page_title: History of the Chicago Bears
section_title: First years in Chicago
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Chicago Bears / Early years: The formation of the league and Bear domination (1920–1946) / First years in Chicago
caption_attribution_description: English: George Halas as player-coach of the Chicago Bears during the 1922 season.
context_page_description: The Chicago Bears American football franchise is a charter member of the National Football League and have played in all of the league's 100 seasons. The Bears have 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 with 739, retired the most uniform numbers with 14, and have the most members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with 27.
  The club has played in over a thousand games since becoming a charter member of the NFL in 1920 through the 2019 season.
context_section_description: 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.
  In 1922, Halas changed the team name to the Bears to reflect baseball's Chicago Cubs, the team's host at Wrigley Field. Over the next few years, the Bears were ranked among the elite teams in the NFL, but could never capture an NFL Championship because the league did not have a playoff system. Instead it had a somewhat controversial scheduling formula, which led to uneven standings and controversial champions. The highlight of the decade was George Halas's unprecedented move to sign Red Grange for $100,000 in 1925. In 1925, professional football was viewed negatively by Americans, as most Americans loved college football which they saw as a pure sport. Halas, though, took the Bears on a 17-game road trip across America to highlight Grange. The tour began on Thanksgiving at Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cardinals held the Galloping Ghost to just 36 yards in his professional debut, the city rivals battling to a 0–0 tie. However, during the tour that continued through January 31, the Bears posted an impressive 11–4–2 record.
  This road trip impressed many Americans, boosting the prospects of many debt-ridden teams such as the New York Giants. Grange left the Bears after a contract dispute in 1926 and moved to establish his own league, the first incarnation of the American Football League. That league folded after one season and Grange's New York Yankees were admitted into the NFL. Grange injured his knee in his first game against the Bears in 1927 and was forced to sit out the 1928 season. He returned to Chicago in 1929, but the Bears ended the decade with a losing season as Halas retired as player and coach of the Bears and appointed Ralph Jones as his successor.
caption: George Halas as player-coach of the Chicago Bears during the 1922 season.
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