There’s no doubting George Halas’s status as one of the NFL’s most important pioneers.
This was the same man who minted the Decatur Staleys and transformed them into the Chicago Bears, one of American football’s most iconic brands. Over the course of roughly six decades under his stead, the Bears won eight championships, largely unimpeded, and almost 500 games. The first major college football star, Red Grange, became a professional thanks to Halas. The similarly transcendent Packers (much to the chagrin of modern Bears observers, no doubt) would not exist today without a direct bailout at the hands of Halas.