LAKE FOREST, Ill., April 2 (UPI) -- Hall of Fame linebacker George Connor, the first of the great linebackers of the Chicago Bears, died Monday after a long illness.
He was 78.
In his eight-year career with the Bears from 1948-55, Connor earned All-Pro honors at three different positions, offensive tackle, defensive tackle, and linebacker, but it was at linebacker where Connor made his biggest mark and defined the position for future generations of Bears greats like Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary.
The Philadelphia Eagles were running roughshod over the NFL in 1949 with Steve Van Buren sweeping around end behind two pulling guards and a fullback. The Bears' coaching staff moved the agile Connor into a linebacking slot to try to stop the play.
The experiment was successful and Connor became a linebacker for good.
The Notre Dame graduate was always one of the smartest players on the field. He seemed instinctively to know about keys, the tips that the movements of certain offensive players will provide to the defender as to which way the play is going, long before keys became the vogue.
A knee injury cut Connor's career short after eight seasons.
Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975, he was an All-American at Holy Cross before World War II interrupted his college career. When he returned, Connor made All-American twice on two undefeated Notre Dame teams, and was the first winner of the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's top lineman, in 1946.
Connor is survived by his wife, Suzanne, sons George Jr. and Albert, and a brother and sister. A funeral mass will be held Saturday morning, and a burial in Des Plaines.
