George Stanley Halas, Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears. He was also lesser known as an inventor, jurist, producer, philanthropist, philatelist, and professional baseball player.

Halas was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a family of Czech-Bohemian immigrants. His parents were Slavic migrants from Pilsen, Bohemia part of what would later become Czechoslovakia. George had a varied career in sports. In 1915, Halas worked temporarily for Western Electric and was planning on being on the Eastland. He was running late, however, and missed the capsizing. After graduating from Crane High School in Chicago, he attended the University of Illinois, playing football for coach Bob Zuppke as well as baseball and basketball, and earning a degree in civil engineering. He also became a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He helped Illinois win the 1918 Big Ten football title.

Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991) was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League. He was a charter member of both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was named the best college football player of all time by ESPN, and in 2011, he was named the Greatest Big Ten Icon by the Big Ten Network.

Grange was born in Forksville, Pennsylvania as the third child of Sadie and Lyle Grange. His father was the foreman of three lumber camps. When he was five, his mother died and his father moved the family to Wheaton, Illinois, where four brothers had settled. When they arrived, Grange’s father worked hard and became the chief of police. At Wheaton High School, Grange earned 16 varsity letters in four sports (football, baseball, basketball, and track) during the four years he attended, notably scoring 75 touchdowns and 532 points for the football team. As a high school junior, Grange scored 36 touchdowns and led Wheaton High School to an undefeated season. In his senior year, his team won every game but one in which they lost 39-0 to Scott High School in Toledo, Ohio. Knocked out in this game, Grange remained unconscious for two days, having difficulty speaking when he awoke. In addition to his success in football, Grange was an all-state track and field runner. In 1920 Grange was a state champion in the high jump, while placing 3rd and 4th in the 100 yard dash and the 220 yard dash respectively. In 1921 he won the state title in both the long jump and the 100 yard dash, and finally in 1922 he placed 3rd in the 100 yard dash and won the 220 yard dash.

Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. (born October 18, 1939) is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head coach. Ditka was the only individual to participate in both of the last two Chicago Bears' championships, as a player in 1963 and as head coach in 1985.

Ditka was born as Michael Dyczko in the Pittsburgh-area town of Carnegie, Pennsylvania on October 18, 1939. The oldest child of Mike Sr. and Charlotte, he grew up in nearby Aliquippa, Pennsylvania with siblings Ashton, David, and Mary Ann. Mike Sr., a welder, was one of three brothers of a Ukrainian family in the coal mining and steel manufacturing area in Western Pennsylvania. The surname "Dyczko" was difficult to pronounce in his hometown, so the family name was changed to "Ditka." Ditka attended St. Titus School.

A three-sport star at Aliquippa High School, Ditka hoped to escape his hometown's manufacturing jobs by attending college with a football scholarship. Planning to become a dentist, he was recruited by Notre Dame, Penn State, and University of Pittsburgh. Ditka played for the University of Pittsburgh from 1958–1960, where he also became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He started all three seasons and is widely considered one of the best tight ends in college football history. In addition to playing tight end, he also served as the team's punter. He led the team in receiving in all three of his seasons with them and was a first team selection on the College Football All-America Team in his senior year. In 1986, he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Wellington Timothy Mara (August 14, 1916 – October 25, 2005) was the co-owner of the NFL's New York Giants from 1959 until his death, and one of the most influential and iconic figures in the history of the National Football League. He was the younger son of Tim Mara, who founded the Giants in 1925. Wellington was a ball boy for that year.

Mara was born in Rochester, New York, the son of Elizabeth "Lizette" (née Barclay), a homemaker, and Timothy James Mara. He was an alumnus of the Jesuit schools, Loyola School and Fordham University in New York City.

In 1930, Tim Mara split his ownership interests between Wellington (then 14) and his older brother Jack. Soon after graduating from Fordham University, Wellington moved into the Giants' front office. He served as Assistant to the President and Treasurer, 1937; Secretary, 1938–1940; Vice-President and Secretary, 1945–1958; Vice-President, 1959–1965; President, 1966–1990; President and Co-Chief Executive Officer, 1991–2005. For his first 28 years in the organization, he handled the franchise's football decisions.

Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006. He is known as "The Big Tuna", a nickname about the shape of his physique derived from a team joke during his tenure as linebackers coach of the New England Patriots.

Parcells won two Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants, defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI and the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. He led the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI, but lost to the Green Bay Packers 35-21. He also led the New York Jets to the 1998 AFC Championship Game. He announced his third retirement from football on January 22, 2007 before returning to the sport later that year as the Vice President of Football Operations with the Miami Dolphins. He resigned from his role as the "football czar" with the Dolphins in September 2010, working as a "consultant" with the team until he took a leave of absence in October 2010, and left the team after the season. He is currently an NFL analyst for ESPN.