[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 131 (Monday, September 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    A GREAT COACH STILL DENIED FAME

                                 ______


                        HON. WILLIAM O. LIPINSKI

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 19, 1994

  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support Steve Neal, 
political editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, in his effort to obtain 
National Football League Hall of Fame induction for Lawrence T. (Buck) 
Shaw. Mr. Neal makes an excellent presentation for Buck Shaw's 
induction into the NFL Hall of Fame in his column of September 12, 
1994. Following is that column.

                  A Great Coach Still Denied ``Fame''

       As the Chicago Bears tackle the Philadelphia Eagles on 
     Monday Night Football, the NFL is celebrating its 75th 
     anniversary.
       All the players are wearing a 75th anniversary patch on 
     their jerseys and a diamond anniversary medal will be used 
     for the coin toss. A documentary about the NFL, ``75 
     Seasons,'' is premiering this week on TNT. It's a season for 
     reflecting on the history of America's favorite game.
       The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, began 
     enshrining football's more celebrated players and coaches in 
     1963. There are now 175 members. But the politics of glory is 
     a tricky business. Who gets in and who doesn't?
       Why isn't Buck Shaw in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
       His exclusion is an embarrassment.
       Shaw, who died in 1977, is the coach who established the 
     winning tradition of the San Francisco 49ers and who led the 
     Philadelphia Eagles from last place to the NFL title.
       He engineered the trade for quarterback Norm Van Brocklin 
     and made center Chuck Bednarik the last of the 60-minute men 
     in transforming the Eagles into champions. Shaw was the only 
     coach who defeated Green Bay's legendary Vince Lombardi in a 
     playoff game. The Super Bowl trophy is named for Lombardi. 
     Shaw isn't even in the Hall of Fame.
       When Shaw died in 1977, the New York Times described him as 
     a football legend. But his brilliant career isn't recognized 
     in the Hall of Fame.
       ``He was among the architects of the game. He ought to be 
     in,'' said Edward McCaskey, chairman of the Chicago Bears and 
     the son-in-law of NFL founding father George Halas.
       ``Buck was a great coach. He was one of the greatest 
     innovators of his era. He should be in the Hall of Fame,'' 
     added Hall of Famer Sid Luckman, who quarterbacked the Bears 
     to four NFL titles in the 1940s.
       Soft-spoken, calm and thoughtful, Shaw was among football's 
     great innovators. As the University of Santa Clara's coach in 
     the 1930s, he pioneered the multiple defense and won back-to-
     back Sugar Bowl championships.
       As the first coach of the 49ers, he was noted for his 
     exciting and versatile offensive attack. His teams inducted 
     six future Hall of Famers and his 1948 team set a record for 
     rushing yardage (3,663 yards) that has never been broken.
       Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who played for Shaw 
     with the 49ers, said:
       ``He had the knack of getting his ballplayers to rise to 
     the occasion. Shaw's teams didn't always have the best 
     personnel in the league. But he achieved maximum results with 
     the material he did have.''
       In 12 years as a pro coach, Shaw had 10 winning seasons. 
     His .596 winning percentage is 24 points higher than former 
     Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Chuck Noll, who was inducted into 
     the Hall of Fame last year.
       Shaw's winning percentage is 89 points above Weeb Eubank, 
     55 points above Sid Gillman, 30 points above Jim Conzelman, 
     23 points above Hank Stram, and 15 points above Steve Owen, 
     who are Hall of Fame coaches.
       As coach of the 49ers for nine years, Shaw's winning 
     percentage was .614, compared with 1993 Hall of Fame inductee 
     Bill Walsh's .617 in 10 years as 49ers coach.
       Shaw, who is among football's genuine legends, should be 
     first on the list for induction into the Pro Football Hall of 
     Fame.

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