Читать книгу The 50 Greatest Players in Chicago Bears History - Robert W. Cohen - Страница 7

One of only two charter members of the National Football League still in existence, the Chicago Bears have their roots in Decatur, Illinois, where they spent the 1920 season competing in the newly formed American Professional Football Association (APFA) as the Decatur Staleys after the league office granted team representatives a franchise in exchange for the standard entry fee of $100 on September 17, 1920. Named after their sponsor, the Staley Starch Company, the Staleys excelled under the leadership of player-coaches George Halas and Edward “Dutch” Sternaman in the league’s inaugural season, compiling a record of 10-1-2 that earned them a second-place finish in the 14-team circuit. After acquiring full control of the team in 1921, Halas moved the Staleys to Chicago, where he guided them to a mark of 9-1-1 and their first league championship. With the APFA renaming itself the National Football League prior to the start of the 1922 campaign, Halas similarly chose to change the name of his team to the Bears, in deference to the more established Chicago Cubs, whose home ballpark, Wrigley Field, served as the venue for Bears home games for the next half-century.

Remaining competitive from 1922 to 1924, the Bears posted the NFL’s second-best record in each of those three seasons, compiling an overall mark of 24-6-5. Yet, despite the success they experienced on the playing field, the Bears found themselves plagued by the same financial difficulties that afflicted the rest of the teams in the infant league, prompting Halas to sign star University of Illinois running back Red Grange to a unique contract in which the latter agreed to participate in a 19-game barnstorming tour in exchange for the then-exorbitant fee of $3,000 per game, plus a share of the gate receipts. Halas’s brilliant idea proved to be a boon to the league, with Grange’s presence altering the mindset of many Americans, who previously took an extremely dim view of professional football. Boosting the prospects of many debt-ridden teams, Chicago’s 1925 tour likely saved several NFL franchises, including the New York Giants, who benefited greatly from Grange’s appearance at the Polo Grounds.

Halas retained his duties as player-coach until 1929, when he retired as an active player and replaced himself at the helm with former Lake Forest Academy head coach Ralph Jones, who guided the Bears to their second NFL championship in 1932, when, after finishing tied for the league’s best record during the regular season, they defeated the Portsmouth Spartans by a score of 9–0 in an “unofficial” championship playoff game. However, with every NFL team struggling to make ends meet during the Great Depression, Halas returned to the sidelines for a second tour of duty in 1933, after which he led the Bears to five Western Division titles and three league championships over the course of the next nine seasons.

With the NFL having adopted a new two-division setup in 1933, the Bears posted a regular-season record of 10-2-1 that earned them their first Western Division title. They then laid claim to their third league championship by defeating the Giants by a score of 23–21 in the NFL championship game. The Bears followed that up by going a perfect 13-0-0 during the 1934 regular season, outscoring their opponents by a combined margin of 286–86 along the way. But the Giants exacted a measure of revenge against them in the NFL title game, recording a 30–13 victory in what became known as the “Sneakers Game.” After a two-year hiatus, the Bears made another championship game appearance in 1937, only to lose to the Washington Redskins by a score of 28–21. However, they avenged that loss in 1940, defeating the Redskins by a score of 73–0, in what remains the most lopsided playoff game in NFL history. The Bears repeated as NFL champions in 1941, claiming the Western Division title with a 33–14 victory over the Green Bay Packers in a one-game playoff, before defeating the Giants by a score of 37–9 in the league championship game.

Remaining one of the NFL’s elite teams after Halas entered the military to serve his country during World War II, the Bears captured the Western Division title in both 1942 and 1943, with Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos sharing coaching duties. After losing to Washington by a score of 14–6 in the 1942 NFL title tilt, the Bears claimed their sixth league championship with a 41–21 victory over the Redskins the following year.

Clearly establishing themselves as the NFL’s dominant team from 1932 to 1943, the Bears became known for their powerful running game that featured the league’s most physically intimidating player, fullback Bronko Nagurski, whose aggressive style of play came to epitomize the Bears of that era. Also known for their ferocious defense and exceptional line play on both sides of the ball, the Bears acquired the nickname “Monsters of the Midway” for the havoc they wreaked on opposing teams during the 1930s and 1940s. On offense, the Bears featured Nagurski, quarterback Sid Luckman, end Bill Hewitt, and standout linemen Dan Fortmann, Joe Stydahar, and George Musso. All six men also starred on defense, with Nagurski excelling at linebacker, Hewitt at end, Luckman in the secondary, and Fortmann, Stydahar, and Musso on the line.

