Edward Francis Healey Jr. (December 28, 1894 – December 9, 1978) was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). Regarded as one of the best linemen in the league's early days, Healey was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of its second induction class in 1964. He was also named in 1969 to the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team. In 1974, he was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Healey played professional football as a tackle in the NFL for the Rock Island Independents from 1920 to 1922 and for the Chicago Bears from 1922 to 1927. He never played for a team with a losing record during his NFL career and, in 1922, became the first player in NFL history to be sold to another team. He was named as a first-team All Pro player by at least one selector for five consecutive years from 1922 to 1926.
Early life and college
Healey was born in 1894 in Indian Orchard, a neighborhood at the northeast end of Springfield, Massachusetts.[1] His parents, Edward F. Healey Sr. and Nora Healey were the children of Irish immigrants, both born in Massachusetts. His father worked in the street sprinkler business and later as a contractor in the wood business. Healey had four older sisters and one younger sister.[2][3]
Healey began playing professional football with the Rock Island Independents in 1920, the inaugural season of the National Football League (known as the American Professional Football Association until 1922). He helped lead the 1920 Rock Island team to a 6–2–2 record, good for fourth place out of 14 teams.[10]
Healey remained with Rock Island during its 1922 season when the team compiled a 4–2–1 record and finished in fifth place out of 21 teams.[11]
Healey began the 1922 NFL season with Rock Island. The team opened its season with a 19–14 victory over the Green Bay Packers before losing a close game, 10–6, against the Chicago Bears. George Halas, owner, coach and player for the Bears, was impressed with Healey's tough tackling, including tackling of Halas, and bought Healey's contract for $100.[12] Healey thus became the first NFL player to be sold to another club.[13][14] Healey later recalled his pleasure at joining a team with superior facilities: "At Rock Island, we had no showers and seldom a trainer. At Wrigley Field, we had a nice warm place to dress and nice warm showers."[15]
Chicago Bears
Healey spent six seasons with the Bears from 1922 to 1927.[1] During Healey's tenure with the Bears, the club never had a losing season, winning at least nine games in five of the six seasons.[16] Healey was selected as a first-team All-Pro by at least one major selector each year from 1922 to 1926.[1][15]
In 1924, he ran more than 30 yards to tackle teammate Oscar Knop who ran the wrong way after intercepting a pass.[15][17] In 1925, he was the only player to be selected as a first-team All Pro by Collyers Eye magazine, the Green Bay Press-Gazette, and Joseph Carr.[18][19] In 1926, the Green Bay Press-Gazette called him "the best tackle in the Pro loop,"[20] and Bears owner George Halas later called Healey "the most versatile tackle of all time".[21]
Family, later years, and honors
Healey married Lucille Falk in November 1927.[22] After retiring from football, Healey and his wife lived in South Bend, Indiana, where he worked as a salesman and later sales manager for France Stone Company. Healey and his wife had a son, Thomas, in approximately 1938. The family later moved to Niles, Michigan.
Interviewed in 1949, Healey opined that, with the development of the platoon system, modern linemen were "something akin to sissies" and added, "In the old days we used to go on the field prepared for 60 minutes of work and nothing short of a broken leg, arm, or ankle could get us out of there."[23]
During his retirement, Healey received numerous honors for his contributions to the sport of football. These honors include the following:
In February 1964, Healey was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of its second group of inductees.[24]
Healey's wife died in September 1975. Healey died three years later in December 1978 at age 83 from multiple causes, including malnutrition, cardiac and pulmonary failure, and cancer of the stomach and lung. He died at the Cardinal Nursing Home in South Bend, Indiana.[27][28] His funeral service was held in Niles, Michigan, and he was then buried at Calvary Cemetery in that city.[28][29]
^1900 Census entry for Edward and Nora Healey and family. Son Edward born December 1894. Census Place: Springfield Ward 1, Hampden, Massachusetts; Roll: 652; Page: 32B; Enumeration District: 0570; FHL microfilm: 1240652. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
^1910 Census entry for Edward F. and Nora Healey and family. Son Edward F. Jr., age 15. Census Place: Springfield Ward 1, Hampden, Massachusetts; Roll: T624_591; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0596; FHL microfilm: 1374604. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
^The Pnalka, Vol. IV. Senior Class of Central High School in Springfield, Massachusetts. 1913. p. 68.(Edward Francis Healey listed as mid-year freshman).
^"Football Pioneers Are Honored". Alexandria (LA) Daily Town Talk. April 28, 1974. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com. (The quote attributed to Camp cannot be located in contemporaneous sources and appears dubious insofar as Camp never named Healey to one of his college football All-America teams.)
