Grange played for the team from 1923 to 1925. In his first collegiate football game, he scored three touchdowns against Nebraska. In seven games as a sophomore, he ran for 723 yards and scored 12 touchdowns, and led Illinois to an undefeated season and the Helms Athletic Foundation national championship. His younger brother Garland also played football for the school.
He drew national attention for his performance in the October 18, 1924, game against Michigan, in the grand opening game of the new Memorial Stadium, built as a memorial to Illini students and alumni who had served in World War I. The Michigan Wolverines entered the game as favorites, having won a national title the previous year. Grange returned the opening kickoff for a 95-yard touchdown and scored three more touchdowns on runs of 67, 56, and 44 yards in the first 12 minutes, the last three in less than seven minutes. On his next carry, he ran 56 yards for yet another touchdown. In the second half, Grange scored a fifth touchdown on an 11-yard run and also threw a touchdown pass. On defense, he intercepted two passes.
Considering Grange's popularity, rumors began surrounding his future after completing his senior year, including professional football and acting. A petition was also created to convince him to run for the Republican Party's at-large nomination for the 70th United States Congress; although he was only 22 years old at the time, supporters argued he would be within six months of the minimum age of 25 when the Congress opened in December 1927. Despite the speculation, Grange and those connected with him tried to dodge any inquiries that might affect his college athlete eligibility; when approached about a career in pro football, he denied it. He also turned down a potential college coaching career owing to low pay.
In his 20-game college career, Grange ran for 3,362 yards, caught 14 passes for 253 yards, and completed 40 of 82 passes for 575 yards. Of his 31 touchdowns, 16 were from at least 20 yards, with nine from more than 50 yards. He scored at least one touchdown in every game he played but the Nebraska game. He earned All-America recognition three consecutive years and appeared on the cover of Time on October 5, 1925.
After the 1925 Ohio State game, Grange formally announced his intention to sign with the Bears, but other NFL teams also expressed interest in signing him. The Rochester Jeffersons made a last-ditch effort to sign him at a salary of $5,000 per game, but were unable to do so, a key factor in the team's demise. The New York Giants also reportedly offered $40,000 to him, a claim denied by team executive Harry March while owner Tim Mara noted the NFL did not allow college players to sign with teams and also had limits on how much money a team could offer. Still, Mara visited Chicago the same day that Grange signed with the Bears and secured a game against them in December.
On November 22, he formally hired Pyle as his agent and signed with the Bears. The contract earned him a salary and share of gate receipts that amounted to $100,000, during an era when typical league salaries were less than $100/game. Prior to joining his new teammates, he attended the Bears' game against the Green Bay Packers at Cubs Park, a game they won 21–0. Former Yale player Tim Callahan also announced he had secured Grange for a December Florida league he had organized.
Grange is the last player to play both college football and in the NFL in the same season. In 1926, the NFL passed the "Red Grange Rule" to forbid further players from doing the same, along with requiring NFL hopefuls' graduating classes to have left college, though both clauses would be tested in various instances. In 1930, the Bears signed Notre Dame fullback Joe Savoldi although he had withdrawn from school and been kicked off the team, a violation of the Grange Rule's graduating class prerequisite. The Bears argued that since Savoldi had been expelled, he was technically no longer a member of his Class of 1931; the team would be fined $1,000 for each game Savoldi played in. The NFL also maintained the rule prohibiting players from appearing in college and NFL games in the same season when TCU running back Kenneth Davis attempted to join the league after being suspended one game into his senior year in 1986.
Grange made his NFL debut on November 26, Thanksgiving Day, against the Chicago Cardinals. With only three days of practice in the Bears' T formation (he had played in the single wing offense in college), he recorded 92 rushing yards and an interception in the scoreless tie. A crowd of 40,000 attended the game. In the next game against the Columbus Tigers, he threw a touchdown pass and recorded 171 yards as the Bears won 14–7. Shortly after, Britton signed with the Bears, reuniting him with Grange.
In December, the Bears' schedule grew with eight games between December 2 and 13, including three against local all-star teams. The first game, against the Donnelly All-Stars at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, saw Grange score four touchdowns in a 39–6 blowout. On December 5, he scored two touchdowns including the game-winner against the Frankford Yellow Jackets. The next day, between 65,000 and 73,000 people showed up at the Polo Grounds to watch Grange, helping save the Giants' franchise from financial debt. Grange scored a touchdown on a 35-yard interception return in the Bears' 19–7 victory. Offensively, he ran for 53 yards on 11 carries, caught a 23-yard pass, and completed two of three passes for 32 yards. Before their next game against a Washington, D.C. all-star team, Pyle and Grange elected to remain in New York to promote themselves, receiving various endorsements.
