the executive director of the NFL, a joint final between the champions of the NFL and the AFL. In 1967 the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, which was later renamed Super Bowl I , was played. It is thanks to him that the players' jerseys are marked with the names of the players. Even as a college trainer, he used film recordings to analyze opposing teams. Numerous Sid Gillman players such as Larry Little , Ron Mix , Earl Campbell , Norm Van Brocklin and Lance Alworth were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after their careers.
Honors
Sidney Gillman is a member of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame , the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame , the San Diego Hall of Champions, the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame, the Ohio State University Sports Hall of Fame, im American Football League All-Time Team and in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and in the College Football Hall of Fame . After the 1974 season, he was named NFL Coach of the Year .
Outside the arena
Sid Gillman met his wife Esther at high school in Minneapolis. He has been an avid jazz pianist and Art Tatum fan since high school . In 1960 he worked alongside Chuck Connors in an episode of the western television series The Rifleman .
Sidney Gillman died of natural causes and is buried in Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City , California.
Web links
- Sid Gillman in the nndb (English)
- Sid Gillman in the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
- biography
- Sid Gillman in the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
- Short biography ( memento from September 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Short biography II (PDF; 21 kB)
- Obituary in the New York Times
- Obituary in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Sid Gillman in the San Diego Hall of Champions ( Memento June 16, 2011 on the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Coach history of Miami University ( Memento from March 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Sid Gillman at the University of Cincinnati ( Memento of the original from June 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Los Angeles Rams 1955
- ^ Statistics NFL final 1955
- ↑ History of the San Diego Chargers ( Memento of the original from November 28, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Annual statistics of the Los Angeles Chargers 1960
- ^ Statistics AFL final 1960
- ^ Annual statistics of the San Diego Chargers 1961
- ↑ Statistics AFL final 1961
- ^ Annual statistics of the San Diego Chargers 1963
- ↑ Statistics AFL final 1963
- ^ Annual statistics of the San Diego Chargers 1964
- ↑ Statistics AFL final 1964
- ↑ Annual Statistics of the San Diego Chargers 1965
- ↑ Statistics AFL final 1965
- ↑ Houston Oilers Annual Statistics 1973
- ↑ Annual statistics of the Philadelphia Eagles 1980
- ↑ Statistics NFC final 1980
- ↑ Statistics Super Bowl XIV
- ^ History of the West Coast Offense
- ↑ a b Relationship between Sid Gillman and Bill Walsh, and between Sid Gillman and Don Coryell on The Sports Economist
- ↑ a b Relationship between Sid Gillman and Bill Walsh, and between Sid Gillman and Don Coryell, West Coast Offense on bleacher report
- ^ Obituary in the Los Angeles Times
- ↑ Sid Gillman next to Chuck Connors in The Rifleman
- ↑ Sid Gillman's Tomb
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gillman, Sid |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gillman, Sidney |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player and coach |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 26, 1911 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Minneapolis , Minnesota , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 3, 2003 |
| Place of death | Carlsbad , California , United States |