Legend has it that cannyGeorge Halaschose Colgate guard Dan Fortmann as the Chicago Bears ' 9th and last selection in the NFL ’s 1936 playerdraft(the first ever have got ) just because he like the young valet de chambre ’s name .
If there ’s any accuracy to that , it was certainly a bully hunch ! In 1965 , when Fortmann was named to the ProFootballHall of Fame , he was only the second sentry go to be enshrined .
When Fortmann ( 1916 - 1995 ) joined the Bears in 1936 , he was both undersized and underage . Having barely turned 20 , the 6'0 " , 207 - Ezra Pound " boy " became the youngest appetizer in the NFL .
Along with his physical contrary , tackle " Jumbo Joe " Stydahar ( the Bears ' first pick in that ' 36 draft ) , Fortmann made the left side of Chicago ’s line truly superb . His volatile bursting charge made him a certain blocking agent despite his comparatively small size of it . From his line backer stead , he was a pernicious tackler and fast enough to cover on passes . He quickly became a team leader despite his youth .
Although he had , without doubt , great strong-arm ability , Fortmann ’s bang-up attribute was his mind . At Colgate , he was a Phi Beta Kappa scholar . With the Bears , he showed his genius by diagnosing opposition plays brilliantly . He earned his medical degree while playing for the Bears , but long before he began practicing medicine , he was an NFL doctor of defense .
Paired with big George Musso , Fortmann gave the Bears the near pair of guard in the league . He earned All - NFL honor six straight twelvemonth – from 1938 until he turn in to introduce practice of medicine in 1943 . During his eight years with the squad , the Bears won three NFL championships and direct divisional titles on two other occasions .
Not astonishingly , Fortmann enjoyed continued success in his post - football vocation as a extremely respected doctor on the West Coast . For a time , he was one of theLos AngelesRams ' team Dr. .
