Speaker 1: Good morning everybody again, and welcome to a very special
Speaker 1: scrap book Memory and we are We've been looking forward
Speaker 1: to this one for quite a while. A lot of
Speaker 1: great Bears history captured in the book that these two
Speaker 1: outstanding journalists have put together. Dan Pompey one of my
Speaker 1: dear friends, and Don Pearson, a man I respect from
Speaker 1: the moment I got in this business, and all because
Speaker 1: of George Hallis and this family that has created quite
Speaker 1: the legacy over one hundred years. The chairman of the board,
Speaker 1: George McCaskey, everybody, good morning. I asked Jeff and Tom
Speaker 1: for a few minutes just to tell you how much
Speaker 1: we appreciate all of us support and enthusiasm of these
Speaker 1: Great Bears fans Friday night. It was unbelievable. At opening
Speaker 1: ceremonies all day Saturday, the police told us that the
Speaker 1: line to get in was all the way down to
Speaker 1: Lawrence Avenue on River Road. Everyone has been so excited
Speaker 1: and polite and welcoming. We're just so grateful, so humbled
Speaker 1: by the support that you give to your Bears, and
Speaker 1: we're very, very appreciative of it. And I also want
Speaker 1: to thank our terrific staff for putting on this event,
Speaker 1: and our players, current and former for participating as much
Speaker 1: as they have. And finally, and I'll shut up for
Speaker 1: a while, I want to compliment Tom and Jeff for
Speaker 1: the great job they have done all week. Fantastic research,
Speaker 1: great questions, and you're eliciting some great responses from your panelists.
Speaker 1: And I hope that it's true of this next panel
Speaker 1: right now. Well, George, are those of the nineteen thirty
Speaker 1: six socks you're wearing? I gotta go there. I They're
Speaker 1: not They're not regulation height for an NFL game. However, Yeah,
Speaker 1: so everybody's seen our new classic uniform from nineteen thirty six,
Speaker 1: and of course we had to get the approval of
Speaker 1: the owner of the team to to put this project
Speaker 1: into fruition. And I showed Mom the artists rendering, and
Speaker 1: the first thing out of her mouth and this is
Speaker 1: a quote reporters, Well those socks don't turn me on.
Speaker 1: I agree, and I said, Mom, the socks are the
Speaker 1: best part. But how do you like that uniform? Is
Speaker 1: it sharp? Or what? Virginia? Isn't it amazing? Well, as usual,
Speaker 1: George has taken all the things that I was going
Speaker 1: to say, But that is a quote, and I thank
Speaker 1: you Tom for agreeing with me. Do you remember that uniform?
Speaker 1: It's a throwback from nineteen thirty six, correct, that's that's
Speaker 1: what they say. Yes, I was in first or second
Speaker 1: year of high school at that point, and I wasn't
Speaker 1: really paying that much attention to the uniforms. I was
Speaker 1: more interested in the players who were wearing them. Your
Speaker 1: talk about elictening great responses. Thank you you know that
Speaker 1: is such a great response, because missus mccam asking, you've
Speaker 1: been a daughter, a sister, a mother to the generations
Speaker 1: of players throughout the history of the Bears. Was there
Speaker 1: any one time in your life it was more unique
Speaker 1: to the other or was it just part of the
Speaker 1: growth process of your life through the NFL? These days
Speaker 1: here in the Rosemond Center for the stend Deal celebration,
Speaker 1: I'm still trying to find words for what they've meant
Speaker 1: to me, and I hope to all of you. It
Speaker 1: has made me even more grateful for what my life
Speaker 1: has been. In the position that I'm in, there are
Speaker 1: so many privileges and perks and blessings. I just can't
Speaker 1: believe that I'm here and I'm enjoying life at my
Speaker 1: age the way I am. So before we get to
Speaker 1: Don and Dan about this and their time with Missus McCaskey,
Speaker 1: Virginia had all started because of your mom honestly collecting scrapbooks.
