Saluting Papa Bear
Capping our celebration of the Bears’ 100th season, the ultimate installment of the Sun-Times’ “Bears Scrapbook” is devoted to the extraordinary life and eternal reminiscence of the good Chicagoan who made all of it occur — not only for the Bears and Chicago, however for the National Football League: George Stanley Halas.
Bears coach George Halas talks with quarterback Sid Luckman on the Polo Grounds in New York in 1946.AP Pioneer, innovator, businessman
George Halas had an ideal instinct about soccer, the enterprise of professional soccer and, after all, the Bears. There was no better instance of that than quarterback Sid Luckman.
Halas recognized Luckman as the important thing to igniting the T-formation by means of scouting experiences when Luckman was a passing halfback at Columbia University. But Luckman was no secret and sure could be gone earlier than the Bears might get him. So Halas ‘‘got around this obstacle by taking advantage of a loophole in the draft law,’’ as he wrote in a first-person story within the Tribune in 1967.
Sensing the Steelers would have a excessive decide within the 1939 draft, Halas made a deft commerce with fellow proprietor Art Rooney, sending finish Edgar ‘‘Eggs’’ Manske to Pittsburgh in change for Rooney agreeing to take Halas’ man within the first spherical and commerce him to the Bears.
The Steelers (1-9-1) certainly completed final that season and, per the deal, drafted Luckman and traded him to the Bears.
It wasn’t over, although. In these days, the NFL wasn’t the slam dunk it’s right now. Luckman didn’t plan on enjoying skilled soccer; he was ready to affix his household’s trucking enterprise. It took some work, however Halas persuaded Luckman to signal with the Bears for $5,500 — a hefty contract for these days. And the remainder is historical past.
Halas pulled off an identical deal the following yr, making a commerce with the Eagles that netted the Bears halfback George McAfee. A yr after that, the NFL handed a rule that prohibited groups from buying and selling for first-round picks with out the consent of the opposite golf equipment.
It was much like Halas’ signing of Red Grange, after which Halas himself initiated a rule that prohibited groups from signing gamers earlier than their faculty class graduated. Like Bill Belichick right now, Halas was a step forward of all people.
Bears coach George Halas (from left), Giants coach Steve Owen and Packers coach Curly Lambeau share a dialog throughout the NFL Draft in 1947.Walter Stein/AP Reaching out to a buddy — and rival — in want
George Halas helped preserve the Packers in Green Bay.
Halas had a spirited rivalry with Curly Lambeau and the Packers because the early days of the NFL. His appreciation for the rivalry ran so deep that he did all the pieces he might to maintain the Packers in Green Bay when the monetary realities of a maturing league practically despatched them packing in 1956.
The Packers have been in a rut on the time, with eight consecutive non-winning seasons, and their future in Green Bay trusted a referendum to construct a brand new stadium. And it was Halas who went to Green Bay to make use of his affect as a founding father of the NFL to advertise the passage of the referendum.
‘‘I confess I have a deeper feeling of attachment for the Packers than any other club,’’ Halas mentioned on the assembly in March 1956. ‘‘Sometimes I wonder if there would be a Chicago Bears today if there had not been such a terrific rivalry between the Packers and Bears since the early ’20s.
‘‘I can say to you sincerely — just as sincerely as we hope to edge out the Packers in both games next fall — that the best way for you to guarantee the current and future success of the Packers is to build a new stadium, a place where your team can grow and flourish in the future, just as it has grown and flourished here in Green Bay from the earliest days of professional football.’’