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Chicago Bears |
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On September 20, 1920, in the showroom of Ralph Hay's Hupmobile auto agency in Canton, OH. was the beginning. On that day, representatives of fourteen professional football teams sat on the running boards of cars to form what is now the National Football League. George Halas, an outstanding End that played his college ball at the University of Illinois, represented his team, the Decatur Staleys. Halas spent an enormous amount of time personally scouting players, as well as playing for his team. Often times, he declared that he "just had to have" certain players he saw play in college. First, Halas signed Harold "Red" Grange, an outstanding running back from the U of I, to an unheard of salary of $100,000. In 1925-26, Grange and the Bears went on a "Barnstorming" tour, during which they played 19 games with only a week of rest. Historians have concluded that this tour is what "made" pro football. Later, Halas would acquire other players such as Bronco Nagurski and Sid Luckman, who took Chicago to titles in '32, '33, '40, '41 & '46. During the 1940's, the Bears Fight Song was written, and the team revolutionized football with the T-Formation. The 1950's Bears featured many brawling players such as Ed "The Claw" Sprinkle, Bill George, George Connor, and Harlon Hill, but won no championships. Finally in 1963, the Bears won their first NFL Championship since 1946 over the New York Giants at Wrigley Field. That '63 team DEFEATED THE GREEN BAY PACKERS TWICE, featuring a brusing defense along with a steady offense. Unfortunately after '63, it was a long downhill slide, as the Bears didn't make the playoffs again until 1977. One could only expect that the decade of the 1970's would be dismal after witnessing its first event. After finishing 1969 with a 1-13 record, the Bears flipped a coin with the Pittsburgh Steelers to determine who would get the first pick in the 1970 draft. Pittsburgh won, and drafted Hall-of-Fame Quarterback Terry Bradshaw. The Bears sent their pick to Green Bay for a bunch of washed-up veterans, and the decade was history. Worse, Chicago running back Brian Piccolo succumbed to cancer at the age of 26 in June of that year, which would lead to the movie Brian's Song, forever cementing Piccolo and the Bears in millions of minds across the globe. The Bears made the playoffs and exited after one game in 1977 and 1979, but didn't make a serious run until 1984 under former player/Head Coach Mike Ditka. In 1985, the Bears took the world by storm as they won their first championship since '63, cutting a music video along the way. Despite having the pure talent to win many more championships, the team never went back to the Super Bowl, and by 1992, the core of Super Bowl Bears had run their NFL course. Mike Ditka was fired, and Dave Wannstedt hired by Team President Michael McCaskey. Wannstedt took the team back to the playoffs in 1994, but went 24-40 in his next four years, and was dismissed in 1998. Dick Jauron became the 12th Head Coach in Bears history on January 24, 1999. After two forgettable seasons, Jauron shepharded the Bears to a magical 13-3 record and home playoff game in 2001. We now await to see if Jauron returns, or is a political catastrophe. Thus the future mimics Chicago Bears history
From the start, the Bears were one of pro football's most successful and innovative franchises. They were the first to buy a player from another team—in 1922, they bought Ed Healey from Rock Island for $100. In 1925, the Bears signed the fabled collegiate all-America, Red Grange, and showcased him before the first huge pro football crowds. In 1932, they defeated the Portsmouth Spartans 9-0 to win the championship in the NFL's first indoor game. The next year, they won the first NFL championship by defeating the New York Giants, 23-21. The Bears kicked off the 1940's with four straight NFL championship appearances. They won three, including the famous 73-0 annihilation of the Washington Redskins in 1940. Despite winning nearly 60% of their games in the 1950's, the Bears did not win an NFL title and made only one playoff appearance. In 1963, they broke their 17-year title drought by beating the New York Giants, 14-10. Almost all of the Bears' successes on and off the field between 1920 and 1983 are attributable to one man: George (Papa Bear) Halas. For 64 years, he served the Bears as owner, player, coach, general manager, traveling secretary . . . virtually capacity imaginable. When he retired after the 1967 season, Halas ranked as the NFL's all-time leader in coaching victories with 324, a record that stood for 27 years. Papa Bear died on October 31, 1983, but the Bears tradition is carried on today by his grandson, Michael McCaskey, who serves as club president and chief executive officer. In its first 74 years, the Bears compiled a 586-384-42 overall record. They qualified for the playoffs 21 times, won 19 division titles, eight NFL championships and one Super Bowl (XX). There are also 24 former Bears in the Hall of Fame, including Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski, Sid Luckman, Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, Walter Payton, Bulldog Turner, Danny Fortmann and George Halas—legends not only of the Bears but of pro football itself.
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