Speaker 1: Explain what that was like for her, why she did it,
Speaker 1: and how that just carried on through the generations. My
Speaker 1: mother and dad were married in February of nineteen twenty two,
Speaker 1: but before that, she and my dad had known each
Speaker 1: other since. There are days in different high schools in
Speaker 1: the city of Chicago, and when the Bears started in
Speaker 1: Wrigley Field, it was a labor of love for my
Speaker 1: mother to save whatever minimum coverage Dad was able to
Speaker 1: obtain in the Chicago papers, and over the years in
Speaker 1: our family it has grown until now we have this
Speaker 1: outstanding book, which they lovingly called the scrap Book, and
Speaker 1: it's just a beautiful thing. I hope everybody eventually will
Speaker 1: be able to get a copy. And I can warn
Speaker 1: you it's a very heavy book. You it's not something
Speaker 1: you can carry around under your arm, but it is
Speaker 1: worth every bit of it. And I did have a
Speaker 1: copy for a weekend to look over, and then I
Speaker 1: had to sign it and return it. So I'm waiting
Speaker 1: for my own copy, and there was just I don't
Speaker 1: know how you got all your sources, but it was wonderful.
Speaker 1: And there's just one story that was new to me,
Speaker 1: and that was the one about Bronco Nagurski after he
Speaker 1: retired people had a gas station, not as an investment
Speaker 1: for his own employment, and he always had a lot
Speaker 1: of repeat business because when Bronco put on the gas
Speaker 1: cap on your gas tank, it stayed on until Bronco
Speaker 1: took it off. So Dan and Dan and Don Our
Speaker 1: Dick McCann Hall of Fame writers and the Pro Football
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame and deserving indeed Don cover the team
Speaker 1: for a very long time, a presence at Hallius, all
Speaker 1: the old Hollis Hall and Dan Pompeii. We grew up
Speaker 1: in the business together around the same time and all
Speaker 1: about football. So they have great perspective, outstanding writers that
Speaker 1: capture moments. How did you guys capture one hundred years
Speaker 1: of moments with fifteen hours of conversation with Missus McCaskey. Well,
Speaker 1: I think everybody here can see what a privilege it
Speaker 1: was for us to be able to sit down with
Speaker 1: Missus McCaskey for as long as we did, and she
Speaker 1: certainly was our primary source and has been around almost
Speaker 1: as long as the Bears herself, and it hasn't I
Speaker 1: don't think she's forgotten anything about anything she ever knew
Speaker 1: about them, and so it was just great to be
Speaker 1: able to sit down with her and listen to her
Speaker 1: stories and respond to our questions. And one of the
Speaker 1: things that was interesting for us in writing the book
Speaker 1: was that it was such a parallel to the National
Speaker 1: Football League history. The Bear's history is the National Football
Speaker 1: League history. So I would say, at the risk of
Speaker 1: sounding like a salesperson as well as an author, that
Speaker 1: if you're a Bear fan or you know a Bear fan,
Speaker 1: you have to have this book. But I would even
Speaker 1: extend it. If you're an NFL fan, I think you
Speaker 1: have to have this book because it really gives some
Speaker 1: insight on the whole history of the National Football League.
Speaker 1: And it was a privilege to work on it and
Speaker 1: to do research, and I kipt George. I think he
Speaker 1: asked me to do it because, like his mother, I've
Speaker 1: been around for most of those one hundred years as well,
Speaker 1: and I do remember, I do remember watching the Bears
Speaker 1: for the last of watching him very closely for over
Speaker 1: sixty years, so I felt that I knew a little
Speaker 1: bit about it, but there were all there was a
Speaker 1: lot in the early years that I had to remind
Speaker 1: myself of and it was really a pleasure to to
Speaker 1: to research and to go back over the old the
Speaker 1: old clips and the scrap books. And you know, Virginia's right,
Speaker 1: they saved those early scrap books because in the beginning
Speaker 1: her father had to pay can you imagine this, He
Speaker 1: had to pay sports writers to write about the Bears.
Speaker 1: How about that? That that doesn't happen anymore. So it
Speaker 1: was it was really a pleasure to do it. Thank
Speaker 1: you God, those days are in the distant path. Uh.
Speaker 1: Great honor, as Don said, to be chosen for this
Speaker 1: project by the Bears, and also great out of work
Speaker 1: with Don, who is one of my heroes in the business.
Speaker 1: And what a privilege to interview missus mc caskey for
Speaker 1: We spent more than fifteen hours with her. I don't
Speaker 1: know if she signed up for that initially, but we
Speaker 1: eked it out of her little at a time, and
Speaker 1: she was so gracious with her time and her stories
Speaker 1: and her memory. A lot of people don't know she
Speaker 1: was actually on the Red Grange Tour. So I don't
Speaker 1: think there's anyone in the alive who has seen as
Speaker 1: much of the history of pro football as Missus mc
Speaker 1: caskey has, and her recall of it is tremendous. And
Speaker 1: you know, for for many years she was reticent. I
Speaker 1: think I would say, to to talk publicly very much.
