2004 Chicago Bears

After a so-so season in 2003, the Chicago Bears cleaned house, leaving only Rex Grossman as a returning quarterback. Now that they are once again playing at Soldier Field in Chicago, the Bears still provide one of the most exciting NFL shows available. You can be part of watching the Bears progress in their rebuilding plans if you get your tickets soon.

Chicago has collected nine NFL titles and ranks behind only the Green Bay Packers in overall league crowns. The Bears were the NFL's most dominant team during the 1930s and 1940s, earning six league titles. George Halas, a cofounder of the NFL, collected 324 career victories during his 30 seasons as Chicago's head coach. He coached many future Hall of Fame members, including quarterback Sid Luckman and running backs Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski. Chicago made eight trips to the playoffs from 1984 to 1994 and won the Super Bowl in 1986. Running back Walter Payton, the NFL's all-time leading rusher with 16,726 yards, produced ten 1,000-yard seasons in these 11 years.

The Bears franchise was founded as the Decatur Staleys in 1920 by A. E. Staley of the Staley Starch Company. He hired George Halas to organize, coach, and play on the team. On September 17, 1920, Halas and representatives from 11 other teams met in Canton, Ohio, and organized the American Professional Football Association -- the precursor to the NFL. Halas assumed ownership of the team in 1921 with his co-head coach, Dutch Sternaman. They moved the team to Chicago's Cubs Park (renamed Wrigley Field in 1926). The club won the new league's first title in 1921, and a year later Halas and Sternaman renamed the team the Bears.

A new era began in 1930 when another star running back, Bronko Nagurski, joined the team. Chicago earned back-to-back NFL titles in 1932 and 1933. Under Halas, the team strung together an NFL-record 18 consecutive victories from 1933 through 1934. The Bears went undefeated in the 1934 regular season as rookie running back Beattie Feathers became the first player ever to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single season. After holding all 13 regular-season opponents to 16 or fewer points, the Bears fell to the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game, 30-13.

From 1939 to 1950 quarterback Sid Luckman directed Chicago to four league crowns. The Bears defeated the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins twice each in championship games. In 1940 the Bears' new T-formation offense, which depended on the quarterback to call plays and distribute the ball with passes, pitches, and options, demolished Washington 73-0 in what remains the most lopsided championship victory in NFL history. In 1942 Chicago compiled its second undefeated season.

The 1963 Bears posted a 9-3 win-loss record and defeated the New York Giants 14-10 for the NFL title. On offense, Mike Ditka revolutionized the tight end position, becoming one of the league's best pass receivers.

Ditka returned to the club as head coach in 1982 and drove the Bears to six Central Division titles from 1984 to 1990. In 1985 the team achieved a 15-1 win-loss record, shut out the Giants and the Los Angeles Rams (now St. Louis Rams) in the playoffs, and defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX, 46-10.