Red Grange Turns Pro (1925)

The Ghost Hits the Professional Gridiron

Red Grange (The Galloping Ghost) was born on June 13, 1903 in Forksville, PA. Grange was an incredibly gifted athlete from the start of his sports career, especially in high school where he earned sixteen letters in football, baseball, basketball and track. Grange almost did not play football in college for Illinois after his illustrious high school career. However some of his fraternity brothers changed his mind with the use of a large wooden paddle. The Galloping Ghost’s name grew quickly as he scored 3 touchdowns in his first game against Nebraska in 1923. (ESPN.com)

His sophomore year however, is when his name really started buzzing around the football community. He ran for 723 yards and twelve touchdowns in seven games, leading Illinois to an undefeated national championship season. That year, Grange was an all-pro and tore up every defense that lined up across from him. The name Red Grange was already known fairly well, but it became very widely known on October 18, 1924. This is when Grange scored five touchdowns and gained 402 yards in a game against Michigan, who had one of the most outstanding defenses in the country. This game is known as one of the greatest performances ever on the football field. His performance grew his legend and made him an astonishingly sought after player. (Britannica.com)

During Grange’s senior year, there were rumors going around that he would be leaving Illinois to turn pro. Sure enough, after leading his team to a season finale win against Ohio State, Grange left the University of Illinois to turn pro. He signed a contract to play for the NFL’s Chicago Bears and was coached by George Halas. He was guaranteed a $3,000 per game contract to play for Halas. This signing brought credibility and a much needed spark into the pro game as everyone was excited to see what the Galloping Ghost could do in the pros. (ESPN)

After Grange signed with the Bears, they created a hybrid schedule that was part regular season, and part exhibition games. This schedule had the Bears playing 19 games in 67 days. The first section of this crazy tour had Grange and the Bears playing 10 games in just 18 days. It is reported that there were 7,500 people that attended the last Bears game that Grange didn’t play in, and the first game that Grange was a part of there were 36,000 people jammed into Cubs Park (known now as Wrigley Field) to watch him play football. Not every game had a crowd quite like this one, but most of them did. Some of the biggest crowds were in large cities like Los Angeles and New York where more than 65,000 people came to watch the Galloping Ghost. According to Joe Horrigan, Pro Football Hall of Fame's Executive Director, Grange helped the New York Giants franchise stay afloat after many struggles. He saved the franchise by drawing in a crowd of between 65,00 and 73,00 people which was an astonishing amount, and brought in an incredibly large sum of money for the Giants (Horrigan). Grange became involved in a dispute with the Bears, and he left to form his own league. In this league he played for the New York Yankees, the league lasted for only one season and the Yankees were forced to join the NFL. Unfortunately, Grange suffered a serious knee injury against the Bears which stole some of his speed and cutting abilities, but luckily after 1928 he returned to the Bears where he remained an amazing player through 1934 (Wikipedia). Grange drew crowds to pro games that were unthinkable at times which led him to be one of the most legendary players to ever play the game (Chicagobears.com)