bussey was drafted by the chicago bears in the 20th round of the 1940 nfl draft. he quickly established a brazen reputation for himself, once telling bears owner/coach george halas that "he'd come to be a winner and the coach needed to either trade established quarterback sid luckman or keep him on as bussey's backup." teammate bulldog turner later opined that "[c]oaching young was nearly impossible." halas assigned bussey to the newark bears of the american association, which halas had recently purchased. bussey excelled in newark, becoming the aa's passing leader.