Red Grange

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Red Grange

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Red Grange, 1920s (credit: The Bettmann Archive)

(born June 13, 1903, Forksville, Pa., U.S. — died Jan. 28, 1991, Lake Wales, Fla.) U.S. gridiron football player. He had an outstanding collegiate career at the University of Illinois, where in 1924 he ran for five touchdowns in a single game against the University of Michigan and earned the nickname "the Galloping Ghost." In 1925 he joined the Chicago Bears and embarked on a barnstorming tour that stimulated public interest in professional football. After suffering a knee injury in 1927, he was never again an effective runner. He retired in 1934 and subsequently worked as a sportscaster.

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Biography: Red Grange

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Red Grange (1903-1991) made football history as one of the most remarkable amateur and professional gridiron athletes of all. He was called "The Galloping Ghost," and it was his presence that brought pro football from the sandlots to the big time.

Harold Edward "Red" Grange was born on June 13, 1903 in Forksville, a village of about 200 people in an area of Pennsylvania lumber camps. He was the third child of Sadie and Lyle Grange, a lumber camp foreman. Grange was only five years old when his mother died. A few months later the family moved to Wheaton, Illinois, the home of his father's family. Grange's father opened a moving business. For a number of years, the Grange family lived with relatives until they could finally afford a home of their own. The main recreation of Grange and his friends was playing football in vacant lots around town, and basketball in converted barns. Although his doctor warned that he had a heart murmur, sports became the major part of young Grange's life.

Grange was a star player during his high school days at Wheaton Community High School, where he became known as the "Wheaton Ice Man." By then his father had become the local policeman, and the family was well settled. In his final high school game for the DuPage County championship against Downers Grove, Grange scored forty-five points. It is a single player record that still stands in high school championship games.

A High School Injury

In Grange's senior year of high school, his team finally lost a game 39-0 to the powerful Scott High School in Toledo, Ohio. Part of the reason may have been that Grange was knocked unconscious during the game, and he remained so for the next two days. He had difficulty speaking for a time after that injury. This was the only time that Grange was ever seriously injured in a high school football game, despite the many hard tackles he received during those years.

Grange attended college at the University of Illinois, but decided not to play football. A four-letter sports star in high school, he considered either baseball or basketball to be his best way to earn a varsity letter in college. In 1922, when the call went out for freshmen football candidates to report to the field for practice, Grange didn't even answer. He admitted to friends that the other players were simply too big. Grange was not a large man by football standards. He weighed around 180 pounds during his career, and stood about five feet, ten inches tall. It was his Zeta Psi fraternity brothers who convinced him to try out for the team. He was placed on the first team after his coach saw him play.

Success at Illinois

Illinois was undefeated in its 1923 season, with Grange leading the team. Before the end of the year, he was named an All American and he was known across America. Grange is credited with the wave of interest Americans began to show in football. Until that time, the game had been generally ignored by all but students. Baseball was the national sport, and all other games were only important on the campuses where they were played. But when Grange began to play football, millions of Americans started following Illinois or their own area college teams. With his almost impossible runs on the field, Grange inspired people to take an interest in his game.

In 1922, the Illinois football program had been a disaster. The following year, with Grange on the team, it was undefeated. The team was named co-champion of the Big Ten. Grange continued this dominance of football through his entire college career.

The University of Michigan was the tough opponent for the University of Illinois in October 1924. The Michigan Wolverines were going for the National Championship. Illinois players knew they had a difficult job ahead of them if they expected to win. The team was playing their first game in the brand new University of Illinois Memorial Stadium. It was dedication day for the largest campus stadium in college sports, so local fans wanted a victory desperately. Illinois had lost its last game, and Michigan was undefeated, very skilled, and a big favorite to win.

