Red Grange Harold Edward " Red " Grange , nicknamed " The Galloping Ghost " , ( June 13 , 1903 – January 28 , 1991 ) was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois , the Chicago Bears , and for the short - lived New York Yankees . His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League . He was a charter member of both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame . In 1924 , Grange became the first recipient of the " Chicago Tribune " Silver Football award denoting the Big Ten ' s MVP . In 2008 , he was named the best college football player of all time by ESPN , and in 2011 , he was named the Greatest Big Ten Icon by the Big Ten Network . Early life . " Red " Grange was born on June 13 , 1903 in Forksville , a village of about 200 people in an area of Pennsylvania lumber camps . His father was the foreman of three lumber camps . For a number of years , the Grange family lived with relatives until they could finally afford a home of their own in Wheaton , Illinois . When they arrived , Grange ’ s father worked hard and became the chief of police . At Wheaton High School , Grange earned 16 varsity letters in four sports ( football , baseball , basketball , and track ) during the four years he attended , notably scoring 75 touchdowns and 532 points for the football team . As a high school junior , Grange scored 36 touchdowns and led Wheaton High School to an undefeated season . In his senior year , his team won every game but one in which they lost 39 - 0 to Scott High School in Toledo , Ohio . Knocked out in this game , Grange remained unconscious for two days , having difficulty speaking when he awoke . In addition to his success in football , Grange was an all - state track and field runner . In 1920 Grange was a state champion in the high jump , while placing 3rd and 4th in the 100 yard dash and the 220 yard dash respectively . In 1921 he won the state title in both the long jump and the 100 yard dash , and finally in 1922 he placed 3rd in the 100 yard dash and won the 220 yard dash . To help the family earn money , he took a part - time job as an ice toter for $ 37 . 50 per week , a job which helped him to build his core strength ( and provided the source of his nickname " Ice Man " , or " the Wheaton Ice Man " ) . College football . After graduation Grange enrolled at the University of Illinois , where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity . He had initially planned to compete in only basketball and track but changed his mind once he arrived . In his first collegiate football game , he scored three touchdown s against Nebraska . In seven games as a sophomore , he ran for 723 yards and scored twelve touchdowns , leading Illinois to an undefeated season and the 1923 Helms Athletic Foundation national championship . Grange vaulted to national prominence as a result of his performance in the October 18 , 1924 , game against Michigan . This was the grand opening game for the new Memorial Stadium , built as a memorial to University of Illinois students and alumni who had served in World War I . The Michigan Wolverines were going for the National Championship . Illinois players knew they had a difficult job ahead of them if they expected to win . He returned the opening kickoff for a 95 - yard touchdown and scored three more touchdowns on runs of 67 , 56 and 44 yards in the first twelve minutes . On his next carry , he ran 56 yards for yet another touchdown . He scored the three touchdowns in less than seven minutes against the powerful Michigan defense . Before the game was over , Grange ran back another kickoff for yet another touchdown . He scored five touchdowns in all . Illinois won the game by a lopsided score of 39 to 14 . The game inspired Grantland Rice to write the following poetic description : A streak of fire , a breath of flame < br > Eluding all who reach and clutch ; < br > A gray ghost thrown into the game < br > That rival hands may never touch ; < br > A rubber bounding , blasting soul < br > Whose destination is the goal — Red Grange of Illinois ! However , it was Chicago sportswriter Warren Brown who nicknamed Grange " The Galloping Ghost . " When questioned in a 1974 interview , " Was it Grantland Rice who dubbed you the Galloping Ghost ? " Grange replied , " No , it was Warren Brown , who was a great writer with the " Chicago ' s American " in those days . " As a college senior , in a 24 - 2 upset of the University of Pennsylvania , Grange rushed for a career - high 237 yards through deep mud and scored three touchdowns . Laurence Stallings , a famed war correspondent who had co - written " What Price Glory ? " was hired to cover the game for the " New York World " . After Grange accounted for 363 yards , Stallings said , " This story ' s too big for me . I can ' t write it . " Grange ' s younger brother Garland followed his footsteps to play football at Illinois . In his 20 - game college career , he ran for 3 , 362 yards , caught 14 passes for 253 yards and completed 40 - of - 82 passes for 575 yards . Of his 31 touchdowns , 16 were from at least 20 yards , with nine from more than 50 yards . He scored at least one touchdown in every game he played but one , a 1925 loss to Nebraska . He earned All - America recognition three consecutive years , and appeared on the October 5 , 1925 , cover of " Time " . His number 77 was retired at the University of Illinois in 1925 . Only one other number has been retired in the history of University of Illinois football , 50 worn by Dick Butkus , another Bears player . NFL career . Grange was immediately courted by teams in the National Football League . The long - suffering Rochester Jeffersons made a last - ditch effort to sign Grange at a salary of $ 5 , 000 per game , but were unable to do so , a key factor in the team ' s demise . It was the Chicago Bears who ultimately signed him ; player / manager George Halas agreed to a contract for a 19 - game barnstorming tour , signed the day after Grange played his last college game . The contract earned Grange a salary and share of gate receipts that amounted to $ 100 , 000 , during an era when typical league salaries were less than $ 100 / game . That 67 - day tour is credited with legitimizing professional football and the NFL in the United States . On December 6 , 1925 , somewhere between 65 , 000 and 73 , 000 people showed up at the Polo Grounds to watch Grange , helping save the New York Giants ' franchise . Grange scored a touchdown on a 35 - yard interception return in the Bears ' 19 - 7 victory . Offensively , he ran for 53 yards on 11 carries , caught a 23 - yard pass and completed 2 - of - 3 passes for 32 yards . In his first year , he accounted for at least 401 total yards and 3 touchdowns in his 5 official NFL games for the Bears . Grange became involved in a dispute with the Bears and left to form his own league , the American Football League , to challenge the NFL . The league only lasted one season , after which Grange ' s team , the New York Yankees , was assimilated into the NFL . In 1927 Grange suffered a serious knee injury against the Bears , which robbed him of some speed and his cutting ability . After sitting out 1928 , Grange returned to the Bears , where he was a solid runner and excellent defensive back through the 1934 season . The two highlights of Grange ' s later NFL years came in consecutive championship games . In the unofficial 1932 championship , Grange caught the game winning touchdown pass from Bronko Nagurski . In the 1933 championship , Grange made a touchdown saving tackle that saved the game and the title for the Bears . Hollywood career . Grange ' s manager C . C . Pyle realized that as the greatest football star of his era , Grange could attract moviegoers as well as sports fans . During his time as a professional football player , Grange starred in two silent films , " One Minute to Play " ( 1926 ) and " Racing Romeo " ( 1927 ) . Grange also starred in a 12 part serial series " The Galloping Ghost " in 1931 . Later life . Grange retired from professional football in 1934 , earning a living in a variety of jobs including motivational speaker and sports announcer . In the 1950s he announced Chicago Bears games for CBS television and college football ( including the Sugar Bowl ) for NBC . Grange married his wife Margaret , nicknamed Muggs , in 1941 , and they were together until his death in 1991 . She was a flight attendant , and they met on a plane . The couple had no children . He , however , has one surviving daughter – Rosemary Morrissey – born in 1928 from a previous relationship with Helen Flozack . Grange developed Parkinson ' s disease in his last year of life and died on January 28 , 1991 in Lake Wales , Florida .