A standout at Brooklyn College, Sherman played quarterback and defensive half in the NFL from 1943 until 1947 with the Philadelphia Eagles (including one year on the wartime merged team the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia Steagles). He switched to coaching in 1948 with the Patterson(NJ) Panthers of the American Association League, winning 11 of 12 games. In 1949 he joined the New York Giants as the backfield coach and was with them until 1954 when he replaced George Trafton as head coach at Winnipeg at the age of 32. His first look at the CFL was in games played by the Giants against Ottawa in 1950 and 1951, and he was hired to bring the new T-formation to Winnipeg. His first year was quite successful, losing the WIFU final to powerhouse Edmonton, and he was signed for two more years. 1955 started out on a sour note when two imports, center Jack Locklear and QB Bobby Freeman jumped their contracts to join the Cleveland Browns. Veteran QB Jack Jacobs announced his retirement in August and star half back Bob McNamara was lost that same month for the season. Sherman was forced to move Buddy Leake into the quarterback position who managed a 43% completion rate with 2 TDs and 18 interceptions. Despite this, the Bombers made it into the WIFU finals, losing to the Eskimos once again.
In 1956 the Bombers improved their record to 9-7 but lost out in the semi-finals. On November 15th the team announced that they could not come to terms with Sherman to renew his contract. They wanted him to live fulltime in Winnipeg, and offered only a one year contract. Sherman wanted a longer contract, and decided to return to the US. His overall record through three seasons as head coach was 28-28-3 with two final and one semi-final playoff appearances. He was replaced by Bud Grant for the 1957 season.
In June 1957 Sherman joined the NY Giants as an assistant coach, returning just as the team was about to hit its stride as a legendary team. In 1961 he was named head coach and filled that role until 1969. He was NFL Coach of the Year in 1961 and 1962, the only person to win that award in consecutive seasons.
[Bio by Wes Cross]
NFL Playing Stats for Allie Sherman
