Bill Walsh, builder of an NFL dynasty with his 49ers of the 1980s, died of leukemia Monday at his San Francisco Bay. Walsh, known as The Genius for his innovative, pass-oriented attack, was 75.Walsh was 102-63-1 with the 49ers and won three Super Bowls and six divisional titles in just 10 years. He was named Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1984 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. He served twice as the 49ers' general manager and coached at Stanford after leaving the 49ers.
"His coaching accomplishments speak for themselves, but the essence of Bill Walsh was he was an extraordinary teacher," says NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. "If you gave him a blackboard and a piece of chalk, he would become a whirlwind of wisdom. He revolutionized the game with his offense and will always be remembered as one of the most influential people in NFL history."
Walsh was diagnosed with leukemia in 2004. He underwent several months of treatment and blood transfusions and publicly disclosed his illness in November 2006.
Walsh was tough on all fronts -- while fighting cancer and while coaching football.
"One of the greatest challenges of my career was coaching defense against Bill Walsh," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick, the Giants' defensive coordinator when Walsh was with the 49ers. "He turned San Francisco's offense into the best in the league. Beyond being a great offensive coach, Bill mastered running an entire pro football organization. He figured out everything from the big picture down to the smallest detail."
1. Hello,
My name is Ryan Armbrust. I was diagnosed with Stage III Hodgkin's back in December of 2006 and am currently undergoing chemo. I took time off from my day job to get through this whole "Cancer" thing. In my spare time, I created an online T-Shirt and Swag shop called http://www.chucklenutshirts.com.
I have a section that is nothing but off color cancer humor shirts. http://www.cafepress.com/chucklenut/2619770
They are selling really well, but any exposure I can get would help. Can you please add them to your great website?
Here is a link to a banner I made for the cancer shirt section
http://bigryan.smugmug.com/photos/151661075-O.jpg
Thanks for your consideration,
Ryan Armbrust
Posted at 12:36PM on Jul 31st 2007 by Ryan