Making a successful return to the coaching ranks in 1946, George Halas guided the Bears to a regular season record of 8-2-1 and their seventh league championship, which they captured with a 24–14 victory over the Giants in the NFL title game. Halas remained at the helm for another nine years, leading the Bears to an overall record of 67-40-1 during that time, although they failed to make another playoff appearance. Standout performers for the team during Halas’s third term as head coach included center/linebacker Clyde “Bulldog” Turner, offensive tackle/linebacker George Connor, defensive end Ed Sprinkle, and wide receivers Ken Kavanaugh and Harlon Hill.

The Bears posted a regular season record of 9-2-1 under new head coach Paddy Driscoll in 1956, earning in the process their first division title in 10 years. However, they subsequently suffered an embarrassing 47–7 defeat at the hands of the Giants in the NFL championship game, before going just 5-7 the following year. Dissatisfied with his team’s performance, Halas returned to the sidelines in 1958, remaining there for the next 10 seasons before retiring from coaching for good at the end of 1967. Although the Bears advanced to the playoffs just once during Halas’s final tour of duty as head coach, they made that postseason appearance a memorable one, winning their eighth NFL title by recording a 14–10 victory over the Giants in the 1963 league championship game, with their exceptional defense, which featured lineman Doug Atkins, safeties Richie Petitbon and Rosey Taylor, and linebackers Bill George, Joe Fortunato, and Larry Morris, rekindling memories of the “Monsters of the Midway.”

The Bears subsequently entered into an extended period of mediocrity, posting a winning record just four times between 1964 and 1983. Particularly inept from 1966 to 1976, the Bears compiled an overall mark of just 54-96-4 over the course of those 11 seasons, as Halas (1966–1967), Jim Dooley (1968–1971), Abe Gibron (1972–1974), and Jack Pardee (1975–1977) all took turns coaching the team. Yet, despite their lack of success, the Bears fielded some of the league’s most talented players during those lean years, with tight end Mike Ditka, halfback Gale Sayers, line-backer Dick Butkus, and defensive back Gary Fencik all earning numerous individual accolades. Meanwhile, Walter Payton established himself as the NFL’s premier running back, ending his career as the league’s all-time leading rusher.

With the Bears in the middle of the darkest period in franchise history, they elected to change home venues in 1971, leaving Wrigley Field for the friendly confines of Soldier Field, a historic stadium built in the 1920s as a memorial for World War I veterans that has hosted many memorable sporting events through the years, including the 1927 heavyweight boxing championship rematch between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney. Located on Lake Shore Drive, on the Near South Side of Chicago, next to Lake Michigan, Soldier Field has now served as home to the Bears for nearly half a century.

After Jack Pardee left the Bears to coach the Washington Redskins following the conclusion of the 1977 campaign, former Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Neill Armstrong replaced him at the helm for the next four seasons, leading the team to an overall record of just 30-34. Things finally began to turn around, though, shortly after George Halas replaced Armstrong with Mike Ditka at the end of 1981. Ditka, whose gritty personality had earned him the nickname “Iron Mike” during his earlier six-year stay in Chicago, proved to be just what the Bears needed, with his toughness, determination, and single-mindedness helping to alter the team’s losing mindset. Before long, the Bears emerged as an NFL powerhouse, capturing five straight NFC Central Division titles from 1984 to 1988, appearing in three conference championship games, and winning their ninth NFL championship with a resounding 46–10 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX.

Although those Bear squads featured Walter Payton and arguably the NFL’s best group of linemen on offense, the key to their success proved to be their overwhelming “46” defense, which they used to batter their opponents into submission. Devised by legendary defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, Chicago’s scheme on that side of the ball emphasized putting an inordinate amount of pressure on opposing quarterbacks, which expert defenders such as Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Steve McMichael, Mike Singletary, Otis Wilson, and Wilber Marshall did an exceptional job of. Particularly dominant in 1985 and 1986, Chicago’s defense surrendered only 198 points to the opposition in the first of those campaigns, before allowing just 187 points the following year. And, en route to winning the NFL championship in 1985, the Bears allowed a total of only 10 points during the postseason, shutting out both the New York Giants and the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC playoffs.

