# Helms Athletic Foundation

The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership of Helms Bakery. Bill Schroeder founded the organization with Helms and served as its managing director. The men were united in a love of amateur athletic competition.
The organization became well known for presenting awards and trophies for local, national, and international competition, naming the Southern California Player of the Month and Year, national championships in college basketball and college football, Rose Bowl Player of the Game, Coach of the Year, Pacific Coast football player of the year, and other such awards for athletic achievement. Schroeder described himself in 1967 as a "committee of one" in selecting the championship teams. The organization dedicated Helms Hall in 1948, which housed a museum for sporting artifacts as well as the Helms Hall of Fame.
Following the death of Paul Helms in 1957 and the eventual closure of Helms Bakery in 1969, Schroeder sought new benefactors. The organization continued under a series of new sponsors as the United Savings–Helms Athletic Foundation, Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation, and First Interstate Bank Athletic Foundation. Schroeder died in 1987. Under the direction of Peter Ueberroth the Helms Athletic Foundation collection, library, and archives were absorbed into the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, later renamed the LA84 Foundation.

## History
### Founding

Schroeder brought to the partnership a large personal collection of sports memorabilia. He sought a corporate sponsor to finance a hall of fame to house his collection and to present awards to local athletes.
The idea was taken seriously by Paul Helms, who was himself invested in athletics both personally and professionally. The bakery with which he made his fortune was a sponsor of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, and "Helms Olympic Bread" continued to be associated with the competition. The organization was originally known as the Helms Olympic Athletic Foundation.
In 1936, with Helms' backing, Schroeder set to work from a rented office in downtown Los Angeles. As the organization's only employee, he issued frequent announcements of the selections he made for the Helms Athletic Foundation's various and numerous awards.

### Helms Hall

The organization dedicated Helms Hall in 1948. The purpose-built building adjacent to Helms Bakery near Culver City housed a museum for the sports artifacts originally collected by Schroeder, as well as the Helms Hall of Fame.
Schroeder selected the organization's national champion teams and made All-America team selections in a number of college sports, including football and basketball. The Helms Foundation also operated a hall of fame for both college basketball and college football. Besides collegiate athletics, the organization operated halls of fame for professional football, Major League Baseball, the Pacific Coast League, basketball, fencing, golf, tennis, swimming, auto racing, track and field, and soaring.

### Later years

After Paul Helms' death in 1957, his family continued supporting the organization until 1969, when the bakeries went out of business. Schroeder found a new benefactor in United Savings & Loan, and the organization's name became United Savings–Helms Athletic Foundation. United merged with Citizens Savings & Loan in 1973, when the organization became the Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation. It was again renamed in 1982 when First Interstate Bank assumed sponsorship, and it became the First Interstate Bank Athletic Foundation.
When the Helms Foundation dissolved, its historical holdings were absorbed into the collection of the Amateur Athletic Foundation, renamed the LA84 Foundation in 2007.

## National championship selections

* ↑ "A 'championship' is something that is won, most generally on the field of play against direct competition. A 'title' is something that is given or awarded by someone else, in honor of an achievement or as a designation of being considered the best at something. While it is generally true that winning a championship also involves a title being associated with it, the converse does not always hold. In many cases, a title can be given without a formal championship or competition being held at all. In other words, being awarded a title does not necessarily confer that a championship was even present much less attained. In earlier years of collegiate basketball, there are many titles that can be claimed, some which are associated with winning a tournament (e.g. NCAA Tournament or NIT) and some which are not (Associated Press #1, highest attendance, top Sagarin Rating). The latter do not constitute a championship. It is into this group that the Helms title falls." — Jon Scott, BigBlueHistory.net

