In '51, Hobart knew how to Bear Down
The intrasquad game the 1951 Chicago Bears played at Hobart's storied Brickie Bowl is one of Paul Throne's most cherished football memories.
"It was exciting," the retired Hobart physical education teacher and former assistant Brickie football coach recalled.
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"With Hobart being such a sports-minded city, it was the highlight of the year," Throne, a Bears fan for most of his 79 years, said.
The Bears rolled into Hobart 56 years ago for a preseason summer scrimmage sponsored by the now-dissolved Hobart Rotary Club.
Throne, who retired from the School City of Hobart after 38 years in 1987, said the owner of a local sports shop arranged the scrimmage to help the Rotary Club raise money.
"There was a lot of enthusiasm because it wasn't often that a little town got access to a pro team," he said. "Having the Bears play on our high school field was quite an honor."
More than 4,000 fans filled the high school stadium to see legendary Bears coach and owner George Halas and 47 of his players, including star quarterback Johnny Lujack. Lujack won the Heisman Trophy in 1947 at Notre Dame.
Halas divided the squad to give each player a shot at making it onto the regular season roster.
Rookie players tried to take starting spots away from Bears veterans like tackle George Connor, guard Ray Bray, and center and lineman Clyde "Bulldog" Turner, who would later be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, said Bruce Webber, a member of the Hobart Historical Society and author of "A Century of Hobart Sports."
In the backfield, the Bears featured veterans J.R. Boone, George Gulyonics and Julie Rykovich, a graduate of Lew Wallace High School in Gary, Webber, a retired sports journalist, said.
Ralph Wall was 18 when the five-time league champion Bears took the field at Brickie Bowl.
"It was the first professional football game I ever saw, and Johnny Lujack was great," Wall remembered. He lived in Oklahoma but was visiting his grandparents in Hobart.
Lujack did something Bears fans hope current Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman will do on Sunday. "He made great passes even when he was falling down," Wall, now a 74-year-old Texan, said.
Hobart resident Al Schmidt, an assistant to Hobart football coaching legend Russ Deal, said the Bears scrimmage was played in perfect football weather.
"People came from Gary and from all over to see the game. People really enjoyed the game," said Schmidt, 83, who will enjoy Super Bowl XLI regardless of the outcome.
"I'm a Bears fan, but I'm also a Colts fan," he said. "I guess I'll be rooting for the Chicago Bears. But if the Bears don't win, I'll still be happy because I'm for anything good that happens in Indiana."
Contact Karen Snelling at 648-3106 or ksnelling@post-trib.com