The Chicago Bears American football franchise is a charter member of the National Football League (NFL), and has played in all of the league's 100 seasons. The team has captured nine NFL championships – eight NFL championships and one Super Bowl – second most all time behind the Green Bay Packers. The franchise has also recorded more victories than any other franchise (739), retired the most uniform numbers (14), and have the most members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (29). The Bears have played in over a thousand games since becoming a charter member of the NFL in 1920.
Early years: Formation of the league and Bear domination (1919–1946) The Decatur Staleys, the organization that eventually became the Chicago Bears, were originally founded as a works team of the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur, Illinois, in 1919; this was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The team played independently in 1919, winning the Central Illinois Championship. In 1920, the company hired former University of Illinois teammates George Halas and Edward "Dutch" Sternaman to run the team.
On September 17, 1920, 13 team representatives, including those representing Halas' team, met in Canton, Ohio, to create a new football league. In the interest of ticket sales and crowning a yearly champion, they decided to form the American Professional Football Association, which changed its name to National Football League (NFL) in 1922. On October 3, 1920, the Staleys played their first NFL game. Official team and league records cite Halas as the team's founder as he took over the team in 1920, when it became a charter member of the NFL.
1920–1921: The Decatur Staleys
Halas was among the driving forces of this meeting, which gave birth to what is now the NFL. In their first season as part of the APFA, the Staleys won 10 games, all by shutouts, but lost the first league championship to the Akron Pros, who finished the season unbeaten at 8–0–3. There was no official scheduling in the 1920 season, which accounted for the difference in the number of games played that season.
The Staleys and the Racine Cardinals split the 1920 series with the home team winning in each. In the Cardinals' 7–6 victory over the Staleys in their first meeting of the season, each team scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery, but the Staleys missed their extra point. The Staleys went on to a 10–1–2 record overall, 5–1–2 in league play. The 1920 Akron Pros were the first-ever league champions, finishing with an 8–0–3 record, 6–0–3 in league play, and ending their season in a scoreless tie against the Staleys. Because the Staleys had lost to the Cardinals earlier that year, the Pros could simply play the final game not to lose; they wisely did and became champions. The Staleys' loss to the Cardinals began a long-standing rivalry between the franchises. Had the Staleys won, there would have been a three-way tie among the Staleys, the Buffalo All-Americans (9–1–1 in 1920, 4–1–1 in league play) and the Pros, each team having one loss. Each team likely would have played more games (as it was allowed under the rules in those days) to allow teams to settle parity at the top of the standings.
1921–1929: First years in Chicago and the rise of the Bears
Although the Staleys made a good account of themselves on the field, they struggled off of it. The team played their home games at Staley Field, which only seated 1,500 people, incredibly small even by early professional football standards. Additionally, Staley employees received a 50 percent discount on tickets, further hobbling the company's bottom line.