George Halas, considered the “Father of the NFL”, was employed as a scale clerk of the A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company, a company that produced starch and syrup products in Decatur, Illinois. Halas had played college baseball and football at the University of Illinois and was now a working man.
In 1917, Mr. Staley, an avid sports enthusiast, decided to start a company baseball team. Besides the competitive aspect, Staley thought a team comprised of employees would bring a sense of company loyalty, friendship and fun plus help advertise his household products.
Besides playing college baseball and football, Halas was in the New York Yankees farm system and eventually played 12 games in the Major League.