NFL Team History- the Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears franchise, originally known as the Decatur Staleys, was established by George Halas in 1920. Halas was not only the owner of the team, he also served as the head coach.

The Staleys franchise enjoyed instantaneous success as they completed their introductory season with a record of 10 wins, 1 loss, and 2 ties. In 1921, the Staleys won the championship.

The Decatur Staleys would later become known as Chicago Staleys before adopting the Chicago Bears identity on January 28th, 1922.

After struggling throughout the 1929 season, George Halas replaced himself with Ralph Wilson as head coach. Two years later, the Chicago Bears shutout the Portsmouth Spartans at Chicago Stadium en route to what was considered the National Football League Championship Game. This was the first American football game played indoors at Chicago Stadium.

The Bears became the ascendant team in the NFL after winning sixteen consecutive games. The extensive winning streak ended when the Boston Redskins shutout the Bears 10-0.

The Bears continued to materialize at one of the NFL's most revered organizations after they won the NFL Championship in 1933 by defeating the New York Giants 23-21. They nearly completed an undefeated season in 1934. They would face their first disappointment of the season by losing to their long-time foes, the New York Giants, at Polo Grounds in the NFL Championship Game. The final score was 30-13.

The Bears hosted the Redskins at Wrigley Field for the 1937 NFL Championship Game, only to fall short 28-21.

Under the leadership of star quarterback Sid Luckman, the Bears would return to the NFL Championship Game in 1940. In front of an audience of 36,034, the Bears demoralized the Washington Redskins by an astounding score of 73-0 in Washington, D.C.

In 1942, Chicago Bears owner and founder George Halas joined the United State Navy. In spite of the absent owner, the Bears played in yet another NFL Championship Game. However, it was payback time as the Washington Redskins controlled the Bears offense and defeated them by a score of 14-6.