Bill Wade William James Wade ( born October 4 , 1930 in Nashville , Tennessee ) is an American football quarterback , in the National Football League . He is also considered one of the greatest athletes in Nashville and Vanderbilt University history . Wade is a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Vanderbilt Athletic Hall of Fame . Summary of Some Career Highlights . Wade was a professional quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears . He is best known for being the starting quarterback on the Chicago Bears ' 1963 NFL championship team . Interesting Notes . Wade is a longtime resident of Nashville , TN , and has two sons and one daughter named Sharon Kinser , who still live in Nashville . He was born and raised in Nashville ( and was born at Vanderbilt Hospital . ) Wade is one of two sons of former 1921 Vanderbilt football captain , William J . Wade , Sr . The younger Wade began his athletic career at Woodmont Grammar School in Nashville , where he played guard rather than quarterback . He later starred at Hillsboro High School and Mongomery Bell Academy . Early years . The most memorable experience at Woodmont was the first game he would play at Vanderbilt ' s Dudley Field . His team played another grammar school as the halftime entertainment of a Vanderbilt game . He prepped at Montgomery Bell Academy after receiving a scholarship to the seventh grade . During his high school days Wade would go over to Dudley Field to throw and kick the football for fun . The 15 - year - old kid gained the attention of Vandy ' s coaches by tossing the ball half the football field . Wade also was a pitcher on the MBA baseball team . Bill Wade was in the Vanderbilt Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps while attending college at Vanderbilt . He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1952 but served in the U . S . Navy until 1954 when he actually started his professional football career . Vanderbilt . Vanderbilt ' s head football coach Red Sanders offered Wade a football scholarship ; he accepted on the spot . He was practically raised on the campus , witnessing numerous games with his father as a youngster . " They had put my picture on the cover of " Look " magazine before the 1949 season started , " Wade said . " I didn ' t play a lot my sophomore season , Jamie Wade ( no relation ) played more than I did and did a very good job . Red Sanders left and went to UCLA . Our coach was gone and Bill Edwards came down to be the coach . " " We opened up against Georgia Tech with a full house , and I will never forget it . This Look magazine came out right before our first game . There I was on the front of Look magazine with Dot and Peggy Neal . Both of them were from Atlanta though they were in Vanderbilt . The crowd kept yelling at me , ' Hey glamour boy . ' " Concluding his collegiate career , Wade was named the SEC ' s Most Valuable Player and a second team All - American . He was also MVP of the 1951 North - South Shrine Bowl game in Miami . Wade also played in the Senior Bowl of 1952 and was selected to play in the College All - Star Game in Chicago . Wade was named to the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class . Professional career . Wade ' s postseason performances caught the attention of the NFL scouts . It has been widely acclaimed and published that Wade was the first round pick of the Los Angeles Rams , but that is not correct according to Wade . " In 1952 , I was the Rams ' bonus draft choice , ' " Wade explained . " There is no such thing as a bonus draft choice any more , but at the time the professional football teams would put their names in a hat , and they would draw for a bonus draft pick for each team before the actual draft . There is no bonus draft pick today . " After the 1960 season , Bears defensive assistant George Allen realized that to compete with Vince Lombardi ' s Packers required more offense . He had spent one season on the Rams ' staff and was impressed with Wade . He talked Coach Halas into trading Zeke Bratkowski to the Rams for Wade for the 1961 season . Wade quarterbacked the 1963 Bears World Championship team .