Helms Athletic Foundation

The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership of Helms Bakery. Bill Schroeder founded the organization with Helms and served as its managing director. The men were united in a love of amateur athletic competition.
The organization became well known for presenting awards and trophies for local, national, and international competition, naming the Southern California Player of the Month and Year, national championships in college basketball and college football, Rose Bowl Player of the Game, Coach of the Year, Pacific Coast football player of the year, and other such awards for athletic achievement. Schroeder described himself in 1967 as a "committee of one" in selecting the championship teams. The organization dedicated Helms Hall in 1948, which housed a museum for sporting artifacts as well as the Helms Hall of Fame.
Following the death of Paul Helms in 1957 and the eventual closure of Helms Bakery in 1969, Schroeder sought new benefactors. The organization continued under a series of new sponsors as the United Savings–Helms Athletic Foundation, Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation, and First Interstate Bank Athletic Foundation. Schroeder died in 1987. Under the direction of Peter Ueberroth the Helms Athletic Foundation collection, library, and archives were absorbed into the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, later renamed the LA84 Foundation.

History

Founding

Schroeder brought to the partnership a large personal collection of sports memorabilia. He sought a corporate sponsor to finance a hall of fame to house his collection and to present awards to local athletes.
The idea was taken seriously by Paul Helms, who was himself invested in athletics both personally and professionally. The bakery with which he made his fortune was a sponsor of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, and "Helms Olympic Bread" continued to be associated with the competition. The organization was originally known as the Helms Olympic Athletic Foundation.
In 1936, with Helms' backing, Schroeder set to work from a rented office in downtown Los Angeles. As the organization's only employee, he issued frequent announcements of the selections he made for the Helms Athletic Foundation's various and numerous awards.

Helms Hall

The organization dedicated Helms Hall in 1948. The purpose-built building adjacent to Helms Bakery near Culver City housed a museum for the sports artifacts originally collected by Schroeder, as well as the Helms Hall of Fame.
Schroeder selected the organization's national champion teams and made All-America team selections in a number of college sports, including football and basketball. The Helms Foundation also operated a hall of fame for both college basketball and college football. Besides collegiate athletics, the organization operated halls of fame for professional football, Major League Baseball, the Pacific Coast League, basketball, fencing, golf, tennis, swimming, auto racing, track and field, and soaring.

Later years

After Paul Helms' death in 1957, his family continued supporting the organization until 1969, when the bakeries went out of business. Schroeder found a new benefactor in United Savings & Loan, and the organization's name became United Savings–Helms Athletic Foundation. United merged with Citizens Savings & Loan in 1973, when the organization became the Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation. It was again renamed in 1982 when First Interstate Bank assumed sponsorship, and it became the First Interstate Bank Athletic Foundation.
When the Helms Foundation dissolved, its historical holdings were absorbed into the collection of the Amateur Athletic Foundation, renamed the LA84 Foundation in 2007.

National championship selections

Basketball

Helms Athletic Foundation national champions in college basketball selections for 1900–01 through 1918–19 were published retroactively in 1957. Those from 1919–20 through 1941–42 were selected retroactively in 1943.
The Helms Foundation began releasing Schroeder's national championship selections for college basketball in 1943, when in February 1943 it published his retroactive picks for the national champion for each year from the 1919–20 through 1941–42 seasons. Later in 1943, Schroeder picked a national basketball champion for the 1942–43 season, and he continued to select national basketball champions for the Helms Foundation annually through the 1981–82 season, its final year of selections. In 1957, the Helms Foundation also released Schroeder's retroactive picks for the college basketball champions for the 1900–1901 through 1918–19 seasons. The retroactive Helms national championships from 1900–01 through 1941–42 were the opinions of one person about teams that played during an era when, due to factors outside their control, it is difficult to know or assess the relative strength of the teams.
The National Invitation Tournament began play in 1938 and the NCAA tournament in 1939; until at the least the mid-1950s, the NIT was widely considered the more prestigious of the two. When Schroeder made his first set of retroactive championship picks in February 1943, he chose the NIT winner as the national champion for 1938 and 1939; for 1940, he chose USC ; and for 1941 and 1942 he chose the NCAA Tournament winners as the national champion. After he began making annual picks in 1943, he selected the NCAA Tournament winner in every year except 1944 and 1954. Thus, through the final Helms selection in 1982, NCAA Tournament winners Oregon, Indiana, Utah, and La Salle were the only NCAA champions that were not also Helms champions. Some schools claim a Helms selection as a national championship.