## Pro Football Hall of Fame

Helms Athletic Foundation selected players, coaches and administrators from 1950 through at least the 1970s to its pro football hall of fame. Contrary to other halls of fame, some members were selected during their active playing/coaching careers.
| Year | Inductee | Pro Team(s) | Contribution | Pro Football Hall of Fame? |
| 1950 | Cliff Battles | Boston Braves / Boston Redskins / Washington Redskins (1932–1937) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Sammy Baugh | Washington Redskins (1937–1952) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Joe F. Carr | NFL President (1921–1939) | Contributor | Yes |
| 1950 | Dutch Clark | Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions (1931–1932; 1934–1938) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Paddy Driscoll | Hammond All-Stars (1917) Hammond Pros (1919) Racine / Chicago Cardinals (1920–1925) Chicago Bears (1926–1929) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Turk Edwards | Boston Braves / Boston Redskins / Washington Redskins (1932–1940) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Ray Flaherty | Los Angeles Wildcats (1926) New York Yankees (1927–1928) New York Giants (1929, 1931–1935) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Dan Fortmann | Chicago Bears (1936–1943) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Red Grange | Chicago Bears (1925, 1929–1934) New York Yankees (1926–1927) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | George Halas | Decatur Staleys / Chicago Staleys / Chicago Bears (1920–1929, 1933–1942, 1946–1955, 1958–1967) | Coach | Yes |
| 1950 | Mel Hein | New York Giants (1931–1945) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Bill Hewitt | Chicago Bears (1932−1936) Philadelphia Eagles (1937−1939) Steagles (1943) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Clarke Hinkle | Green Bay Packers (1932–1941) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Cal Hubbard | New York Giants (1927–1928, 1936) Green Bay Packers (1929–1933, 1935) Pittsburgh Pirates (1936) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Don Hutson | Green Bay Packers (1935–1945) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Curly Lambeau | Green Bay Packers (1920–1949) | Coach | Yes |
| 1950 | Tuffy Leemans | New York Giants (1936–1943) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Sid Luckman | Chicago Bears (1939–1950) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Bronko Nagurski | Chicago Bears (1930–1937, 1943) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Ernie Nevers | Duluth Eskimos (1926–1927) Chicago Cardinals (1929–1931) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Steve Owen | New York Giants (1931–1949) | Coach | Yes |
| 1950 | Ken Strong | Staten Island Stapletons (1929–1932) New York Giants (1933–1935, 1939, 1944–1947) New York Yankees (1936–1937) Jersey City Giants (1938, 1940) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Joe Stydahar | Chicago Bears (1936–1942, 1945–1946) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | Jim Thorpe | Canton Bulldogs (1915–1917, 1919–1920, 1926) Cleveland Indians (1921) Oorang Indians (1922–1923) Rock Island Independents (1924, 1925) New York Giants (1925) Tampa Cardinals (1926) Chicago Cardinals (1928) | Player | Yes |
| 1950 | George Trafton | Decatur Staleys / Chicago Staleys / Chicago Bears (1920–1921, 1923–1932) | Player | Yes |
| 1951 | Pete Henry | Canton Bulldogs (1920–1923, 1925–1926) New York Giants (1927) Pottsville Maroons (1927–1928) | Player | Yes |
| 1951 | Arnie Herber | Green Bay Packers (1930–1940) New York Giants (1944–1945) | Player | Yes |
| 1951 | John McNally | Milwaukee Badgers (1925–1926) Duluth Eskimos (1926–1927) Pottsville Maroons (1928) Green Bay Packers (1929–1933, 1935–1936) Pittsburgh Pirates (1934, 1937–1938) Buffalo Tigers (1941) | Player | Yes |
| 1951 | Bulldog Turner | Chicago Bears (1940–1952) | Player | Yes |
