George Halas biography
George Halas, in full George Stanley Halas, byname Papa Bear, (born February 2, 1895, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.—died October 31, 1983, Chicago), founder, proprietor, and head coach of the Chicago Bears gridiron soccer workforce within the U.S. skilled National Football League (NFL). Halas revolutionized American soccer technique within the late Nineteen Thirties when he, together with assistant coach Clark Shaughnessy, revived the T formation and added to it the “man in motion” (a participant shifting previous to the beginning of a play).
After commencement from the University of Illinois in 1918, Halas served within the U.S. Navy and, in 1919, performed main league baseball with the New York Yankees. In 1920 he organized the Decatur (Illinois) Staleys and helped to discovered the NFL. He moved the workforce to Chicago in 1921 and the next yr renamed them the Bears. As a Bears participant, he was an distinctive defensive finish and set a league report by operating 98 yards with a recovered fumble.
In 1930 he retired each as a participant and as a coach, however he returned as a full-time coach in 1933. After his Bears, utilizing the T formation, routed the Washington Redskins 73–0 within the 1940 championship sport, the T rapidly grew to become the dominant offense within the NFL. From 1943 to 1945 he served within the navy as soon as extra. He returned to teach the Bears from 1946 by 1955 and from 1958 by 1967. Under his teaching, the Bears received seven league championships and 4 divisional titles. He once more retired as coach in 1968, however he remained the chief government officer of the Bears till his dying.
Halas performed an vital function within the progress and success of the NFL. His signing of collegiate star Red Grange helped entice media consideration to the struggling league. He additionally helped introduce such improvements to the sport as public announcement methods and radio broadcasts. He was a constitution member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.