Football

The NCAA recognizes the Helms Athletic Foundation as a "major selector" of college football national championships in their official records book.
The champions for 1883 through 1941 were published in August 1942.

Teams listed in italics indicate retroactively applied championships.
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Helms Athletic Foundation selected players, coaches and administrators from 1950 through at least the 1970s to its pro football hall of fame. Contrary to other halls of fame, some members were selected during their active playing/coaching careers.

Year	Inductee	Pro Team	Contribution	Pro Football Hall of Fame?
1950	Cliff Battles	Boston Braves / Boston Redskins / Washington Redskins	Player	Yes
1950	Sammy Baugh	Washington Redskins	Player	Yes
1950	Joe F. Carr	NFL President	Contributor	Yes
1950	Dutch Clark	Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions	Player	Yes
1950	Paddy Driscoll	Hammond All-Stars Hammond Pros Racine / Chicago Cardinals Chicago Bears	Player	Yes
1950	Turk Edwards	Boston Braves / Boston Redskins / Washington Redskins	Player	Yes
1950	Ray Flaherty	Los Angeles Wildcats New York Yankees New York Giants	Player	Yes
1950	Dan Fortmann	Chicago Bears	Player	Yes
1950	Red Grange	Chicago Bears New York Yankees	Player	Yes
1950	George Halas	Decatur Staleys / Chicago Staleys / Chicago Bears	Coach	Yes
1950	Mel Hein	New York Giants	Player	Yes
1950	Bill Hewitt	Chicago Bears Philadelphia Eagles Steagles	Player	Yes
1950	Clarke Hinkle	Green Bay Packers	Player	Yes
1950	Cal Hubbard	New York Giants Green Bay Packers Pittsburgh Pirates	Player	Yes
1950	Don Hutson	Green Bay Packers	Player	Yes
1950	Curly Lambeau	Green Bay Packers	Coach	Yes
1950	Tuffy Leemans	New York Giants	Player	Yes
1950	Sid Luckman	Chicago Bears	Player	Yes
1950	Bronko Nagurski	Chicago Bears	Player	Yes
1950	Ernie Nevers	Duluth Eskimos Chicago Cardinals	Player	Yes
1950	Steve Owen	New York Giants	Coach	Yes
1950	Ken Strong	Staten Island Stapletons New York Giants New York Yankees Jersey City Giants	Player	Yes
1950	Joe Stydahar	Chicago Bears	Player	Yes
1950	Jim Thorpe	Canton Bulldogs Cleveland Indians Oorang Indians Rock Island Independents New York Giants Tampa Cardinals Chicago Cardinals	Player	Yes
1950	George Trafton	Decatur Staleys / Chicago Staleys / Chicago Bears	Player	Yes
1951	Pete Henry	Canton Bulldogs New York Giants Pottsville Maroons	Player	Yes
1951	Arnie Herber	Green Bay Packers New York Giants	Player	Yes
1951	John McNally	Milwaukee Badgers Duluth Eskimos Pottsville Maroons Green Bay Packers Pittsburgh Pirates Buffalo Tigers	Player	Yes
1951	Bulldog Turner	Chicago Bears	Player	Yes
1952	Greasy Neale	Philadelphia Eagles	Coach	Yes
1952	Al Nesser	Columbus Panhandles Canton Professionals Akron Pros / Akron Indians Cleveland Bulldogs Cleveland Panthers New York Giants Cleveland Indians	Player	No
1952	Alex Wojciechowicz	Detroit Lions Philadelphia Eagles	Player	Yes
1952	Frankie Albert	Los Angeles Bulldogs San Francisco 49ers	Player	No
1952	Bob Waterfield	Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams	Player	Yes
1956	Tom Fears	Los Angeles Rams	Player	Yes
1956	Otto Graham	Cleveland Browns	Player	Yes