| 1952 | Greasy Neale | Philadelphia Eagles (1941–1950) | Coach | Yes |
| 1952 | Al Nesser | Columbus Panhandles (1910–1919, 1921) Canton Professionals (1914) Akron Pros / Akron Indians (1920–1925; 1926) Cleveland Bulldogs (1925) Cleveland Panthers (1926) New York Giants (1926–1928) Cleveland Indians (1931) | Player | No |
| 1952 | Alex Wojciechowicz | Detroit Lions (1938–1946) Philadelphia Eagles (1946–1950) | Player | Yes |
| 1952 | Frankie Albert | Los Angeles Bulldogs (1945) San Francisco 49ers (1946–1952) | Player | No |
| 1952 | Bob Waterfield | Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams (1945–1952) | Player | Yes |
| 1956 | Tom Fears | Los Angeles Rams (1948–1956) | Player | Yes |
| 1956 | Otto Graham | Cleveland Browns (1946–1955) | Player | Yes |
| 1956 | Steve Van Buren | Philadelphia Eagles (1944–1951) | Player | Yes |
| 1957 | Tony Canadeo | Green Bay Packers (1941–1944, 1946–1952) | Player | Yes |
| 1957 | Lou Groza | Cleveland Browns (1946–1959, 1961–1967) | Player | Yes |
| 1957 | Elroy Hirsch | Chicago Rockets (1946–1948) Los Angeles Rams (1949–1957) | Player | Yes |
| 1957 | Ed Sprinkle | Chicago Bears (1944–1955) | Player | Yes |
| 1957 | Doak Walker | Detroit Lions (1950–1955) | Player | Yes |
| 1959 | Ray Bray | Chicago Bears (1939–1942, 1946–1951) Green Bay Packers (1952) | Player | No |
| 1959 | Charlie Conerly | New York Giants (1948–1961) | Player | No |
| 1959 | George Preston Marshall | Washington Redskins owner (1932–1965) | Contributor | Yes |
| 1959 | George Musso | Chicago Bears (1933–1944) | Player | Yes |
| 1960 | Chuck Bednarik | Philadelphia Eagles (1949–1962) | Player | Yes |
| 1960 | Jim Benton | Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams (1938–1940, 1942; 1944–1947) Chicago Bears (1943) | Player | No |
| 1960 | Bill Dudley | Pittsburgh Steelers (1942, 1945–1946) Detroit Lions (1947–1949) Washington Redskins (1950–1951, 1953) | Player | Yes |
| 1960 | Link Lyman | Canton / Cleveland Bulldogs (1922–1925) Frankford Yellow Jackets (1925) Chicago Bears (1926–1928, 1930–1931, 1933–1934) | Player | Yes |
| 1960 | George McAfee | Chicago Bears (1940–1941, 1945–1950) | Player | Yes |
| 1960 | Buck Shaw | San Francisco 49ers (1946–1954) Philadelphia Eagles (1958–1960) | Coach | No |
| 1960 | Y. A. Tittle | Baltimore Colts (1948–1950) San Francisco 49ers (1951–1960) New York Giants (1961–1964) | Player | Yes |
| 1960 | Emlen Tunnell | New York Giants (1948–1958) Green Bay Packers (1959–1961) | Player | Yes |
| 1960 | Norm Van Brocklin | Los Angeles Rams (1949–1957) Philadelphia Eagles (1958–1960) | Player | Yes |
| 1961 | Ben Agajanian | Philadelphia Eagles (1945) Pittsburgh Steelers (1945) Los Angeles Dons (1947–1948) New York Giants (1949, 1954–1957) Los Angeles Rams (1953) Los Angeles Chargers / San Diego Chargers (1960; 1964) Dallas Texans (1961) Green Bay Packers (1961) Oakland Raiders (1962) | Player | No |
| 1961 | Bucko Kilroy | Steagles (1943) Philadelphia Eagles (1944–1955) | Player | No |
| 1961 | Joe Perry | San Francisco 49ers (1948–1960, 1963) Baltimore Colts (1961–1962) | Player | Yes |
| 1961 | Pete Pihos | Philadelphia Eagles (1947–1955) | Player | Yes |
| 1962 | Bert Bell | Philadelphia Eagles owner (1933–1940) Pittsburgh Steelers co-owner (1940–1946) | Contributor | Yes |
| 1962 | Charles Bidwill | Chicago Cardinals owner (1933–1947) | Contributor | Yes |
| 1962 | Walt Kiesling | Duluth Eskimos (1926–1927) Pottsville Maroons (1928) Chicago Cardinals (1929–1933) Chicago Bears (1934) Green Bay Packers (1935–1936) Pittsburgh Pirates (1937–1938) | Player | Yes |
| 1962 | Tim Mara | New York Giants owner (1925–1959) | Contributor | Yes |
| 1962 | Vic Sears | Philadelphia Eagles (1941–1942, 1944–1953) Phil-Pit Steagles (1943) | Player | No |
| 1962 | Carl Storck | NFL President (1939–1941) | Contributor | Yes |
| 1963 | Gene Brito | Washington Redskins (1951–1953, 1955–1958) Los Angeles Rams (1959–1960) | Player | No |
