Bill Osmanski
Teams
Chicago Bears (1939-1947)
Playoffs
Appearances - 5 (1940,1941,1942,1943,1946)
Conf Champ Games - 5 (1940,1941,1942,1943,1946)
Championship Games - 5 (1940,1941,1942,1943,1946)
Championships - 4 (1940,1941,1943,1946)
Awards and Honors
Pro Bowl - 3 (1939,1940,1941)
All-Pro First Team - 1 (1939)
All-Time Ranks
League Leads
Rushing Yards (#1-1939, #8-1941)
Rushing Touchdowns (#2-1939, #3-1946, #6-1941, #9-1940)
Yards per Rush (#1-1941, #2-1939, #5-1946)
Rushing Yards per Game (#1-1939, #6-1941, #9-1946)
Total Touchdowns (#3-1939, #8-1946, #9-1941)
Scrimmage Yards (#3-1939, #10-1941)
Yards per Touch (#3-1941, #4-1939, #9-1946)
Following 3 seasons at Holy Cross, where he led the Crusaders to a record of 23-3-3, Bill Osmanski was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the #6 overall pick of the 1939 NFL Draft.
As a rookie, Osmanski led the league in rushing yards with 699 in the 10-game season, while averaging 5.8 yards per carry, which was second-best among all players. After just one season as a pro, he was already the best running back in football.
The next season, his production dropped noticeable, as he gained only 192 yards on the season, but he was still selected to the Pro Bowl, and the Bears reached the league championship game, where he ran for 109 yards and a touchdown in Chicago's 73-0 beatdown of Washington.
In 1941, he led the league with an average of 5.3 yards per carry, and the Bears repeated as champions, even though Osmanski finished with only 15 yards in the title game. He missed most of the 1942 season due to injury, but returned in time for the championship game, which ended in defeat for the Bears.
Midway through the 1943 season, Osmanski left the Bears to join the Navy to fight in World War II. The Bears won that season's championship, but missed out on the playoffs during the two full seasons without him.
He returned to the Bears for the 1946 season, and had a decent season despite hardly playing for 5 years. The Bears returned to the championship game, where Bill ran for 23 yards and his younger brother Joe ran for 20 as the Bears beat the Giants 24-14 for their 4th title of the decade. He played one more season with the Bears, but only touched the ball 10 times all season, and he retired once the 1947 season ended.
He played in only 7 seasons as a pro, reaching the championship game 5 times and winning 4 championships. His career total of only 1753 rushing yards is extremely low by today's standards, but he was one of the top backs in the game during his time, a league leader in multiple categories, and one of the best to have played the game.
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