The George Halas Award is given by the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) to a

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed. The award is named for

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

, a charter member (1963) of the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

who was associated with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

and NFL from their inception in 1920 until his death in 1983 as an owner, manager, player and promoter. Halas represented the Bears, then known as the Decatur Staleys, at the Sept. 17, 1920 organizational meeting of the American Football Association in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

. One year later, the AFA became known as the National Football League. Halas’ teams won six NFL titles in his 40 seasons as the Bears’ coach. His 318 regular-season wins and 324 total victories were long-standing NFL records until broken by

Don Shula Donald Francis Shula ( ; January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven s ...

in 1993. In 1970, the George Halas Award went to Gale Sayers for his comeback from knee surgery to lead the NFL in rushing in 1969. Sayers gave an emotional speech that was memorialized in the film ''

Brian's Song ''Brian's Song'' is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo ( James Caan), a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer, focusing on his friendship with teammate Gale Sayers ( Billy Dee Williams) ...

''. Said Sayers, "You flatter me by giving me this award, but I’ll tell you here and now that I accept it for Brian Piccolo. Brian Piccolo is the man of courage who should receive the George S. Halas Award. I accept it tonight, but I’ll present it to Brian tomorrow. I love Brian Piccolo. And I’d like all of you to love him, too. And tonight, when you hit your knees, ask God to love him, too." Other notable winners of the George Halas Award include

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...

, Steeler running back Rocky Bleier, Hall of Fame cornerback Jimmy Johnson, New York Giant cancer survivor Karl Nelson, Hall of Famers Dan Hampton and

Joe Montana Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Co ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

guard

Mark Schlereth Mark Fremont Schlereth (; born January 25, 1966) is an American former professional football player who is a television and radio sportscaster. Schlereth played guard in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons (1989–2000) with the W ...

, former N.Y. Giant

Kerry Collins Kerry Michael Collins (born December 30, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Collins was a member of six NFL teams, most notably the Carolina Panth ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Garrison Hearst and Bryant Young, coach and former linebacker Sam Mills,

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running back Robert Edwards, linebacker Mark Fields, former head coach

Tony Dungy Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former professional football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts ...

, former

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

quarterback

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is sec ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

owner

Robert Kraft Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainmen ...

, and former Saints safety and

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

advocate Steve Gleason."Steve Gleason selected as PFWA’s 2015 George Halas award winner"
,

, June 15, 2015.

Winners

References

External links

* {{NFL awards American football trophies and awards NFL trophies and awards Awards established in 1969

Winners

See also

References

External links