Paddy Driscoll

January 11, 1895 – Evanston, Illinois -Northwestern Quarterback Paddy Driscoll was born. In 1916, Driscoll earned All-America honors with the Wildcats.

Banner image of Paddy Driscoll is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons | AD

Besides Northwestern, Paddy played for the Great Lakes Naval Station team in 1918, just after World War I was concluded, according to the NFF website. Driscoll had a fantastic performance in the 1919 Rose Bowl as the Great Lakes team faced Mare Island.

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Caption text says “Bears Defeat Cardinals, 6 to 0. The northside team, although lacking the punch to score a touchdown, defeated the southside pro eleven yesterday by two drop kicks. Joe Sternaman made both. In the photo, Paddy Driscoll of the Cardinals is shown carrying the ball in the third quarter.”

Marine Base. Paddy, nicknamed “The Wasp”, was everywhere on the field and stat sheets for Great Lakes. He caught a touchdown pass, drop-kicked a 30-yard field goal, and threw a Touchdown pass to the legendary George Halas. Yes, that George Halas, who went on to own and coach the Chicago Bears! Great Lakes cruised to a Rose Bowl victory, 17-0. The National

The Football Foundation placed Paddy Driscoll into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

After college, Paddy signed on with the NFL’s Chicago Cardinals.

In 1923, he scored 27 points in one game. He also gained acclaim by successfully kicking a 50-yard drop-kick field goal in the 1924 season. In 1926, his rights were sold to the Chicago Bears to prevent Paddy from going to the rival AFL professional league. He played a total of 11 seasons in the NFL and made it onto the All-Pro team six times! The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Paddy Driscoll in 1965.