July 27, 1964, 60 years ago: A car crash in Rensselaer, Indiana, near the Chicago Bears' training camp, kills 2 of their players: Running back Willie Galimore and tight end Bo Farrington. It had been 7 months since they had helped the Bears win the NFL Championship. Now, a new season would be draped in tragedy.
Both players were black, and had gone to "historically black" colleges. Willie Lee Galimore was born on March 30, 1935 in St. Augustine, Florida. He went to Florida A&M, playing for head coach Jake Gaither, a man who said of players, "I like 'em ag-ile, mob-ile and host-ile." He saw a lot of progress in his lifetime, but it came at a price: In the 1980s, Bobby Bowden built an integrated power at Florida State, which, like A&M, is in Tallahassee. Before he died in 1994, Gaither said, "Today, if they're agile, mobile and hostile, they go to Florida State."
Galimore was drafted by the Bears in the 5th round of the 1956 NFL Draft. He's been called "probably the last great find before NFL scouting became sophisticated." Doug Atkins, the great Bear defensive end who had to face him in practice, and Chuck Bednarik, the legendary Philadelphia Eagles linebacker, both called him one of the best runners they ever faced.
It was said that he could run from side to side as fast as most men could run in a straight line. His running style has been compared to that of later stars Billy Sims, a Heisman Trophy winner whose pro career was cut short by injury, and Terrell Davis, a Hall-of-Famer.
John R. Farrington was born on January 18, 1936, outside Houston in Missouri City, Texas. I can't find a reference to what the R stands for, or how he got the nickname Bo. He played at Prairie View A&M, in the Houston area. The Bears drafted him in the 16th round in 1960. By 1961, he was a starter, catching a 98-yard touchdown pass from Bill Wade that season. In 4 seasons, he had played 45 games, starting 28 of them, catching 55 passes for 881 yards and 7 touchdowns.
In the 1963 NFL Championship Game, on a frozen surface at Wrigley Field in Chicago, the New York Giants' vaunted defense held Galimore to only 12 yards on 7 rushes, and Farrington caught no passes. But their own defense was even stronger, and the Bears won, 14-10. It was the franchise's only title between the seasons of 1946 and 1985.
The St. Augustine movement, a wing of the Civil Rights Movement, brought Galimore back to his Florida hometown, and he became the 1st black person to register as a guest at the previously all-white Ponce de Leon Motor Lodge. His activism there is celebrated with a historical marker outside the house where he grew up, a community center with his name on it, and a mural painted by schoolchildren.
Then he went to Bears training camp, at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana, 85 miles southeast of Chicago. On July 27, 1964, he gave Farrington a ride back to their hotel in his Volkswagen. He was unable to negotiate a curve, and flipped over, killing both of them. Galimore was 29 years old, Farrington 28.
Having lost Galimore after the 1964 Draft, the Bears had trouble replacing him for that season. So, in the 1965 Draft, they chose Gale Sayers of Kansas. As great (if brief, due to injuries) a career as Sayers had, the Bears would not have drafted him if Galimore had been alive and well.
Farrington wore Number 84, and that number is still available for Chicago Bear players. But the Bears did retire Galimore's Number 28.
Ron Galimore, Willie's son, was named the 1st black member of the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. Unfortunately, that was in 1980, when the U.S. boycotted the Games in Moscow. He served as Chief Operating Officer of USA Gymnastics from 2011 to 2018.
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