Papa Bear

George S. Halas took an eternal knee on this day in 1983, dying at the age of 88. It was not a day for mourning, because the man was an ass-kicker and name-taker his whole life and there wasn't much to be done that he didn't do before he laid down for good.

Here are some things you may not have known about Papa Bear Halas:

1. Even though he went to Illinois, he played for the U.S. Navy team in 1919 because he was in the Navy. He was the MVP of the Rose Bowl that year as Navy beat Mare Island 17-0.

2. He was a great baseball player. He played minor league ball after leaving the Navy and was eventually promoted to the Yankees, where he played right field for 12 games in 1919. It's been a myth ever since that he was Babe Ruth's predecessor in right for the Bombers, which is not true. (Here are Halas's career baseball numbers in the bigs.) What I wouldn't give for a picture of Halas in a Yankees uniform. Anyone who can direct me to one, please chime in. This picture below is of his high school team, Crane Tech. Halas is second from the left in the bottom row.



3. The Bears were originally called the Decatur Staleys. Halas played for this team, owned it, coached it, and handled all the club's business and ticket sales. It was around about this time that he started having his trademark breakfast of rusty nails washed down with a cold glass of motor oil.

4. In a game in 1923, Halas stripped Jim Thorpe of the ball and returned the fumble 98 yards for a touchdown. It was an NFL record that stood until 1972, when Jack Tatum broke it with an 104-yard fumble return at Lambeau Field.

5. Halas was personally responsible for bringing two of the greatest football players of all time to the Bears - Red Grange and Sid Luckman. Below, Luckman sits to Halas's right on the bench during their NFL championship season in 1946.