1. George Halas was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League, and served as his own head coach on four occasions.
45 Facts About George Halas
1. 2.
George Halas was lesser-known as a player for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball.
3.
George Halas is the namesake for the NFC Championship trophy.
4.
George Halas was the oldest person in NFL history to serve as a head coach, aged 72 years and 318 days when he coached the final game of his career in December 1967, a record that stood for over 50 years until Romeo Crennel became the interim head coach of the Houston Texans in October 2020, aged 73 years and 115 days.
5.
George Halas was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a family of Czech-Bohemian immigrants.
6.
In 1915, George Halas worked temporarily for Western Electric, and was planning on being on the SS Eastland.
7.
George Halas was running late as he was attempting to gain weight to play Big Ten football and missed the capsizing, which killed 844 passengers.
8.
On February 18,1922, George Halas married Wilhelmina "Minnie" Bushing, to whom he remained married until her death in 1966.
9.
George Halas became a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
10.
George Halas helped Illinois win the 1918 Big Ten Conference football title.
11.
In recognition of his Rose Bowl accomplishments, George Halas was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2018.
12.
George Halas said that he was succeeded as the Yankees' right fielder by Babe Ruth, but in reality, it was Sammy Vick.
13.
George Halas signed his first professional football contract with the independent Hammond All-Stars, who would become the Hammond Pros the next season.
14.
George Halas served as a company sales representative, an outfielder on the company-sponsored baseball team, and the player-coach of the company-sponsored football team the Decatur Staleys.
15.
In 1920, George Halas represented the Staleys at the meeting which formed the American Professional Football Association in Canton, Ohio.
16.
The Staleys' financial troubles didn't dissuade George Halas from significantly upgrading the roster, to the point that it was a works team in name only.
17.
George Halas then took on teammate Edward "Dutch" Sternaman as a partner.
18.
The newly minted "Chicago Staleys" set up shop at Cubs Park, soon to be known as Wrigley Field; George Halas had a good relationship with Chicago Cubs owner William Wrigley Jr.
19.
George Halas was not only the team's coach but played end and handled ticket sales and the business of running the club.
20.
In 1925, George Halas persuaded Illinois star player Red Grange to join the Bears; it was a significant step in establishing the league's respectability and popularity, which had previously been viewed as a refuge for less admirable players.
21.
George Halas returned as coach in 1933 to eliminate the additional cost of paying a head coach's salary.
22.
George Halas believed he'd found the perfect quarterback for his new offense in Sid Luckman, a passing star at Columbia University.
23.
George Halas was not satisfied with other players who succeeded Luckman under center.
24.
That same year, George Halas met with the Army Chief of Staff, General Dwight Eisenhower, the Navy Chief of Staff, Admiral Chester Nimitz, and the Air Force Chief of Staff, General Carl Spaatz, and offered to set up an annual charity football game, with the Bears as hosts, whose proceeds would go to the relief agencies of the armed forces.
25.
George Halas did win his 200th game in 1950 and his 300th game in 1965, becoming the first coach to reach both milestones.
26.
In 1939, George Halas followed Tim Mara's footsteps who purchased the Stapleton Buffaloes in 1937 and obtained the rights to a former NFL club Newark Tornadoes from Piggy Simandl, changed the team's name to Bears and stocked with talent that did not make the Chicago roster.
27.
George Halas used the club to incubate talent and for easy return for injured players, thus making it pro football's first true farm team.
28.
George Halas folded the team in 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor ushered in the United States' participation in World War II.
29.
In 1946, after he returned from service in World War II, George Halas launched the Akron Bears of the American Football League as the Chicago Bears' minor league affiliate.
30.
George Halas 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.
31.
George Halas insisted on absolute integrity and honesty in management, believing that a handshake was sufficient to finalize a deal; few, if any, intermediaries were necessary.
32.
George Halas was a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
33.
In both 1963 and 1965, George Halas was selected by The Sporting News, the AP and the UPI as the NFL Coach of the Year.
34.
George Halas 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.
35.
In 1956, George Halas was awarded the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, which is the Navy's highest civilian award.
36.
From 1966 to 1996, a George Halas Trophy was awarded to the NFL defensive player of the year by the Newspaper Enterprise Association.
37.
George Halas revived the team for four more seasons, 1939 to 1942, and played in the National Basketball League and in the World Professional Basketball Tournament.
38.
George Halas entered the United States Navy again after the advent of World War II in 1942, with the rank of lieutenant commander.
39.
George Halas served overseas for 20 months under the command of Admiral Chester Nimitz.
40.
George Halas's duties were supporting the welfare and recreational activities of the Seventh Fleet.
41.
George Halas was awarded the Bronze Star during his recall and was released from duty in 1946 with the rank of captain.
42.
George Halas continued as the team's principal owner for the rest of his life.
43.
George Halas continued to take an active role in team operations until his death.
44.
George Halas was honored in 1970 and 1980 as the only person involved in the league throughout its first 50 and 60 years of existence.
45.
George Halas died of pancreatic cancer in Chicago on October 31,1983, at age 88, and is entombed in St Adalbert Catholic Cemetery in Niles, Illinois.