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,
History of the Chicago Bears in a second place tie with an 8–4 record, one game away from the Championship Game. The Bears closed out the decade in 1959 with yet another 8–4 finish that was only good enough for second place in the division. The 1950s gave way to Bear greats such as Ed "The Claw" Sprinkle, Bill George, George Connor, and Harlon Hill. The end of the decade also marked the first time in team history that the Bears did not win an NFL Championship during a decade. This was a sign of the downfall that the Bears were about to encounter. Halas,