George S. Halas mausoleum in Niles, IL

Halas mausoleum

With the NFL preseason upon us, I thought today would be a good day to remember George S. Halas. "Papa Bear" was like Chicago itself, gruff and mean. But he was a legend. A founder of the NFL and the owner of the Chicago Bears, he was the team's first coach--he even played for the Monsters of the Midway for their first few years. His was the first NFL team to hold daily practices, analyze game film, and to place assistant coaches in the press box during games. Although not consecutively, Halas coached the Bears for 40 years, winning seven championships. He even played right field for the New York Yankees in 1919.

Halas was born in Chicago, his Bears played in Chicago, and he died in Chicago. But Papa Bear is buried in the family mausoleum in St. Adalbert Cemetery in Niles, just north of the city.

My favorite Halas story involves a loss. In the 1934 NFL Championship game in New York against the Giants, the Bears were leading 10-3. The field was icy because of a freezing rain storm the night before. Some of the Giants players switched out of their football cleats into basketball sneakers during the third quarter to combat the slippery conditions. When told what the Giants did, Halas replied, "Good. Step on their toes."

But the Giants won 30-13. Still, he won more than he lost and in those 40 years as coach, he only had six losing seasons.

The Halas mausoleum is located in Section 2 of St. Adalbert's, near Milwaukee Avenue.

Related posts:

In Niles, Illinois: Gravestone of the last surviving veteran of the Indian Wars

In honor of Memorial Day 2011: St. Adalbert Cemetery's World War I monument in Niles, IL



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