James Willard McMillen (October 23, 1902 – January 27, 1984) was a professional
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
player who played
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
for five seasons for the
Chicago Bears beginning in 1924. He was born in
Grayslake, Illinois
Grayslake is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Chicago's downtown, 14 miles (23 km) west of Lake Michigan, and 15 miles (24 km) sou ...
. He attended the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
where he played football,
wrestled, and was a member of
Sigma Pi fraternity. He was a
Consensus All-American in 1923, All-Big Ten in
1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...
and
1923
Events
January–February
* January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory).
* January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
, as well as team captain. As a member of
Illinois' wrestling team, he only lost one match in three years.
While playing for the Bears, McMillen continued to wrestle on the side. He even left the Bears for a while because of how much money he was making as a wrestler. In 1932 he was given the chance to buy
stock in the Bears. This purchase eventually allowed him to become one of the team's vice presidents. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, he was a
Lt. Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer military rank, rank in many navy, navies. The rank is superior (hierarchy), superior to a l ...
in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and assigned to
Navy Pier
Navy Pier is a pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, family ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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.
In 1949 and 1953 he was elected mayor of
Antioch, Illinois
Antioch is a village in the U.S. state of Illinois. Antioch is part of the larger Antioch Township within Lake County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,622. The village is nestled into the Chain O'Lakes waterway system and borders ...
.
[
]
References
External links
*
1902 births
1984 deaths
American football guards
Chicago Bears players
Illinois Fighting Illini football players
All-American college football players
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Navy officers
American wrestlers
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