Charles John Drulis (March 8, 1918 – August 23, 1972) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach born in

Girardville, Pennsylvania Girardville (nicknamed Guntown) is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Reading. Anthracite coal deposits are in the region. Coal-mining provided employment and incomes for many of the 3,666 people who lived ...

. He attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

and played seven seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Drulis, along with his brothers Joe and Albert, who also played in the NFL, was elected into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Drulis made his professional debut in the NFL in 1942 with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

but spent the next two-and-a-half seasons in military service during World War II. He returned to the Bears in 1945 and played there until 1949. Drulis spent his final season with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. Drulis went on to spend many years as a defensive assistant. During his tenure as secondary coach of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, Drulis devised a play that called for one of the

safeties Safety is the condition of being protected against harmful conditions or events, or the control of hazards to reduce risk. Safety may also refer to: Places * Safety Island, Antarctica Government * The Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating t ...

to take part in a

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, code-named "Wildcat." He believed this would result in severe pressure on the quarterback, since a blitz by a defensive back is not usually anticipated. However, at first he didn't think he had a player with the athleticism to run the play. That changed during training camp in , when the Cardinals signed a cornerback from

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

named Larry Wilson. Drulis believed he'd found the player he needed for his scheme, and persuaded the Cardinals to convert Wilson to free safety. Largely due to the play, Wilson blossomed into one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, and became so identified with it that "Wildcat" became his nickname. After

Pop Ivy Lee Frank "Pop" Ivy (January 25, 1916 – May 17, 2003) was an American football player and coach who was the only person to serve as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL), the American Football League (AFL) and the Western Interpro ...

resigned late in the 1961 season, Drulis shared head coaching duties with fellow assistant coaches Ray Prochaska and Ray Willsey. Under the trio's guidance, the team won its last two games. Chuck's wife, Dale Drulis, was an artist who was commissioned to create the artwork at the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

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. The 3 hammered copper figures over the entry depict a running back with a blocker and tackler in an action scene. Dale used her husband Chuck and her sons Chuck and Kerry as models for the figures in the sculpture. On August 23, 1972, Drulis suffered a massive

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

aboard the chartered flight transporting the Cardinals to Houston for an exhibition game vs. the

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the next night. Drulis was pronounced dead before the plane made an emergency landing at Little Rock National Airport. The exhibition went on as scheduled, with the Oilers winning 33-24.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drulis, Chuck 1918 births 1972 deaths American football guards Camp Lejeune Marines football players Chicago Bears players Green Bay Packers players St. Louis Cardinals (football) head coaches St. Louis Cardinals (football) coaches Temple Owls football players American military personnel of World War II Players of American football from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania