Jim Trimble James W . " Jim " Trimble ( May 29 , 1918 – May 23 , 2006 ) was a football coach who served as head coach in both the National Football League and Canadian Football League , but his legacy is more connected to football products , thanks to his " slingshot " goal posts . In the NFL , he spent four years leading the Philadelphia Eagles , before spending the next decade in the CFL , most notably with the Hamilton Tiger - Cats . Early life and career . Trimble grew up in McKeesport , Pennsylvania . He worked in the steel mills dragging slag off the steel melts in the furnaces ; this caused him to develop a huge upper torso and very strong arms . In 1936 he was left tackle on the football team of Elgin Academy ( a private school ) in Elgin , Ill . The Hilltoppers lost no games in 1936 and 1937 , largely due to Jim ' s greatness on the field . Later , he played tackle at Indiana University for three years beginning in 1939 . After graduating in 1942 , he entered the U . S . Navy , spending the next three years in the service during World War II . Upon the end of the conflict , he was named a line coach at Wichita State University , then became the school ' s head coach at the end of the 1947 season . Trimble held that position for three seasons and his overall coaching record at Wichita State was 13 wins , 14 losses , and 3 ties . Philadelphia Eagles . After three years with the Shockers , a time in which he also served as the school ' s athletic director , Trimble accepted an assistant coaching position with the Eagles in 1951 . Bo McMillin , the man who had hired him , was diagnosed with cancer early in that first season and resigned in favor of Wayne Millner . When Millner himself resigned on September 8 , 1952 , Trimble was promoted to head coach . During his first three years , Philadelphia finished second in each season to the Cleveland Browns , with Trimble awarded a three - year contract after the team ' s second straight runnerup finish in 1953 . Entering the 1955 NFL season , the Eagles were expected to strongly challenge the defending champion Browns , but when the team fell to 4 - 7 - 1 , Trimble was fired on December 12 . During his four years with the Eagles , he had compiled a mark of 25 - 20 - 3 . Canadian Football League . Trimble was not out of work long , accepting the head coaching position of the CFL ' s Hamilton Tiger - Cats on December 29 , signing a one - year deal . After that first season , Trimble was a candidate for the head coaching job at his alma mater , Indiana , but remained north of the border . That decision would prove to be a wise one as the Tiger - Cats battled their way to a Grey Cup title in 1957 . They capped the season with a 32 - 7 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers , who were led by Trimble ' s former player , Bud Grant . That victory would sow the seeds of a rivalry when Trimble ' s team scored a meaningless touchdown in the waning moments of the contest . Angered by Hamilton running up the score , Winnipeg got its revenge one year later when they upset the Tiger - Cats , 35 - 28 . Using the previous season ' s contest as motivation , the Blue Bombers also were aided when Trimble said days before the contest , " We ' ll waffle ' em . We ' ll leave ' em with lumps on the front and the back . " The waffle would become a notorious symbol of Trimble ' s career , with Winnipeg fans jokingly presenting him one the following year . After losing out to Vince Lombardi for the Green Bay Packers head coaching job in January 1959 , Trimble endured continued frustration in three of the succeeding four CFL campaigns when Hamilton lost in the Grey Cup , each time to Winnipeg . In early 1963 , Trimble left Hamilton to take the reins of the Montreal Alouettes , but after three losing seasons , he was unable to recapture the magic and was fired on November 18 , 1965 . Shortly after his dismissal , Trimble allegedly assaulted " Montreal Gazette " sportswriter Ian McDonald , but was able to avoid any trouble by apologizing to the journalist . During his CFL career , he gained a nickname , " Jungle Jim " , in part for his reputation in making controversial statements that spurred his running feud with Winnipeg . He later noted that his comments were made to draw attention to the league , and thus make it more marketable . His efforts succeeded in Hamilton , where by 1962 , attendance had risen to 23 , 000 per game . Later career . Out of football during 1966 , Trimble remained in Hudson , Quebec , a suburb of Montreal . Here , he and a Montreal friend began to market a new type of goal post that was supported by only one post , instead of the two that had been the standard since the game began . The so - called " slingshot " goalposts , named because of their " Y " shape , were adopted by the NFL in 1967 , just after Trimble returned to coaching as an offensive line assistant with the New York Giants . Trimble had been offered the job by head coach Allie Sherman while attempting to sell the team his innovative goal posts . When Sherman was fired during the 1969 preseason , Trimble was transferred to the scouting department , where he would spend the next two decades before retiring . During the latter portion of this era , he earned a Super Bowl ring . He then spent his retirement in Indianapolis , Indiana before dying in 2006 of emphysema .