History of the Chicago Bears
From Chicago Bears Wiki
This article details the elaborate history of the Chicago Bears American Football Club. The franchise is a charter-member of the National Football League and have played in all of the league's eighty-seven seasons. Throughout that span they have created a legacy in professional American football comparable to the New York Yankees in professional baseball. The Bears have captured nine NFL Championships – eight NFL Championships and one Super Bowl – second most all-time behind the Green Bay Packers. The franchise has also recorded more victories then any other franchise with 686, retired the most uniform numbers with thirteen, and have the most members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with twenty-six.
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[edit] Early years: The formation of the league and Bear domination (1920–1946)
[edit] The Decatur Staleys
In September of 1920, 14 team representatives met in Akron, Ohio to create a new football league. In the interest of ticket sales and crowning a yearly champion, they decided to form the American Professional Football Association. George Halas, then the player-coach of A.E. Staley's Decatur Staleys, was among the driving forces of this meeting, which gave birth to what exists now as the NFL. In their first season as part of the Association, the Staleys won 10 games, all by shutouts, but lost the first league championship to the Akron Pros, who finished the season unbeaten at 8-0-3. There was no official scheduling in the 1920 season, which accounted for the difference in the number of games played that season. [1]
The Bears and Cardinals split the 1920 series, with the home team winning in each. In the Cardinals 7-6 victory over the Staleys in their first meeting of the season, each team scored a TD on a fumble recovery, with the Staleys failing their XP try. George Halas' 1920 Staleys went on to a 10-1-2 record overall, 5-1-2 in league play. The 1920 Akron Pros were the first ever league champions, they finished with an 8-0-3 record, 6-0-3 in league play, ending their season in a 0-0 tie against the Decatur Staleys. Thus, the Racine (Chi) Cardinals defeat of the Decatur Staleys earlier in the 1920 season meant that the Pros could simply play not to lose; they wisely did and became champions.
However, if the '20 Bears had not lost to the 1920 Cardinals, they would have gone into that fateful game with an 11-0-1 record, 6-0-1 in league play. The game would have literally been the first championship game as well as the first playoff game. The actual game in 1920 was not because the Buffalo All-Americans (9-1-1 in '20, 4-1-1 in league play, they outscored their opponents 258-32, losing only to the Canton Bulldogs 0-3), Staleys and Pros would have each had one loss had the Staleys won. Each team likely would have played more games (as it was allowed under the rules in those days) to allow teams to settle parity at the top of the standings.
The 1920 Racine (Chi) Cardinals did not allow that to happen though. They took one from their cross-town rivals and at the end of the season that one game meant George Halas and the Decatur Staleys would have to wait one more year to collect the first of their league championships as the 1921 Chicago Staleys. It meant that the 1920 Akron Pros could play for a tie and still be assured of being the first ever league champions. Moreover, it meant that the Bears and Cardinals were rivals and always would be rivals.
[edit] First years in Chicago
The Staley's moved to Chicago from Decatur, IL in 1921. Halas, who was given the team and $5000 by Staley to keep the name Staleys for another year, made the move. In the 1921 season, the Chicago Staleys finished first in the league and captured their first league championship.
In 1922, Halas changed the team name to the Bears to reflect baseball's Chicago Cubs, the team's host at Wrigley Field. Over the next few years, the Bears were ranked among the elite teams in the NFL, but could never capture an NFL Championship because the league did not have a playoff system. Instead it had a somewhat controversial scheduling formula, which led to uneven standings and controversial champions.Template:Ref The highlight of the decade was George Halas's unprecedented move to sign Red Grange for $100,000 in 1925. In 1925, professional football was viewed negatively by Americans, as most Americans loved college football which they saw as a pure sport. Halas, though, took the Bears on a 17 game road trip across America to highlight Grange. The tour began on Thanksgiving at Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cardinals held the Galloping Ghost to just 36 yards in his professional debut, the city rivals battling to a 0-0 tie. However, during the tour that continued through January 31, the Bears posted an impressive 11-4-2 record.
This road trip impressed many Americans, boosting the prospects of many debt-ridden teams such as the New York Giants. Grange left the Bears after a contract dispute in 1926 and moved to establish his own league, the first incarnation of the American Football League. That league folded after one season and Grange's New York Yankees were admitted into the NFL. Grange injured his knee in his first game against the Bears in 1927 and was forced to sit out the 1928 season. He returned to Chicago in 1929, but the Bears ended the decade with a losing season as Halas retired as player and coach of the Bears and appointed Ralph Jones as his successor.
