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Papa Bear
The first truly comprehensive biography on George Halas, the father of professional football The founder of the National Football League and father of the Chicago Bears, George Halas single-handedly changed the way Americans spend their Sundays. Papa Bear tells the incredible story of how one man grabbed an outlaw game by the throat, shook it up, and made it into the richest and most popular spectator sport on the planet. Nearly 20 years after his death, Halas remains one of the towering figures of professional sports--rivaling the legendary Vince Lombardi--yet there has never been an authoritative biography published about this great American success story. At last, Papa Bear fills that gap. Written with unprecedented access to Halas's family, his closest friends, and associates, this thoroughly researched account includes exclusive interviews and a treasure trove of never-published archival materials on the Hall of Famer and his enduring legacy.
544 pages, Hardcover
First published January 11, 2004
7 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Davis
4 booksThere is more than one author with this name
Davis, a Chicago journalist
Davis, a Chicago journalist
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 10, 2014
This book would have failed my 100 page test if I wasn't such a big Chicago Bears fan. The first half of this book has a lot of names, dates, and facts presented more like a history textbook than a narrative. To make it worse, the author tried to organize some stories topically but ended up just repeating names and jumping back and forth from date to date. Nevertheless, I plowed through this book until the end.
I am glad I did finish it. As the book got closer to the present day it got much more insightful and more entertaining. Jeff Davis does a good job of summarizing what has happened to the Bears since Papa Bear died, and provided much context to go with it. I always knew I hated the McCaskeys but I didn't know why until I read this book.
If I could break up ratings, I would give the first half 1 star and the last half 4 stars. On a side note, I would love to see something updating the franchise through the past 10 years since the book was published.
If you're a Bears fan, this book is worth the effort. If you're not I wouldn't recommend this book.
I am glad I did finish it. As the book got closer to the present day it got much more insightful and more entertaining. Jeff Davis does a good job of summarizing what has happened to the Bears since Papa Bear died, and provided much context to go with it. I always knew I hated the McCaskeys but I didn't know why until I read this book.
If I could break up ratings, I would give the first half 1 star and the last half 4 stars. On a side note, I would love to see something updating the franchise through the past 10 years since the book was published.
If you're a Bears fan, this book is worth the effort. If you're not I wouldn't recommend this book.
October 21, 2021
I would not fight Gorge Halas in a bar. There is a lot of history about the History of the NFL and the Bears.
December 4, 2011
If I could award half stars, this one would certainly get 4.5. It is a long book, but there is much to say about George Halas and the Bears. I learned a lot about the early days of the NFL that I never knew, and the book is also a great character study. The Old Man ruled the Bears with an iron fist, but many of the guys loved him anyway. He was also quietly generous players when they faced health or family crises, despite the fact that the Bears were the most underpaid players for decades. It was fascinating to read about the old stars like Red Grange and Sid Luckman, and to renew my acquaintance with the Bears of my childhood, especially my favorite player of all, Gale Sayers. There is a lot about football and a lot about Chicago stuffed into this book about Halas. The author is even-handed for the most part, except when it comes to the heirs, who let the dynasty slip away due to poor decisions and ignorance about the game and the legacy they were handed. The other problem was, like many athletes, George just hung on too long. His brilliance just could not keep pace the many changes in the game over the 60 years he was involved.
March 7, 2018
It’s hard to evaluate a book like this when you’re not a football fan. As someone who knows only a little about football or the Bears, this was a tough read. There are a LOT of names tossed out and a LOT of games described. I frequently forgot who was who. I frequently had no idea what was being described in game descriptions.
But in some ways, that’s my problem. This is, ultimately, a book for Bears fans who know at least some of the team’s history and some of the big names. It’s as much a portrait of the Chicago Bears as it is of Halas (and I suspect he would approve of that).
For my purposes, wanting to know more about one of the most influential Chicagoans — and Americans — of all time, I had to dig around and jump across descriptions of specific games and specific players in order to get at the meat I wanted. And I did get a terrific portrait of man who was surly, mean-spirited, vulgar AND brilliant, determined, innovative and insightful about a game he loved.
I’d recommend this for any Bears fan who lived through at least part of the Halas era. Or any football fan who lived through at least part of the Halas era.
But in some ways, that’s my problem. This is, ultimately, a book for Bears fans who know at least some of the team’s history and some of the big names. It’s as much a portrait of the Chicago Bears as it is of Halas (and I suspect he would approve of that).