| 1963 | Paul Brown | Cleveland Browns (1946–1962) Cincinnati Bengals (1968–1975) | Coach | Yes |
| 1963 | Jim Martin | Cleveland Browns (1950) Detroit Lions (1951–1961) Baltimore Colts (1963) Washington Redskins (1964) | Player | No |
| 1963 | Dan Reeves | Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams owner (1941–1971) | Contributor | Yes |
| 1964 | Jimmy Conzelman | Decatur Staleys (1920) Rock Island Independents (1921–1922) Milwaukee Badgers (1922–1924) Detroit Panthers (1925–1926) Providence Steam Roller (1927–1929) | Player | Yes |
| 1964 | Bobby Layne | Chicago Bears (1948) New York Bulldogs (1949) Detroit Lions (1950–1958) Pittsburgh Steelers (1958–1962) | Player | Yes |
| 1964 | Eddie LeBaron | Washington Redskins (1952–1953, 1955–1959) Dallas Cowboys (1960–1963) | Player | No |
| 1964 | Gino Marchetti | Dallas Texans (1952) Baltimore Colts (1953–1964, 1966) | Player | Yes |
| 1964 | Leo Nomellini | San Francisco 49ers (1950–1963) | Player | Yes |
| 1964 | Ray Renfro | Cleveland Browns (1952–1963) | Player | No |
| 1964 | Andy Robustelli | Los Angeles Rams (1951–1955) New York Giants (1956–1964) | Player | Yes |
| 1965 | Bruno Banducci | Philadelphia Eagles (1944–1945) San Francisco 49ers (1946–1954) | Player | No |
| 1965 | Art Donovan | Baltimore Colts (1950) New York Yanks (1951) Dallas Texans (1952) Baltimore Colts (1953–1961) | Player | Yes |
| 1965 | Hugh McElhenny | San Francisco 49ers (1952–1960) Minnesota Vikings (1961–1962) New York Giants (1963) Detroit Lions (1964) | Player | Yes |
| 1966 | Frank Gifford | New York Giants (1952–1960, 1962–1964) | Player | Yes |
| 1966 | Ollie Matson | Chicago Cardinals (1952–1958) Los Angeles Rams (1959–1962) Detroit Lions (1963) Philadelphia Eagles (1964–1966) | Player | Yes |
| 1966 | Kyle Rote | New York Giants (1951–1961) | Player | No |
| 1966 | Bob St. Clair | San Francisco 49ers (1953–1963) | Player | Yes |
| 1966 | Buddy Parker | Chicago Cardinals (1949) Detroit Lions (1951–1956) Pittsburgh Steelers (1957–1964) | Coach | No |
| 1967 | Jon Arnett | Los Angeles Rams (1957–1963) Chicago Bears (1964–1966) | Player | No |
| 1967 | Jim Brown | Cleveland Browns (1957–1965) | Player | Yes |
| 1967 | Art Hunter | Green Bay Packers (1954–1955) Cleveland Browns (1956–1959) Los Angeles Rams (1960–1964) Pittsburgh Steelers (1965) | Player | No |
| 1967 | Alex Webster | New York Giants (1955–1964) | Player | No |
| 1967 | Fred Williams | Chicago Bears (1952–1963) Washington Redskins (1964–1965) | Player | No |
| 1969 | Jack Manders | Chicago Bears (1933–1940) | Player | No |
| 1969 | Marion Motley | Cleveland Browns (1946–1953) Pittsburgh Steelers (1955) | Player | Yes |
| 1969 | Don Paul | Los Angeles Rams (1948–1955) | Player | No |
| 1969 | Les Richter | Los Angeles Rams (1954–1962) | Player | Yes |
| 1969 | Ernie Stautner | Pittsburgh Steelers (1950–1963) | Player | Yes |
| 1969 | Buddy Young | New York Yankees (1947–1949) New York Yanks (1950–1951) Dallas Texans (1952) Baltimore Colts (1953–1955) | Player | No |
| 1969 | Paul "Tank" Younger | Los Angeles Rams (1949–1957) Pittsburgh Steelers (1958) | Player | No |
| 1971 | Vince Lombardi | Green Bay Packers (1959–1967) Washington Redskins (1969) | Coach | Yes |
| 1971 | Charley Trippi | Chicago Cardinals (1947–1955) | Player | Yes |
| 1972 | Eddie Meador | Los Angeles Rams (1959–1970) | Player | No |
| 1972 | Tobin Rote | Green Bay Packers (1950–1956) Detroit Lions (1957–1959) San Diego Chargers (1963–1964) Denver Broncos (1966) | Player | No |
| 1973 | Lance Alworth | San Diego Chargers (1962–1970) Dallas Cowboys (1971–1972) | Player | Yes |
| 1973 | Raymond Berry | Baltimore Colts (1955–1967) | Player | Yes |
| 1973 | Forrest Gregg | Green Bay Packers (1956, 1958–1970) Dallas Cowboys (1971) | Player | Yes |
| 1973 | Jim Ringo | Green Bay Packers (1953–1963) Philadelphia Eagles (1964–1967) | Player | Yes |
| 1973 | Joe Schmidt | Detroit Lions (1953–1965) | Player | Yes |
| 1973 | Bart Starr | Green Bay Packers (1956–1971) | Player | Yes |
