Harold ‘Red’ Grange
Three-time All-American Harold ‘Red’ Grange played his last football game for the University of Illinois on November 21, 1925, and joined the Chicago Bears less than a week later on Thanksgiving Day. Grange was the most glamorous and well-known football player of the 1920s. In one collegiate game against Michigan in 1924, Grange ran for 402 yards and five touchdowns. Known as the ‘Galloping Ghost’ for his spectacular broken-field running, the Wheaton, Illinois, native drew huge crowds during a 17-game barnstorming tour with the Bears in late 1925. He is credited with establishing professional football as a popular spectator sport. Red Grange died at the age of 87 on January 28, 1991.
Photo: Acme Newspictures