Glory Days I n the early years of the 20th century sports fans had little interest in pro football They preferred the college game where amateurs played for honor and glory A businessman named George Halas believed that watching professionals play football was far more entertaining In 1920 Halas convinced a group of business leaders to form a pro football league It later became the NFL Halas played for and coached a team called the Staleys in Decatur Illinois Other stars for Decatur included Dutch Sternaman and Jimmy Conzelman The Staleys eventually moved north to Chicago and changed their name to the Bears Halas became the owner of the team at this time He would later earn the nickname Papa Bear In 1925 Halas and the Bears made a splash when they signed Red Grange who was known across the nation as the Galloping 6
Ghost Grange thrilled fans with his long touchdown runs After Grange’s first season Halas took the Bears on a coast-to-coast tour Thousands and thousands of fans bought tickets to watch Grange play and pro football began to gain national popularity During the 1930s Halas built his team into a powerhouse The Bears won the NFL championship in 1932 and 1933 They also reached the title game in 1934 and 1937 Chicago’s best player was Bronko Nagurski an enormous runner who blasted through defenses He was joined by three talented linemen George Musso Danny Fortmann and Joe Stydahar and an end named Bill Hewitt Hewitt was one of the last NFL stars to play without a helmet The Bears were even better in the 1940s Quarterback Sid Luckman led a high-scoring offense that included lineman Bulldog Turner running back George McAfee and receiver Ken Kavanaugh The Bears played for the NFL championship every year from 1940 to 1943 and again in 1946 Chicago continued to win in the 1950s The team’s stars included Johnny Lujack George Connor Bill George Harlon Hill Stan Jones Doug Atkins Willie Galimore and Rick Casares LEFT George Halas diagrams a play for assistant Clark Shaughnessy during the 1950s ABOVE Red Grange was Chicago’s first superstar 7
Many of these players were still on the team in 1963 when Chicago won its eighth championship Later in the decade two of the NFL’s most remarkable stars played for the Bears Dick Butkus was the most feared tackler in football Gale Sayers had the best moves of any running back in the league They were joined by Mike Ditka the first tight end who was a great blocker and receiver Despite this trio’s contributions the Bears struggled to remain a title contender In the 1970s stars such as Bobby Douglass Richie Petitbon and Wally Chambers gave fans lots to cheer about but Chicago needed a new spark In 1982 Halas hired Ditka to coach the Bears Almost overnight Chicago began playing winning football again Ditka built his offense around Walter Payton a magnificent running back who combined speed and power in his own unique way For many seasons he was one of the few bright spots on the team By the 1980s Chicago had surrounded him with a lineup of talented players LEFT Walter Payton makes a move to avoid a tackler ABOVE Mike Ditka changed the position of tight end in the 1960s 9