For my purposes, wanting to know more about one of the most influential Chicagoans — and Americans — of all time, I had to dig around and jump across descriptions of specific games and specific players in order to get at the meat I wanted. And I did get a terrific portrait of man who was surly, mean-spirited, vulgar AND brilliant, determined, innovative and insightful about a game he loved.
I’d recommend this for any Bears fan who lived through at least part of the Halas era. Or any football fan who lived through at least part of the Halas era.
October 27, 2010
Starts as a biography of the Bears' founder Halas and morphs moreso into a history of the Bears organization itself toward the end of the book. I loved the background detail of the Bears' origins and the McCaskey takeover at Halas's death. The author is stridently anti-McCaskey and narrates how Halas considered it a worst-case scenario to have the McCaskeys take over the Bears, but made no other plans once George Jr. had passed away. Though I don't necessarily disagree with his observations, I'd question the author's objectivity, given that all the McCaskeys were notable omissions in a very long interview list included with the book. Since he didn't get their take on events, it seems he had his story written from the outset. Nevertheless, a very interesting read for all Bears fans. da Bears...
May 21, 2012
A very in-depth look at George Halas, the founder of the modern-day NFL and the Chicago Bears. While it has a vast amount of information, the author goes off on too many side stories at times, leaving you questioning if he is describing a game in the current year he is examining or 5 yrs befor. It also has a wealth of personalities identified and talked about, and can get bogged down due to too many characters talked about. But it was a good look at the life of Halas.
May 23, 2018
The title of this book is very misleading. Instead of a book focusing on the life of George Halas the author spends more time discussing the details of each season. The book is well researched and provides great insight on the beginning of the Bears and the founding of the NFL.
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January 23, 2012Very interesting read, not the most well written biography as the timeline jumps in many places without explanation.
November 4, 2019
Growing up in the Midwest, and living in Chicago for several years, it was hard not to at least have a passing idea of who George Halas was. If one needed a reminder, all one had to do was listen to the 1985 Bears "Super Bowl Shuffle" song: "This is for Mike and Papa Bear Halas." So, while knowing - vaguely - who Halas was, I did not know any details about the man. Jeff Davis, in a fair and entertaining biography, takes care of that lack of knowledge.
Davis actually begins with Halas' death on Halloween 1983, at age 88. He writes about ownership and control of the Bears being, with his death, transferred over to his daughter Virginia and her clan. Davis, while being eminently fair about Halas himself, makes his disdain for the McCaskey family (Virginia had married Ed McCaskey) clear. And actually, it sort of is difficult to like them. I grew up a Lions fan, so I did not have any vested interest in the Bears or the franchise, but it was easy to see how awful Michael McCaskey, the oldest grandson of Halas, ran the Bears - eventually doing such a horrendous job that Virginia actually had to boot him upstairs to get him out of ruining the franchise. One of the last things that Halas said before he died was that he specifically did not want Michael taking control of the Bears, yet that is exactly what happened.
But that is only in the last few chapters of the book and at the very beginning. Most of Davis' work is filled with colorful anecdotes and stories from newspaper writers and former players about working with and dealing with Halas. He was actually a good enough of an athlete to play on the New York Yankees for a dozen games in 1919. But he couldn't hit so baseball was not going to be his meal ticket. Halas played football from an early age, played it at the University of Illinois, and then managed to start up what became the Bears franchise in Decatur, IL at a corn starch factory. Sort of hard to believe that he developed it from that into basically founding the NFL. Davis makes a convincing case that, while never Commissioner, Halas pretty much ran the show through the 1950s.
Halas comes across here as a miser, a skinflint who prided himself on underpaying his players and enveloping the operations of the Bears in secrecy. Story after story is told by players who were both overwhelmed by his personality and underwhelmed by his contract offers. I came away thinking that Halas was an absolute control freak. The man even took back complete operational control of the Bears in his mid 80s, after the sudden death of his son "Mugs". He truly was the father of the Bears in how he behaved. Yet at the same time, Davis cites multiple examples of Halas going out of his way - with no publicity at all - to help someone who was in need, be it one of his players, coaches, or family members of those people. Halas freely gave time and oftentimes, money, to help someone get through a rough patch. Seems inconsistent, doesn't it? But I think that just proves that all of us are inconsistent at some point in our lives.
