Curly Lambeau and George Halas had unheard of careers in the NFL that will never be replicated. Both of these men were players, coaches, and owners (sometimes all 3 at the same time) for their respective teams. Looking at the modern NFL and seeing how that would be absolutely impossible to do today makes these feats even more incredible.
Lambeau founded the Packers in 1919 in his hometown of Green Bay, WI. He played on the team from 1919-1929 and was named to the 1920s All-Decade NFL Team. The Packers joined the NFL in 1921 and he was a player-coach from 1921-1929, before retiring as a player.
He continued coaching the Packers until 1949, winning 209 games and 6 NFL titles. He is tied for being the longest tenured coach in NFL history with Tom Landry and is tied with George Halas and Bill Belichick for the most NFL championships by a coach.
Lambeau won 226 games total as a coach, was part of the first NFL Hall of Fame class in 1963, and was named to the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. The Packer’s stadium was named Lambeau Field in 1965 and bears the same name to this day.
George Halas co-founded the NFL and took ownership of the Chicago Bears in 1921. The Chicago native played for the Bears from 1920-1928 and was a member of 1920s All-Decade Team.
From 1920-1967, he coached the Bears 4 separate times for a total of 40 years. He was a 2-time AP Coach of the year, won 6 NFL titles as a coach (tied for an NFL record), and 318 games (3rd all-time). He won two additional NFL titles while owning the Bears.
Similar to Lambeau, he was part of the first NFL Hall of Fame class in 1963, and was named to the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He is nicknamed “Papa Bear,” due to his everlasting connection with the team and the NFC championship trophy is named after him.
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