Babe Dimancheff
| No. 87, 41 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Halfback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | September 6, 1922 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Indianapolis, Indiana | ||||||||
| Date of death: | October 17, 2008 (aged 86) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Indianapolis (IN) George Washington Community | ||||||||
| College: | Purdue | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1944 / Round: 3 / Pick: 27 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| As player: | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| As coach: | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Boris Stephan "Babe" Dimancheff (September 6, 1922 – October 17, 2008) was an American football halfback in the National Football League (NFL). Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, he played seven seasons for the Boston Yanks (1945–1946), the Chicago Cardinals (1947–1950), and the Chicago Bears (1952). He won an NFL Championship with the Chicago Cardinals in 1947.
Dimancheff played football at Purdue University, starting at halfback during the 1943 and 1944 seasons. He starred in a powerful backfield, alongside Tony Butkovich. In 1943, he led the Boilermakers to a perfect season the Big Ten Conference title. His senior season (1944) was his best year as he was selected as the team captain, named to the International News Service's All-American team, named All-Big Ten (1st team) and was selected as the team's Most Valuable Player. He played in the East–West Shrine Game in 1944.
Following his NFL career, Dimancheff moved into the coaching ranks. His first job was at Hamtramck High School, in Hamtramck, Michigan. There he led the Maroons to two state titles. His star player was Willie Fleming.
After winning his second state title, Dimancheff returned to the NFL, where he spent 12 seasons as a coach and director of player personnel. He began as the backfield and receivers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers and was also the team's director of player personnel. He spent the 1957 through 1959 seasons with the Steelers before joining the Dallas Cowboys for their inaugural season in 1960. After two years in Dallas, he accepted the offensive coordinator position at Wake Forest University. By 1964, he was the head coach and general manager of the Canton Bulldogs of the United Football League. He moved with the franchise to Philadelphia and coached the Bulldogs for one season in the Continental Football League.
By 1966, Dimancheff was back in the NFL as the receivers coach and director of player personnel for George Halas and the Chicago Bears. Dimancheff spend seven seasons in Chicago before moving on to the World Football League (WLF) and a job as the offensive coordinator for the Southern California Sun. When the league folded after the 1975 season, he remained in Southern California.