Shaughnessy, Clark Daniel

Clark Daniel Shaughnessy, (born March 6, 1892, St. Cloud, Minnesota, U.S.—died May 15, 1970, Santa Monica, California), coach of American college and professional gridiron football who inspired the general revival of the T formation, which had been in disuse for many years.

As head coach at the University of Chicago (1933–39), he inherited a de-emphasized football program from Amos Alonzo Stagg and presided over its demise when Chicago’s president, Robert Hutchins, dropped football after the 1939 season. At Stanford University (1940–41) and as an unofficial adviser to his friend George Halas, head coach and owner of the professional team the Chicago Bears, he developed the T to such a degree of proficiency that in the 1940s it supplanted the single wing as the predominant offensive system throughout American football.

After playing fullback and tackle for the University of Minnesota, Shaughnessy served as head coach at four universities besides Chicago and Stanford: Tulane (1915–20, 1922–25), Loyola of New Orleans (1926–32), Maryland (1942, 1946), and Pittsburgh (1943–45). He also was head coach of the professional Los Angeles Rams (1948–49). As advisory coach of the Chicago Bears (1951–61), he also planned defensive systems that were revolutionary in that they required each player to fulfill a unique assignment in order to counteract any offensive play. Shaughnessy’s approach to defense, like the T formation, was adopted almost universally.