Sidney "Sid" Gillman (October 26, 1911 - January 3, 2003) was an American football coach and innovator. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or wide receivers at the sides of the line of scrimmage, made football into the modern game that it is today. October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... This article is about the city in Minnesota. ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time. ... This is a list of athletic conferences of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). ... This article is about Ohio State; there is also an Ohio University. ... A playoff in sports (North American professional sports in particular) is a game or series of games played after the regular season is over with the goal of determining a league champion. ... From 1960 to 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions. ... The St. ... The San Diego Chargers are a National Football League team based in San Diego, California. ... City San Diego, California Other nicknames Bolts, Super Chargers Team colors Navy Blue, White, and Gold Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer Owner Alex Spanos George Pernicano (Minority owner (3%)) General manager A.J. Smith Fight song San Diego Super Chargers League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960-1969) Western Division (1960... City New Orleans, Louisiana Team colors Old Gold, Black, and White Head Coach Sean Payton Owner Tom Benson General manager Mickey Loomis Mascot Gumbo League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1967–present) Eastern Conference (1967-1969) Capitol Division (1967; 1969) Century Division (1968) National Football Conference (1970-present) NFC West... The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the National Football Leagues Hall of Fame. ... See also: 1982 in sports, other events of 1983, 1984 in sports and the list of years in sports. // Auto Racing Stock car racing: NASCAR Championship - Bobby Allison Cale Yarborough won the Daytona 500 CART Racing - Al Unser won the season championship Indianapolis 500 - Tom Sneva Formula One Championship - Nelson... October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown from one player to another on the same team, ending closer to the opponents goal line. ... High school running back A running back, halfback, tailback or wingback is the position of a player on an American and Canadian football team who lines up in the offensive backfield. ... The wide receiver (WR) position in American and Canadian football is the pass-catching specialist. ... In American and Canadian football the line of scrimmage is the imaginary transverse line crossing the football field across its narrower dimension, which passes through the last position of the football, after the end of the most recent play and following the assessment of any penalty yards. ...

Biography

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Gillman played college football at Ohio State University under legendary coach Francis "Shut the Gates of Mercy" Schmidt, forming the basis of his "West Coast offense."^[1] He was an All-Big Ten end in the early 1930s. Nickname: City of Lakes Motto: En Avant (French: Lets go!) Location in Hennepin County and the state of Minnesota. ... A college football game between Colorado State University and the Air Force Academy. ... The Ohio State University (OSU) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Ohio. ... Francis Albert Schmidt (December 3, 1885 - September 19, 1944) was an American football coach and is an inductee in the College Football Hall of Fame. ... In American football, the term West Coast Offense is used to describe two similar but separate offensive strategic systems of play. ... “Big Ten” redirects here. ... The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ...

Always deeply interested in the game, while working as a movie theater usher, he removed football segments from newsreels that the theater would show, so that he could take them home and study them on a projector he had bought. This dedication to filmed football plays that made Gillman the first coach to study game footage, something that all coaches do today.^[2] A newsreel is a documentary film that is regularly released in a public presentation place containing filmed news stories. ...

Gillman played one year in the National Football League for the Cleveland Rams, then became an assistant coach at Denison University, Ohio State University, and was an assistant coach to Earl Blaik of Army, then head coach at Miami University and at the University of Cincinnati. The National Football League (NFL) is the largest professional American football league, consisting of thirty-two teams from American cities and regions. ... The St. ... Denison University is a private liberal arts and sciences college in Granville, Ohio, approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of Columbus. ... The Ohio State University (OSU) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Ohio. ... Earl Henry Red Blaik (February 15, 1897 - May 6, 1989) was a U.S. football coach. ... USMA redirects here. ... Miami University (colloquially and incorrectly referred to as Miami of Ohio) is a selective American public university founded in 1809 in the university town Oxford, Ohio. ... The University of Cincinnati is a state university located in Cincinnati, Ohio. ...

He returned to the NFL as a head coach with the Los Angeles Rams, leading the team to the NFL's championship game, and then moved to the American Football League, where he coached the Los Angeles and San Diego Chargers to five Western Division titles and one league championship in the first six years of the league's existence. The St. ... AFL logo The American Football League (AFL) was a professional league of American football that operated from 1960 to 1969. ... City San Diego, California Other nicknames Bolts, Super Chargers Team colors Navy Blue, White, and Gold Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer Owner Alex Spanos George Pernicano (Minority owner (3%)) General manager A.J. Smith Fight song San Diego Super Chargers League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960-1969) Western Division (1960...

