George Halas “Papa Bear”. He founded the Chicago Bears who weren’t yet named that when he acquired them.
Actually, he was the player/owner for that team. So he was the team’s player, coach, and owner. Amazing.
His 324 total victories are the most in team history.
That record stood for 27 years until Don Shula surpassed it in 1993.
He was one of the most influential owners as the league evolved from its humble beginnings.
A master and student of the wishbone formation, Halas polished some brand new running schemes to football.
in 1963, he was inducted as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame with six championships.
Halas was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a family of Czech-Bohemian immigrants.
He also became a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He helped Illinois win the 1918 Big Ten Conference football title.
Serving as an ensign in the Navy during World War I, he played for a team at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, and was named the MVP of the 1919 Rose Bowl.
In recognition of his Rose Bowl accomplishments, Halas was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2018.
On a team that included Paddy Driscoll and Jimmy Conzelman,
Halas scored a receiving touchdown and returned an intercepted pass 77 yards in a 17–0 win over the Mare Island Marines of
California; the team was also rewarded with their military discharges.
Afterward, Halas played minor league baseball, eventually earning a promotion to the New York Yankees, where he played 12 games as an outfielder in 1919.
However, a hip injury effectively ended his baseball career. Halas said that he was succeeded as the Yankees' right fielder by Babe Ruth, but in reality, it was Sammy Vick.
Later that year, Halas played for the Hammond Pros and received about $75 per game.