Speaker 1: You kind of like to stay in the background. But
Speaker 1: it's been wonderful to see her come out and share
Speaker 1: some of her stories in recent years. So what was
Speaker 1: this What was the starting point? Like, I know what
Speaker 1: we talk about the Bears in the nineteen twenties. What
Speaker 1: was your initial idea that you said, Okay, this is
Speaker 1: going to be the opening chapter, this is gonna be
Speaker 1: the foreward of the book. What was the initial idea?
Speaker 1: I think that's a good question because the easy way
Speaker 1: to do a book like this would be chronological. But
Speaker 1: I think also, with all due respect, it might be
Speaker 1: boring for some people to read it from beginning to end.
Speaker 1: And so what we did was separated into five different sections,
Speaker 1: five categories, and they are ownership, which would would include
Speaker 1: management and coaching, and then the players, the great players
Speaker 1: and the plays and the championships would be a third area.
Speaker 1: The innovations that they've had, and the rivalries, and the
Speaker 1: reason we did this. You could you could do the
Speaker 1: history on any team in the National Football League and
Speaker 1: divided into those five sections. But in this case, the
Speaker 1: Bears were unique in every single section. They've No team
Speaker 1: in the National Football League has ownership like the Bears
Speaker 1: had with George Hallis founding the league, founding the team
Speaker 1: and his family still being involved in ownership. No team
Speaker 1: has as many Hall of Fame players as the Bears. Championships,
Speaker 1: the championships, they have nine championships, and there is I've
Speaker 1: heard there's a team that has more than that, but
Speaker 1: we won't mention that. But but the team, no team
Speaker 1: in the National Football League has ever won a championship
Speaker 1: game seventy three to nothing. And we make the case,
Speaker 1: We make the case that the nineteen eighty five season
Speaker 1: is the most memorable season in NFL history. We made
Speaker 1: that case. So so that's unique. And then as far
Speaker 1: as the innovations are could earn, No, there's no other team.
Speaker 1: There's no other thing in sport like the Grange Tour,
Speaker 1: which really put pro football on the map, as well
Speaker 1: as another innovation would be the T formation with the
Speaker 1: man in motion, which is still the basic peoplemation. So
Speaker 1: as far as innovations are, there's no other team that
Speaker 1: can compare to the Bears. And then the rivalries speak
Speaker 1: for themselves. There's no other team the National Football League
Speaker 1: which have the rivalries that the Bears have, starting of
Speaker 1: course with the team up North Soul. That's the reason
Speaker 1: we put the book into that kind of format, and
Speaker 1: I think it works pretty well because there is a
Speaker 1: little bit of overlap. But those sections I think are
Speaker 1: very interesting and revealing and as I say, unique, and
Speaker 1: I think in the entire National Football League. Missus mccaski,
Speaker 1: what are your recollections of that barnstorming tour? Because it
Speaker 1: was completely unorthodox to even a manage and that many
Speaker 1: games in a short period of time, traveling all over
Speaker 1: the country, seventeen games in sixty one days. But it
Speaker 1: was vital, wasn't it. I don't really have any direct
Speaker 1: memories of that tour because I was it was just
Speaker 1: before and after my third birthday, but it was some
Speaker 1: It was such a milestone for the Chicago Bears and
Speaker 1: the National Football League in terms of crowd acceptance and recognition.
Speaker 1: I think it will always be a part of the
Speaker 1: Bears history and the history of the National Football League.
Speaker 1: And I'd like to back up a little bit, and
Speaker 1: I don't want to enco accuse anyone of deception, but
Speaker 1: the way this book was presented to me and my
Speaker 1: participation is that I was the only one available to
Speaker 1: talk about the twenties and the thirties. So I figured, well,
Speaker 1: I'll do this time with Don and Dan, and then
Speaker 1: they'll find other people for the other decades. And it
Speaker 1: just didn't happen. And we're very grateful that it didn't happen,
Speaker 1: and I think you will be if you buy the
Speaker 1: book as well, because she's got great antidotes that she
Speaker 1: shared with us throughout the book. Dan, what is something
Speaker 1: that you learned about the Bears before your time with
Speaker 1: the Bears? Don says, it's been around for sixty years.