| 1973 | Larry Wilson | St. Louis Cardinals (1960–1972) | Player | Yes |
| 1975 | Doug Atkins | Cleveland Browns (1953–1954) Chicago Bears (1955–1966) New Orleans Saints (1967–1969) | Player | Yes |
| 1975 | Gino Cappelletti | Boston Patriots (1960–1970) | Player | No |
| 1975 | Marlin McKeever | Los Angeles Rams (1961–1966, 1971–1972) Minnesota Vikings (1967) Washington Redskins (1968–1970) Philadelphia Eagles (1973) | Player | No |
| 1975 | Dick Modzelewski | Washington Redskins (1953–1954) Pittsburgh Steelers (1955) New York Giants (1956–1963) Cleveland Browns (1964–1966) | Player | No |
| 1975 | Ray Nitschke | Green Bay Packers (1958–1972) | Player | Yes |
| 1975 | Johnny Unitas | Baltimore Colts (1956–1972) San Diego Chargers (1973) | Player | Yes |
| 1975 | Maxie Baughan | Philadelphia Eagles (1960–1965) Los Angeles Rams (1966–1970) Washington Redskins (1974) | Player | No |
| 1975 | John Brodie | San Francisco 49ers (1957–1973) | Player | No |
| 1975 | Bill George | Chicago Bears (1952–1965) Los Angeles Rams (1966) | Player | Yes |
| 1975 | Rosey Grier | New York Giants (1955–1962) Los Angeles Rams (1963–1966) | Player | No |
| 1975 | Deacon Jones | Los Angeles Rams (1961–1971) San Diego Chargers (1972–1973) Washington Redskins (1974) | Player | Yes |
| 1975 | Bruiser Kinard | Brooklyn Dodgers / Tigers (1938–1944) New York Yankees (1946–1947) | Player | Yes |
| 1975 | Night Train Lane | Los Angeles Rams (1952–1953) Chicago Cardinals (1954–1959) Detroit Lions (1960–1965) | Player | Yes |
| 1975 | Mike Michalske | New York Yankees (1926–1928) Green Bay Packers (1929–1935, 1937) | Player | Yes |
| 1975 | Jim Parker | Baltimore Colts (1957–1967) | Player | Yes |
| 1976 | George Blanda | Chicago Bears (1949, 1950–1958) Baltimore Colts (1950) Houston Oilers (1960–1966) Oakland Raiders (1967–1975) | Player | Yes |
| 1976 | Len Ford | Los Angeles Dons (1948–1949) Cleveland Browns (1950–1957) Green Bay Packers (1958) | Player | Yes |
| 1976 | Sonny Jurgensen | Philadelphia Eagles (1957–1963) Washington Redskins (1964–1974) | Player | Yes |
| 1976 | Bob Lilly | Dallas Cowboys (1961–1974) | Player | Yes |
| 1976 | Lenny Moore | Baltimore Colts (1956–1967) | Player | Yes |
| 1976 | Joe Scibelli | Los Angeles Rams (1961–1975) | Player | No |
| 1976 | Jim Taylor | Green Bay Packers (1958–1966) New Orleans Saints (1967) | Player | Yes |
| 19?? | Rosey Brown | New York Giants (1953–1965) | Player | Yes |
* ↑ Class of 1960 selections were named in January 1961.
* ↑ Reeves also received a "special award" for his "contribution to professional football in Los Angeles" during the 1950 inaugural class ceremony, but wasn't inducted at the time.

## World Trophy

The Helms World Trophy, originally known as the Helms Award and also referred to as the Helms Trophy, was an annual sporting award established by the Helms Athletic Foundation from 1939 to honor the foremost amateur athlete of each continent of the world, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.
Although the Foundation was established in 1936, the awards date back to the 1896, the year of the first Summer Olympics.
After the initial committee selection, amateur athletes were nominated by their own countries for consideration by the foundation. Winners were presented with a silver plaque and had their names added to the World Trophy that was located at the Helms Foundation, and subsequently the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles (now known as the LA84 Foundation). Winners can only win the award once.

### Winners

* World Trophy for Australasia
* World Trophy for Africa
** 1965: Seraphino Antao, Kenyan sprinter
* World Trophy for Asia
** 1930: Simeon Toribio, Filipino high jumper
** 1953: K. D. Singh, Indian hockey player
** 1959: Milkha Singh, Indian sprinter
* World Trophy for Europe
** 1969: Jean-Claude Killy, French skier
* World Trophy for North America
* World Trophy for South America