George S. Halas Jr., The Man Called "Mugs"

Judging by the fierce reaction to this week's end-of-season press conference by Bears chairman George McCaskey and president Ted Phillips, the majority of fans are not convinced that these two have any idea how to lift their franchise out of mediocrity. Phillips is the only person not named Halas or McCaskey to hold the title of Bears president. During his 22-year tenure, the Bears have a .486 winning percentage and have played a total of nine postseason games, winning three.

 

GEORGE HALAS JR. and JIM FINKS.

When the legendary George Halas retired as head coach after the 1967 season, the Bears had an all-time winning percentage of .680 over 48 seasons and had won nine world championships. Only a few years later, at a Bears game in 1973, George Halas Jr. turned to his dad and said, "I am so sick of this!" By "this," the man known as Mugs meant the Bears' recent history of losing, which was about to extend to five consecutive sub-.500 seasons. (It was the first such streak of more than two years in franchise history.)

     In September 1974, the Halases did something about it. They hired the Bears' first general manager other than Papa Bear himself--and the man they chose for the job proved to be exactly what the doctor ordered.

     He was Jim Finks, who had just concluded a ten-year stint in a similar role with the Minnesota Vikings, which resulted in Super Bowl appearances after the 1969 and 1973 seasons and the NFL Executive of the Year award in 1973.

     The Bears opened the 1974 season two days after Finks was hired, with a team that did not yet have his fingerprints on it. They beat the Detroit Lions in the opener, but soon reverted to form and finished 4-10.
     Finks had spent the season evaluating the Bears' coaches and players, and he delivered his verdict shortly after clock ticked down on a season-ending 42-0 loss at Washington. Head coach Abe Gibron was sent packing, and so were a good many of his players. Jack Pardee took over as head coach, and Finks and his staff set about planning for the 1975 draft.
     The first player that Finks drafted for the Bears, with the fourth overall pick in 1975, was the immortal Walter Payton. Long-time starters Mike Hartenstine, Virgil Livers, Revie Sorey, and Bob Avellini also were products of that same draft.
     During his years with the Bears, Finks never missed on a first-round pick. After Payton, his other first-rounders were Dennis Lick, Ted Albrecht, Dan Hampton, Al Harris, Otis Wilson, and Keith Van Horne. He got future Hall of Famer Mike Singletary in the second round in 1981.        

     Finks was no longer employed by the Bears when his rebuilding project culminated in the 1985 world championship. He had resigned in 1982 after Papa Bear hired head coach Mike Ditka without consulting him. 

     

Sadly, neither George Halas Jr. nor his dad lived to see the Bears' resounding victory in the 1986 Super Bowl. Mugs passed away suddenly on the morning of December 16, 1979. He was only 54 years old. That afternoon, the Bears dedicated their game (the season finale) to Mugs and routed the St. Louis Cardinals 42-6 to make the playoffs for just the second time since the 1963 championship.

     George Halas Jr. had been groomed for his whole life to take over the Bears some day. If he had survived his dad, who passed away on Halloween in 1983 at age 88, Mugs would have taken control of the franchise and eventually passed it on to his children, Christine and Stephen. In that case, Mugs's sister and brother-in-law, Virginia and Ed McCaskey--along with their ten children and 21 grandchildren--would have been stockholders but would not have been running the show all these years.

     It's only fair to wonder how different the Bears' recent history might have been. 

 

 

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