Speaker 1: You and I have been around for less time than that,
Speaker 1: And in preparation for these events, I've learned so much
Speaker 1: about the Bears looking at footage from the forties, from
Speaker 1: the sixty three A couple of weeks before the seventy
Speaker 1: three to nothing game, they got beat by the Redskins
Speaker 1: and the owner called him cry babies, and quitters. What
Speaker 1: did you learn about the Bears that kind of shocked you? Well,
Speaker 1: this is quite a bit. I mean, I'll share one
Speaker 1: story about Sid Luckman that I found out that I
Speaker 1: wasn't aware of. Sid, of course, the greatest quarterback in
Speaker 1: Bears history, one of the greatest players ever. Sid, We've
Speaker 1: got the Sid Luckman and cheering section. Good good to see.
Speaker 1: During World War Two, he was a war hero of sorts.
Speaker 1: He made seven trips over to England and France, including
Speaker 1: that you know, we just celebrated the seventy fifth anniversary
Speaker 1: of D Day and he was actually a part of
Speaker 1: that movement, which I never knew. He was on a
Speaker 1: ship that delivered oil and brought back wounded soldiers during
Speaker 1: during the D Day uh invasion period. So in addition
Speaker 1: to being this incredible quarterback, he also was a great
Speaker 1: American hero. And I'd like to I'd like to answer
Speaker 1: that question too, Tim, because people ask me, what was
Speaker 1: the most surprising thing you found out when you're writing
Speaker 1: the book. And it wasn't really surprised, but it was
Speaker 1: a reminder and maybe it was a surprise. It was
Speaker 1: a reminder of the enormous, enormous influence George Hallis had
Speaker 1: on the National Football League. I mean we talk about
Speaker 1: him being the founder, but he his fingerprints were on
Speaker 1: everything from the shape of the ball, to the rules
Speaker 1: to expansion, I mean everything about the National Football League.
Speaker 1: Somehow you could trace back to George Hallis. It was
Speaker 1: really fascinating to to UH to sort of review them,
Speaker 1: and I'll tell you a good story about it. You know.
Speaker 1: We talked to miss Trubisky and Ryan Pace and UH
Speaker 1: Matt Naggie, and one of the questions we asked him
Speaker 1: was when when was your first UH encounter with the Bears,
Speaker 1: And all of them mentioned somehow the eighty five Super Bowl,
Speaker 1: by the way, and UH we asked what were the
Speaker 1: what was your favorite team growing up? And of course
Speaker 1: Ryan is from Dalla, from Texas, so he liked the
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys. And Matt was from Pennsylvania and somehow he
Speaker 1: got onto the Vikings. I think it was a college
Speaker 1: player that he followed. And of course Mitch's from Ohio
Speaker 1: and he grew up right outside of Cleveland, so his
Speaker 1: favorite team was the Browns. And what they didn't know
Speaker 1: though I looked, I thought about the Vikings and the
Speaker 1: Cowboys and and the Browns. All three of those teams
Speaker 1: came into existence at least partly because of George Hallis.
Speaker 1: He was the not so he not only founded the Bears,
Speaker 1: he was the He was the chairman of the expansion
Speaker 1: team when the Vikings and the and the Cowboys came in.
Speaker 1: And the reason the Browns came into existence is because
Speaker 1: George Hallis, because Archward was the was the sports editor
Speaker 1: of the Chicago Tribune. He wanted to buy the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 1: George Allis said, we're saving h and he wanted to
Speaker 1: He wanted to move the Buffalo Bills to the West Coast.
Speaker 1: This is getting to be a longer story than I
Speaker 1: had imagined. But they were going to move the Buffalo
Speaker 1: Bills to the West Coast, and George Allis said, no,
Speaker 1: We're saving the West Coast for somebody else. So Archwards
Speaker 1: started the All America Conference, which was the Browns. So
Speaker 1: all three of these teams that Payson, Trubisky and Naggie
Speaker 1: grew up liking were because of George. It was just amazing. So,
Speaker 1: mister the Casky, in the whole idea of the inception
Speaker 1: of the NFL, was there ever an era that you
Speaker 1: thought the NFL might not make it. I didn't realize
Speaker 1: it when I was growing up, but there were difficult
Speaker 1: years in the late twenties and early thirties, and my
Speaker 1: dad had the Chicago Bears, but he was also part
Speaker 1: owner of a commercial laundry company. He worked in real estate.
