Despite only one winning one Super Bowl, the Chicago Bears as a franchise have actually won 9 league championships as a whole. Between 1921 and 1963, the franchise won the NFL Championship on eight separate occasions, well before the Super Bowl was created as the league’s biggest game on the year. Since 1971, the Chicago Bears have called Soldier Field home, and the franchise currently plays in the NFC North Division alongside three longtime rivals in the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions.
Here are five interesting facts about one of the premier NFL franchises in the Chicago Bears.
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- In 1921, George Halas paid $100 for the Chicago Bears. (source) The franchise was originally founded in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys. One year later, George Halas acquired the Chicago Bears from the Staley Starch Company for just $100 and relocated the team to Chicago, rebranding them as the Chicago Bears. George Halas would go on to become an eight-time NFL Champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer. When he passed away in 1983, his daughter Virginia Halas McCaskey assumed ownership of the franchise.
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- The 1985 Chicago Bears fielded one of the most dominant defenses of all-time. (source) Many football fans consider the 1985 Chicago Bears to have the greatest defense in the history of the National Football League. Chicago’s defense that season was so great that the unit as a whole led the league in yards allowed (4,135), takeaways (54) and total points allowed (198), a feat that wouldn’t happen again until the 2013 Seattle Seahawks defense dominated the league. That season, the Bears defense led Chicago to their sole Super Bowl win in franchise history, a 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX.
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- The largest margin of victory in Chicago Bears history was a 73-0 win over the Washington Redskins. (source) In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Chicago Bears absolutely dominated the Washington Redskins in a 73-0 rout. The game took place on December 8, 1940 at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. The Chicago Bears didn’t hold back on trying to run the score up, either. Chicago’s final score of the game came in the 4th quarter, as Harry Clark ran the ball in for a one yard score. Following the touchdown run, Chicago went for a 2 point conversion to try and make the score 75-0, but the pass attempt failed.
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- During the NFL’s first six seasons, the Bears had 34 shutout wins. (source) Winning in the National Football League is tough, and preventing the opposition from scoring is even tougher. The Bears were able to register 34 shutout victories in the first six seasons. In the first six games of the 1922 Chicago Bears season alone, the Bears shutout wins in four of the first six weeks of the season, with those shutout victories being against the Racine Legion, Rochester Jeffersons, Buffalo All-Americans, and Dayton Triangles.
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- Mike Ditka not only coached the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl win, but he won a Super Bowl as a player too. (source) Mike Ditka was the head coach of the famed 1985 Chicago Bears team, who won Super Bowl XX against the New England Patriots. However, Mike Ditka was a great player in the league at one point as well, spending time in his playing career with the Chicago Bears (1961-1966), Philadelphia Eagles (1967-1968) and Dallas Cowboys (1969-1972). As a member of the Dallas Cowboys, he was a tight end for the Super Bowl winning team when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24-3 on January 16, 1972 in Super Bowl VI.
The Chicago Bears are one of the oldest franchises not only in the National Football League, but all of sports. If you’re a fan and have more fun Chicago Bears facts to share, please drop them in the comments section below!
