The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl, and hold the NFL record for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the most retired jersey numbers. The Bears have also recorded more victories than any other NFL franchise.
Michael Keller Ditka is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year in 1961, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and a six-time All-Pro tight end with the National Football League's Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys.
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football. He served as the head football coach at the International YMCA Training School (1890–1891), the University of Chicago (1892–1932), and the College of the Pacific (1933–1946), compiling a career college football record of 314–199–35 (.605). His undefeated Chicago Maroons teams of 1905 and 1913 have been recognized as national champions. He compiled the most wins of any college football coach until surpassed by Paul "Bear" Bryant in 1982. He was also the head basketball coach for one season at Chicago (1920–1921), and the Maroons' head baseball coach for nineteen seasons.
George Stanley Halas Sr., nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was an American professional football player, coach, and team owner. He was the founder and owner of the National Football League's Chicago Bears, and served as his own head coach on four occasions. He was also lesser-known as a Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees.
Richard Marvin Butkus is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, and actor. He played football as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1965 to 1973. Through those nine seasons he was invited to eight Pro Bowls, named a first-team All-Pro six times, and was twice recognized by his peers as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year. Renowned as a fierce tackler and for the relentless effort with which he played, Butkus is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most intimidating linebackers in pro football history.
Louis Brian Piccolo was an American professional football player, a running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) for four years. He died at age 26 from embryonal cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of germ cell testicular cancer, first diagnosed after it had spread to his chest cavity.
Gale Eugene Sayers was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Sayers spent seven seasons with the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1971, though multiple injuries effectively limited him to five seasons of play. He was known for his elusiveness and agility and was regarded by his peers as one of the most difficult players to tackle.
Rex Daniel Grossman III is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for eleven seasons. Grossman played college football for the University of Florida and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He also played professionally for the Houston Texans and Washington Redskins.
Jay Christopher Cutler is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football at Vanderbilt and was selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft, whom he was a member of for three seasons. In 2009, he was traded to the Bears, where he played eight seasons. After being released by Chicago in 2017, Cutler initially retired to become a sportscaster for NFL on Fox's television broadcasts, but returned for an additional season with the Miami Dolphins. He retired a second and final time following the 2017 season.
Stanley Paul Jones was an American football guard and tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991. Jones is credited as the first professional player to use weight training to improve his conditioning for football.
Devin Devorris Hester Sr. is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely regarded as the greatest return specialist in NFL history, and was the first and only person to return the opening kick of the Super Bowl back for a touchdown. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Miami, where he was the first player in the university's recent history to play in all three phases of American football: offense, defense and special teams. In addition to Chicago, Hester also played for the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks over his 11-season NFL career.
John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll was an American football and baseball player and football coach. A triple-threat man in football, he was regarded as the best drop kicker and one of the best overall players in the early years of the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974.
Walter Jerry Payton was an American professional football player who was a running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He is regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. A nine-time Pro Bowl selectee, Payton is remembered as a prolific rusher, once holding records for career rushing yards, touchdowns, carries, yards from scrimmage, all-purpose yards, and many other categories. He was also versatile; he retired with the most receptions by a non-receiver, and he had eight career touchdown passes. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame that same year, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994 and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019. Hall of Fame NFL player and coach Mike Ditka described Payton as the greatest football player he had ever seen—but even greater as a human being.
Michael David Adamle is a former American football player and sports broadcaster.
Gregory Walter Olsen is an American football sportscaster and former tight end who played for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Miami and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Olsen also played for the Carolina Panthers, with whom he made three Pro Bowls, before retiring after playing a season with the Seattle Seahawks in 2020.
The Chicago Maroons football represents the University of Chicago in college football. The Maroons, which play in NCAA Division III, have been a football-only member of the Midwest Conference since 2017. The University of Chicago was a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the Maroons were coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg for 41 seasons. In 1935, halfback Jay Berwanger became the first recipient of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy, later known as the Heisman Trophy. In the late 1930s, university president Robert Maynard Hutchins decided that big-time college football and the university's commitment to academics were not a good fit. The University of Chicago abolished its football program in 1939 and withdrew from the Big Ten in 1946. Football returned to the University of Chicago in 1963 in the form of a club team, which was upgraded to varsity status in 1969. The Maroons began competing in Division III in 1973.
The 1905 college football season had the Chicago Maroons retroactively named as national champion by the Billingsley Report, the Helms Athletic Foundation, the National Championship Foundation, and the Houlgate System, while Yale was named champion by Parke H. Davis and Caspar Whitney. Chicago finished the season 11–0, while Yale finished 10–0. The Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listed both Chicago and Yale as having been selected national champions.
The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1920 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons.
Mitchell David Trubisky is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina and was drafted second overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Adam Amin is an American television and radio sportscaster. Amin joined Fox Sports to cover MLB games, and later, NFL games, beginning in May 2020 after having worked for ESPN since 2011. He is also the television play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Bulls of the NBA.
