Chicago Bears are a professional football team that plays in the National Football League (NFL). The Bears compete in the North Division of the National Football Conference. The team plays its home games at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The Bears are one of the oldest franchises in professional football. The team originated in 1920 in Decatur, Illinois, as the Decatur Staleys. The team was named after A. E. Staley, the owner of a starch factory that sponsored the team. The first coach was George Halas, who worked in the factory. Halas coached the Bears for most of the period from 1920 to 1967.
The Decatur Staleys played in the American Professional Football Association (APFA) for one season. In 1921, the team moved to Chicago. It was renamed the Bears in 1922. That same year, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League.
In 1921, the Chicago Staleys won the NFL championship. The Chicago Bears won NFL championships in 1932, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946, and 1963. The 1940 team defeated the Washington Redskins (now called the Washington Commanders) in the championship game 73-0, the most one-sided game in NFL history. The Bears’ 73 points are the most points that any team has ever scored in an official NFL game. The 1985 team had one of the greatest defenses in NFL history. The Bears finished that regular season with 15 wins and 1 loss and won Super Bowl XX by a score of 46-10.
Chicago Bears legends have included linebacker Dick Butkus (1965-1973); tight end Mike Ditka (1961-1966 and Bears head coach 1982-1992); running back Red Grange (1925 and 1929-1934); fullback, linebacker, and tackle Bronko Nagurski (1930-1937 and 1943); running back Walter Payton (1975-1987); running back Gale Sayers (1965-1971); and linebacker Mike Singletary (1981-1992). Recent stars have included linebacker Lance Briggs, running back Matt Forte, kick and punt returner Devin Hester, linebacker Khalil Mack, and linebacker Brian Urlacher.