1956	Steve Van Buren	Philadelphia Eagles	Player	Yes
1957	Tony Canadeo	Green Bay Packers	Player	Yes
1957	Lou Groza	Cleveland Browns	Player	Yes
1957	Elroy Hirsch	Chicago Rockets Los Angeles Rams	Player	Yes
1957	Ed Sprinkle	Chicago Bears	Player	Yes
1957	Doak Walker	Detroit Lions	Player	Yes
1959	Ray Bray	Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers	Player	No
1959	Charlie Conerly	New York Giants	Player	No
1959	George Preston Marshall	Washington Redskins owner	Contributor	Yes
1959	George Musso	Chicago Bears	Player	Yes
1960	Chuck Bednarik	Philadelphia Eagles	Player	Yes
1960	Jim Benton	Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams Chicago Bears	Player	No
1960	Bill Dudley	Pittsburgh Steelers Detroit Lions Washington Redskins	Player	Yes
1960	Link Lyman	Canton / Cleveland Bulldogs Frankford Yellow Jackets Chicago Bears	Player	Yes
1960	George McAfee	Chicago Bears	Player	Yes
1960	Buck Shaw	San Francisco 49ers Philadelphia Eagles	Coach	No
1960	Y. A. Tittle	Baltimore Colts San Francisco 49ers New York Giants	Player	Yes
1960	Emlen Tunnell	New York Giants Green Bay Packers	Player	Yes
1960	Norm Van Brocklin	Los Angeles Rams Philadelphia Eagles	Player	Yes
1961	Ben Agajanian	Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers Los Angeles Dons New York Giants Los Angeles Rams Los Angeles Chargers / San Diego Chargers Dallas Texans Green Bay Packers Oakland Raiders	Player	No
1961	Bucko Kilroy	Steagles Philadelphia Eagles	Player	No
1961	Joe Perry	San Francisco 49ers Baltimore Colts	Player	Yes
1961	Pete Pihos	Philadelphia Eagles	Player	Yes
1962	Bert Bell	Philadelphia Eagles owner Pittsburgh Steelers co-owner	Contributor	Yes
1962	Charles Bidwill	Chicago Cardinals owner	Contributor	Yes
1962	Walt Kiesling	Duluth Eskimos Pottsville Maroons Chicago Cardinals Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Pittsburgh Pirates	Player	Yes
1962	Tim Mara	New York Giants owner	Contributor	Yes
1962	Vic Sears	Philadelphia Eagles Phil-Pit Steagles	Player	No
1962	Carl Storck	NFL President	Contributor	Yes
1963	Gene Brito	Washington Redskins Los Angeles Rams	Player	No
1963	Paul Brown	Cleveland Browns Cincinnati Bengals	Coach	Yes
1963	Jim Martin	Cleveland Browns Detroit Lions Baltimore Colts Washington Redskins	Player	No
1963	Dan Reeves	Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams owner	Contributor	Yes
1964	Jimmy Conzelman	Decatur Staleys Rock Island Independents Milwaukee Badgers Detroit Panthers Providence Steam Roller	Player	Yes
1964	Bobby Layne	Chicago Bears New York Bulldogs Detroit Lions Pittsburgh Steelers	Player	Yes
1964	Eddie LeBaron	Washington Redskins Dallas Cowboys	Player	No
1964	Gino Marchetti	Dallas Texans Baltimore Colts	Player	Yes
1964	Leo Nomellini	San Francisco 49ers	Player	Yes
1964	Ray Renfro	Cleveland Browns	Player	No
1964	Andy Robustelli	Los Angeles Rams New York Giants	Player	Yes
1965	Bruno Banducci	Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers	Player	No
1965	Art Donovan	Baltimore Colts New York Yanks Dallas Texans Baltimore Colts	Player	Yes
1965	Hugh McElhenny	San Francisco 49ers Minnesota Vikings New York Giants Detroit Lions	Player	Yes
