Bobby Layne
Honoring the request of to trade Bobby Layne is probably the single-biggest regret George Halas would have during his illustrious career running the Bears. A future Hall of Fame quarterback, he would end up leading the Detroit Lions to championships in 1952 and 1953. One of the truly great passers of his era. One can imagine how different that decade might’ve been for Chicago had he stayed on the roster.
So what happened? Truthfully it was a multitude of circumstances. The Bears had a logjam at QB already when he arrived. An aging Sid Luckman was still on the roster and Johnny Lujack, a two-time Pro Bowler himself was taking over as starter. Angry at not being able to play, Layne tried to goad the Bears into trading him. At the time Halas, like the other NFL owners, were distracted by the competing All American Football Conference.
Rather than sticking to his guns and ignoring the threat, Halas simply granted the request and dealt Layne to the New York Bulldogs. He eventually wound up in Detroit. Sure enough Chicago paid for the mistake. Lujack suddenly retired following the 1951 season after just four years. The very next season Layne won his first championship.
Ouch.
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