William Roy "Link" Lyman (November 30, 1898 - December 28, 1972), also sometimes known as Roy Lyman, was an American football player and coach. Lyman was born in Nebraska and raised in Kansas. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team in 1918, 1919, and 1921. He played professional football as a tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Canton/Cleveland Bulldogs (1922-1925), the Frankford Yellow Jackets (1925), and the Chicago Bears (1926-1928, 1930-1932, and 1933-1934).

In December 1925, Lyman joined the Chicago Bears and took part in a winter barnstorming tour that featured football player Red Grange. He joined the Bears again in the fall of 1926. The 1926 Bears team featured five players who were later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Lyman, Paddy Driscoll, George Halas, Ed Healey, and George Trafton), posted a 12-1-3 record, and finished second in the NFL.  Lyman remained with the Bears for the 1927 and 1928 seasons. He retired after the 1928 season but returned to the Bears in the fall of 1930. The 1930 Bears compiled a 9-4-1 and finished third in the NFL. Lyman was selected as a first-team All-Pro by Collyer's Eye magazine and the Green Bay Press-Gazette.  Lyman again retired from playing football after the 1931 season. During his two retirements from the Bears, Lyman played semipro ball in Texas and worked in the ranching business.  Lyman returned to the Bears in 1933. The 1933 Bears featured six future Pro Football Hall of Fame players (Lyman, Bronko Nagurski, Red Grange, George Musso, and George Trafton), posted a 10-2-1 record, and defeated the Giants in the 1933 NFL Championship Game.  Lyman played his final year of professional football as a member of the 1934 Bears team that compiled a perfect 13-0 record in the regular season and won the NFL Western Division championship, but lost to the Giants in the 1934 NFL Championship Game. After the 1934 season, Lyman was selected as a first-team All-Pro by the United Press, Green Bay Press-Gazette, and Collyer's Eye. Bears' coach George Halas later observed that Lyman was "stronger and tougher during his last two seasons than when he first joined the team eight years earlier."

Ask a question about this article.
How old was Lyman when he retired from football?