Bob Snyder Robert A . Snyder ( February 6 , 1913 – January 4 , 2001 ) was a football player and coach who spent more than three decades in the sport , including his most prominent position as head coach of the National Football League ' s Los Angeles Rams . College career . A native of Toledo , Ohio , Snyder played three years of football at Ohio University , seeing action on both sides of the ball . During that trio of seasons that began in 1933 , Snyder was off the field for just four minutes , winning small college All - America honors as a senior . Professional career . He moved on to the fledgling second version of the American Football League in 1936 , where he played for the Pittsburgh Americans before shifting to the NFL the following year with the Cleveland Rams . Playing quarterback ( as well as serving as the team ' s placekicker ) for two seasons , Snyder finished the 1938 NFL season with 631 yards passing , while also showing excellent speed and mobility . On February 13 , 1939 , Snyder was traded to the Chicago Bears and used at running back . After contributing throughout the campaign , he suffered a deep personal tragedy when his two - week - old son , Robert Calvin , died on November 30 . When he returned the next year , Snyder played exclusively at quarterback ( and continuing as a kicker ) , but had the misfortune of playing on the same team as future Hall of Fame signal caller Sid Luckman . That frustration was soothed somewhat when the Bears went on to capture the 1940 NFL Championship with the biggest rout in the league ' s postseason history , defeating the Washington Redskins , 73 – 0 . After another season of play resulted in another championship for the Bears , with Snyder kicking three field goals in the 37 - 9 championship game victory , Snyder retired to become the University of Notre Dame ' s freshman football coach on July 10 , 1942 . His main focus was instruction in his area of expertise , the T - Formation , and his work undoubtedly proved to be successful when two quarterbacks under his tutelage , Angelo Bertelli and Johnny Lujack , went on to win the Heisman Trophy . Snyder returned to the playing field with one more season with the Bears in 1943 , notching a trio of league kicking records with 39 conversions , while also connecting on all 12 of his field goal attempts . During the November 14 contest against the New York Giants , Snyder scored on eight conversions during the Bears ' high - scoring effort . After the season ended with another Bears ' championship , he spent one year contributing to the war effort , serving as personnel manager of the Thompson Aircraft plant in his hometown of Toledo . A back injury suffered during his playing days had prevented Snyder from serving in the armed services . During this stretch , he also coached Libby High School , his alma mater , to an Ohio state title . Coaching career . In 1945 , Snyder joined the Rams as an assistant coach , and played a major role in helping rookie quarterback Bob Waterfield win Most Valuable Player accolades . Under bitterly cold conditions on December 16 , the Rams won the NFL title with a 15 – 14 decision over the Redskins . Just weeks later , Ram owner Dan Reeves shifted the franchise to Los Angeles , with Snyder spending the following season in the same capacity . After Rams head coach Adam Walsh resigned at the conclusion of the 1946 NFL season , Snyder was named head coach on January 20 , 1947 and immediately became the league ' s youngest head coach . Winning three of the first four games of the regular season , Snyder watched the Rams collapse at midseason with a four - game losing streak to finish with a 6 – 6 mark . The pressures of that season followed him into the next , causing him to resign on September 3 , 1948 , citing an ulcer condition . Despite that stress , Snyder would stay away from coaching for less than a month before accepting an assistant post with the USC Trojans . On January 28 , 1949 , he left that position for an assistant coaching spot with the Green Bay Packers under Curly Lambeau , but again remained only a year before heading home to become head football coach at Toledo . Snyder made a bit of history by naming Dick Huston as freshman coach , the first African - American mentor to ever work for a non - black college . Despite being back among family , Snyder left the school after finishing 4 – 5 during the 1950 season , and wouldn ' t resurface until 1953 when he was named head coach of the Canadian Football League ' s Calgary Stampeders . That foray would again only span one season before he was dismissed . The aftermath of his departure was ugly as Snyder claimed in February 1954 that players were taking the amphetamine benzedrine to keep up their stamina during the season , a charge that was roundly denied by the league . In August of that year , Snyder spent one season as an assistant at Villanova University , then returned to the NFL for two years with the Pittsburgh Steelers before moving back for one year to the college level as a West Virginia University assistant . Snyder watched his coaching career wind down during the 1960s , working at the minor league football level , beginning with a stint with the Toledo Tornandoes of the United Football League . On September 19 , 1965 , he was named head coach of the Wheeling Ironmen of the Continental Football League , lasting until his resignation on November 22 , 1967 . The following year , he became head coach of the league ' s Indianapolis Capitols , but resigned on February 4 , 1969 to enter private business in Toledo . Death . Snyder died in 2001 at a Toledo rehabilitation center after complications from diabetes .