Sadly, George Halas did not live to witness his beloved team’s return to glory. After spending the previous 15 seasons serving the Bears exclusively as owner and front office executive, the man affectionately known as “Papa Bear” died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 88, on October 1, 1983. Almost all the success the Bears experienced between 1920 and 1983 can be attributed to Halas, who, in addition to owning, coaching, and playing for the team, fulfilled several other roles at various times, including serving as traveling secretary and head of public relations. Generally considered to be the “father of professional football,” Halas retired in 1967 with a total of 324 coaching victories that stood as the NFL record until Don Shula finally surpassed it in 1994.

Following Halas’s passing, his oldest daughter, Virginia McCaskey, became principal owner of the Bears, with her husband, Ed McCaskey, succeeding Halas as the chairman of the board. Mrs. McCaskey later replaced her husband with her son, Michael, who remained chairman of the board until 2010, when his brother, George, assumed that position. Meanwhile, Mrs. McCaskey, who is 97 years old as of this writing, continues to hold the honorary title of “secretary of the board of directors.”

Mike Ditka led the Bears to two more playoff appearances between 1989 and 1992, before being relieved of his duties after the team finished just 5-11 in the last of those campaigns. Former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt succeeded Ditka as head coach, achieving very little success over the course of the next six seasons, with the Bears compiling an overall record of 40-56 and making the playoffs just once. Team ownership then turned to onetime NFL defensive back and former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Dick Jauron, who guided the Bears to just one winning season between 1999 and 2003, although they managed to capture the division title in 2001 by going 13-3 during the regular season, before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 33–19 in the divisional round of the postseason tournament.

The Bears finally began to perform at a consistently higher level after longtime college and NFL assistant coach Lovie Smith assumed head coaching duties in 2004, winning three division titles and one NFC championship under his leadership from 2004 to 2012. Particularly impressive in 2006, the Bears outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 427– 255, en route to compiling a regular-season record of 13-3 that represented the best mark in the NFC. They then earned a hard-fought 27–24 overtime victory over the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the postseason tournament, before winning the NFC title by defeating the New Orleans Saints by a score of 39–14 in the conference championship game. However, they came up short against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI, suffering a 29–17 defeat at the hands of their AFC counterparts. Although the Bears remained extremely competitive under Smith the next six years, posting a winning record three times and capturing another division title in 2010, team ownership ultimately decided to go in a different direction, replacing their longtime head coach with Marc Trestman, who had spent nearly three decades coaching quarterbacks, running backs, and offense at both the collegiate and professional levels. Smith left behind him a legacy that included overseeing the development of outstanding players such as linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, running back Matt Forte, cornerback Charles Tillman, and wide receiver/ return man Devin Hester.

Trestman ended up lasting just two seasons in Chicago, leading the Bears to an overall record of 13-19 from 2013 to 2014, before being replaced by former Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos head coach John Fox. The Bears performed no better under Fox the next three seasons, compiling a composite mark of 14-34. A 5-11 finish in 2017 sealed Fox’s fate, prompting management to replace him with Matt Nagy, who had spent the previous two seasons serving as offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs. Experiencing a resurgence under Nagy in 2018, the Bears claimed their first division title in eight years by finishing the regular season with a mark of 12-4. However, they exited the playoffs quickly, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild card round of the postseason tournament by a score of 16–15 on a last-minute touchdown pass from Nick Foles to Golden Tate. Perhaps still suffering from the after-effects of their unexpected playoff loss, the Bears performed erratically in 2019, concluding the campaign with a record of just 8-8.

Nevertheless, with a strong defense anchored by All-Pro linebacker Khalil Mack, the Bears figure to be perennial contenders in the NFC North Division for the foreseeable future. Their next division title will be their 23rd. They have also won two NFC titles, nine NFL championships, and one Super Bowl, with their nine league championships placing them second only to the Green Bay Packers (13). The Bears have also recorded more victories than any other NFL franchise. Featuring a plethora of exceptional performers through the years, the Bears have retired the numbers of 14 former players. Meanwhile, 33 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame spent at least one full season with Chicago, with 27 of those men wearing a Bears uniform during many of their peak seasons.