The Pittsburgh Steelers faced Chicago twice while four teams—the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, fellow Western Conference team Minnesota Vikings, and the now-defunct Boston Yanks—had one appearance each.

While serving in the United States Navy during World War II, Bears owner George Halas thought of hosting a charity football game to support the military.

[1] The concept was common during the conflict as wartime professional gridiron football, which included meetings between NFL franchises and against military teams, doubled as drives to sell war bonds or support armed forces charities.

[4] In March 1946, Halas and Chicago Herald-American editor Ralph Cannon were invited to Washington, D.C., where they met Eisenhower, Navy Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, and Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker on behalf of Gen. Carl Spaatz of the Army Air Forces.

[12][13][14] Eisenhower, who was President at the time, submitted a telegram to the association saying he was "happy to learn" of the deal and that it would "result in a significant contribution to the official relief agencies of our armed forces.

"[30] The Bears had a poor start as they only advanced four yards on the opening drive, but improved afterward as Hugh Gallarneau ran for two touchdowns and rookie Joe Osmanski added a third.

At halftime, an all-time College Football All-America Team curated by sportswriters was introduced; former Bears greats Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski were among those recognized as was Chicago starting center Bulldog Turner, who played in the game.

[39] With seconds before the end of regulation, Conerly attempted a quick kick on third down from the Giants' 35-yard line, but the punt was blocked by Ed Sprinkle and recovered by Bill Milner.

[42] The Bears were overwhelmed for much of the game, falling behind 23–0 at halftime via Lou Groza kicking three field goals and touchdowns by Dub Jones and Otto Graham to Dante Lavelli.

[45] Chicago tried to respond in the final quarter, when the Browns had already deployed their backups, with three touchdowns—a goal-line run by John Dottley to cap off a 60-yard drive, an 80-yard punt return touchdown by Wilford White, and a four-yard rush for Dottley—but was unable to close the gap.

[46] White was responsible for the Bears' 17 points by lateraling to Don Kindt who ran 46 yards for the score in the first quarter, catching a 47-yard pass from Williams in the second, and kicking a 22-yard field goal in the fourth.

Conerly and fellow Giants quarterbacks Fred Benners and Travis Tidwell were sacked multiple times, while Scott scored their only poins on a 60-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Down 20–0, Chicago's Billy Stone scored a touchdown with a five-yard end-around and rookie quarterback Tommy O'Connell completed a 53-yard TD pass to Jim Dooley but the Bears still lost by six.

[49] Wrigley Field hosted the game for the final time in 1954 in front of 22,334 spectators, which included the Baltimore Colts and coach Weeb Ewbank as they wanted to analyze the Bears and Giants before playing them that regular season.

[55][56] Although the Bears opened the game with an 80-yard drive that culminated in Rick Casares' four-yard TD run, their rookie Perry Jeter fumbled and the ball was recovered by Cleveland's Don Paul and returned for a 32-yard score.

[61] The Browns took a 10–0 lead that persisted into a 24–14 advantage at halftime, aided by Bobby Mitchell's two touchdowns (including a 99-yard kickoff return score) and Leroy Bolden's five-yard run.

"[64] The 1959 game was seen by Chicago media as the "1st big test" for the offense as they played the Giants, who won their conference and had the top-ranked defense the year before while shutting out their last two preseason opponents.

[69] Former Bears quarterbacks Layne and Rudy Bukich led the Steelers, who traded touchdowns with Chicago in the second quarter off Preston Carpenter's 55-yard punt return and Casares' three-yard run.

[70] The Bears lost feature backs Dooley and Johnny Morris to injuries before the 1961 rematch with Pittsburgh, so Coia was slotted into a starting role alongside Bo Farrington.

A "seemingly innocuous" 36-yard field goal by Roger LeClerc in the second quarter kept the Bears ahead by three points, and the Steelers were unable to recover the onside kick with less than a minute to play.

[72] A wave of injuries plagued the Bears in the leadup to the 1962 meeting with the undefeated Browns; Coia and 1957 Eisenhower Trophy recipient Fred Williams were among the absences for a Chicago roster that had lost all of their preseason games.

[19] Chicagoans, especially those who supported the Chicago Cardinals, welcomed the arrangement because it allowed them to attend rivalry games in person without going to Wrigley Field (which was considered the Bears' domain).

[77] After neither team scored in the first quarter to begin the 1963 meeting, a personal foul followed by unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Cardinals' Jimmy Hill (for which he was ejected) helped the Bears take the lead with Ronnie Bull's seven-yard TD run.

[78] Chicago entered the 1964 game as the reigning NFL champions, though the team was struggling in preseason and coming off a loss to their rival Green Bay Packers in which the offense recorded just 140 yards.

[79] The Bears' closest touchdown opportunity came in the third when Billy Martin returned a punt 54 yards to the Cardinals' eight-yard line, but Kreitling dropped a pass in the end zone and they turned the ball over on downs.

[83] Although the Bears scored first on Mike Eischeid's 32-yard field goal, the Cardinals recorded 25 unanswered points with Bakken's 25-, 27-, and 37-yard kicks, Johnson to Randle for an 18-yard touchdown, and Bukich being sacked in the end zone by Don Brumm for a safety.

[88] The Bears entered 1967's Armed Forces Benefit with an 0–3 preseason record, including losing 66–24 to the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League in their last game.

[95] The final game in 1970 was the only instance in which the Bears played against a fellow Western Conference opponent as they hosted their rival Minnesota Vikings, who had lost Super Bowl IV in the previous season.

[99][103] As part of 1957 pre-game festivities, two MIM-3 Nike Ajax missiles were brought to Soldier Field by the Army Air Defense Command's 45th Artillery Brigade at Arlington Heights.

[123] Mike Imrem of the Daily Herald suggested reviving the game in a 2009 column as he felt Soldier Field no longer lived up to its name and heritage by becoming exclusively known for football.