The Chicago Bears play professional American Football in the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL).
The Chicago Bears (formerly Decatur Staleys) are one of only two charter members of the NFL still playing today, the other being the Arizona Cardinals (or Racine Cardinals as they were known at that time).
The origins of the Bears were established in 1919 when the A. E. Staley Company of Decatur, Illinois formed a football team from a number of the factory employees to play in a league organised by Staley. This early team was known as the Decatur Staleys.
In 1920 the A. E. Staley Company hired George Halas along with Edward "Dutch" Sternaman to run the team and it was George Halas who represented the Decatur Staleys at the September 17 meeting that year at which the American Professional Football Association (the forerunner of the NFL) was formed.
Despite having a good record in their first year in the APFA the Staleys imposed sufficient financial burden on owner Augustus E. Staley to prompt him to hand over full control to George Halas. This was in early 1921 and on receipt of the Staleys Halas moved the team away from Decatur, relocating in Chicago at Wrigley Field home of the Chicago Cubs. In addition he made Dutch Sternaman his partner. The only condition that Staley put on Halas was that he must keep the Staley part of the team name for another season. This Halas did and in 1921 as the Chicago Staleys they won the APFA Title after having the league′s best record of 9-1-1.
In 1922, one year after they moved from Decatur to Chicago the team name was changed from the Chicago Staleys to the Chicago Bears.
The Bears remained consistent throughout the 1920′s with only one losing season in 1929 when they were 4-9-2 for the season. After which Head Coach and co-owner George Halas replaced himself with a new Head Coach in readiness for the 1930 NFL Season.
In 1932 the Bears won the NFL Championship by way of a playoff game with the Portsmouth Spartans. It was a rather complex situation that had arisen. The Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans had tied for first place in the NFL Final Standings based on their winning percentage of .857 (the Green Bay Packers had actually won more games but had also lost three and therefore had a worse PCT with .769).
To determine the winner of the NFL Championship that year an extra regular season game was arranged to be played on 18 December 1932 at Wrigley Field between the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans but the game ended up being moved indoors to the Chicago Stadium due to the terrible cold weather. The Bears beat the Spartans 9-0.
In spite of their on-field success in 1932 the Bears were not so successful financially and after some fair losses co-owner Dutch Sternaman sold his share of the team to partner George Halas.
In 1933 George Halas returned as the Bears Head Coach and after topping the NFL West Division the Bears defeat the New York Giants 23-21 in the NFL′s first proper championship game.
In 1934 the Bears yet again won the NFL West Division with a 13-0-0 regular season record and once more faced the New York Giants in the NFL Championship game. This time losing 30-13.
It could be said with some confidence that the early to mid 1940′s were a golden age in the Bears history when they made five NFL Championship games winning four of them starting in 1940 with the rout of the Washington Redskins 73-0 in front of 36,034 fans in Washington D.C.
The Bears followed this up in 1941 with another win in the NFL Championship this time beating the New York Giants 37-9.
In October 1942, George Halas left the Bears to serve in the U.S. Navy.
Without Halas the Bears continued in their winning ways under co-coaches Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos and in 1943 they won the NFL Championship for the third time in four years when beating the Washington Redskins 41-21.
By 1945 though the Bears had posted a losing season 3-7-0.
In 1946 with George Halas back from Military Service and Head Coach once again, the Bears were back, winning the NFL Championship for the fourth time in the decade when beating the New York Giants 24-14
However, throughout the remainder of the 1940′s, 1950′s and up until 1963 the Chicago Bears only made two more NFL Championship Games. Losing the first one in 1956 to the New York Giants 47-7 and then winning again in 1963 when defeating the New York Giants 14-10.
After the 1967 season George Halas retired as Head Coach of the Bears after 40 seasons and 324 career victories.
On 13 December 1970 the Chicago Bears played their final game at Wrigley Field before moving to Soldier Field. In this final game at Wrigley Field they beat the Green Bay Packers 35-17.
On October 31 1983 "Papa Bear" Gearge Halas died. He had been a great athlete by anyone′s standards, he was MVP in the 1919 Rose Bowl football game when playing for Great Lakes - US Navy, a Decatur Staleys / Chicago Staleys / Chicago Bears Defensive End, Chicago Bears Head Coach and eventually the Chicago Bears team owner. In 1919 he had even played twelve games for the New York Yankees baseball team. Halas had been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 and even after retiring from Coaching duties had very much remained involved in the running of the team. On his death, Halas eldest daughter Virginia Halas McCaskey inherited control of the Bears and to this day the Halas family are still the principal owners.
The Bears form hit a low for over 20 years until in the 1985 NFL Season when with Head Coach Mike Ditka in charge they make their first Super Bowl beating the New England Patriots 46-10 at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Since that Super Bowl win playoff success has been fairly thin on the ground for the Bears although they have managed to win their particular division numerous times. In 2006 they had a somewhat more successful time winning the NFC North Division, NFC Championship and then after making their second Super Bowl, losing to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17 at the Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida.
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Chicago Bears Stadium
Soldier Field
Opened in 1924
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Chicago Bears Mailing Address
Halas Hall at Conway Park, 1000 Football Drive, Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
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Chicago Bears Training Camp
Olivet-Nazarene University
Bourbonnais, Illinois 60901
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Chicago Bears Stadium Capacity
61,500
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Chicago Bears Telephone Number
(847) 295-6600
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Chicago Bears Team Colors
Navy Blue, Orange and White
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Chicago Bears Website
www.chicagobears.com
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Contact the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears email
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Chicago Bears Stadium on the map
Chicago Bears Stadium Map
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NFL Championships
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Winners
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1932 (after playoff with Portsmouth Spartans), 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1963
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Super Bowl NFL Championship
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Winners
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Super Bowl XX (January 26 1986)
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American Professional Football Association
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Winners as Chicago Staleys
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1921
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NFL Western Division
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Winners
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1933, 1934, 1937, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946
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NFC Conference
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Winners
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1985, 2006
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NFL Western Conference
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Winners
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1956, 1963
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NFC Central Division
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Winners
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1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2001
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NFC North Division
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Winners
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2005, 2006
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Chicago Bears Season Schedule and Results |
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