His greatest coaching success came after he was persuaded by Barron Hilton, then the Chargers' majority owner, to become the head coach of the American Football League franchise he planned to operate in Los Angeles. When the team's general manager, Frank Leahy, became ill during the Chargers' founding season, Gillman took on additional responsibilities as general manager. Barron Hilton (born October 23, 1927) is an American heir and chairman of the Hilton Hotel chain. ... The term general manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. ... Frank Leahy Francis William Leahy (1907–1973) was an American collegiate football coach, who earned the nickname The Master. He was born in ONeill, Nebraska. ...

As the first coach of the Chargers, Gillman gave the team a personality that matched his own. He was mercurial. Gillman's concepts formed the foundation of the so-called "West Coast offense" that pro football teams are still using.^[3][4] In American football, the term West Coast Offense is used to describe two similar but separate offensive strategic systems of play. ...

He had much to do with the American Football League being able to establish itself. Gillman was a thorough professional. In order to compete with him, his peers had to learn pro ways. They learned, and the American Football League became the genesis of modern professional football.

"Sid Gillman brought class to the AFL," Oakland Raiders managing general partner Al Davis once said of the man he served under on that first Chargers team. "Being part of Sid's organization was like going to a laboratory for the highly developed science of professional football." Through Gillman's tenure as head coach, the Chargers went 87-57-6 and won five AFL Western Division titles. In 1963 they captured the only league championship the club ever won by outscoring the Boston Patriots, 51-10, in the American Football League championship game in Balboa Stadium. That game was a measure of Gillman's genius. City Oakland, California Other nicknames The Silver and Black, Da Raidahs Team colors Silver and Black Head Coach Lane Kiffin Owner Al Davis General manager Michael Lombardi League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960–1969) Western Division (1960–1969) National Football League (1970–present) American Football Conference (1970–present) AFC... Allen Al Davis (born July 4, 1929 in Brockton, Massachusetts) is an American football executive, who currently serves as the president and managing general partner of the NFLs Oakland Raiders. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... The New England Patriots are a National Football League team based in Foxboro, Massachusetts Founded: 1960, as a charter American Football League member. ... Built in 1914, Balboa Stadium was located behind San Diego High School and was the San Diego Chargers home from 1961-66. ...

He crafted a game plan he entitled "Feast or Famine" that used motion, then seldom seen, to negate the Patriots' blitzes. His plan freed running back Keith Lincoln to rush for 206 yards. In addition to Lincoln, on Gillman's teams through the '60s were these notable players: wide receiver Lance Alworth; offensive tackle Ron Mix; running back Paul Lowe; quarterback John Hadl; and defensive linemen Ernie Ladd and Earl Faison (Alworth and Mix are Hall of Famers). Gillman was one of only two head coaches to hold that position for the entire 10-year existence of the American Football League (the other was Hank Stram, who coached the Dallas Texans and Kansas City Chiefs from 1960 through 1974). At Washington State University, Keith Lincoln (born May 8, 1939) was an all-around player and the schools career rushing leader. ... Lance Dwight Alworth (born August 3, 1940 in Houston, Texas) is a former American football wide receiver. ... Ronald Jack Mix was born on March 10, 1938, in Los Angeles, California. ... Paul Lowe (born September 27, 1936 in Homer, LA) is a retired American football running back who played for the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League from 1960 to 1969. ... John Willard Hadl (born February 15, 1940 in Lawrence, Kansas) was a professional American football player. ... Ernest Ladd (November 28, 1938 - March 10, 2007), nicknamed The Big Cat, was an American collegiate and professional football player and a professional wrestler. ... Earl Faison (born 1939) was an American college and professional football player. ... The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the National Football Leagues Hall of Fame. ... AFL logo The American Football League (AFL) was a professional league of American football that operated from 1960 to 1969. ... Hank Stram being carried off of the field following his victory in Super Bowl IV with the Kansas City Chiefs Hank Stram (January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005), was a former American Football coach. ... Dallas Texans has been the name of various American football teams. ... City Kansas City, Missouri Team colors Red, Gold, and White Head Coach Herman Edwards Owner The Hunt Family[1] General manager Carl Peterson Mascot K.C. Wolf (1989-present) Warpaint (1963-1988) League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960-1969) Western Division (1960-1969) National Football League (1970–present) American...