After a December and January tour, Pyle approached George Halas and Dutch Sternaman about buying an interest in the Bears, but was turned down. In response, he and Grange attempted to form their own team, the New York Yankees, and gain entry into the NFL. Although they acquired a five-year lease to play at Yankee Stadium, Mara intervened as he felt the Yankees infringed on his Giants' territorial rights.
After the season, the team embarked on a ten-game barnstorming tour to Texas and California alongside Wilson's Wildcats. In late December, in what Grange wrote was "about the only memorable part of the tour", he and his teammates were arrested in Dallas for disturbing the peace and reportedly being intoxicated, the latter of which the group denied; Grange explained the incident transpired when the team visited a hotel at 4 AM after being recommended the spot as a nightlife location by a local policeman. After the players were ordered by the hotel manager to leave the lobby for the noise they were creating, the police confronted them, including throwing teammate Pooley Hubert in an argument. They were eventually arrested and jailed, but were released after paying $10 as they had to play a game in Beaumont that day.
The AFL shut down after one season and the Yankees were added to the NFL. On October 17, 1927, the Yankees were shut out 12–0 by the Bears in Chicago. With a minute remaining in the game, Grange suffered a severe knee injury when he was hit by center George Trafton while trying to catch a pass from Eddie Tryon. As he landed, Grange's cleat caught in the field, causing him to twist his knee when Trafton fell on him. Revealed to be a torn tendon, he underwent a diathermy to treat it after water started to form. The injury ultimately affected Grange's speed and running ability, though he remained serviceable for the rest of his career. "After it happened, I was just another halfback," Grange commented.
Four weeks after the Bears game, Grange returned against the Cardinals at quarterback to honor his contract. Although his injury worsened, the Yankees won 20–6 and he ultimately finished the season. After the year, he and the Yankees participated in another barnstorming tour against West Coast teams led by Wilson and Benny Friedman. Grange explained his decision to keep playing in his autobiography: "At the young age of twenty-four, I refused to believe that I couldn't bounce back to my old form. I was positive I could play myself back into shape. But those additional games only served to further aggravate my condition and, when the tour was ended, it became apparent I had done irreparable damage to the knee.
The contract between Pyle and Grange expired in January 1928, but Grange decided not to renew due to his injury and withdrew his stake in the Yankees. Without Grange, the Yankees went 4–8–1 before shutting down for financial reasons. Grange missed the entire 1928 season before returning to the Bears for 1929.
The two highlights of Grange's later NFL years came in consecutive championship games. In the unofficial 1932 championship, Grange caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Bronko Nagurski. It was argued the pass was illegal. In the 1933 championship, Grange made a touchdown-saving tackle that saved the game and the title for the Bears.
He was a very modest person, who insisted that even the ordinary plumber or electrician knows more about his craft than he does. He said he could not explain how he did what he did on the field of play, and that he just followed his instincts.
Upon ending his playing career in 1934, Grange became the backfield coach for the Bears. Although Halas had offered him the team's head coaching position, he declined as he "never had any ambition to be a head coach in either the professional or college ranks." He remained in the position until 1937.
In college, Grange was a three-time consensus All-American and led his team to a national championship in 1923. He was the only consensus All-American running back in 1924 who was not a member of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame. The same year, Grange became the first recipient of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award as the Big Ten Conference's most valuable player. In 2008, Grange was named the best college football player of all time by ESPN, and in 2011, he was named the Greatest Big Ten Icon by the Big Ten Network.
Shortly after his final college game in 1925, Grange joined the Bears and the NFL, embarking on a barnstorming tour to raise the league's attention across the country. When his rookie contract expired, he and agent C. C. Pyle formed the American Football League in 1926, with Grange playing for the Yankees. The league lasted just one year before shutting down and the Yankees were assimilated into the NFL. Grange suffered a serious knee injury in 1927 that prevented him from playing the following season, and he returned to the Bears in 1929. He remained with the team until he ended his playing career in 1934, from which he became a backfield coach for the Bears for three seasons.
He helped gain popularity to professional football and for that he is a charter member of both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
No comments:
Post a Comment