Bill George

The Bears middle linebacker credited with inventing the position and the 4-3 defense.

Bill George (1929-1982) was a Chicago Bears linebacker, the team's second-round pick in 1951, who is credited as the first true middle linebacker in football and, by accident, the creator of the 4-3 defense. He played eight straight Pro Bowls and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

Quick Facts

Number

72, 61

Position

Linebacker
guard
defensive tackle

Born

27 October 1929

Birthplace

Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Died

30 September 1982

Place of death

Rockford, Illinois, U.S.

High school

Waynesburg Central

College

Wake Forest (1947–1950)

Facts from the source article.

Background

George began in 1952 as a middle guard in the five-man defensive front of the day. During a 1954 game against the Philadelphia Eagles he noticed that his habit of hitting the center at the snap let the quarterback throw over his head, so he started dropping off the line; from then on he intercepted and disrupted passes and, in doing so, produced the familiar alignment of four linemen and three linebackers.

He was selected to the Pro Bowl every year from 1954 to 1961, finished with 18 interceptions and 19 fumble recoveries, and in 1954 even kicked 13 extra points and four field goals. In 1963 he led the defense that won the NFL Championship. Hall of Famer Art Donovan called him possibly the best linebacker he ever saw, a player who worked himself into a frenzy on the field yet was another Clark Kent off it, and Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated later picked him as the best ever to wear number 61 and the meanest Bear ever.

The Bears retired his number 61, and three later Chicago middle linebackers, Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary and Brian Urlacher, followed him into the Hall of Fame. Born in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, he was Wake Forest's first All-American and won three Southern Conference heavyweight wrestling titles without a team. He died in a car accident in Rockford, Illinois, in 1982.