Slap the Sign
Fansided

Every former Notre Dame football player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

By Joey Loose

Bryant Young looks skyward while recalling the memory of his late son Colby, who died of cancer, during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton on Saturday, August 6, 2022.Bryant Young 0079
Bryant Young looks skyward while recalling the memory of his late son Colby, who died of cancer, during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton on Saturday, August 6, 2022.Bryant Young 0079 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
13 of 14
Next
Notre Dame football
Sep 18, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly leaves the field after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium. The win was his 105th as Notre Dame coach and tied Kelly for most wins at Notre Dame with Knute Rockne. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

George Trafton

Born at the tail end of the 19th century, George Trafton starred in the early days of Notre Dame football, winning a national championship for Knute Rockne’s squad way back in 1919. A prosperous career in the newly formed NFL would follow.

Trafton joined the Decatur Staleys in 1920 during the NFL’s first season and would spend more than a decade with that franchise that would become the Chicago Bears. Trafton was the starting center for most of the next twelve years, retiring from the league in 1932.

It’s hard to quantify offensive linemen, especially an entire century ago, but Trafton was named to several All-Pro teams and was one of the best linemen in the earliest days of the NFL.

He also helped lead the Bears to NFL championships in 1921 and 1932, becoming a key part of George Halas’s offensive game plan. He’s considered one of the greatest Chicago Bears of all time, even though he’d briefly served as a line coach with the Packers after his retirement.

Trafton was later an assistant coach, a boxer, and a promoter, and earned his place in the Hall of Fame in 1964, elected in the second-ever class. He revolutionized the position of center in the earliest days of football and his impact is felt even fifty years after his passing in 1971.

Home/Notre Dame Football