Decatur Staleys Team History

Originally named the Decatur Staleys, the club was established 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. The 1920 Decatur Staleys season was their inaugural regular season completed in the newly formed American Professional Football Association. Full control of the team was turned over to Halas and Sternaman in 1921. 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.

Established
1920

City
Decatur – Chicago

League History
1920 – Present / National Football League

Team History
1922 – Present / Chicago Bears
1921 / Chicago Staleys
1920 / Decatur Staleys

Nickname
Staleys – The club was established by the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur, Illinois in 1919 as a company team.

Championship
Super Bowl 0
1986
NFL Championships 0
1963, 1946, 1943, 1941, 1940, 1933
NFL Standings Champion 0
1921

Stadium
2003 – Present / Soldier Field II

*Champaign*
2002 / Memorial Stadium

*Chicago*
1971 – 2001 / Soldier Field I
1921 – 1970 / Wrigley Field

*Decatur*
1919 – 1920 / Staley Field

Owner
1983 – Present / Virginia Halas McCaskey
1933 – 1983 / George Halas
1921 – 1933 / George Halas and Dutch Sternaman
1919 – 1921 / A. E. Staley

Retired Number
3 / Bronko Nagurski
5 / George McAfee
7 / George Halas
28 / Willie Galimore
34 / Walter Payton
40 / Gale Sayers
41 / Brian Piccolo
42 / Sid Luckman
51 / Dick Butkus
56 / Bill Hewitt
61 / Bill George
66 / Clyde “Bulldog” Turner
77 / Harold “Red” Grange
89 / Mike Ditka

*Blue is this team’s history