When Michigan kicked off to start the game, Grange magically zigged and zagged and dodged, carrying the ball all the way back for a touchdown. The crowd in the huge stadium roared their approval. On the very next offensive play, Grange ran for a 67-yard touchdown. On his next carry, he ran 56 yards for yet another touchdown. He scored the three touchdowns in less than seven minutes against the powerful Michigan defense. Before the game was over, Grange ran back another kickoff for yet another touch down. He scored five touchdowns in all. Illinois won the game by a lopsided score of 39 to 14.

"The Galloping Ghost"

Grange was destined to become football's number one celebrity and to blaze his way into football history. Writing about the game that October day, famed sportswriter Grantland Rice called Grange a "whirling dervish runner," and named him "The Galloping Ghost." It was a nickname that remained with Grange for the rest of his life, and was eventually emblazoned in the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

Jerry Liska, an Associated Press reporter, wrote in his book Sports Immortals, "The autumn wind still whistles shrilly through cavernous Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois, as if in perpetual tribute to college football's legendary Galloping Ghost."

Professional Career

Professional football was a generally unpleasant sandlot game with few fans in 1925. The teams were part of what was called the National Football League, but the league was only four years old and barely drawing any fans to watch their games. Pro football was a game of ex-high school and college players, and a few walk-ons, men who either loved the game with a passion or who could do little else with their lives.

Grange signed a contract with the Chicago Bears the day after his last college game. The team was under the direction of player/manager George Halas, who knew a gold mine when he saw it. To the great disbelief of almost everyone in football, he agreed to pay Grange the staggering sum of one hundred thousand dollars a year and a share of the gate receipts. At this time, most professional football players were being paid 25 to 100 dollars a game, and the top stars were getting about five thousand dollars.

Halas quickly set up a tour, in order for the Bears to take advantage of Grange's name recognition. The tour made transformed professional football into a major sport. Everywhere the team played, they drew huge crowds. Grange drew an astounding sixty five thousand people to the Polo Grounds in New York with his amazing broken-field running. Later that same year, the Bears played to a record seventy five thousand people in the Los Angeles Coliseum. People came to see Grange, and he never disappointed them. He was best at running the ball, but he was also great at passing, kicking, and on defense.

Liska, in an Associated Press story, called Grange "a picture of grace, balance and speed, the epitome of gridiron greatness, a Golden Twenties" athletic peer of Babe Ruth's, Jack Dempsey's, Bobby Jones's and Bill Tildon's. Grange, whose magic name turned pro football from an ugly duckling to a present-day gilded and plush bird of paradise, will be remembered as long as football is played in America."

He played with the Chicago Bears most of his career, but also spent a brief time with the New York Yankees football team, after helping to form the American Football League. He was in the spotlight wherever he played, even as his career was winding down. One of the last times he carried the ball for the Chicago Bears, he reversed and headed for the weak side of the line. A New York Giant lineman yelled loudly back at his linebackers, "Look out! There goes the old man!"

He was right, for 32 year old Grange swivel-hipped around every younger player in the Giants backfield and ran 63 yards, all the way to the twenty-yard line before a faster runner finally stopped him. By then it was apparent, however, that age and recent injuries were taking their toll. Grange had missed the entire 1927 season due to an injury.

Retirement

When Grange retired from professional football in 1934, he became a well-known radio and television sports-caster, generally for the Chicago Bears. Grange also earned a good income from vaudeville and movie appearances. He was enshrined as a charter member in the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1963. Grange spent his retirement years with his wife in Lake Wales, Florida. He died on January 28, 1991 in Lake Wales, at the age of 87. Most considered him to be not only one of the greatest players in history, but the man who established professional football as a fan attraction.

Grantland Rice wrote a flowery poem of tribute to Grange: "A streak of fire, a breath of flame, a gray ghost thrown into the game. Eluding all who reach and clutch; That rival hands may never touch; A rubber bounding, blasting soul, whose destination is the goal. Red Grange of Illinois!"

Grange changed the face of American sports, especially the game of football. He carried the ball 4,013 times as a high school, college, and professional football player, gaining 33,820 yards or over nineteen miles. This is an amazing 8.4 yards per carry. He scored a total of 2,365 points in 247 games.

Early life

Grange was born in Forksville, Pennsylvania as the third child of Sadie and Lyle Grange.^[1] His father was the foreman of three lumber camps.^[1] When he was five, his mother died and his father moved the family to Wheaton, Illinois, where four brothers had settled.^[2] When they arrived, Grange’s father worked hard and became the chief of police.^[3] At Wheaton High School, Grange earned 16 varsity letters in four sports (football, baseball, basketball, and track)^[3] during the four years he attended, notably scoring 75 touchdowns and 532 points for the football team.^[3] As a high school junior, Grange scored 36 touchdowns and led Wheaton High School to an undefeated season. In his senior year, his team won every game but one in which they lost 39-0 to Scott High School in Toledo, Ohio.^[1] Knocked out in this game, Grange remained unconscious for two days, having difficulty speaking when he awoke. This remained the only time he had a serious injury playing football.^[1]

To help the family earn money, he took a part time job as an ice toter for $37.50 per week,^[3] a job which helped him to build his core strength (and provided the source of the sometimes used nickname "Ice Man", or "the Wheaton Ice Man").^[2]

College football

After graduation Grange enrolled at the University of Illinois, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity.^[3] He had initially planned to play only basketball and track but changed his mind once he arrived. In his first collegiate football game, he scored three touchdowns against Nebraska.^[3] In seven games as a sophomore, he ran for 723 yards and scored twelve touchdowns, leading Illinois to an undefeated season and the 1923 Helms Athletic Foundation national championship.^[4]

Grange vaulted to national prominence as a result of his performance in the October 18, 1924, game against Michigan. This was the grand opening game for the new Memorial Stadium, built as a memorial to University of Illinois students and alumni who had served in World War I.^[3] He 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 twelve minutes.^[4] This four-touchdown first quarter outburst equaled the number of touchdowns allowed by Michigan in the previous two seasons.^[4] After sitting out the second quarter, Grange returned in the second half to run 11 yards for a fifth touchdown and passed 20 yards for a sixth score as Illinois won 39-14 to end Michigan's 20-game unbeaten streak. He amassed 402 yards - 212 rushing, 64 passing and 126 on kickoff returns.^[4]

The game inspired Grantland Rice to write the following poetic description:

A streak of fire, a breath of flame
Eluding all who reach and clutch;
A gray ghost thrown into the game
That rival hands may never touch;
A rubber bounding, blasting soul
Whose destination is the goal — Red Grange of Illinois!

However, it was Chicago sportswriter Warren Brown who nicknamed Grange "The Galloping Ghost." When questioned in a 1974 interview, "Was it Grantland Rice who dubbed you the Galloping Ghost?" Grange replied, "No, it was Warren Brown, who was a great writer with the Chicago's American in those days."^[3]

As a college senior, in a 24-2 upset of the University of Pennsylvania, Grange rushed for a career-high 237 yards through deep mud and scored three touchdowns. Laurence Stallings, a famed war correspondent who had co-written What Price Glory? was hired to cover the game for the New York World. After Grange accounted for 363 yards, Stallings said, "This story's too big for me. I can't write it."^[4] His younger brother Garland followed his footsteps to play football at Illinois.^[5]

In his 20-game college career, he 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.^[4] He scored at least one touchdown in every game he played but one, a 1925 loss to Nebraska. He earned All-America recognition three consecutive years, and appeared on the October 5, 1925, cover of Time.^[4]

His number 77 was retired at the University of Illinois in 1925. Only one other number has been retired in the history of University of Illinois football, 50 worn by Dick Butkus.^{[citation needed]}

NFL career

I was interviewing George Halas and I asked him who is the greatest running back you ever saw. And he said, 'That would be Red Grange.' And I asked him if Grange was playing today, how many yards do you think he'd gain. And he said, 'About 750, maybe 800 yards.' And I said, 'Well, 800 yards is just okay.' He sat up in his chair and he said, 'Son, you must remember one thing. Red Grange is 75 years old.'

—Chris Berman on ESPN's SportsCentury show^[4]

He signed with the NFL's Chicago Bears the day after his last college game; player/manager George Halas agreed to a contract for a 19-game barnstorming tour which earned Grange a salary and share of gate receipts that amounted to $100,000, during an era when typical league salaries were less than $100/game.^[4] That 67-day tour is credited with legitimizing professional football in the United States. On December 6, 1925, more than 65,000 showed up at the Polo Grounds to watch Grange, helping save the New York Giants' franchise. 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 2-of-3 passes for 32 yards.^[4]

Grange became involved in a dispute with the Bears and left to form his own league, the American Football League, to challenge the NFL. The league only lasted one season, after which Grange's team, the New York Yankees, was assimilated into the NFL. Grange suffered a serious knee injury against the Bears, which robbed him of some speed and his cutting ability. After sitting out 1928, Grange returned to the Bears, where he was a solid runner and excellent defensive back through the 1934 season.

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. In the 1933 championship, Grange made a touchdown saving tackle that saved the game and the title for the Bears.

Hollywood career

Grange's manager C. C. Pyle realized that as the greatest football star of his era, Grange could attract moviegoers as well as sports fans. During his time as a professional football player, Grange starred in two silent films, One Minute to Play (1926) and Racing Romeo (1927). Grange also starred in a 12 part serial series The Galloping Ghost in 1931.

Later life and legacy

Grange Field at Wheaton Warrenville South High School, which was named in his honor.

Grange retired from professional football in 1934, earning a living in a variety of jobs including motivational speaker and sports announcer. Grange married his wife Margaret, nicknamed Muggs, in 1941 and they were together until his death in 1991. She was a flight attendant, and they met on a plane. The couple had no children.^[4]

Grange developed Parkinson's disease in his last year of life^[4] and died on January 28, 1991 in Lake Wales, Florida.

His autobiography, first published in 1953, is The Red Grange Story (1993 paperback edition: ISBN 0-252-06329-5). The book was written "as told to" Ira Morton, a syndicated newspaper columnist from Chicago.

His legacy lives on, however. In 1931, he visited Abington Senior High School (in Abington, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia). Shortly thereafter, the school adopted his nickname for the mascot in his honor, the Galloping Ghost.^[6] Also, Wheaton Warrenville South High School's football field is named in his honor and the team is referred to as "The Wheaton Warrenville South Red Grange Tigers".

On January 15, 1978, at Super Bowl XII, Grange became the first person other than the game referee to toss the coin at a Super Bowl.

To commemorate college football's 100th anniversary in 1969, the Football Writers Association of America chose an all-time All-America team. Grange was the only unanimous choice.^[4] Then in 1999, he was ranked number 80 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. In 2008, Grange was also ranked #1 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "About Harold "Red" Grange". Wheaton High. http://www.wheaton.edu/learnres/ARCSC/collects/sc20/bio.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
^ ^a ^b "Galloping Ghost scared opponents". ESPN Classic. http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Grange_Red.html. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "The Galloping Ghost". American Heritage. http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1974/1/1974_1_20_print.shtml. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "Ghost of Illinois". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00014216.html. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
^ "Football Matches". Time. Time Inc.. 1927-11-08. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,731190-3,00.html. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
^ http://www.abington.k12.pa.us/shs/?page=Galloping+Ghost

External links

Biography from an ESPN website
"Member biography page". College Football Hall of Fame Official website. http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=20071.
"Member biography page". Pro Football Hall of Fame Official website. http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=78.
About Harold "Red" Grange from the Wheaton College website
Website for The Galloping Ghost: Red Grange, an American Football Legend, a biography of Harold "Red" Grange
Red Grange at the Internet Movie Database
New York Times Obit

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