Bears Spotlight Series: Bill Osmanski
Bullet Bill Osmanski was born December 29th 1915, and is a College Football Hall of Famer, as well as being inducted into the National Polish- American Sports Hall of Fame. He played college football at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.
As a fullback he led them to a 23-3-3 record named All-American in 1938 and MVP of the all-star game in 1939. He was drafted in the first round as the sixth pick by the Chicago Bears in the 1939 NFL Draft. He led the NFL in rushing in 1939 with 699 yards. With a 68-yard run, Osmanski scored the first touchdown of Chicago's 73�0 victory over the Washington Redskins in the 1940 NFL Championship Game. He rushed for 109 yards in what remains the most one-sided championship game in the league's history.
In October 1943, Osmanski and some of his Bears teammates announced they would be joining the United States Navy. A dentist who was regularly attached to divisions in the United States Marine Corps, he worked as the head football coach at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in 1944.
With the 1st Marine Division, he served in the battles of Guam, Guadalcanal, and Okinawa. In March 1945, he received a citation from the Marine Corps when he rescued a Navy doctor from quicksand while they were searching for bananas.
After World War II ended, Osmanski was attached to the 2nd Marine Division serving as the occupying force in Nagasaki, Japan. On January 1, 1946, he captained the Isahaya Tigers in the Atom Bowl against Heisman Trophy winner Angelo Bertelli's Nagasaki Bears; after trailing 13�0 at halftime, Osmanski scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Although the two had promised to end the game in a tie to ensure troop morale remain high, Osmanski kicked the game-winning extra point in the 14�13 Tiger victory.
He retired in 1947 with four championships under his belt all with the Bears. He went on to coach at Holy Cross then opened a dental practice and did a lot in the work of mouth guards for players.