[edit] The thirties
The Bears of the 1930s were remembered for being led by a ferocious tandem of Bronko Nagurski and Red Grange, playing in the newly established NFL Championship Game four times and claiming the league title twice.
After completing the 1930 season with a record of 9-4-1, the Bears and Cardinals played in the first indoor football game on December 15 at Chicago Stadium in a charity game for those affected by the Great Depression. Due to the size limitations of the indoor arena, the length of the football field was only 80 yards. The Bears beat their city rivals 9–7. In the 1932 season, the Bears and Portsmouth Spartans tied for first place in the league. The teams played an "unofficial" championship playoff gameTemplate:Ref, held on December 18 at Chicago Stadium. The Bears won the game 9-0 and captured the NFL Championship before 11,198 fans.
The popularity of the game prompted the NFL to institute various rule changes for the 1933 season, including the splitting of the league into two geographical divisions and the establishment of an officially scheduled championship game to determine the NFL champion.
In 1933, George Halas made his return to coaching the Bears. Halas led the Bears to win the first ever Western Division title and the first ever NFL Championship Game. The Bears again captured the championship in a nail biter against the New York Giants, 23-21 as Red Grange made the game-winning tackle. In 1934, the Bears dominated the league and finished 13-0, but were denied perfection, losing 30-13 to the Giants in the NFL Championship, what became known as the "Sneakers Game."
The Bears would play in the Championship game two more times in the decade, losing both of them. In 1935 and 1936, the Bears remained somewhat competitive, but failed to qualify for the Championship Game. In 1937, the Bears made a return trip to the NFL Championship, but fell short as Sammy Baugh and the Redskins won, 28-21. In 1938, the Bears fell off the NFL map, with a record of 6-5. The Bears finished off the 1930s on a down note, losing twice to the Green Bay Packers in 1939.
During the late 1930's George Halas and University of Chicago football coach Clark Shaughnessy collaborated on a revolutionary approach to the offense and the quarterback position. The result was the T-formation offense and the first evolution of the modern quarterback. A complex scheme that required an athletic player with quick decision skills led Halas to recruit Columbia University quarterback Sid Luckman. He turned the position into an engine for a high powered and time-consuming scoring machine.
[edit] Dynasty: Monsters of the Midway
From 1940 to 1946, the Bears were considered a dynasty. In these years, the nickname Monsters of the Midway was first attributed to the Bears. In this span, the Bears went to 5 championships and won 4 of them. This is despite George Halas temporarily leaving the organization to serve in World War 2, from 1943 to 1945.
In the 1940 NFL Championship, Halas introduced his T-formation offense, with Sid Luckman at quarterback.<ref></ref> This formation shocked and confused the Redskins all day as the Bears won 73-0, an NFL record that stands to this day. The T-formation was soon widely copied at the college and pro levels.
In 1941, the Bears and Packers battled to a 10-1-0 tie for 1st place in the Western Division. Since the teams split their two regular season match-ups, which turned out to be each team's only loss of the season, a one-game playoff was set up. The Bears won 33-14, moving on to rout the Giants 37-9 in the NFL Championship.
In 1942, the Bears started the season off well before Halas departed for World War II. His handpicked successors Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos ran the team for the next three years until Halas returned. The Bears finished the regular season 11-0 and played the Redskins in the Championship game. The Redskins spoiled the Bears attempt at a perfect season; with a 14-6 upset preventing the Bears from three-peating. In the 1943 season, the Bears dominated the Western Division behind the quarterbacking of Luckman, who threw for 433 yards and seven TDs that season in a single game versus the New York Giants. In the Championship game, the Redskins were no challenge to the Bears as the crowd of 34,320 at Wrigley Field watched the Bears win 41-21 behind Sid Luckman's five TDs and Nagurski's final TD run.
The Bears' domination of the NFL took a slight fall in as the Bears posted a mediocre result in 1944 and a losing season in 1945. "Papa Bear" Halas made a return to the Bears in 1946. The Bears were able to find their old magic again, with many players returning from service in the war, finishing the regular season 8-2-1 to claim another Western Division title and a return trip to the Championship game. The Bears won their last Championship of the decade over the New York Giants, 24-14, before a then NFL Championship Game record crowd of 58,346 at the Polo Grounds in New York. This would be the Bears' last Championship for the next 16 years.