Halas, George

George Halas, in full George Stanley Halas, byname Papa Bear, (born February 2, 1895, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.—died October 31, 1983, Chicago), founder, owner, and head coach of the Chicago Bears gridiron football team in the U.S. professional National Football League (NFL). Halas revolutionized American football strategy in the late 1930s when he, along with assistant coach Clark Shaughnessy, revived the T formation and added to it the “man in motion” (a player moving prior to the start of a play).

After graduation from the University of Illinois in 1918, Halas served in the U.S. Navy and, in 1919, played major league baseball with the New York Yankees. In 1920 he organized the Decatur (Illinois) Staleys and helped to found the NFL. He moved the team to Chicago in 1921 and the following year renamed them the Bears. As a Bears player, he was an exceptional defensive end and set a league record by running 98 yards with a recovered fumble.

In 1930 he retired both as a player and as a coach, but he returned as a full-time coach in 1933. After his Bears, using the T formation, routed the Washington Redskins 73–0 in the 1940 championship game, the T quickly became the dominant offense in the NFL. From 1943 to 1945 he served in the navy once more. He returned to coach the Bears from 1946 through 1955 and from 1958 through 1967. Under his coaching, the Bears won seven league championships and four divisional titles. He again retired as coach in 1968, but he remained the chief executive officer of the Bears until his death.

Halas played an important role in the growth and success of the NFL. His signing of collegiate star Red Grange helped attract media attention to the struggling league. He also helped introduce such innovations to the game as public announcement systems and radio broadcasts. He was a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.