Home > George Halas

Halas, born in Chicago, Illinois, had a varied career in sports. After graduating from Crane Tech High School in Chicago, he attended the University of Illinois, playing football for coach Bob Zuppke as well as baseball and basketball, and earning a degree in civil engineering. He helped Illinois win the 1918 Big Ten football title. Serving as an ensign in the NavyThe United States Navy USN is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. Navy consists of slightly fewer than 300 ships and over 4,000 operational aircraft. It has over a half million men and women on active or ready re during World War IWorld War I (also known as the First World War , the Great War the War of the Nations and the "War to End All Wars") was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. No previous conflict had mobilized so many soldiers, or involved so many in the field of, he played for a team at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station , and was named the MVP of the 1919See also 1918 in sports, other events of 1919, 1920 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'. Baseball The Black Sox scandal Seven members of the Chicago White Sox take bribes to throw the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds The Florida State Leag Rose BowlFor the cricket ground in Southampton, England, see Rose Bowl, Southampton. The Rose Bowl is both the name of an annual American college football game usually played on January 1, and also the name of the stadium in Pasadena, California where the game is. On a team which included Paddy DriscollJohn Leo "Paddy" Driscoll ( January 11, 1895 June 28, 1968) was an American quarterback in professional football. He also played 13 games as an infielder in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs in 1917. He was born in Evanston, Illinois. Driscoll w and Jimmy Conzelman , Halas scored two touchdowns and returned an intercepted pass 77 yards in a 17-0 win; the team was also rewarded with their military discharges.

Afterward, Halas played minor leagueBaseball Part of the History of baseball series. Minor leagues are baseball leagues which are at a lower pay level and play in smaller cities and towns than do Major League Baseball. In North America, most but not all of the minor leagues are under the co and semi-pro baseball. He was so good at baseball, he eventually earned a promotion to the New York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a Major League baseball team based in The Bronx, New York City. They are in the Eastern Division of the American League. The Yankees have won 26 and competed in 39 World Series. These numbers dominate the sport, considering the St, where he played 12 games as an outfielderBaseball positions Outfielder is a collective term including left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder, the three positions in baseball farthest from the batter. Outfielders are primarily engaged in attempting to catch long fly balls. Most of the bi in the major leagues in 1919. However, a hip injury effectively ended his baseball career.

Offered a position with a Decatur, Illinois manufacturer as a company representative, player on the company-sponsored baseball team, and player-coach of the football team, Halas selected the University of Illinois' colors - orange and blue - for the team's uniforms. In 1920, Halas represented Decatur at the meeting which formed the National Football League in Canton, Ohio, and was awarded a franchise he called the Decatur Staleys. After suffering financial losses despite a 10-1-2 record, the club moved to Chicago in 1921, winning the NFL championship that year. They took the name Bears in 1922 as a tribute to the Chicago Cubs, who permitted the Bears to play their games at Wrigley Field.

With the Staleys and Bears, Halas not only played offensive end but also handled ticket sales and the business of running the club; lore says he even sold tickets before the game. All of that perhaps not being enough to do, Halas also coached the team. Named to the NFL's all-pro team in the 1920s, his playing highlight occurred in a 1923 game when he stripped Jim Thorpe of the ball, recovered the fumble, and returned it 98 yards - a league record which would stand until 1972. In 1925, Halas persuaded Illinois star player Red Grange to join the Bears; it was a significant step in establishing both the respectability and popularity of the league, which had previously been viewed as a refuge for less admirable players.

After ten seasons, Halas stepped back from the game in 1930, retiring as a player and leaving the sidelines as coach; but he remained the owner of the club, becoming sole owner in 1932. The lure of the field was too much, however, as Halas returned in 1933 to coach the Bears for another ten seasons. During his absence from coaching, the team had also won the 1932 championship. His 1934 team was undefeated until a loss in the championship game to the New York Giants.

In the late 1930s, Halas - with University of Chicago coach Clark Shaughnessy - perfected the T-formation system to create a revolutionary and overwhelming style of play which drove the Bears to an astonishing 73-0 victory over the Washington Redskins in the 1940 NFL Championship Game. Every other team in the league immediately began trying to imitate the format. The Bears repeated as NFL champions in 1941, and the 1940s would be remembered as the era of the "Monsters of the Midway".

Halas went on a second three-year hiatus during World War II, serving in the Armed Forces from 1943-45, while the Bears won another title in 1943. Returning to the field in 1946, he coached the club for a third decade, again winning a title in his first year back as coach. After a brief break in 1956-57, he resumed the controls of the club for a final decade from 1958 to 1967, winning his last championship in 1963. He did not, however, enjoy the same success as he had before the war. He did win his 200th game in 1950 and his 300th game in 1965, becoming the first coach to reach both milestones. In 40 years as a coach, he endured only six losing seasons.

Halas played an integral part in the segregation of the league in the 1930s by refusing to sign black players for the Bears. Fritz Pollard, who in the 1920s was the league's first African-American coach, blamed Halas for keeping him out of the league in the 1930s and 1940s. Halas eventually changed course and helped to integrate the league, drafting the NFL's first black player since 1933, George Taliaferro , although Taliaferro did not play for the Bears; Halas later signed Willie Thrower , who with the Bears became the league's first black quarterback.

A pioneer both on and off the field, Halas made the Bears the first team to hold daily practice sessions, to analyze film of opponents to find weaknesses and means of attack, and to broadcast games by radio. He also offered to share the team's substantial television income with teams in smaller cities, firmly believing that what was good for the league would ultimately benefit his own team. A firm disciplinarian, Halas maintained complete control of his team and did not tolerate disobedience and insubordination by players. He also insisted on absolute integrity and honesty in management, believing that a handshake was sufficient to finalize a deal; few, if any, intermediaries were necessary.

After the 1967 season, Halas - then the oldest coach in league history - retired as coach. He continued to own the club and to be involved in business decisions. He was honored in 1970 and 1980 as the only person involved in the league throughout its first fifty and sixty years of existence.

George Halas' career ledger reads as follows: 63 years as an owner, 40 as a coach, 324 wins, and 8 NFL titles as a coach or owner. He was a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963; the Hall of Fame is appropriately located on George Halas Drive. The NFC championship trophy also bears his name. In both 1963 and 1965 he was selected by The Sporting News, the AP and the UPI as the NFL Coach of the Year. In 1997 he was featured on a US postage stamp as one of the legendary coaches of football. He has been recognized by ESPN as one of the ten most influential people in sports in the 20th century, and as one of the greatest coaches. In 1993, Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula finally surpassed Halas' victory total.

Halas died in Chicago at age 88, and is entombed in St. Adalbert Catholic Cemetery.