Speaker 1: He even tried selling cars. I often used the word
Speaker 1: survival because that's what was involved, and fortunately for us
Speaker 1: and for so many people now, it all worked out.
Speaker 1: Your piggiebank had something to do with the survival of
Speaker 1: the Bears too. Could you tell that story? I said,
Speaker 1: your piggiebank had something to do with survival of the
Speaker 1: Bears too. Well. At one point, my dad was so
Speaker 1: desperate that he actually spoke to my brother and me
Speaker 1: about borrowing the money that was in our savings account.
Speaker 1: And that savings account had been established by Grandma Hallis,
Speaker 1: who sent us a Birthday check and a Christmas check
Speaker 1: each year, and I think there was probably a couple
Speaker 1: of hundred dollars, but even that was borrowed because it
Speaker 1: was a case of buying groceries and there were late
Speaker 1: payments on the rent of the apartment. It's hard to
Speaker 1: imagine these days with all the millions and billions of
Speaker 1: dollars that people are talking about. And Kyle Fuller mentioned
Speaker 1: how he feels about going to work at Hollis Hall,
Speaker 1: and that resonated with me because each time I go
Speaker 1: up there, I think, does this really belong to us?
Speaker 1: Is this really part of our organization? I'm just amazed
Speaker 1: at the expansion of Hallis Hall and can't imagine what
Speaker 1: they're going to think of next to what's going to
Speaker 1: happen in the next hundred years. George So, being a
Speaker 1: former reporter, I can feel compelled to clarify the record
Speaker 1: when coach Hellis borrowed money from Moms and Mugs's piggybangs,
Speaker 1: he promised them, I'll pay you back, so which you did.
Speaker 1: So from your perspective as a grandson and living through
Speaker 1: this journey as well, how staggering is it that had
Speaker 1: one hundred dollars put on the table to start professional
Speaker 1: sport called football has grown into billions for every team
Speaker 1: in the league and generations and generations of fans that
Speaker 1: their families are together in many respects on Sundays because
Speaker 1: of Bears football and seeing George Hallis in that statue
Speaker 1: every day at Barrett Hollis Hall How staggering is it
Speaker 1: for you to think about it that way? Well, every
Speaker 1: day when I enter Hollis Hall, I pass that statue
Speaker 1: and I try to think about Coach Hallis and all
Speaker 1: he's meant to all of us, all he's meant to
Speaker 1: the great game of football and Bears fans, and it's
Speaker 1: very much a family operation for us. This morning, We've
Speaker 1: got my favorite brother in law, my Catine, my favorite niece, Natalie,
Speaker 1: my favorite niece, Molly, my favorite brother Pat, my favorite
Speaker 1: sister Anne, my favorite sister Mary, my favorite sister in law, Gretchen,
Speaker 1: my favorite niece, Julie, my favorite sister in law, Kathy,
Speaker 1: my favorite brother, Ned, my favorite nephew, Daniel, anybody my
Speaker 1: favorite niece, Margaret, my favorite niece Michelle. And all of
Speaker 1: us are passionate about the Bears, and all of us
Speaker 1: feel a tremendous responsibility for carrying on George Hallis's legacy,
Speaker 1: and that's what we intend to do, you know, Jeff, Jeff,
Speaker 1: Another story about that hundred dollars that they started out with,
Speaker 1: George Hallis admitted there wasn't a hundred. The idea was
Speaker 1: that each of the new franchises would put up a
Speaker 1: hundred dollars. That was just to make it look legitimate.
Speaker 1: He said, there wasn't a hundred dollars among them in
Speaker 1: the whole room, you know, in the In the last
Speaker 1: few months, I've never heard more conversation about the Bears,
Speaker 1: about the list of the top one hundred, and just
Speaker 1: talking about number one, because both of you guys have
Speaker 1: had great experiences and your life as a writer to
Speaker 1: talk to number one, and I'm talking about Walter Payton.
Speaker 1: What you know? For me, there is no other consideration.
Speaker 1: Before I ever came to the Bears, he was my hero.
Speaker 1: When I got to stand in a huddle with him,
Speaker 1: I was in such awe of him it was hard
Speaker 1: to stare away from him. How did that discussion begin
Speaker 1: and end when you started filtering through all of the
Speaker 1: generations of greatness of the Bears players. Well, I think
Speaker 1: number one was kind of a no brainer for us.
