Decatur Staleys

This page is for the years 1919-1921, before they were known as Chicago Bears. The Decatur Staleys were an early NFL team, that is still around today known as the Chicago Bears. The team was founded in 1919 by the A.E. Staley Company. This was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The company hired George Halas and Edward "Dutch" Sternaman in 1920 to run the team, and turned over full control of the team to them in 1921.

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.

Decatur Staleys
George Halas, then the player-coach of A.E. Staley's Decatur Staleys, 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 Association, 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 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 TD on a fumble recovery, with the Staleys failing their XP try. George Halas' 1920 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; they finished with an 8–0–3 record, 6–0–3 in league play, ending their season in a 0–0 tie against the Decatur Staleys. Because the Staleys had lost to the Racine (Chi) 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.

Chicago Staleys
The Staleys moved to Chicago from Decatur, Illinois in 1921. Halas, who was given the team and $5000 by Staley to keep the name Staleys for another year, made the move. In the 1921 season, the Chicago Staleys finished first in the league and captured their first league championship.