Davis is a good writer, but not great. Halas "roared" frequently throughout the book, I should have kept track of how many times that word was used. Also, after the late 20s, Halas' personal life disappears from the narrative. The death of his wife, Min, is mentioned in just one sentence, letting us know that she died. Nothing about why, or if she had been ill, or Halas' reaction to it. And, while Davis interviewed a plethora of old Bears players and personnel, there was nothing from hardly anyone else in the NFL outside of the Bears. I would have liked to have read some non-Chicago perspectives on Halas as well. Still, for any Bears fan, or anyone interested in learning about how the NFL was founded, this is biography is a good place to start.
Grade: B
Davis actually begins with Halas' death on Halloween 1983, at age 88. He writes about ownership and control of the Bears being, with his death, transferred over to his daughter Virginia and her clan. Davis, while being eminently fair about Halas himself, makes his disdain for the McCaskey family (Virginia had married Ed McCaskey) clear. And actually, it sort of is difficult to like them. I grew up a Lions fan, so I did not have any vested interest in the Bears or the franchise, but it was easy to see how awful Michael McCaskey, the oldest grandson of Halas, ran the Bears - eventually doing such a horrendous job that Virginia actually had to boot him upstairs to get him out of ruining the franchise. One of the last things that Halas said before he died was that he specifically did not want Michael taking control of the Bears, yet that is exactly what happened.
But that is only in the last few chapters of the book and at the very beginning. Most of Davis' work is filled with colorful anecdotes and stories from newspaper writers and former players about working with and dealing with Halas. He was actually a good enough of an athlete to play on the New York Yankees for a dozen games in 1919. But he couldn't hit so baseball was not going to be his meal ticket. Halas played football from an early age, played it at the University of Illinois, and then managed to start up what became the Bears franchise in Decatur, IL at a corn starch factory. Sort of hard to believe that he developed it from that into basically founding the NFL. Davis makes a convincing case that, while never Commissioner, Halas pretty much ran the show through the 1950s.
Halas comes across here as a miser, a skinflint who prided himself on underpaying his players and enveloping the operations of the Bears in secrecy. Story after story is told by players who were both overwhelmed by his personality and underwhelmed by his contract offers. I came away thinking that Halas was an absolute control freak. The man even took back complete operational control of the Bears in his mid 80s, after the sudden death of his son "Mugs". He truly was the father of the Bears in how he behaved. Yet at the same time, Davis cites multiple examples of Halas going out of his way - with no publicity at all - to help someone who was in need, be it one of his players, coaches, or family members of those people. Halas freely gave time and oftentimes, money, to help someone get through a rough patch. Seems inconsistent, doesn't it? But I think that just proves that all of us are inconsistent at some point in our lives.
Davis is a good writer, but not great. Halas "roared" frequently throughout the book, I should have kept track of how many times that word was used. Also, after the late 20s, Halas' personal life disappears from the narrative. The death of his wife, Min, is mentioned in just one sentence, letting us know that she died. Nothing about why, or if she had been ill, or Halas' reaction to it. And, while Davis interviewed a plethora of old Bears players and personnel, there was nothing from hardly anyone else in the NFL outside of the Bears. I would have liked to have read some non-Chicago perspectives on Halas as well. Still, for any Bears fan, or anyone interested in learning about how the NFL was founded, this is biography is a good place to start.
Grade: B
September 25, 2022
I feel that this book deserves a 4 star rating instead of a 5. The reason I give this book a 4 star rating is because I would not consider it perfect. But I would not consider is a bad book either. It is just under perfect because it is really enjoyable but I found that it may bee too long of a book. If the book was maybe 100 pages shorter I think it would be more enjoyable.
I believe that it is too long of a book because it is just around 500 pages and It it can become boring talking about the same person and team for the entire time. I feel that they talk too much about specific games which can make times a little boring. But learning about Halas's life is very interesting to me. Giving this book a 5 out 5 stars would be difficult for me to do but I personally think a 4 out of 5 is a correct rating for this book.
My favorite quote would be "Once a Bear, Always a Bear. I'm a Bear to this day. The Monsters of the Midway get in your blood. The reflection of the Bears, starting with Coach Halas, is still there. It was initiated by him and it was so forceful that It's never gotten away." (Harlon Hill, reciever, 1954-62). This quote stuck out to me because it shows how important Halas was to the Bears and how he still has a lasting impact on the team and the fans. Once a Bear always a bear really sticks out to me because it shows that once you join the team, you are an important part of the organization no matter what job you have on the team. Every person is important in their own ways that help better the team.