Speaker 1: There wasn't any discussion about number one, in part because
Speaker 1: both Missus McCaskey and Mike Ditka believe that Peyton was
Speaker 1: the greatest Bear, and those are two pretty powerful voices.
Speaker 1: But in terms of the rest of the list, uh
Speaker 1: Down and I were very happy that nobody disagreed with
Speaker 1: any of the or the order of any of the
Speaker 1: one hundred players. But you know, it was it's a
Speaker 1: highly subjective exercise. It's very difficult to exercise because we're
Speaker 1: comparing so many players in different eras, players who whose
Speaker 1: positions no longer exist, or whose positions were invented at
Speaker 1: some point during the hundred years, players who played a
Speaker 1: long time and had an impact over time, versus players
Speaker 1: who had short term contribution, current players whose legacies really
Speaker 1: aren't complete or close to complete in some cases. So
Speaker 1: it was very difficult time from that standpoint. We tried
Speaker 1: to have fun with it, uh we we We kind
Speaker 1: of went back and forth on a number of guys
Speaker 1: at the end down and I were just talking about
Speaker 1: this in the blue room in the back that you know,
Speaker 1: if we had another week or another month, we probably
Speaker 1: would have changed the list another ten or fifteen times.
Speaker 1: It was one of those deals. You know, there are
Speaker 1: a number of players we left off that you could
Speaker 1: you could second guests and question yourself about, and we
Speaker 1: have been second guests in questioned a few times. Actually,
Speaker 1: we wanted to make it easier than it was by
Speaker 1: arguing that we wanted to really make three lists. We
Speaker 1: wanted to make an offensive list, a defensive list, and
Speaker 1: a two way player list, because there are really three
Speaker 1: different areas of expertise in football. But I want to
Speaker 1: say that it wasn't that we didn't have any discussion
Speaker 1: about number one. Because the Bears have so many great players.
Speaker 1: We could have made other players number one, but Walter
Speaker 1: Payton checked the most boxes. That is, we tried to
Speaker 1: use as much objective criteria as we could for a
Speaker 1: really highly subjective process, and longevity and durability were one.
Speaker 1: Production was one, honors or one. Impact was one. And
Speaker 1: if you go down the list, if it were just
Speaker 1: longevity and durability, Gaelo. Sayers might not have made the list.
Speaker 1: So you had to weigh these different criteria and Walder
Speaker 1: just checked more boxes than really anybody else. How did
Speaker 1: you two feel about the one hundred and have your opinions?
Speaker 1: And I'll tell you one thing that sticks out to me,
Speaker 1: and going back all the way to the twenties, thirties
Speaker 1: and forties and reading about the legendary Bears that we
Speaker 1: obviously could not see at our age now was a
Speaker 1: simple word for me that is riveted. My whole focus
Speaker 1: moving forward, and I know it has years as well,
Speaker 1: missus McCaskey, But toughness, I mean, so many of these
Speaker 1: old Bears were viewed like we view Dick Butkus right now,
Speaker 1: or we view you know, any number of guys that
Speaker 1: played with a vengeance on the field, with some un
Speaker 1: believable fury, and we're recognized as such an and viewed
Speaker 1: as such throughout their careers. I didn't notice the back
Speaker 1: inside cover of the book until just before I returned it,
Speaker 1: so I paid attention, of course to number one and
Speaker 1: noticed that Pat Manniley made it at one hundred and UM.
Speaker 1: The book was on its way back to Hollis Hall,
Speaker 1: so I'm one of the things I'm looking forward to
Speaker 1: is seeing the complete list. And I'm sure you did
Speaker 1: a very difficult and outstanding job, you know, miss McCaskey.
Speaker 1: One thing that I've taken away from this weekend and
Speaker 1: in studying for this event, Jeff mentioned it. It's across
Speaker 1: the board. The word is always toughness, whether it's George
Speaker 1: Hallis saying it or someone saying it from another team
Speaker 1: about the Bears. Yesterday we had Mike Brown up here
Speaker 1: and brought the tears because of his love for the Bears.
