T formation the key weapon used by the Chicago Bears, who had used the T formation since the team's inception in 1920, to defeat the Washington Redskins, 73–0, in the 1940 NFL Championship Game and immortalized afterward in their fight song. Shaughnessy helped the Bears prepare for the game against the Redskins. He has been called "The father of the T formation". The T-formation was viewed as a complicated "gadget" offense by early football coaches. But NFL owner-coach George Halas and Ralph Jones of the Chicago Bears along with University of Chicago coach Clark Shaughnessy, University of Texas coach Dana X. Bible,
Chicago Bears losses of the Championship season, Halas' partner Dutch Sternaman left the organization. Halas maintained full control of the Bears until his death in 1983. He also coached the team off-and-on for forty seasons, an NFL record. In the 1932 "Unofficial" NFL Championship, the Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans in the first indoor American football game at Chicago Stadium. The success of the playoff game led the NFL to institute a championship game. In the very first NFL Championship, the Bears played against the New York Giants, defeating them 23–21. The teams met again in the 1934 NFL Championship where the