 Connor, circa 1951 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 81, 71 | |||||||||||||||
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| Positions | Offensive tackle Linebacker | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1925-01-21)January 21, 1925 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | March 31, 2003(2003-03-31) (aged 78) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 240 lb (109 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | De La Salle (Chicago, Illinois) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Holy Cross (1942–1943) Notre Dame (1946–1947) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1946: 1st round, 5th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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George Leo Connor (January 21, 1925 – March 31, 2003) was an American professionalfootball player for theChicago Bears of theNational Football League (NFL) from 1948 to 1955. He playedoffensive tackle on offense, andlinebacker on the defensive side of the ball.
Connor attended both theCollege of the Holy Cross and theUniversity of Notre Dame. He won the firstOutland Trophy as the best college lineman in 1946. SportswriterGrantland Rice once observed Connor was "the closest thing to a Greek God since Apollo".[1] He is a member of both thePro Football Hall of Fame and of theCollege Football Hall of Fame.
George Connor was born in Chicago, and was not expected to survive infancy, weighing only three pounds at his premature birth.[2] He played two years of college football atHoly Cross and was a second-teamAll-America selection by theAssociated Press in 1943.[3] He then served in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. After the war, Connor was drafted in the first round, fifth overall by theNew York Giants in 1946, but instead transferred to theUniversity of Notre Dame to be closer to his ill father.[2] He was twice a consensus All-American as a tackle for theNotre Dame Fighting Irish football team, in 1946 and 1947.[4][5] He won the firstOutland Trophy as the nation's best college interior lineman in 1946.[6] Connor was a key component of Notre Dame's1946 and1947 national championship teams, and was the captain of the unbeaten 1947 team.[7]
After graduating, Connor received an offer from theCleveland Browns of theAll-America Football Conference, but chose to sign with his hometownChicago Bears in 1948 for $13,000 a year guaranteed for three years, a high salary at the time for a lineman.[8][5] He played for the Bears from 1948 through 1955. In eight seasons, he was named a first-teamAll-Pro five times, and was an invitee to the first fourPro Bowls.[9]
At first exclusively a tackle on defense, in a game in 1949 Bears head coachGeorge Halas ordered Connor to stand upright outside theend in an attempt to thwart the running ofPhiladelphia Eagles halfbackSteve Van Buren. The plan worked, as Connor held Van Buren in check and the Bears handed the Eagles their only loss of the season. "We always set high standards for George Connor and he exceeded them," said Halas.[10] He became one of the first big, mobile linebackers in the NFL.
Connor retired duringtraining camp in 1956, still bothered by a knee injury sustained in 1954.[10]
In 1963, Connor was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame. He was enshrined in thePro Football Hall of Fame with the class of 1975. He is a member of theNational Football League 1940s All-Decade Team, selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame committee in 1969 to honor the best players of the 1940s.[11]
For several years Connor was acolor commentator for NFL telecasts onCBS, workingGreen Bay Packers games in 1958,Chicago Bears games from 1959 to 1967, and various regional games in 1968.
Connor worked as amanufacturers' representative in Chicago after his retirement from the NFL.[10] He died inEvanston, Illinois on March 31, 2003, aged 78 after a long illness.[6]
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