It is a very long book and took some time to read but it is able to go into full explanation about George Halas and the Chicago Bears Organization. As a Bears fan myself, it is interesting to me to learn about the football in the past and how much the sport has evolved. The book shows the nooks and cracks of Halas's life and his impact on the sport of football. You are also able to learn about the Chicago Bears and the past players on the team. You learn about specific players and how underpaid some of the players on the team had been. The book also shows the impact that Halas had on the players who he coached. You learn about how many people became angry because of Halas but learned to respect him. He was able to build up a team and franchise into one of the most successful and influential teams of all time.
I believe that it is too long of a book because it is just around 500 pages and It it can become boring talking about the same person and team for the entire time. I feel that they talk too much about specific games which can make times a little boring. But learning about Halas's life is very interesting to me. Giving this book a 5 out 5 stars would be difficult for me to do but I personally think a 4 out of 5 is a correct rating for this book.
My favorite quote would be "Once a Bear, Always a Bear. I'm a Bear to this day. The Monsters of the Midway get in your blood. The reflection of the Bears, starting with Coach Halas, is still there. It was initiated by him and it was so forceful that It's never gotten away." (Harlon Hill, reciever, 1954-62). This quote stuck out to me because it shows how important Halas was to the Bears and how he still has a lasting impact on the team and the fans. Once a Bear always a bear really sticks out to me because it shows that once you join the team, you are an important part of the organization no matter what job you have on the team. Every person is important in their own ways that help better the team.
It is a very long book and took some time to read but it is able to go into full explanation about George Halas and the Chicago Bears Organization. As a Bears fan myself, it is interesting to me to learn about the football in the past and how much the sport has evolved. The book shows the nooks and cracks of Halas's life and his impact on the sport of football. You are also able to learn about the Chicago Bears and the past players on the team. You learn about specific players and how underpaid some of the players on the team had been. The book also shows the impact that Halas had on the players who he coached. You learn about how many people became angry because of Halas but learned to respect him. He was able to build up a team and franchise into one of the most successful and influential teams of all time.
June 5, 2019
If you are a true Chicago Bears fan then you must read this book to understand the NFL was not always a money rich league. In this story you will see how George Halas kept his team financially viable in a time when the NFL did not have the income it has today in 2019. Unfortunately the players under him resented his cheapness and the fans were not so happy with him because old George sold or traded stars to raise cash to pay the teams bills.
May 7, 2024
This book about George Halas is about his life and how he impacted and founded the most iconic football franchise, the Chicago Bears. The author does a good job in describing how he impacted the Bears at that time and today. What a fantastic read and I would highly recommend for any football fan, not just the Bears’ fan. I really liked the description of the relationship with the Packers and Lambeau and Lombardi. Very good read!
July 19, 2017
I'm at Cowboys fan, I thought I had a bad with Jerry Jones, but the Halas heirs have run this franchise into the ground. I didn't realize that George Halas had a son, George Halas Jr, Who was supposed to be the heir apparent, but he died before his dad. Such a damn shame!
June 3, 2024
I didn't know that much about George Halas and his association with the Chicago Bears. This was a good book.
January 31, 2015
This is an epic worthy of Shakespeare: tragic, comic, full of lies, deceit, struggle, the breaking of familial bonds. Unfortunately, the writing itself and the organization of the narrative leaves something to be desired. But the story... oh, the story behind the man regarded as a football icon. I think the late Chicago newspaper columnist, Mike Royko, probably said it best: Halas was a "tight-fisted, stubborn, willful, mean old man." And one who made plenty of mistakes. The Chicago Bears might have won a few more national championships and Super Bowls, if he had stepped aside and stayed aside. Ooooops, that's football apostasy in the Chicago area.
August 21, 2015
Finally finished this tome dedicated to the life and legacy of George Halas! He was quite the character! I wish I had an ounce of his energy and drive, as well as, his business acumen. As one of the founding fathers of the NFL, he created the excitement and thrill I feel during the fall football season. Since this book read more like a textbook, with its minute detail of almost every game played, it took some time to digest. I loved the back stories about his friendships and notorious rivalries. It's a great reference book. Go Bears!
February 17, 2009
great analysis of the humble beginnings of pro football. It truly was a shoestring operation until the marriage with TV's golden age
November 12, 2012
Enjoyable read...I met Jeff Davis at a Bears game and he mentioned his book on George Halas. I bought it the next day and could not put it down.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews