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 Bears were a team in trouble. They faced the problem of increased operating costs and flatlined attendance. The Bears would only draw roughly 5,000–6,000 fans a game, while a University of Chicago game would draw 40,000–50,000 fans a game. By adding top college football draw Red Grange to the roster, the Bears knew that they found something to draw more fans to their games. C.C. Pyle was able to secure a $2,000 per game contract for Grange, and in one of the first games, the Bears defeated the Green Bay Packers, 21–0. However, Grange remained on the sidelines while learning