Decatur Staleys

The Chicago Bears American football franchise is a charter member of the National Football League (NFL) and have played in all of the league's 97 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 fourteen, and have the most members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with twenty-seven.

The club has played in over a thousand games since becoming a charter member of the NFL in 1920. Through the 2012 season, they lead the NFL in overall franchise wins with 739 and have an overall record of 739–544–42 (going 722–526–42 during the regular season and 17–18 in the playoffs).

The organization that eventually became the Chicago Bears, the Decatur Staleys, was originally conceived by the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur, Illinois, in 1919 as a company team. 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. However, official team and league records cite Halas as the founder as he took over the team in 1920 when it became a charter member of the NFL.

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. On October 3, 1920, the Staleys played their first NFL game.

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