George Halas and Walter Payton returned to Soldier Field in 2019 — in statue form. Two 12-foot, 3,000-pound statues of their likenesses designed by architecture and design firm Populous and created by Fisher Sculpture were unveiled outside Gate 0, the entrance on the stadium’s south side.
It’s a significant move considering similar plans were rejected in 2009, when Payton’s family tried to have a statue of him placed just outside Soldier Field, which is owned by the Chicago Park District.
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At the time, then-Chicago Park District President Gery Chico said he didn’t think Soldier Field was the right place to put a statue of the late Bears great. “I don’t think that it’s in Soldier Field, or even the immediate periphery of Soldier Field,” he said. “That is for the memory of honoring our veterans, those who have given their lives.”
There are several additional monuments to Halas. The George Halas Memorial was dedicated at Soldier Field near Gate 15 in 2004, and the Bears unveiled a 1,600-pound white bronze statue of Halas at their headquarters in Lake Forest in 2015, but that facility is not accessible to the general public.
Bears: George Halas
- Location: Outside Soldier Field, Gate O
- Sculpted and designed by: Fisher Sculpture and Populous
- Height and weight: 12-feet tall and 3,000 pounds
- Unveiled: 2019
Halas, known as “Papa Bear,” not only founded the Bears (who were originally based in Decatur and named the Staleys), but also spent nine years playing on the team, 40 years coaching it and 64 seasons as its owner. At just 25, he helped create the National Football League, and the Bears won six NFL titles under his watch. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 — four years before he retired from coaching. Halas continued to take an active role as its owner until his death on Oct. 31, 1983, at 88. The No. 7 is retired in his honor, and the Bears wear his initials, “GSH,” on the left sleeve of their jerseys.
George Halas
- Location: Outside entrance to Halas Hall
- Sculpted by: Fisher Sculpture
- Made of: White bronze and granite
- Unveiled: 2015
Featuring a “Let’s go get ’em” pose chosen by the legendary coach’s daughter, Virginia McCaskey, the 1,600-pound statue stands just outside Bears headquarters but is not accessible to the public.
George Halas
- Location: Inside Soldier Field, Gate 15
- Sculpted by: Julie Rotblatt Amrany
- Made of: White bronze with laser-etched imagery on black granite
- Unveiled: 2004
An 8-foot Halas is depicted coaching Red Grange, Sid Luckman, Bill George, Bronko Nagurski, Gale Sayers, Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary and Walter Payton in this visual timeline of his career.
Walter Payton
- Location: Outside Soldier Field, Gate O
- Sculpted and designed by: Fisher Sculpture and Populous
- Height and weight: 12-feet tall and 3,000 pounds
- Unveiled: 2019
Nicknamed “Sweetness,” Payton played his entire NFL career with the Bears from 1975 to 1987 and once held league records for career rushing yards, touchdowns, yards from scrimmage and all-purpose yards. The No. 4 pick in the 1975 draft, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1993. Payton won two MVP awards and was a member of the Super Bowl XX champions in 1985. He died on Nov. 1, 1999, at 45.
Blackhawks: “Badge of Honor”
- Location: Outside the United Center, Lot C, on site of former Chicago Stadium
- Sculpted by: Erik Blome
- Made of: Bronze
- Unveiled: 2000
Features six life-sized figures of hockey players from different eras in the team’s history. Engraved on the back are the names of every player who competed for the Blackhawks in an NHL game as of the team’s 75th anniversary in 2000.
Bobby Hull
- Location: Outside United Center, Gate 3 1/2
- Sculpted by: Omri Amrany
- Made of: White bronze and granite
- Unveiled: 2011
When the 7-foot-tall statue sitting atop a 5-foot pedestal was unveiled, Hull said: “(This) likely is without argument the greatest evening of my life. To have a bronze (statue) depicting me here where hundreds of thousands of people will walk by and say, ‘Yeah, I remember him. He could play a little bit.’ In my lifetime, the few short years I have left, this is a wonderful tribute …” It depicts Hull after taking a slap shot.
Stan Mikita
- Location: Outside United Center, Gate 3 1/2
- Sculpted by: Julie Rotblatt Amrany
- Made of: White bronze and granite
- Unveiled: 2011
To get the details just right, Mikita worked directly with the sculptors. “They wanted to make sure the uniform was right and they wanted to make sure his skates were laced the way he laced them — which was different than everyone else — so he brought his skates down and showed them how he laced his skates. It was absolutely perfect,” said Stan’s wife, Jill Mikita.