Speaker 1: You gotta I'm sure you've had to see that before
Speaker 1: in your life. But the respect that a lot of
Speaker 1: these alumni have for the Bears, have for their existence
Speaker 1: with being the Bears, having the opportunity to play for
Speaker 1: fans like this and stadiums across the landscape, that's got
Speaker 1: to be a great reflection to you and your family
Speaker 1: that it means so much to players years after the
Speaker 1: fact that they have been retired. This weekend has been
Speaker 1: like a happy dream that just keeps going on and on.
Speaker 1: You wonder how many more wonderful people will be showing
Speaker 1: up and how many people are saying thank you. I
Speaker 1: am so grateful to all of our staff who have
Speaker 1: worked so hard to prepare for this time. And I
Speaker 1: just want to say to Tom and Jeff. Known them
Speaker 1: both for a long time, I've always been comfortable with
Speaker 1: them and considered them friends. But watching you and listening
Speaker 1: to you yesterday, panel after panel, you were so prepared
Speaker 1: for all of your individual relationships and questions. I'm amazed
Speaker 1: and thank you. Thank you. Hey, We're humbled, We're honored
Speaker 1: to be here, and thank you for your trusting us
Speaker 1: honestly choking me up here. Don't make me cry on stage.
Speaker 1: Please stop. Yeah, I'll never stop. I'm an emotional guy.
Speaker 1: Um well, I was gonna ask a different question, but
Speaker 1: I'll feed off of those panels. I don't think I've
Speaker 1: been around. I mean we used to do Bears fan
Speaker 1: conventions and had, you know, great conversations as well. But
Speaker 1: the raw emotion yesterday Missus, mccasky, George, and I don't
Speaker 1: know if you guys were here, especially in that defensive
Speaker 1: line discuss I mean it was, it was. It's all
Speaker 1: about nineteen now. It's these ex Bears are It's in
Speaker 1: their heart, it's in their soul. They are Bears to
Speaker 1: the core, and they want the best for these guys.
Speaker 1: They want a championship. And I mean that Keem Hicks
Speaker 1: comment yesterday, I accept your challenge. Wow, I gave me
Speaker 1: goose bumps. And I'll tell you it had to you
Speaker 1: did it? What did you think of that? Both of
Speaker 1: you guys. The reaction to a chem Hicks is saying
Speaker 1: we accept your challenge. From Edel Bradovitch, from Dan Hapton,
Speaker 1: Chris Orts, Tommy Harris that sat up here, there was
Speaker 1: a lot of pressure put on a chem Hicks about
Speaker 1: the desire for success for the two thousand and nineteen team. Well,
Speaker 1: after my first mini tour of expanded Hollis Hall, I
Speaker 1: spoke to Coach about all of these all of this
Speaker 1: great facility, and how are you going to help the
Speaker 1: players realize that now is the time to understand that
Speaker 1: all of this is here for their benefit, for their utilization.
Speaker 1: But they're the ones who have to use everything that's
Speaker 1: available to them now, and there's just so much that
Speaker 1: technology can do. And then it's back to the human effort, determination,
Speaker 1: perseverance and all those good words. And Coach's response was,
Speaker 1: I'm working on it. Don't worry. You know, it's almost
Speaker 1: It's no longer Hallis Hall. It's Hallis Campus because when
Speaker 1: we used to go to old Hallis Hall, to fifty
Speaker 1: North Washington, the other ones you've seen before, they were
Speaker 1: like a hall. Nowadays it's one of the most impressive
Speaker 1: growths of the Chicago Bears. Is what you've provided for
Speaker 1: the players in their opportunity to succeed. No excuses, sadly,
Speaker 1: because we haven't even scratched the surface, obviously, but time
Speaker 1: is dwindling. We do have questions from the crowd. If
Speaker 1: somebody want to bring those out to me, that'd be great.
Speaker 1: Do you have any comments or any favorite moments of
Speaker 1: the championships that you got to witness in Bears history.
