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Illinois Football Legend Red Grange: His Legacy and Impact

'The Galloping Ghost' gave the Illini – and all of football – a gift with his career and one epic October romp against Michigan

Jason Langendorf

Sep 10, 2011; Champaign, IL, USA; Red Grange statue outside Memorial Stadium prior to the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. Mandatory Credit: Bradley Leeb-Imagn Images
Sep 10, 2011; Champaign, IL, USA; Red Grange statue outside Memorial Stadium prior to the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. Mandatory Credit: Bradley Leeb-Imagn Images / Bradley Leeb-Imagn Images
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October 18, 1924: The day a man became a ghost.

It was on that day, in a game dedicated to the University of Illinois' newly erected Memorial Stadium, that Harold “Red” Grange – who came to be known as "The Galloping Ghost" – ran over, around and through the Michigan Wolverines, putting on a performance that many still consider to be college football's greatest singular achievement.

The Illini, coached by another legend of the program in Robert Zuppke, was hosting a Michigan squad that entered the game on an undefeated streak of more than two years. For context, the Wolverines pitched shutouts in five of their other seven games in the 1924 season, and didn't allow a single offensive touchdown to another opponent. Grange didn't pick on a patsy. He beat up Goliath.

After taking the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, Grange reached the end zone three more times – on runs of 67, 56 and 44 yards – in the next 12 minutes. That first-quarter total equalled the number of touchdowns UM had allowed in its previous two seasons.

And he wasn’t done.

In front of a home crowd of 67,000, Grange finished with an otherworldly stat line of 402 total yards and six total touchdowns – oh, and he tacked on a pair of interceptions during his down time on defense – to lead the Illini to a decisive 39-14 win over the Wolverines.

To pay tribute to a performance that no run-of-the-mill sports page could put into words, renowned sports journalist Grantland Rice turned to poetry:

A streak of fire, a breath of flame

Eluding all who reach and clutch;

A gray ghost thrown into the game

That rival hands may never touch …

Red Grange of Illinois!

One-hundred years later, Illinois is doing its part to honor Grange's legacy. On Thursday, at the 77 Club inside Memorial Stadium, a symposium will highlight Grange’s prowess on the field, as well as his long-lasting impact – which still resonates today at the university, in the community and even across football. (Did you know that Grange was a floor model for Jos. Kuhn & Co., a men's clothing store still going strong on Main and Walnut in Champaign? Or that it was his signing with the Chicago Bears that authenticated the NFL?)

On Saturday, in a Rededication Game against the No. 24 Wolverines (2:30 p.m. CT, CBS), the No. 22 Illini will hit the field wearing uniforms and helmets specially designed to celebrate Grange’s legacy.

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

Illinois Football Faces Crucial Test Against Michigan in Week 8

Illinois vs. Michigan: Early Week 8 Weather Report and Game Conditions

Illinois Football Coach Bret Bielema Named to Coach of the Year Watch List

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Jason Langendorf
JASON LANGENDORF

Jason Langendorf is a longtime journalist who has covered football and basketball, among other sports, for ESPN, Sporting News, the Chicago Sun-Times and numerous other publications.

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