Fansided

Chicago Bears all-time Mount Rushmore

By Mike Phillips

Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton in a 45 to 10 win over the Washington Redskins on September 29 1985, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by James V. Biever/Getty Images)
Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton in a 45 to 10 win over the Washington Redskins on September 29 1985, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by James V. Biever/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES – NOVEMBER 7: Quarterback Sid Luckman #42 of the Chicago Bears runs past end Tom Fears #55 of the Los Angeles Rams during a game played on November 7, 1948, at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vic Stein /Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES – NOVEMBER 7: Quarterback Sid Luckman #42 of the Chicago Bears runs past end Tom Fears #55 of the Los Angeles Rams during a game played on November 7, 1948, at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vic Stein /Getty Images) /

QB Sid Luckman (1939-1950)

Most modern football fans have never heard of Sid Luckman, but he was one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. The Chicago Bears took Luckman second in the 1939 NFL Draft out of Columbia and he went on to be an excellent pro.

Players often played both ways in the early days of the NFL and Luckman was no exception, spending time at defensive back and punting for good measure. Bears’ coach George Halas utilized Luckman’s talents in the T-formation, which emphasized motion and fakes to keep defenses off guard.

Luckman’s passing stats don’t jump off the page now, but at the time he played Luckman was considered one of the best deep-ball throwers in football. In 1943, for example, Luckman threw 28 touchdown passes on just 110 completions, a touchdown rate of 13.9 percent that is the best ever for a quarterback in a single season.

Chicago won four NFL titles with Luckman under center and he was a six-time All-Pro for good measure. Luckman also holds the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a single game with seven, which has been tied twice but hasn’t been surpassed since he did it in his MVP-winning campaign in 1943.

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