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History of the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears American football franchise is a charter member of the National Football League (NFL), and has played in all of the league's 100 seasons. The team has 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 than any other franchise (739), retired the most uniform numbers (14), and have the most members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (29). The Bears have played in over a thousand games since becoming a charter member of the NFL in 1920.
The Decatur Staleys, the organization that eventually became the Chicago Bears, were originally founded as a works team of the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur, Illinois, in 1919; this was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The team played independently in 1919, winning the Central Illinois Championship. In 1920, the company hired former University of Illinois teammates George Halas and Edward "Dutch" Sternaman to run the team.
On September 17, 1920, 13 team representatives, including those representing Halas' team, met in Canton, 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, which changed its name to National Football League (NFL) in 1922. On October 3, 1920, the Staleys played their first NFL game. Official team and league records cite Halas as the team's founder as he took over the team in 1920, when it became a charter member of the NFL.
Halas was among the driving forces of this meeting, which gave birth to what is now the NFL. In their first season as part of the APFA, 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.
The Staleys and the Racine 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 touchdown on a fumble recovery, but the Staleys missed their extra point. The 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, finishing with an 8–0–3 record, 6–0–3 in league play, and ending their season in a scoreless tie against the Staleys. Because the Staleys had lost to the Cardinals earlier that year, the Pros could simply play the final game not to lose; they wisely did and became champions. The Staleys' loss to the Cardinals began a long-standing rivalry between the franchises. Had the Staleys won, there would have been a three-way tie among the Staleys, the Buffalo All-Americans (9–1–1 in 1920, 4–1–1 in league play) and the Pros, each team having one loss. 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.
Although the Staleys made a good account of themselves on the field, they struggled off of it. The team played their home games at Staley Field, which only seated 1,500 people, incredibly small even by early professional football standards. Additionally, Staley employees received a 50 percent discount on tickets, further hobbling the company's bottom line.
The financial troubles did not dissuade Halas from improving the team. By the time the team took the field for the 1921 season, Halas had almost completely jettisoned the Staleys' works team roots. All but two local men and one Staley employee were gone from the roster and replaced with former college players. After the team opened the season with a home victory over the Rock Island Independents, company founder and namesake Gene Staley made Halas a lucrative offer. He was going to have to lay off the players he had just hired due to a recession, but was willing to turn the team over to Halas. Remembering that the team had attracted its biggest home game crowds of the 1920 season by moving two games to the city, Staley advanced Halas $5,000 (about $76,423) to move the team to Chicago, provided that he keep the Staleys name for the remainder of the 1921 season. Halas then took Sternaman on as a full partner. Taking advantage of his good relationship with Chicago Cubs owner William Wrigley Jr. and president Bill Veeck Sr., Halas quickly secured a lease at Cubs Park, soon to be known as Wrigley Field. The Chicago Staleys stormed through the rest of the season, finishing 10–1–1 with their first league championship.
In 1922, when the agreement to keep the Staleys name lapsed, Halas decided to choose a new name for his team. He considered calling it the Cubs as a nod to how the baseball Cubs had helped him get settled in Chicago, but ultimately decided on the Chicago Bears. In his biography, Halas recalled that he wanted a tie-in to the Cubs, but reasoned that since football players were far bigger than baseball players, "if baseball players are cubs, then football players must be bears!" Over the next few years, the Bears were ranked among the elite teams in the NFL, but could never capture a championship title since the league did not have a playoff system; instead, it had a somewhat controversial scheduling formula that led to uneven standings and contentious champions.[1]
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History of the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears American football franchise is a charter member of the National Football League (NFL), and has played in all of the league's 100 seasons. The team has 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 than any other franchise (739), retired the most uniform numbers (14), and have the most members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (29). The Bears have played in over a thousand games since becoming a charter member of the NFL in 1920.
The Decatur Staleys, the organization that eventually became the Chicago Bears, were originally founded as a works team of the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur, Illinois, in 1919; this was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The team played independently in 1919, winning the Central Illinois Championship. In 1920, the company hired former University of Illinois teammates George Halas and Edward "Dutch" Sternaman to run the team.
On September 17, 1920, 13 team representatives, including those representing Halas' team, met in Canton, 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, which changed its name to National Football League (NFL) in 1922. On October 3, 1920, the Staleys played their first NFL game. Official team and league records cite Halas as the team's founder as he took over the team in 1920, when it became a charter member of the NFL.
Halas was among the driving forces of this meeting, which gave birth to what is now the NFL. In their first season as part of the APFA, 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.
The Staleys and the Racine 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 touchdown on a fumble recovery, but the Staleys missed their extra point. The 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, finishing with an 8–0–3 record, 6–0–3 in league play, and ending their season in a scoreless tie against the Staleys. Because the Staleys had lost to the Cardinals earlier that year, the Pros could simply play the final game not to lose; they wisely did and became champions. The Staleys' loss to the Cardinals began a long-standing rivalry between the franchises. Had the Staleys won, there would have been a three-way tie among the Staleys, the Buffalo All-Americans (9–1–1 in 1920, 4–1–1 in league play) and the Pros, each team having one loss. 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.
Although the Staleys made a good account of themselves on the field, they struggled off of it. The team played their home games at Staley Field, which only seated 1,500 people, incredibly small even by early professional football standards. Additionally, Staley employees received a 50 percent discount on tickets, further hobbling the company's bottom line.
The financial troubles did not dissuade Halas from improving the team. By the time the team took the field for the 1921 season, Halas had almost completely jettisoned the Staleys' works team roots. All but two local men and one Staley employee were gone from the roster and replaced with former college players. After the team opened the season with a home victory over the Rock Island Independents, company founder and namesake Gene Staley made Halas a lucrative offer. He was going to have to lay off the players he had just hired due to a recession, but was willing to turn the team over to Halas. Remembering that the team had attracted its biggest home game crowds of the 1920 season by moving two games to the city, Staley advanced Halas $5,000 (about $76,423) to move the team to Chicago, provided that he keep the Staleys name for the remainder of the 1921 season. Halas then took Sternaman on as a full partner. Taking advantage of his good relationship with Chicago Cubs owner William Wrigley Jr. and president Bill Veeck Sr., Halas quickly secured a lease at Cubs Park, soon to be known as Wrigley Field. The Chicago Staleys stormed through the rest of the season, finishing 10–1–1 with their first league championship.
In 1922, when the agreement to keep the Staleys name lapsed, Halas decided to choose a new name for his team. He considered calling it the Cubs as a nod to how the baseball Cubs had helped him get settled in Chicago, but ultimately decided on the Chicago Bears. In his biography, Halas recalled that he wanted a tie-in to the Cubs, but reasoned that since football players were far bigger than baseball players, "if baseball players are cubs, then football players must be bears!" Over the next few years, the Bears were ranked among the elite teams in the NFL, but could never capture a championship title since the league did not have a playoff system; instead, it had a somewhat controversial scheduling formula that led to uneven standings and contentious champions.[1]