The National Football League, whose 2023 season is now under way, has arguably become the most popular and most viewed North American sport. It’s also replete with Catholic history.
For the championship game, the Super Bowl, the winning team receives a trophy named after a devout Catholic, Vince Lombardi. The NFC conference champions similarly are handed a trophy that is named after another legendary Catholic, George Halas. This tells you something about the Catholic roots of the sport. The league had its modest beginning back in 1920, and as it started to grow within the next decade, there were three very famous franchises that came into existence, all of which are still in existence. The Chicago Bears (George Halas), Pittsburgh Steelers (Art Rooney), and New York Giants (Tim Mara and his son Wellington) were all started up by owners who were serious practicing Catholics. Here is a look at these men and a few other significant contributors to the history of the NFL.
The Chicago Bears may not currently be a top team in the NFL, but they have had a tremendous amount of historical success, having won 9 Super Bowls with personalities like Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, and Mike Ditka. The team was started by George “Papa Bear” Halas, who was also a founding father of the league itself. After 48 years of coaching the team, he held many records, and he is enshrined in the football Hall of Fame. He was a man known for his unwavering faith; he always went to confession on Saturdays in order to be prepared to receive the Eucharist on Sunday. The Bears franchise has offered Mass for players and management for decades. [National Catholic Register]
Art Rooney was an Irish Catholic who established a team that has won 6 Super Bowl titles. He was married to his wife, Kathleen, for 51 years until her death. They had 5 children. He was known for practicing and teaching his Catholic values as well as firmly believing in living the Golden Rule: “Treat others as you would want to be treated.” He had a reputation for being kind to everyone equally, whatever their position in life. Art and his son Dan, who succeeded him as owner, saved the Catholic Youth Association (CYA) from folding due to financial challenges. The family believed in the CYA being able to help the underprivileged. Rooney had fellow Catholic Chuck Knoll be his coach for many years, and the team chemistry was set from their example. “There was a certain belief foundation of doing what is right that prevailed. It made it easier to feel part of a family.” [Chuck Knoll in Kate O’Hara’s book “The Catholic Roots of the NFL”]
Much like the Steelers and Bears, the New York Giants have kept ownership of the team in the family over the decades. They are similar also in that they have won multiple championships, 8 in fact. Tim Mara and eventually his son Wellington are also Irish Catholics. Tim attended daily Mass and was a father of 11 children. Wellington and his wife also had 10 children and 43 grandchildren. When his daughter, an actress, got nominated for an Academy Award, he immediately went to the parish church and lit a candle for her.
The Green Bay Packers were coached for 9 years by the explosive Hall of Famer Vince Lombardi. Coach Lombardi was bigger than the sport itself, winning 5 of the franchise’s 13 championships, and he did it in only 9 years. He was a dynamic personality who had to work hard to control his ultra-competitive nature. Coming from a very faithful Italian family, Lombardi emphasized the three Fs in his life: faith, family, and football. He is considered one of, if not the, greatest coach ever in American sports. He was an altar boy when young and got to know many local clergy as the family always invited them to dinner. The priesthood was a serious consideration for Lombardi as a youth. He was a daily communicant who fought hard against racism. He went to Green Bay (in Wisconsin) partly because of their strong Catholic environment and because the Virgin Mary had appeared not far from there. At one point in his career, local players and media started referring to him as “The Pope.” Lombardi, who has had numerous biographies written about him, was active in the Knights of Columbus.
Roger Staubach was a two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the 1960s and 70s. A Catholic, he coined the phrase “Hail Mary pass” after throwing a last-second 50-yard touchdown pass to win a playoff game. “I threw the ball and then said a Hail Mary,” was his response when interviewed after. Known as “Captain Comeback” for his uncanny ability to never give up, he set records for late-game heroics. He and his wife have been married 58 years, and they have 5 children and 15 grandchildren.
Don Shula, who was the Miami Dolphins coach when they had the only perfect season in NFL history, also came very close to entering the seminary to become a priest. He was a daily communicant who felt, “It makes a real difference to me when I start off each day giving thanks to God and asking for help from him.” His son Mike, who also became an NFL coach, once said, “As a teenager, I thought it was surprising that a great football coach was a serious Catholic, but it planted a seed.” [Matthew Archbold, National Catholic Register]
Another early star was quarterback Johnny Unitas, who was a 2-time champion with the Baltimore Colts. At the legend’s funeral Mass, Baltimore’s Cardinal William Keeler said of Unitas, “He led others by his integrity and loyalty.” His university coach said that Unitas “Always had his priorities right … God, family, job.” [Donald Demarco, National Catholic Register]
The foundation of the NFL has had many Catholic connections who were not shy about speaking about their faith and putting it into action.