The winner of the NFC Championship Game earns the ultimate prize of a trip to the Super Bowl, but they also take home the George Halas Trophy as the champions of the NFC. Let’s take a look at why the trophy is named after Halas and the history of the trophy itself.
Why Is the NFC Championship Trophy Named After George Halas?
Halas is the person that is viewed by many as the most instrumental person in the birth of the NFL. While that original meeting was attended by several team owners and managers, Halas is the man that receives most of the credit.
The view that Halas was crucial to the league we see today goes beyond that meeting. It was he who brought Illinois phenom Red Grange to the Bears, which in turn led to 40,000 people turning up at Wrigley Field to view the next Bears game. While that moment gave the NFL legitimacy, respectability, and helped build the popularity at the beginning of the NFL, Halas’ fingerprints are all over the league we see today.
He was the first owner to have his team’s games broadcast on the radio. He was also the first to have his team watch game film or put assistant coaches in the press box. On top of that, he is also one of the most successful coaches to ever be involved in the game.
During his multiple stints as the Bears head coach, they won six NFL championships and 324 games. Those 324 victories led the league for nearly three decades and are still the second-most in the league as of the end of the 2021 season. Meanwhile, his six titles are tied for the most with Curly Lambeau and Bill Belichick. His name is rightly synonymous with winning the NFC Championship. Therefore, the trophy hoisted by the winners bears his name.
How Long Has the George Halas Trophy Been Awarded?
The George Halas Trophy was first awarded to the winner of the NFC in the 1984-85 NFL playoffs to the San Francisco 49ers. In an intriguing twist, the 49ers actually defeated the Bears in a one-sided 23-0 victory. That original trophy was a wooden base with sculptures of the NFC logo at the front with another sculpture of various football players behind it.
The trophy was re-designed for the 2010-11 playoffs. It now more closely resembles a smaller version of the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The trophy itself can be bittersweet for a team that fails to go on and win the Super Bowl. In that case, the trophy is simply a reminder that the team did not manage to win it all.
Three Trophies Have Carried the Same Name Historically
The trophy award to the NFC champions is not the only George Halas Trophy that has been awarded. Between 1966 and 1996, the George S. Halas Trophy was awarded to the Newspaper Enterprise Association’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year. There is then also a George S. Halas Courage Award, which is presented by the Pro Football Writers Association.
Who Has Won the Most George Halas Trophies?
Collectively, the Dallas Cowboys are the owners of the highest number of George Halas Trophies with eight in NFL history. However, since the award was renamed in his honor, the 49ers own the most since that 1984 season with six. San Francisco can potentially earn its seventh Halas Trophy since ’84 (plus tie Dallas with its eighth conference title) by beating the Detroit Lions on Sunday evening.
