George Mihailides
Mihailides, George 92, of Barrington, died on Monday, December 28th. He was the loving husband of Olga (Vican) Mihailides, born in Providence, he was the son of the late Rev. Peter G. and Presbytera Calliope (Lytritis) Mihailides.
George was one of the few RI citizens inducted into both the Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Football Hall of Fame. He was wrestling State Champion in 182-pound weight division. After High School George twice earned the title of New England Champion. He was also an AAU Champion in 1947 and 1948. George even had the privilege of wrestling the Great British Olympic champion Jack Sullivan. In addition to wrestling he found time to coach youth wrestling members of the YMCA in Providence, organized events and bought the medals because there was no money in the budget. He even paid for the towels so the kids could take showers.
He played for the professional Providence Steamrollers and in the ’47 and ’48 seasons, he helped them to achieve the New England Conference Championship. George led the team in tackles 3 years in a row. His positions included offensive end and defensive end. Fans would pack Cranston stadium to watch the Providence Steamrollers. On numerous times George would say “we were the forgotten champions.” He was one of the youngest professional football players in the country. His love of football was such that he played professionally rather than take advantage of a scholarship offered by Boston College. He was also a star athlete at Central High School, Providence RI and in 1945 the team was 9-0 and only 1 team scored 6 points against them the entire season. The High School Super Bowl was played at Brown Stadium in front of 25,000 people. This was one of the largest numbers ever reach at that time.
George was known for his extreme generosity, character, charity work and charisma. He was a lifelong member of the Greek Orthodox Church in Cranston, RI. At 20 years of age George served on the church parish council. For 20 years he ran the charity banquet for the Annunciation youth. He was a past President for the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA). Vice President 5 years, 3 years President, AHEPA of the year award 2 years in a row 1971 and 1972. He coached numerous teams and he was a 32 degree Mason and regular contributor with the Shriners. He owned the NY System Restaurant in East Providence, RI nearly his entire life. At an advanced age up to last year you could see him working with his son’s at Eats Restaurant, 1395 Fall River Avenue, Seekonk, MA.
In addition to his wife, George is survived by his beloved sons, Peter Mihailides, George Mihailides and his wife Diane and Andrew Mihailides and his wife Lise. Tragically, his son Robert (Bobby) Mihailides died in 1990.
He is also survived by many loving grandchildren, nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, gifts in his memory to: The Endowment Fund of the Church of the Annunciation, 175 Oaklawn Ave, Cranston, RI 02920, are greatly appreciated.
Calling hours are omitted due to covid-19 restrictions. The funeral will be held on Saturday, January 2nd at 9:30 AM at the Demetrakas Hall in our Rev. Peter Mihailides Center at 175 Oaklawn Ave, Cranston, RI open to those desiring to attend with sitting restriction capacity limit, social distancing and mask wearing. The funeral will also be live streamed via www.annunciationri.org/live-streaming. Burial will be private.
