Chicago Bears: Best Player by Decade – The 1920’s

In the first of a series encompassing the best players of each decade in the Chicago Bears’ 100 years of existence, we will take a look at the Galloping Ghost, Red Grange.

The Chicago Bears have a long history in the NFL. As the league celebrates its 100-year existence this season, so do the Bears. To celebrate that, we take a look at the best players of each decade. First up is the 1920’s.

Harold “Red” Grange was born in Forksville, Pennsylvania on June 13 of 1903. Grange and his family moved to Wheaton, Illinois where he starred at his high school. He was a shoo-in to get picked up by a college program and it was his home state school that wooed him, the University of Illinois.

Grange was a huge star at Illinois and made a big name for himself. He became the biggest college football star of the time.

This would play into the hands of the Bears.

If you can believe it, professional football was not near as popular when it first started as it is right now. Not by a long-shot. The Chicago Bears and their owner, George Halas, were trying to find a way to make their team and the game more appealing. College football was hot at that time and college players were idolized and followed by many.

Bringing in a big-name talent would be beneficial to help jumpstart the team and the league. Halas had an idea. He successfully courted and persuaded Grange to play with the Bears and embark on what was known as a barnstorming tour. The tour brought football to the people of America as the Bears played local teams all across the country.

Grange was the real star of the tour and a huge reason for its success.

Grange and the Bears went on another tour of the country and generated even more interest in professional football. Both tours did what they meant to do. Professional football was popular in America.

The relationship between the Bears and Grange grew a little tense when Grange and his agent attempted to gain interest in the Bears. After being turned down, they decided to try and go start their own team, the New York Yankees. Grange had a little success but was unable to gain the kind of respect and fan following that the Bears had. So, Grange gave up his dream of owning a team and went back to the Chicago Bears in 1929.

He helped to lead the Bears to two championships in the ’30s with the Bears winning both of those.

Grange was hired to be the Bears’ backfield coach for some time, from 1934 to 1937. After that, he retired from football and went on to be an actor.

The importance of Grange as a Chicago Bear cannot be underestimated. Professional football, during his time for all intents and purposes, was dying. Had that barnstorming tour not been made, it’s entirely possible that professional football would be something that we read about in sports history books wondering what it would have been like to play pro football.

And not only did Grange help bring pro football to the forefront of American sports but he also helped propel the Bears to the front of it as well. The Chicago Bears would be known as one of the best teams of the 20’s thanks to players like Grange.

Grange went on to have an acting career for a little while and then retired from public life. He ended up doing some speaking to help fill out the rest of his life. Grange died of Parkinson’s disease in January of 1991 in Florida.

He received many honors during and after his time with the Bears. He was a college and professional football icon and remains that way today.

Grange helped push professional football to the forefront of modern American sports. He deserves a lot of credit for what he and the Chicago Bears were able to do.