Harold E. Grange was born in the small hamlet of Forksville, Pennsylvania with a population of about 200 at the time. It was an area where most of the men worked in the local lumber camps. Grange was born on June 13, 1903, the third child of Sadie and Lyle Grange. His father was the foreman of three lumber camps owned by Charles W. Sones.

Grange's mother passed away when Harold was five. A few months later, the Grange family moved to Wheaton, Illinois where Lyle's family lived. Grange's father soon began a moving business. For many years the Grange boys and their father lived in various places with various relatives until they could afford a place of their own.

When Grange was a child, Wheaton did not have a YMCA, so Grange and his friends played football in vacant lots and basketball in converted barn lofts. When the Boy Scouts formed a league the boys were able to use the Wheaton College gymnasium. Sports became a central part of Grange's life, despite a warning from his doctor that he had a heart murmur.

By the time Grange entered high school his father had become the local policeman. The Grange family barely made it on a policeman's salary. Grange recalled that he didn't date at all in school because he didn't have the money, nor suitable clothing. All he did was go to school, study, and participate in sports. The money he did make in the summers delivering ice went to support basic needs.

Despite all the challenges, Grange excelled in sports and lettered in football, basketball, baseball, and track. In his senior year his team won every game but one, which was lost 39-0 to the powerful Scott High School in Toledo. It was in this game that Grange was knocked unconscious and remained so for two days, even having difficulting speaking when he awoke. It was the only time he was seriously injured playing football.

It his football career after high school that would propel Grange into noteriety. Grange entered the University of Illinois in the fall of 1922 and pledged the Zeta Psi fraternity. He also tried out for the football squad, as directed by the fraternity upperclassmen. Grange did this with some reluctance after seeing the size of the other students. However, Grange remained on the squad and was placed on the first string. It is said that the team that year was one of the strongest teams in Illinois history.

Grange and football, this combination would change the face of American sports and culture.

Numerous books tell the full story of Grange's life and career. See below for a listing.

Grange, Red. The Galloping Ghost: the autobiography of Red Grange. Crossroads Communications, 1981.
Peterson, James A. Grange of Illinois. Hinckley & Schmitt, 1953.
Schoor, Gene. Red Grange : football's greatest halfback. J. Messner, 1952.