Gillman approached then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle in 1963 with the idea of having the champions of the AFL and the NFL play a single final game, but his idea was not implemented until the Super Bowl game was played in 1967. Alvin Ray Pete Rozelle (March 1, 1926–December 6, 1996) was the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... The winning Super Bowl team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

Following his tenure with San Diego, he coached the Houston Oilers for two years from 1973-1974, helping bring the club out of the funk it had been in for many seasons prior, and closer to playoff contention. His final coaching job was in the 1980s, when he coached, with coach Russ A. Molzahn the Los Angeles Express of the now-defunct United States Football League. City New Orleans, Louisiana Team colors Old Gold, Black, and White Head Coach Sean Payton Owner Tom Benson General manager Mickey Loomis Mascot Gumbo League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1967–present) Eastern Conference (1967-1969) Capitol Division (1967; 1969) Century Division (1968) National Football Conference (1970-present) NFC West... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ... The Los Angeles Express was a team in the United States Football League, an attempt to form a second major professional football league in the United States to compete with the established National Football League. ... The United States Football League was a professional American football league that played three seasons between 1983 and 1985. ...

Gillman's influence on the modern game can be seen by listing the current and former coaches and executives who either played with him or for him:

• Al LoCasale, an Oakland Raiders executive
• Al Davis, the Oakland Raiders' owner
• Chuck Noll, who coached the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles
• Ara Parseghian, former coach at the University of Notre Dame
• Bo Schembechler, former coach at the University of Michigan
• Chuck Knox, former coach of several NFL teams
• Dick Vermeil, coach of several NFL teams

Don Coryell, the coach at San Diego State University when Gillman was coaching the San Diego Chargers, would bring his team to Chargers' practices to watch how Gillman ran his practices. Coryell went on to coach in the NFL, and some of his assistants, influenced by the Gillman style, included coaches Joe Gibbs , Ernie Zampese and Russ A. Molzahn. City Oakland, California Other nicknames The Silver and Black, Da Raidahs Team colors Silver and Black Head Coach Lane Kiffin Owner Al Davis General manager Michael Lombardi League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960–1969) Western Division (1960–1969) National Football League (1970–present) American Football Conference (1970–present) AFC... Allen Al Davis (born July 4, 1929 in Brockton, Massachusetts) is an American football executive, who currently serves as the president and managing general partner of the NFLs Oakland Raiders. ... Charles Henry Chuck Noll (born January 5, 1932) is a former American football coach, having served as the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League from 1969 to 1991. ... City Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Team colors Black and Gold Head Coach Mike Tomlin Owner Dan Rooney General manager Kevin Colbert League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1933–present) Eastern Division (1933–1943; 1945–1949) Western Division (1944) American Conference (1950–1952) Eastern Conference (1953–1969) Century Division (1967–1969) American Football... Ara Raoul Parseghian (born May 21, 1923 in Akron, Ohio) is a former collegiate football coach who served as head coach for three teams, most notably the University of Notre Dame team from 1964-1974. ... The University of Notre Dame IPA: is a Roman Catholic institution located in Notre Dame, Indiana, immediately northeast of South Bend, Indiana, United States. ... Glenn Edward Bo Schembechler (April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American college football coach best known as the head coach at the University of Michigan, where he coached the Wolverines from 1969 until 1989. ... The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public coeducational university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ... Charles Robert Chuck Knox (born April 27, 1932 in Sewickley, Pennsylvania[1]) is a former football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. ... Dick Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football Leagues Philadelphia Eagles (1976-1982), St. ... Don Coryell (born October 17, 1924) is a former American football coach, who coached in the NFL first with the St. ... San Diego State University (SDSU), founded in 1897, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area (generally the City and County of San Diego), and is part of the California State University system. ... Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is a Hall of Fame American football coach and NASCAR Championship team owner. ... Ernie Zampese (March 12, 1936) is a highly respected assistant American Football coach. ...

Besides the downfield pass, film footage, and the idea of the Super Bowl, Gillman also came up with the idea of putting players' names on the backs of their uniforms.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the National Football Leagues Hall of Fame. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On his death in 2003, Gillman was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 6001 W. Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California. ... Culver City Seal Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. ...

See also:

• American Football League players, coaches, and contributors

The following is a list of players that played for the 1960-1969 American Football League. ...

Notes or references

1. ^ Peterson, Bill. "Cincinnati's Connection to Football's "West Coast Offense"", City Beat, 2006-08-16. Retrieved on 2006-09-07.
2. ^ Bach, John. "Sid Gillman used film to change football while at the University of Cincinnati", University of Cincinnati Magazine, 2001-01. Retrieved on 2006-09-07.
3. ^ "Gillman helped engineer West Coast offense", Associated Press, 2003-01-07. Retrieved on 2006-09-07.
4. ^ Zimmerman, Paul. "The real West Coast offense", Sports Illustrated, 1999-10-29. Retrieved on 2006-09-07.

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... The first issue of Sports Illustrated, August 16, 1954, showing Milwaukee Braves star Eddie Mathews at bat in Milwaukee County Stadium. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ...

External links

• Pro Football Hall of Fame bio
• "Obituaries: Sid Gillman", University of Cincinnati Magazine, 2003. Retrieved on 2006-09-07.