George Halas (1895-1983) was a pioneering figure in American football. He was a player, coach, owner, and administrator in the National Football League (NFL) for over 60 years. Halas was one of the founders of the NFL and played a key role in its early development. He also coached the Chicago Bears for over 40 years, leading the team to six NFL championships. Halas was known for his innovative offensive and defensive strategies, as well as his ability to identify and develop talent. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 and is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of American football.
George Halas | https://www.profootballhof.com/players/george-halas/
George Halas was born to immigrants from what is now Slovakia, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time of his birth in 1895. His father, Frank Halas, was from the town of Pribenik, and his mother, Barbara, was from the town of Dolny Kubin. These towns are located in what is now Slovakia but were part of the Kingdom of Hungary at the time of Halas’ parents’ immigration.
Czech immigration to Chicago began in the 1850s when railroads linked the Windy City to the East Coast. At the turn of the twentieth century, Chicago had a significant Czech population, and their presence was evident in the names of neighborhoods such as Pilsen, Praha, Czech California, Novy Tabor, and the Bohemian National Cemetery.
Czechs and Slovaks came to America for economic reasons, and for the freedom denied to them during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When the First World War broke out, many Czech immigrants and first-generation Czech-American men volunteered to fight for the independence of their homeland, either with the Czech legionnaires or the United States Army. After playing football, baseball, and basketball at the University of Illinois and earning an engineering degree, George Halas joined the Navy during World War I. Halas played football for a team at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station and was named the MVP of the 1919 Rose Bowl.
Having earned his discharge from the Navy, Halas played minor league baseball and eventually took a position with the Staley Company in Decatur, Illinois, as their Athletic Director. In 1920 he represented the company team at the organizational meeting for the NFL in Canton, Ohio. The 1920-21 economic recession found the Staley Company in financial straits, and in 1921 the company founder handed over control of the football team to Halas. Halas moved the team to Chicago and in 1922 adopted the name the “Chicago Bears”.
Halas was a player-coach for most of the 1920s and ran the front office for the Bears in those early years of the NFL as the owner/treasurer/general manager. He retired as a player in 1930, yet continued to coach on and off until 1967. During his tenure at the helm of the Chicago Bears, Halas won six NFL championships as head coach and was the first to organize daily practices, broadcast games on the radio, and utilize films of opponents' games for study.
George Halas remained the majority owner and executive of the Chicago Bears until his death in 1983 from pancreatic cancer. He was a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 and today is revered as one of the instrumental “game changers” of the NFL.
Written by Eric Johnson
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