Daniel John Fortmann was an American professional football player who was a guard and linebacker for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League.
30 Facts About Dan Fortmann
2.
Dan Fortmann was the Bears' team captain starting in 1940 and led the team to NFL championships in 1940,1941, and 1943.
3.
Dan Fortmann engaged in a medical practice in Southern California from 1946 to 1984 and was the team physician for the Los Angeles Rams from 1947 to 1963.
4.
Dan Fortmann was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.
5.
Dan Fortmann was born in 1916 in Pearl River, New York.
6.
Dan Fortmann's father, Bernhard Gerhart Fortmann, was a New York native and salesman of butter and eggs.
7.
Dan Fortmann's mother, Emma Margaret Doscher, was a New York native.
8.
Dan Fortmann attended Pearl River High School, where he earned 12 varsity letters in sports and was the valedictorian of his class.
9.
At age 16, Dan Fortmann enrolled at Colgate University, where he played football, playing as a halfback as a freshman before moving to guard and becoming a starter in 1934 and 1935.
10.
Dan Fortmann received straight A's as a pre-med student and graduated with Phi Beta Kappa honors at age 19.
11.
Dan Fortmann was president of his senior class and a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
12.
At age 19, Dan Fortmann was selected by the Chicago Bears in the ninth and final round of the 1936 NFL Draft.
13.
Dan Fortmann remained with the Bears for his entire professional football career, lasting for eight years from 1936 to 1943.
14.
In voting by NFL coaches for the 1939 All-Pro Team, Dan Fortmann received 37 points, the second-highest individual vote of any player.
15.
Dan Fortmann was team captain of the Bears starting in 1940.
16.
Dan Fortmann announced his retirement from the NFL in January 1943, but was persuaded to return for the 1943 season.
17.
Dan Fortmann continued to practice medicine at Pittsburgh's Presbyterian Hospital during the 1943 season, flying in on Saturdays to play with the Bears on Sundays.
18.
Dan Fortmann announced his retirement five days after the championship game.
19.
Dan Fortmann received numerous honors and awards during and after his football career, including the following:.
20.
Dan Fortmann was married to Mary Van Halteren in a ceremony at East Lansing, Michigan, on March 19,1938.
21.
Dan Fortmann enrolled at Rush Medical School at the University of Chicago, where he studied medicine while playing for the Bears.
22.
Dan Fortmann interned at Harper Hospital in Detroit and completed his surgical training at the University of Pittsburgh.
23.
In February 1945, Dan Fortmann was commissioned as a lieutenant in the United States Navy.
24.
Dan Fortmann served in the Navy Medical Corps on a hospital ship in the Pacific theater.
25.
In 1946, Dan Fortmann was licensed to practice medicine in California and began practicing on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
26.
Dan Fortmann worked as a surgeon at St Joseph Hospital in Burbank, California, from 1948 until 1984.
27.
Dan Fortmann became the hospital's chief of staff in 1965.
28.
Dan Fortmann served as the team physician for the Los Angeles Rams from 1947 to 1963.
29.
Dan Fortmann was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1983 and, in 1988, began living at the John Douglas French Center, a facility in Los Alamitos, California, specializing in the care of Alzheimer's patients.
30.
Dan Fortmann died at French Center in May 1995 at age 79.