1966	Frank Gifford	New York Giants	Player	Yes
1966	Ollie Matson	Chicago Cardinals Los Angeles Rams Detroit Lions Philadelphia Eagles	Player	Yes
1966	Kyle Rote	New York Giants	Player	No
1966	Bob St. Clair	San Francisco 49ers	Player	Yes
1966	Buddy Parker	Chicago Cardinals Detroit Lions Pittsburgh Steelers	Coach	No
1967	Jon Arnett	Los Angeles Rams Chicago Bears	Player	No
1967	Jim Brown	Cleveland Browns	Player	Yes
1967	Art Hunter	Green Bay Packers Cleveland Browns Los Angeles Rams Pittsburgh Steelers	Player	No
1967	Alex Webster	New York Giants	Player	No
1967	Fred Williams	Chicago Bears Washington Redskins	Player	No
1969	Jack Manders	Chicago Bears	Player	No
1969	Marion Motley	Cleveland Browns Pittsburgh Steelers	Player	Yes
1969	Don Paul	Los Angeles Rams	Player	No
1969	Les Richter	Los Angeles Rams	Player	Yes
1969	Ernie Stautner	Pittsburgh Steelers	Player	Yes
1969	Buddy Young	New York Yankees New York Yanks Dallas Texans Baltimore Colts	Player	No
1969	Paul "Tank" Younger	Los Angeles Rams Pittsburgh Steelers	Player	No
1971	Vince Lombardi	Green Bay Packers Washington Redskins	Coach	Yes
1971	Charley Trippi	Chicago Cardinals	Player	Yes
1972	Eddie Meador	Los Angeles Rams	Player	No
1972	Tobin Rote	Green Bay Packers Detroit Lions San Diego Chargers Denver Broncos	Player	No
1973	Lance Alworth	San Diego Chargers Dallas Cowboys	Player	Yes
1973	Raymond Berry	Baltimore Colts	Player	Yes
1973	Forrest Gregg	Green Bay Packers Dallas Cowboys	Player	Yes
1973	Jim Ringo	Green Bay Packers Philadelphia Eagles	Player	Yes
1973	Joe Schmidt	Detroit Lions	Player	Yes
1973	Bart Starr	Green Bay Packers	Player	Yes
1973	Larry Wilson	St. Louis Cardinals	Player	Yes
1975	Doug Atkins	Cleveland Browns Chicago Bears New Orleans Saints	Player	Yes
1975	Gino Cappelletti	Boston Patriots	Player	No
1975	Marlin McKeever	Los Angeles Rams Minnesota Vikings Washington Redskins Philadelphia Eagles	Player	No
1975	Dick Modzelewski	Washington Redskins Pittsburgh Steelers New York Giants Cleveland Browns	Player	No
1975	Ray Nitschke	Green Bay Packers	Player	Yes
1975	Johnny Unitas	Baltimore Colts San Diego Chargers	Player	Yes
1975	Maxie Baughan	Philadelphia Eagles Los Angeles Rams Washington Redskins	Player	No
1975	John Brodie	San Francisco 49ers	Player	No
1975	Bill George	Chicago Bears Los Angeles Rams	Player	Yes
1975	Rosey Grier	New York Giants Los Angeles Rams	Player	No
1975	Deacon Jones	Los Angeles Rams San Diego Chargers Washington Redskins	Player	Yes
1975	Bruiser Kinard	Brooklyn Dodgers / Tigers New York Yankees	Player	Yes
1975	Night Train Lane	Los Angeles Rams Chicago Cardinals Detroit Lions	Player	Yes
1975	Mike Michalske	New York Yankees Green Bay Packers	Player	Yes
1975	Jim Parker	Baltimore Colts	Player	Yes
1976	George Blanda	Chicago Bears Baltimore Colts Houston Oilers Oakland Raiders	Player	Yes
1976	Len Ford	Los Angeles Dons Cleveland Browns Green Bay Packers	Player	Yes
1976	Sonny Jurgensen	Philadelphia Eagles Washington Redskins	Player	Yes
1976	Bob Lilly	Dallas Cowboys	Player	Yes
1976	Lenny Moore	Baltimore Colts	Player	Yes
1976	Joe Scibelli	Los Angeles Rams	Player	No
1976	Jim Taylor	Green Bay Packers New Orleans Saints	Player	Yes
19??	Rosey Brown	New York Giants	Player	Yes