Talking Football Rivalry, George Trafton Takes On "Mr. Chicken-- Part 2:

The Decatur Staleys (future Chicago Bears) and the Rock Island (Illinois) Independents clashed in two of the roughest games of 1920.  In the first one, Trafton sent four Independents off the field with injuries as the Quad City crowd booed.  The worst fate befell halfback Fred Chicken, who broke his leg when Trafton tackled him into a fence post near the field.

Three weeks later, the same two teams met again in Rock Island.  Gamblers -- who had started to turn their attention toward pro football after the baseball Black Sox scandal in the previous year got involved.

Bears owner, coach and right end George Halas sequestered his team across the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa, hoping to keep his players away from the gamblers.  But word got around that the smart betting money was on the Independents winning and Trafton being knocked out in the first quarter.

The only information they could get on the player who was to take George out was that he went by the name "Mr. Chicken,"

Most of the Bears honored Halas' directive and didn't bet.  But not George Trafton.  He took all his money and bet on his team and himself.

Was This "Mr. Chicken" Fred Chicken?  --DaCoot