TWO CHICAGO BEARS
FORGOTTEN to HISTORY
FORGOTTEN to HISTORY
On the afternoon of Sunday, December 29, 1963, an overflow crowd of 45,801 packed Wrigley Field on a frigid 4-degree day to see the Western Conference champion Chicago Bears, featuring one of the best defenses in team history, beat the Eastern Conference champion New York Giants 14-10, giving Coach George Halas the sixth and final NFL championship of his storied career. On the field for the Bears that day were two players who have long since been forgotten to NFL history. One was a tall, athletic wide receiver from Texas named Bo Farrington. The other was a lightning quick tailback from Florida named Willie Galimore, and their sudden and unexpected departure from the scene created one of the biggest "what ifs" in Chicago Bears history.
Bo Farrington
Born in the small town of DeWalt, TX on January 18, 1936, John "Bo" Farrington grew up in Houston where he started his football journey at Jack Yates High School. He continued his career at nearby Prairie View University where he starred in both football and track. Drafted by the Bears in 1961, Farrington still holds the record for scoring on the longest touchdown pass in team history when he took a Bill Wade pass 98 yards for a touchdown in Detroit on October 8, 1961 against the Lions at Tiger Stadium.
Willie Galimore
One of the fastest and most elusive backs in NFL history, Willie Galimore was born on March 30, 1935 in St. Augustine, FL. After an historic college career at Florida A&M University, Galimore was drafted by the Bears in 1957. In a career hampered by frequent knee injuries, Galimore, nicknamed "Willie the Wisp" for his ability to elude and embarrass defenders, still was considered one of the league's premier breakaway threats of the late 50s and early 60s.
After the 1963 championship, the Bears for the first time, had a fully healthy Galimore and Farrington to feature in an offense that also included the NFL's best tight end, Mike Ditka, and were gearing up for a season-long war with perennial Western Conference champions the Green Bay Packers and Coach Vince Lombardi.
For years, the Bears held their preseason training camps at St. Joseph College in Rensselaer, IN, as they did in the summer of 1964. Eager to escape the quiet of camp for nights of fun in the city, players frequently made the 90-minute drive north from Rensselaer to Chicago, as Galimore and Farrington had done on July 27, 1964. As they returned to Rensselaer at approximately 10:25 pm, Galimore missed a sign warning of a sharp upcoming turn on State Road 231, and lost control of his Volkswagen on Bunkum Road in Jasper County, just 2 1/2 miles from the St. Joseph College campus. Both Galimore and Farrington were thrown from the car, which was not equipped with seat belts. Both players were found approximately 50-feet off the road minutes later by a couple who lived on a farm near the accident site. They were both pronounced dead on the scene by Jasper County coroner E.R. Beaver. According to Indiana state trooper Yayne Calloway, the car was traveling at approximately 55 mph when Galimore lost control of the car. Both players had been thrown from the car and rolled over by the vehicle, causing internal injuries and multiple skull fractures. They were attempting to arrive on campus before the team's 11:00 pm curfew.
The Bears, who were a favorite to battle the Packers for the Western Conference title and a chance to defend their 1963 NFL championship, never recovered either physically or emotionally from the losses of Galimore and Farrington, and finished the '64 season with an unexpectedly dismal 5-9 record. The Bears retired Galimore's #28 during the 1964 season, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
For years, the Bears held their preseason training camps at St. Joseph College in Rensselaer, IN, as they did in the summer of 1964. Eager to escape the quiet of camp for nights of fun in the city, players frequently made the 90-minute drive north from Rensselaer to Chicago, as Galimore and Farrington had done on July 27, 1964. As they returned to Rensselaer at approximately 10:25 pm, Galimore missed a sign warning of a sharp upcoming turn on State Road 231, and lost control of his Volkswagen on Bunkum Road in Jasper County, just 2 1/2 miles from the St. Joseph College campus. Both Galimore and Farrington were thrown from the car, which was not equipped with seat belts. Both players were found approximately 50-feet off the road minutes later by a couple who lived on a farm near the accident site. They were both pronounced dead on the scene by Jasper County coroner E.R. Beaver. According to Indiana state trooper Yayne Calloway, the car was traveling at approximately 55 mph when Galimore lost control of the car. Both players had been thrown from the car and rolled over by the vehicle, causing internal injuries and multiple skull fractures. They were attempting to arrive on campus before the team's 11:00 pm curfew.
The Bears, who were a favorite to battle the Packers for the Western Conference title and a chance to defend their 1963 NFL championship, never recovered either physically or emotionally from the losses of Galimore and Farrington, and finished the '64 season with an unexpectedly dismal 5-9 record. The Bears retired Galimore's #28 during the 1964 season, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
