Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a National Football League team based in Chicago, Illinois. The team is a charter member of the NFL.

Franchise history

The Bears are one of the storied NFL teams. They lead the NFL in franchise wins with 660. They were founded by A.E. Staley, originally as the Staley Company team in Decatur, a typical start for several of the classic NFL franchises. Staley hired George Halas and Edward "Dutch" Sternaman in 1920 and turned control of the team over to them in 1921.

Related Topics:
A.E. Staley - George Halas

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Halas liked the bright orange-and-blue colors of his alma mater, the University of Illinois, and the Bears adopted those colors as their own, albeit in a darker shade of each (the orange is Pantone 1665, similar to burnt orange). As with several early NFL franchises, the Bears took their name from that of their landlords, in this case the Chicago Cubs.

Related Topics:
University of Illinois - Pantone - Chicago Cubs

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Their rivalry with the Green Bay Packers is one of the oldest and fiercest in professional sports. Green Bay historians still talk about an incident in the early NFL days, in which Halas got the Packers expelled from the league in order to prevent them signing a particular player, and then graciously got them re-admitted after the Bears had closed the deal with that player. Jumping ahead to their famous 1985 season, Coach Mike Ditka used 350-plus pound lineman "Refrigerator" Perry as a truly "wide" receiver in a touchdown play at Lambeau Field, flagrantly taunting the Packers. The Packers have also one-upped the Bears from time to time over the years.

Related Topics:
Green Bay Packers - 1985 - Mike Ditka - "Refrigerator" Perry - Lambeau Field

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The Bears were responsible for triggering the NFL's long-standing rule that a player could not be signed until his senior class had graduated. The NFL took that action as a consequence of the Bears' aggressive signing of famous U of I player Red Grange, almost literally as he walked out the door of Memorial Stadium following his final game as a collegian.

Related Topics:
Red Grange - Memorial Stadium

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The Bears became a dominant team in the early 1940s, acquiring the University of Chicago's discarded nickname "Monsters of the Midway" as well as a newly-penned theme song that declared them "The pride and joy of Illinois". Of the many league championships in their history, the most awe-inspiring was their 73-0 victory over the favored Washington Redskins at Griffith Stadium in the 1940 league championship game. That score is still an NFL record for lopsided results.

Related Topics:
1940s - University of Chicago - Washington Redskins - Griffith Stadium - 1940

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After his partner Dutch Sternaman left the organization, Halas maintained control of the Bears until his death in 1983. Halas also coached the team off-and-on for forty seasons, an NFL record. For the most part, the Bears have stayed in the Halas family. The team is currently owned by Halas' daughter Virginia McCaskey and has been run on a day-to-day basis since 1999 by President and CEO Ted Phillips.

Related Topics:
1983 - Ted Phillips

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