Dutch Sternaman

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dutch Sternaman
Positions:
QB , HB , FB 		Jersey numbers:
2, 3
born February 9, 1895 in Springfield , Illinois
died on February 1, 1973 in Chicago , Illinois
Career information
Active : 1920 - 1927
College : University of Illinois
Teams

Career statistics
Games     93
as a starter     67
Touchdown     15th
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Career highlights and awards

Edward Carl "Dutch" Sternaman (born February 9, 1895 in Springfield , Illinois , † February 1, 1973 in Chicago , Illinois) was an American American football player . He played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears . Together with George Halas , he was the owner of the Bears.

Player career

College career

George Halas, 1919

Dutch Sternaman attended high school in his hometown of Springfield . Interrupted by his military service, he studied after graduating from school from 1916 to 1920 at the University of Illinois , where he also played football . Sternaman was honored for his athletic achievements in 1916, 1917 and 1919. In college he played with George Halas . Both became professional football players for the Decatur Staleys in 1920 . In 1919 Sternaman won the Conference championship with his team , and the American press voted the "Fighting Illinois" national football champion .

Professional career

In 1919, Halas and Sternaman received an offer from AE Staley to set up a professional football team in Decatur . The team should act as the company's advertising medium. Sternaman then completed his studies. George Halas, together with other interested parties, had now launched a professional football league in Chicago , the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which was later renamed the National Football League. Sternaman and Halas then formed the team of the Staleys. In addition to Jake Lanum , a former player of the "Fighting Umgebung", the later members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Guy Chamberlin , Paddy Driscoll and George Trafton were signed . The Staleys team began playing in 1920. George Halas acted as player-coach for the team, Sternaman played for the team as running back and quarterback .

Chicago Bears, 1924

The Staleys were able to establish themselves immediately as a top team in the APFA. While they were second in the league in 1920, the team won the APFA championship in 1921 after moving to Chicago. Before the season started, AE Staley had given the sports franchise to Halas and Sternaman. The Staley paid their players per game, a content of 75 to 100 US dollars , and the company had made in 1920 with the Bears a loss of $ 14,000. AE Staley paid Halas and Sternaman $ 5,000 for the naming rights to the team in the 1921 season. With the move of the team to Chicago, the economic success began. While in 1920 only an average of 2,000 spectators followed the team's games, the average in 1921 was 10,000. The profit in 1921 is said to have been $ 21,000.

Red grange

The Bears team was able to strengthen itself in the next few years with other top players such as Dutch's brother, Joey Sternaman , Ed Healey , William Roy Lyman , Red Grange or Bronko Nagurski and establish itself permanently as a top team. After the 1927 season, Dutch Sternaman ended his playing career and then ran a gas station. However, he remained a co-owner of the Bears. The team won its second championship in 1932. However, the season was anything but satisfactory. While the Bears won seven out of 14 games, lost once and drew six times, the Green Bay Packers were able to win ten out of 14 games, but also lost three games. Without scoring a single point, the Bears drew in their first three games of the season, including the away game against the Packers. Sternaman retired completely after that season. The relationship between Halas and him is said to have deteriorated significantly before. By signing expensive star players like Grange or Nagurski, the Bears were in the red. Sternaman also had financial problems from running his gas station and building an apartment block. He offered Halas his stake in the Bears for $ 38,000. Since Halas could not raise this sum all at once, payment in installments was agreed. In 1933, Halas had paid Sternaman out for good.

Sternaman coached a sub-class college football team after leaving the Bears. He died in 1973 and is buried in Mount Emblem Cemetery, Elmhurst .

Honors

Dutch Sternaman was voted All-Pro twice . The Chicago Bears honor him on the Ring of Honor.

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sports awards ( Memento from September 9, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  2. ↑ Annual statistics of the Staleys 1921
  3. ↑ Annual statistics of the Bears 1932
  4. ↑ burial place
personal data
SURNAME Sternaman, Dutch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sternaman, Edward Carl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American football player
DATE OF BIRTH February 9, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Springfield , Illinois
DATE OF DEATH 1st February 1973
Place of death Chicago , Illinois