Edgar Manske Edgar John " Eggs " Manske ( July 4 , 1913 – January 27 , 2002 ) was a professional American football player who played six seasons in the National Football League . Manske was the last NFL player to play without a football helmet . Manske played in two NFL championship games with the Chicago Bears , including the historic 73 - 0 victory over the Washington Redskins in 1940 . Early life and college career . Manske was born in 1913 in Nekoosa , Wisconsin . He graduated from Nekoosa High School . A member of the College Football Hall of Fame , Manske excelled in college at both football and basketball . A three - year letterman at Northwestern , he began his football career as a walk - on , became a starter during his sophomore season after excelling as a substitute end in a 1930 game against Notre Dame , and ended his career as team Most Valuable Player in 1933 . Manske was elected to the All - Big Ten Conference and United Press International All - America teams in 1933 . He was also named to the All - Big Ten team in basketball in 1933 . In his senior year , Manske played all sixty minutes against Ohio State , Notre Dame , Minnesota , and Illinois , and all but two minutes against Michigan . NFL career . As part of the first College All - Star team to line up against the current NFL champions , Manske caught the eye of Chicago Bears coach George Halas during the surprising 1934 All - Star game ; Manske performed well against starting Bears lineman George Musso . Halas eventually obtained Manske ' s services by trade with Philadelphia in 1937 . During his professional football career , Manske played both wide receiver and defensive end . Manske led the Philadelphia Eagles in scoring during the 1935 season ; his picture appeared on a Wheaties box in 1936 . As a member of the Chicago Bears , Manske played his last professional game in the memorable 73 – 0 playoff win over Washington . Manske was involved in a trade considered among the most lopsided in NFL history . In 1938 , he was traded from Chicago to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Steelers ' first - round selection ( # 2 overall ) in the upcoming 1939 NFL draft . The Bears then drafted future Hall of Fame quarterback Sid Luckman . Manske re - signed with the Bears later in 1939 , leaving Pittsburgh with nothing to show for its top pick . Military career . One of 995 NFL players who served during World War II , Manske joined the Navy as a lieutenant commander . During officer training at the St . Mary ' s Preflight School in 1942 , he also played on the team and earned All - Service All - America honors . Post - NFL career . Manske began his coaching career at Holy Cross University in 1941 . After the war , he returned to coach at Boston University and the University of Maryland , then worked as an assistant coach for the University of California - Berkeley under Pappy Waldorf from 1947 to 1952 , facing his former Northwestern team in the 1949 Rose Bowl . Manske eventually became an educator , and taught biology at Berkeley High School ( Berkeley , California ) from 1955 until his retirement in 1975 . He was married for 53 years to 1928 Olympian and 1932 Summer Olympics bronze medalist , Jane Fauntz . In 1988 Manske was inducted into the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame , and in 1989 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame .