![]() McKinley – visited President Calvin Coolidge who greeted them, "Glad to meet you. Before their game, the Bears – accompanied by Illinois Senator William B. įrom New York, the team traveled to Washington, D.C. Although the Giants lost 19–7, the game attracted nearly 70,000 fans and saved the team from financial ruin. Immediately after the Yellow Jackets game, the Bears boarded the train to New York, still wearing their dirtied uniforms when the players noticed their gear, Pyle told Halas, "This tour will make you so wealthy, Halas, that next year you'll be able to afford two sets of uniforms." On December 6, Grange and the Bears played the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds Giants owner Tim Mara had attempted to sign Grange, and after that failed, he instead secured a game with the Bears. This was followed by a two-touchdown day by Grange, including the game winner in a 14–7 defeat of the Frankford Yellow Jackets. The Bears won 39–6, though only 8,000 attended due to poor weather and being played on a Wednesday. The first game was against the Donnelly All-Stars, a team sponsored by a local mortician, at Sportsman's Park in St. ![]() īetween December 2 and December 13, the Bears played an astounding eight games, during which the team lived in a special railway car, with its women's restroom converted into a makeshift training room. Shortly after, the Bears signed Grange's Illinois teammate Earl Britton. In the next game against the Columbus Tigers, Grange threw a touchdown pass as the Bears won 14–7. An estimated 40,000 attended what ended in a scoreless tie. Grange made his NFL debut in the Bears' Thanksgiving Day game against the Chicago Cardinals on November 26. That same day, he attended the Bears' 21–0 win over the Packers. On November 22, after the Illini season ended, Grange formally announced his intention to sign with the Bears. But then again, we had also made other mistakes." The negotiations took longer than the Bears owners had expected, with Halas recalling in 1967 that he and Sternaman "figured that a middle-aged small-town theater operator who wore spats might not prove too tough a negotiator for a couple of bright young extra football executives from Chicago. As part of their agreement, the Bears received 50 percent of the ticket gate, while Pyle and Grange got the other half. Pyle to sign Illinois Fighting Illini football star Red Grange, a deal that included organizing a barnstorming tour that spanned 19 games and 67 days. During the fall, Bears owners George Halas and Edward Sternaman reached an agreement with C. The Bears regrouped, however, and won 6 of their next 7. The Bears started slow, just like in 1924, opening the season with two ties and a loss to Green Bay (the Packers' first win ever over the Bears).
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