Red Grange

• Chicago Bears (1925 )
• New York Yankees (1926 (AFL ), 1927 )
• Chicago Bears (1929-1934)

• NFL 1920s All- Decade Team
• 3x All Pro ( 1930-1932 ) 1 2 team
• Back number blocked by Bears and college
• 3x won NFL Championships (1930, 1932, 1933)
• Pro Football Hall of Fame (1963 )
• College Football Hall of Fame (1951 )
• Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (1994 )

Harold Edward "Red" Grange ( born June 13, 1903 in Forksville, Pennsylvania, † 28 January 1991 in Lake Wales, Florida ) Nickname: The Galloping Ghost was a U.S. American football player in the National Football League ( NFL).

Youth

Born as the third child of a lumberjack camp foreman of a Grange initially grew up in Pennsylvania. He had three brothers. After his family had moved to Wheaton, Illinois, his father police chief in the city was. His mother died when he was five years old and he and his brothers were brought up by her father. Grange enjoyed a strict upbringing, but was supported by his father in his sporting ambitions. In a study of six-year Grange unusual heart sounds were noted by the physician. He was supposed to participate in any sporting activities. His father doubted the diagnosis, took the boy to another doctor, whose diagnosis was negative. The boy was healthy and could therefore already be played at school American football sports, but also other sports. Already in high school is Grange developed to a fast runner, he managed the 100 yards distance in 9.8 seconds.

Playing career

College career

Grange attended the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. His studies had the family and he paid himself. In high school, Grange had incidentally worked and earned the money for the study. This work would also almost been the end of his young career. When unloading of ice from a truck the heavy vehicle ran over his leg, this was not separated - he was able to quickly recover from his injury. Grange was forced by financial difficulties to study at a nearby college.

Grange played at the College of 1923 until 1925. 1923 his team champion was in their league. He introduced during his season at Urbana- Champaign on numerous records and was regarded as the best college football players of all time, which was confirmed by the U.S. television network ESPN in their election in 2008. In 1924, he was directly involved in one of the most legendary games of the college football history. A crowd of over 66,000 his team against the University of Michigan played. Grange was the first ball of the game as a kickoff return 95 yards away in the end zone of Michigan. He scored four more touchdowns than 67, 54, 44 and 13 yards, threw a touchdown pass and thus contributed to 39:14 victory of his team. The three-time All-American Grange became a nationally known football star who regularly filled the football stadiums and so desires at the professional teams woke up, still a marginal phenomenon in football sports were at that time and were met with little public notice. The last game of Grange in college sports was followed by 90,000 spectators, a day after he declared - after his manager had given assurances to be part of the gate receipts in the future - to want to continue to play as a pro.

The playing style of Grange, whose idol was Jim Thorpe was, from American sports journalist Grantland Rice described as follows:

" Grange is as Nurmi ( Paavo Nurmi ), as Dempsey moves ( Jack Dempsey ), almost without any effort, flitting breezes and flits about like shadows. Since there are no forces gathering for one last extra boost. Since there is only this playful, ghosts same snaking and sliding on feathery legs, with a body that can dissolve in a tempo change from the hips, then comes to a stop and immediately picks up on the previous speed, all in a perfect interplay of brain and muscular system. "

His nickname was Grange by another sports journalist from Chicago - the then active as a writer Warren Brown, who was employed by the Chicago Herald - Examiner.

Professional career

Five days after his last college game ran Grange during the current season before the NFL - record crowd of 36,000 spectators for the coached by George Halas Chicago Bears. The game against the Chicago Cardinals finished 0-0. The other games provided substantial gate receipts. The last game of the season was (according to other sources before 73,000 spectators ) disputed with the New York Giants before 65,000 spectators, the Bears introduced a 19:7 victory and saved as are in need of cash Giants from ruin.

The season was also financially very successful for Grange. Its share of the gate receipts amounted to U.S. $ 100,000, of which, however, his manager kept 50 % for himself. For a professional football player, this was a huge sum. Normally, the players were paid per game and the Gage was rarely more than 100 U.S. dollars for a game. The Bears were also impressed if its economic success and appended to the season on a tour. Sporty, the trip was very successful, economically Grange brought more revenue in a total amount of U.S. $ 100,000. Incidentally Grange turned two silent films One Minute to Play and A Racing Romeo, what gave him another income.

After the first season financially successful career of Grange experienced a kink. Grange had no direct player contract with the Bears, but was bound by contract to his manager Charlie Pyle. Pyle called from the season 1926 along with the expected participation in the gate receipts third co-ownership to the Bears, which was rejected by Halas and his co-owner around. Pyle therefore decided in 1926 to found a rival league, the game, however, the operation had a year later because of financial difficulties relist. The new professional team of Grange, the New York Yankees has been taken in the NFL after this year, went to another game year but also in bankruptcy. For Grange was even more difficult, he in 1927 in a game against the Bears seriously injured his knee and had, therefore, suspend 1928.

After his two- year-long stint with the New York Yankees, where he played mostly as a blocking back, Grange returned to the Bears in 1929 ruefully back. His sole dominance in the NFL and the Bears had lost, however Grange. His knee injury suffered in 1927 had deprived him of the maneuverability and disabled him at the game. The NFL team competition the Bears, the Cardinals Chicage, bringing with Ernie Nevers in 1929 another football star to Chicago. Furthermore stood from 1930 Bronko Nagurski at the Bears a new college football star under contract, which was to develop into a top player in professional sports.

Grange and Nagurski however, did not see themselves as competitors and complemented each other perfectly, with Grange increasingly received playing time in defense of the Bears. Both led the Bears to the 1930 NFL Championship. 1932 has been committed by the Bears with the Final Bill Hewitt, another later a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and it was followed by the second championship. In 1933, the Bears were able to win their third championship. The Bears were able to defeat the Giants in the final game with 23:21, but ended up in the following year the Giants with 30:13 to admit defeat after they had in the regular season yet all of their 13 games won. Grange finished his career in 1935. In an unofficial football game he was caught in a run of a normally much slower linebackers and brought down. He therefore decided to end his career.

Honors

Grange was elected three times to the All Pro. He is a member of the NFL 1920s All- Decade Team, in the Hall of Fame of his colleges in the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame since 1963 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and since 1951 in derCollege Football Hall of Fame. His shirt number was blocked by the Bears and his college. For the 100th anniversary of the College Footballs Grange was chosen by American sports journalists as the only player in 1969 with no votes against in the All-American team. The magazine The Sporting News selected him as one of the 100 best pro football player ever. The stadium of a high school in his hometown was named after him. The local football team bears his name. His college presented at the stadium on a bronze statue of Grange. In 1978, he led the Super Bowl XII by the coin toss. Up to this point this has been carried out exclusively by the referees. The American TV channel ESPN chose Grange one of the top 100 North American athletes of all time.

Off the pitch

Apart from his two feature films Grange turned in 1931, a 12 -part series called The Galloping Ghost. In addition, he worked until 1963 as an analyst of games the Bears, as well as College Foot Play, the American radio and television. Grange met in 1941 during a flight to know his future wife, the flight attendant has been with the airline. The couple remained childless. In addition to serving as an analyst Grange became a successful businessman and was in the insurance and real estate industry operates. The brother of Red Grange Garland stood from 1929 to 1931 with the Bears as a football player under contract. Grange suffered in his last years from Parkinson 's disease and died of a heart attack. His body was cremated. The burial place is unknown.