PART ONE: Shaping Illini History | PART TWO: Respected Power

By Mike Pearson, FightingIllini.com

Telling the story of George Huff and his influence on University of Illinois history is one that includes many layers. He grew from a raw, strapping Champaign farm boy into a physically dominating athlete, then later evolved from a strategically talented coach into a visionary administrator.

In part one of this series, readers learned about Huff's family heritage and his early successes in life. In part two, we provided details about the men with whom Huff surrounded himself and how he molded Fighting Illini athletics into a nationally prominent program.

Part three of our series centers on the construction of Memorial Stadium, Huff's ideals and ambitions, and the legacy that lives through him for future generations of Illini.

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A Stadium Rises

The Roaring '20s inspired bold concepts and tremendous growth at the University of Illinois. Campus planners, anticipating increased automobile traffic, envisioned an entirely new campus south of Armory Avenue.

Fighting Illini Director of Athletics George Huff was squarely in the middle of those conversations, preaching the desperate need for a new football facility. The success of Bob Zuppke's teams, including a national championship squad in 1919, provided Huff with considerable clout in his chats with fiery UI President David Kinley.

Yale and Harvard Universities already had massive stadiums, Huff argued, and Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Michigan were already in discussions about new accommodations. Furthermore, Huff added, the Athletic Association would seek private funding for their massive project.

Architectural consultant Holabird and Roche, a renowned Chicago firm that had designed Soldier Field, began scheming the classical revival structure that would sprout inside the 56-acre tract of prairie land.

As plans were being drawn, Huff and Zuppke spearheaded a fund-raising drive that would begin with the University's student body in April of 1921. An estimated 7,000 students attended mass meetings at the Auditorium and the Gym Annex, and their generosity far exceeded Huff's expectations, totaling pledges of $665,000.

Said Huff, "What you have started, our alumni will finish."

Armed with promotional materials, he and Zup travelled by automobile and train from coast to coast during the spring and summer months of 1921, raising an additional $1.6 million in pledges from more than eight thousand alums.

Huff hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on September 11, 1922 and work began on the $1.7 million structure. Their ambitious objective was to host a Homecoming game in the facility on November 3, 1923. By mid December of '22, a million square feet of foundations were completed, but a shortage of labor and a delayed shipment of steel threatened to slow the momentum. In an effort to catch up, the 300 workers were asked to work 12-hour shifts, and by September of '23, concrete for 37,000 seats was in the forms. Incredibly, within a span of just 418 days, the contest against the University of Chicago was successfully hosted at the only partially completed edifice. 

It took nearly another full year before the stands, towers and memorial colonnade were completed.

At the October 17, 1924 dedication ceremony, Huff addressed the enormous crowd that had gathered.

"On behalf of the Board of Trustees and in the name of the people of the State of Illinois," he said, "I accept this magnificent gift of the students, alumni, faculty, and field of the University as their tribute to the valor of the Illini who made the supreme sacrifice that the spirit of justice, of equality, and of fair play might prevail. We who are left behind can never share with them their priceless heritage; but, standing here in the shadow of this everlasting monument we can, and we will, resolve to keep that spirit which they so nobly exemplified in camp and on the field of battle."

READ ENTIRE MEMORIAL STADIUM DEDICATION SPEECH (link to bottom of story)

At the game against mighty Michigan the following afternoon, a sophomore halfback from Wheaton—Harold "Red" Grange—performed in legendary fashion, scoring touchdowns the first four times he touched the ball. It was a super-human effort that would live forever in sports history.

Grange's headlines and Illinois's football success in 1924 and '25 brought great notoriety to the University and enrollment climbed to new levels. Meanwhile, Huff took on added responsibilities in '24, assuming oversight of UI's physical welfare program. Two years later, in 1926, the Men's New Gymnasium on Fourth Street was completed. It was renamed Huff Gymnasium in February of 1937.

Personal and Professional Adversity Hit

Long office hours, the overwhelming stress of his duties, and Huff's constant battle with obesity caused a series of intestinal disorders. On July 1, 1926, during a trip to England, Huff became critically ill and underwent emergency surgery in London for appendicitis.

