Chicago Bears Top 100: #2 George Halas
We’re finally in the Top 10 in our countdown of the Top 100 Chicago Bears! These are the most dominant and elite figures in the storied Chicago Bears history. As we get closer to the season opener, we get closer to naming the #1 Chicago Bear of all time.
I have to admit, there was a fair bit of debate about whether to rank George “Papa Bear” Halas as #1 or #2 in our list of Chicago Bears Top 100. Halas was just nudged out of the top spot, but still sits proudly at #2. Halas is one of the founding fathers of the NFL and had it not been for him, we might have all grown up watching soccer or rugby instead of football.
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Halas was the son of Czech immigrants, growing up in Chicago. Halas attended the University of Illinois where he played football, basketball and baseball while earning a degree in Civil Engineering. Halas helped the Illini win the Big 10 conference championship back in 1918. (Was that the last time the Illini won the Big 10??? I kid, I kid.) Halas served in the Navy during World War I and played for a team out of the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, earning Rose Bowl MVP in 1919.
Halas had a minor stint as a professional baseball player with the New York Yankees before a hip injury derailed his baseball career. In 1920, he moved to Decatur Illinois to accept a position with A.E. Staley to be a salesman for the starch manufacturer. He ran the company football team, choosing his alma mater’s orange and navy as the team colors and the rest, as they say, is history. (Click Next down in below to continue)