Bulls: Michael Jordan
- Location: Inside United Center, atrium
- Sculpted by: Omri Amrany and Julie Rotblatt Amrany
- Made of: Metal
- Unveiled: 1994
The almost 16-foot-tall, 2,000-pound sculpture known as “The Spirit” celebrates Jordan’s first retirement from professional basketball. The inscription on its base reads, “The best there ever was. The best there ever will be.” The statue was moved inside the United Center’s 190,000-square-foot atrium addition in 2017.
Johnny “Red” Kerr
- Location: Inside United Center, Madison Avenue entrance
- Sculpted by: Julie Rotblatt Amrany
- Made of: Bronze and granite
- Unveiled: 2009
Located near Sections 101-102, the life-sized bust commemorates the Bulls’ first head coach and longtime broadcaster.
Scottie Pippen
- Location: Inside United Center, Gate 7 entrance
- Sculpted by: Julie Rotblatt Amrany
- Made of: Bronze
- Unveiled: 2011
This life-sized bust with a modern patina was dedicated during halftime of a Bulls-Celtics game on April 7, 2011, and permanently resides on the United Center’s 100-level concourse.
Cubs: Ernie Banks
- Location: Outside Wrigley Field, north of the corner of Addison and Clark streets near the marquee
- Sculpted by: Lou Cella
- Made of: Bronze and granite
- Unveiled: 2008
Jesse Jackson initiated a spirited movement, involving a public petition, to have a statue erected in honor of “Mr. Cub,” who stayed with the team throughout his 19-year career and was enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. Others quickly backed the idea, and the sculpture was dedicated with one minor error — a missing apostrophe in the inscription of Banks’ catchphrase, “Let’s Play Two.” It was soon fixed.
Jack Brickhouse
- Location: Michigan Avenue (Pioneer Court), south of Tribune Tower on the east side of Michigan Avenue
- Sculpted by: Jerry McKenna
- Made of: Bronze and granite
- Unveiled: 2000
A group calling itself Citizens United for Brickhouse Statue (CUBS) raised money to give the Hall of Fame broadcaster a tribute outside Wrigley Field, which put his signature home-run salute — “Hey, Hey” — on both foul poles. CUBS raised so much money so quickly, there was enough remaining to fund a fellowship for brain tumor research at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Brickhouse died of a brain tumor in 1998.
Harry Caray
- Location: Inside Harry Caray’s Italian Steakhouse in River North, 33 W. Kinzie St.
- Sculpted by: Omri Amrany and Lou Cella
- Made of: White bronze and granite
- Unveiled: 1999
The bust used the same mold that helped create the 7-foot-tall statue of the broadcaster that stands outside Wrigley Field — with a twist. The sculptors apparently combined Budweiser beer, for which Caray was a pitchman, with the bronze.
Harry Caray
- Location: Outside Wrigley Field, southwest corner of Waveland and Sheffield avenues
- Sculpted by: Omri Amrany and Lou Cella
- Made of: White bronze and granite
- Unveiled: 1999
The 12-foot-tall statue of the legendary broadcaster, which depicts Caray amid a rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” stood at the corner of Addison Street and Sheffield Avenue when it was dedicated in 1999. It was moved outside the entrance to the bleachers at Sheffield and Waveland avenues in 2010 to accommodate a statue of Hall of Fame Cubs outfielder Billy Williams.
Ron Santo
- Location: Outside Wrigley Field, northwest corner of Addison Street and Sheffield Avenue
- Sculpted by: Lou Cella
- Made of: Bronze and granite
- Unveiled: 2011
The 7-foot sculpture shows Santo fielding a bunted ball and preparing to throw it to first base. The third baseman was a nine-time All-Star in 14 seasons who then connected with millions more fans during a 21-year broadcasting career. Santo died in 2010. His ashes were spread on Wrigley Field, near the foul pole that flies a flag memorializing his retired No. 10, the day after his statue dedication.
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Billy Williams
- Location: Outside Wrigley Field, northwest corner of Addison Street and Sheffield Avenue
- Sculpted by: Lou Cella
- Made of: Bronze
- Unveiled: 2010
After spending 52 years in the Cubs organization as a player, coach and executive, Williams had a statue dedicated at the corner of Sheffield and Addison outside Wrigley Field. Many believed the honor was long overdue because the left fielder had been in the Baseball Hall of Fame since 1987.
White Sox: 2005 team
- Location: Outside Guaranteed Rate Field, northwest corner of the park
- Sculpted by: Julie Rotblatt Amrany
- Made of: White bronze with black granite and laser etching
- Unveiled: 2008
The diamond-shaped “Championship Moments” monument captures pivotal moments that led to the White Sox winning the 2005 World Series: Paul Konerko’s grand slam, Joe Crede’s key double, Juan Uribe’s dive into the bullpen and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez’s sterling relief work against the Red Sox. Then-Gov. Rob Blagojevich attended the sculpture’s dedication and was booed roundly because of his ties to the Cubs.