A rough return voyage across the Atlantic Ocean upon the liner Montrose complicated matters and Huff was forced to convalesce for the remainder of the year. Illini baseball coach Carl Lundgren, a confidant of Huff, assumed interim director duties. Despite his declining health, Huff ultimately returned to limited office hours in the Spring of '27.

In 1929, the post-World War I prosperity of American life came to a screeching halt. Just a week after UI's new Library Building was dedicated on October 18, Wall Street's Stock Market crashed, harkening the Great Depression. It enveloped the entire University, including Huff's Athletic Association. 'G' slashed operating expenses of his department and followed the University's lead by significantly cutting his own salary and those of his coaches.

Despite the reductions, Huff's Illini program continued its overall success, winning 16 more Big Ten team championships through the 1934-35 season. The final piece of Huff's athletic complex, an ice arena, was completed in 1931, providing winter recreation for thousands of UI students.

Huff's responsibilities outside of the Athletic Association expanded in 1932 when the School of Physical Education was formed and his official title became director of the program.

Death of the Patriarch

In mid-September of 1936, Huff's health took a significant turn for the worse and he was admitted into Urbana's Carle Hospital. On September 26, he underwent an operation at which time a considerable portion of his stomach was removed. Huff died five days later from kidney failure at the age of 64.

His funeral was held on Saturday morning, October 3, in the University Auditorium. There was neither a eulogy nor music at the ceremony, only an address read by Rev. Herbert Miller of Huff's Champaign church, Emmanuel Memorial Episcopal. A great number of Huff's former coaches and athletes were among the hundreds in attendance. Burial was in Roselawn Cemetery, just across the street from Memorial Stadium where, at Huff's earlier request, the Illini football game against Washington University was played as planned.

Before the game, the Marching Illini Band formed a giant "G" formation in Huff's honor. The flag was lowered to half-mast as band members sang "Dear Illinois."

Wrote the editor of UI's Alumni Association Magazine, "The father of Illinois athletics, George Huff, will always be remembered as one of the great builders of the University, as an educational force unequalled or even unapproached in his time. He was a decade ahead of current thought in the field of athletics and physical training. The vast Stadium campaign could hardly have succeeded without his constant and inspiring supervision."

"He was downright honest, courageously honest," the article continued. "He had a lovable personality. People couldn't help liking him and they would do almost anything he asked. He never allowed himself to be hampered with fine-cut details. He kept his mind clear for large affairs. And finally, he was a key judge of men, and surrounded himself with capable helpers."

"Probably, Mr. Huff's greatest characteristic—certainly his most outstanding one—was his absolute honesty. "G" was not honest merely when it was convenient to be honest. He was the most honest man we have ever seen. He was honest at times when he could have quite comfortably been just the opposite."

George Alexander Huff, born and bred in Champaign, altered the history of his community and his treasured alma mater in a way that none before him could imagine. Today, more than eight decades after his death, he continues to serve as a measuring stick for his fellow Illini.

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Huff's Entire Memorial Stadium Dedication Speech

"On behalf of the Board of Trustees and in the name of the people of the State of Illinois," he said, "I accept this magnificent gift of the students, alumni, faculty, and field of the University as their tribute to the valor of the Illini who made the supreme sacrifice that the spirit of justice, of equality, and of fair play might prevail. We who are left behind can never share with them their priceless heritage; but, standing here in the shadow of this everlasting monument we can, and we will, resolve to keep that spirit which they so nobly exemplified in camp and on the field of battle."

"Even greater," Huff continued, "is the inspiration which generations of Illini yet unborn will get from this evidence of our love for our fellows who have gone on before. Here they will assemble to learn the traditions of a long-ago past, to measure their spirit of devotion with the spirits of those who we honor today, and to pledge their all to an enrichment of this spirit. Then, and only then, will our aims have been met and our dreams realized.

"Just what these traditions shall mean to the oncoming generations of Illinois we alone can determine. We can go from here today rededicated to the task of giving our all, if necessary, to the continuance of equality in opportunity, of honesty and justice in human relations, and of tolerance and freedom in thought and opinion. To do otherwise would be to turn our backs on the men and women's whose memories make this one of the sacred spots of the world, and to destroy our influence with those who are to come after us."