Speaker 1: I was thinking on the way here this morning of
Speaker 1: our present day coach and how he relates to our
Speaker 1: history and the Chicago Bears. My dad, George hallis certainly
Speaker 1: celebrated every championship, but all through the season it was
Speaker 1: very serious work and very concentrated situations. There are pictures
Speaker 1: of him in the locker room after the various championships,
Speaker 1: and I love them. But our present day coach has
Speaker 1: made each game and each week a possible celebration, and
Speaker 1: I think that is a very excellent difference. The season
Speaker 1: is so much longer, it's so much harder to get
Speaker 1: to the final game and win the final game. But
Speaker 1: we're hoping for a lot of those club dub pictures
Speaker 1: and they're welcome to it. All right, A couple of
Speaker 1: questions as we have time. This is from Hannah in
Speaker 1: our Ly to Heights. Missus McCaskey. What was your favorite
Speaker 1: game ever to watch at Wrigley Field. I think the
Speaker 1: sixty three championship game, even though it wasn't against the Packers,
Speaker 1: it was the culmination of a championship season and my
Speaker 1: dad's final championship and we had beaten the Packers previously
Speaker 1: in Green Bay and in Wrigley Field that season, so
Speaker 1: that was good too. And then from Jessica and Vernon Hills,
Speaker 1: who was your favorite player to wear a Bears uniform?
Speaker 1: The crowd already gave the answer, because that's a tough one, Walter, I,
Speaker 1: you know it's ingrained in every Bears fans rememory. Can
Speaker 1: you remember the first time the Bear you heard the
Speaker 1: first Bears fight song and when it was played, when
Speaker 1: it was introduced, and how well was it accepted Initially? Well,
Speaker 1: there was a an earlier Bears song before Bear Down
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears, and then that was replaced, and my dad
Speaker 1: was smart enough. I don't know how he knew about
Speaker 1: the music business, but he actually purchased the song so
Speaker 1: that all the performance rights and the money came to
Speaker 1: the Bears instead of the writer of the song. And
Speaker 1: one of my favorite memories the championship game against the
Speaker 1: Saints was that it seemed like everybody had Soldier Field
Speaker 1: finally knew the words that everybody was saying so practice
Speaker 1: for the season. What did you think of nineteen eighty five?
Speaker 1: What did you think of nineteen eighty five? That was
Speaker 1: a very unusual team and a very a very unusual
Speaker 1: season because so much of the normal stress of game
Speaker 1: day seemed to be disappearing. We could go to the
Speaker 1: game and not be completely knotted up inside. There was
Speaker 1: so much confidence in everyone, and except for the game
Speaker 1: in Miami, everything turned out very well. And lastly for me,
Speaker 1: and I think everybody here would like to know, I
Speaker 1: never had that fortunate experience to meet mister Hallis. How
Speaker 1: would you describe him? What was he like? And what's
Speaker 1: your fondest memory? Um, there are so many, and I
Speaker 1: really couldn't. That's why I don't do this. Very odden. Oh,
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, no worries, but this way, he was a
Speaker 1: great man, and he was the innovating and motivating force.
Speaker 1: While we're all here today, George, let me jump in
Speaker 1: and that'll give mom time to compose her answer. But
Speaker 1: all of my brothers and sisters and I remember waiting
Speaker 1: for Grandpa outside the Cubs locker room at Wrigley Field
Speaker 1: after the games, and one of the things that amazed
Speaker 1: me was win or lose. When he came out of
Speaker 1: that dressing room and saw us, he was just Grandpa,
Speaker 1: you know how you doing, champion? Hey kid, how are
Speaker 1: you? You You know? And making sure that that moment was
Speaker 1: special for us. And that's one of my fondest memories
Speaker 1: of them, just coming out of the locker room. All right, Well,
Speaker 1: we could spend many, many, many hours. We could spend
Speaker 1: fifteen to twenty hours with you, just like these guys did. Uh.
Speaker 1: It's it's been an incredible journey, incredible weekend, and thank
Speaker 1: you for allowing us to share it with you and
Speaker 1: your family. Thank you so much for being here. And
Speaker 1: may I say one last thing. Tom was talking about
Speaker 1: the socks of the look at those shoes, and I
Speaker 1: have read the book cover to cover. It's amazing. So
Speaker 1: these two gentlemen did a very difficult job. They made
Speaker 1: it read easy. So enjoy it. Enjoy the scrap book,
Speaker 1: Enjoy all them artifacts, the scotting reports of players, all
Speaker 1: the stories, the other reflection of that book that these
Speaker 1: guys captured as well. Yes, it was about sporting, about
Speaker 1: the NFL, but it's about life in each of those
Speaker 1: decades and the Bears had an impact in that too,
Speaker 1: related to what was going on at that time in place,
Speaker 1: whether it be the depression, the assassination of President Kennedy.
Speaker 1: It's historical, it's great. Get it, enjoy it. One more
Speaker 1: seminar Togo, big hand for everybody up here. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much