Luis Aparicio
- Location: Inside Guaranteed Rate Field, Section 100
- Sculpted by: Gary Tillery
- Made of: Bronze
- Unveiled: 2006
The Hall of Famer is depicted catching the ball thrown by teammate Nellie Fox to turn one of the duo’s patented double plays. “This is a tremendous honor. It is the greatest feeling I’ve ever had in my life. Nellie and I got along very well,” Aparicio said at the dedication ceremony.
Harold Baines
- Location: Inside Guaranteed Rate Field Section 105
- Sculpted by: Sean Bell
- Made of: Bronze
- Unveiled: 2008
Almost 20 years after the White Sox retired his No. 3, Baines became the seventh former Sox player to receive a statue with his likeness. Depicting his right leg kick, the six-time All Star joked: “It’s surreal. That’s the way I looked 25 years ago. The way I look (now), I wish I still had some of those features.” Baines was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 21, 2019.
Charles Comiskey
- Location: Inside Guaranteed Rate Field, Section 100
- Sculpted by: Jerry McKenna
- Made of: Bronze
- Unveiled: 2004
One year after the naming rights to Comiskey Park were sold to U.S. Cellular, the team announced it would place a life-sized statue of the White Sox founder inside the ballpark. He stands in right-center field on the main concourse.
Carlton Fisk
- Location: Inside Guaranteed Rate Field, Section 164
- Sculpted by: Lou Cella
- Made of: Bronze
- Unveiled: 2005
When Fisk’s statue was dedicated, the Hall of Fame catcher told fans: “I wanted to play forever. Now I’m going to stand here forever.” Fisk also expressed his appreciation to White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf for the life-sized sculpture, saying, “This could not have happened without him.”
Nellie Fox
- Location: Inside Guaranteed Rate Field, Section 100
- Sculpted by: Lou Cella
- Made of: Bronze
- Unveiled: 2006
The Hall of Fame second baseman and shortstop Luis Aparicio batted 1-2 in the order, and the combo helped the “Go-Go” White Sox win the American League pennant in 1959. Today, their statues face each other and depict Fox flipping the ball to Aparicio to start a double play.
Paul Konerko
- Location: Inside Guaranteed Rate Field, Section 160
- Sculpted by: Lou Cella
- Made of: Bronze
- Unveiled: 2014
In a pregame ceremony to honor the retiring White Sox captain, a cluster of black, white and gray balloons was stripped away to reveal a statue of Konerko — his fist raised and face set with triumphant satisfaction after hitting the 2005 World Series grand slam. Reflecting on the night, in which Konerko went 0-for-3 before exiting in the seventh inning, he said: “I have to apologize for the game. To go out and try to play a game after that, I’m pretty good about disctractions, but there was no way.”
Minnie Minoso
- Location: Inside Guaranteed Rate Field, Section 164
- Sculpted by: Maritza Hernandez
- Made of: Bronze
- Unveiled: 2004
Upon seeing his life-sized likeness for the first time at its unveiling, the seven-time All-Star gave it a big hug and said, “If God takes me tomorrow, I’m happy because (my statue) is here.” The statue’s bat was broken during a Cubs-White Sox series in 2005, but the damage was soon repaired.
Billy Pierce
- Location: Inside Guaranteed Rate Field, Section 164
- Sculpted by: Julie Rotblatt Amrany
- Made of: Bronze
- Unveiled: 2007
The winningest left-hander in White Sox history didn’t have his No. 19 retired until 1988, 27 years after he departed Comiskey Park. In a nine-minute ceremony to dedicate a life-sized statue depicting his wind-up, Pierce had trouble finding the right words for his gratitude: “This is a tremendous honor for me. It’s hard to express myself.”
Frank Thomas
- Location: Inside Guaranteed Rate Field, Section 160
- Sculpted by: Lou Cella and Oscar Leon
- Made of: Bronze and granite
- Unveiled: 2011
Just one year after his No. 35 jersey was retired, Thomas returned to unveil a life-sized statue showing the career .301 hitter on the follow-through of a one-handed swing. “Most guys are dead and gone before they (do) something like this. I’m honored and very, very proud,” he said.
Sources: Tribune photos and reporting with assistance from Amanda Kaschube and Jeremy Mikula; Chicago Bears; Pro Football Hall of Fame
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