Colts and Bears teams and history

[Randall]

Even though the Colts moved, both teams have a lot of history.

 

The Chicago Bears came into existence as the Decatur Staleys in 1920. Co-owners George Halas and Dutch Sternaman coached the team during that '20 season in Decatur, then moved the club to Chicago at the behest of A.E. Staley, owner of the Staley company. The following season, 1921, the Chicago Staleys won their first World Championship. The team continued on as the new National Football League fought for its survival through the decade, and in 1925 they pulled the coup of the league by signing Illinois standout Red Grange. Grange and the Bears embarked on a coast to coast "barnstorming tour" that year, introducing pro football to the masses. In 1929 Halas and Sternaman hired a new coach in Ralph Jones, who delivered another world championship in 1932. Halas again became head coach of the team in 1933, and the Bears won another title. In 1939, Halas began rebuilding the club again, drafting future stars in Sid Luckman and Bill Osmanski that year alone. The team embarked on its greatest run of championships the following year, winning titles in 1940, '41, '43 and '46. The Bears' record in this era was 223-76-33.

 

1940s: The Colts franchise was established in December 1946, when the bankrupt Miami Seahawks of the All-American Football Conference were purchased by a group headed by Bob Rodenberg. They were relocated to Baltimore and renamed the Colts. The Baltimore Colts played their first game on Sept. 7, 1947, defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers. The All-American Football Conference and the National Football League merged in 1950. The Colts had a 1-11 record in both 1949 and 1950 and the team was dissolved in January 1951 because of its failing financial condition.

 

 

1950s: In January 1953 Carroll Rosenbloom moved the NFL's Dallas franchise to Baltimore where they kept the Colts name but adopted the Dallas colors of blue and white. In 1954 Weeb Ewbank was hired as head coach, a position he held for nine seasons - the longest tenure of any Colts head coach. On Dec. 28, 1958, the Colts defeated the New York Giants 23-17 for the "World Championship" (the precurser to the Super Bowl , in what would later be called "The Greatest Game Ever Played". They repeated as champions in 1959, again defeating the New York Giants.

Edited February 4, 2007 by Randall