The NFL took that action as a consequence of the Bears' aggressive signing of famous University of Illinois player Red Grange within a day of his final game as a collegian.

75,000 people paid to see Grange lead the Bears to a 17–7 victory over the Los Angeles Tigers, who were a quickly put together team of West Coast college all-stars.

The team acquired the University of Chicago's discarded nickname "Monsters of the Midway" and their famous helmet wishbone-C, as well as a newly penned theme song that declared them "The Pride and Joy of Illinois".

[46][47] Payton would go on to eclipse Jim Brown's NFL career rushing record in 1984 before retiring in 1987, and would hold the mark until 2002, when Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys surpassed it.

[59] In the 1985 season the fire in the Bears–Packers rivalry was re-lit when Ditka used 315-pound defensive tackle "Refrigerator" Perry as a running back in a touchdown play at Lambeau Field, against the Packers.

[85] The Bears made one of the biggest trades in franchise history, acquiring Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos in exchange for Kyle Orton and draft picks on April 2, 2009.

[98] The Bears became the first team in NFL history to return six interceptions for touchdowns in the first seven games of the season, with another pick-six by Brian Urlacher in Week 9 bringing Chicago two behind the record set by the 1961 San Diego Chargers.

[129] General manager Ryan Pace signed receivers Taylor Gabriel, Allen Robinson, and Trey Burton in the offseason to complement second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.

[133] They lost to the defending Super Bowl Champions Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round of the playoffs after Cody Parkey's game-winning field goal attempt was partially tipped and hit the uprights in the final seconds of the game, a play coined the "Double Doink".

[139] During the year, renovations to Halas Hall were completed, allowing the team to move Training Camp from Ward Field on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois to Lake Forest for 2020.

[167] Charles Bidwill purchased $5,000 in stock in 1933 (which was later bought off of his widow Violet for $50,000 in 1949[168]) and he also arranged a bank loan for the remaining $5,000 needed to pay off Sternaman: "But it was a mighty close call.

In 1981, the shareholders merged the Bears with a newly formed Delaware-incorporated organization, the Chicago Bears Football Club, Inc..[170] In 1987, Mugs' estate executor wanted to sell his ownership stake and challenged the legality of a 1981 corporate reorganization and the other owners' right of first refusal,[171] while his heirs, Christine and Stephen Halas, wanted to keep their father's stake, asking a Cook County Probate Court judge not to allow the sale.

[173] Bears then-president Michael McCaskey called the purchase a "terrific financial burden", and the team would later sell the stake to Chicago-area businessmen Andrew McKenna and Patrick Ryan for a then-undisclosed sum[b] in 1990.

[177] The team has major sponsorship deals with Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Miller Brewing Company, PNC Financial Services, United Airlines, Verizon, Xfinity, and Proven IT.

"Rocky" was a man who donned a #1 Bears jersey, carried a megaphone, and started chants all over Soldier Field during the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, in a fashion similar to Fireman Ed.

[220] The most notable was the 1985 shootout at Monday Night, as Miami handing Chicago their first, and only, regular-season loss for the year, while keeping the 1972 Dolphins as the only perfect team in NFL history.

[226] The rivalry grow after the 1921 season, when the Staleys star Guy Chamberlin joined the Bulldogs and led them to three consecutive championships, including a tiebreaker win over the Bears in 1924.

[232] At first, the Bears were supposed to play at Dyche Stadium (later called Ryan Field), but Northwestern University's residential neighbors objected, and the agreement was cancelled.

[240] Despite negotiations between the city of Chicago to upgrade Soldier Field again, the Bears entered into an agreement with Churchill Downs to purchase the Arlington International Racecourse in September 2021 for $197.2 million.

[249][250][251] From 1975 to 1984 they conducted their summer training camp in Lake Forest College, at the original Halas Hall (the practice and front office facility for the Bears from 1977 until 1997).

They were considered a member of the "Cheese League" that in 1999 consisted of the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs, with each team practicing at a different university in Wisconsin.

The sketch usually showed the panelists chugging beer and eating lots of Polish sausage, and often featured Todd getting so agitated about what was happening with the Bears that he suffered a heart attack, but quickly recovered (through self-administered CPR).

[274] Also, Ditka, Dick Butkus, Walter Payton, Jim McMahon, William "Refrigerator" Perry and Brian Urlacher are among Bears figures known for their appearances in TV commercials.

[278][279] Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) from the National Lampoon's Vacation series appears in some scenes wearing a navy blue with burnt orange scripting Chicago Bears ball cap.

[295] Tillman and teammate Lance Briggs became the first pair in NFL history to return an interception for a touchdown in consecutive games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys.

[304] Founder, owner, head coach, and player George Halas, halfback Bronko Nagurski, and Red Grange were a part of the original class of inductees in 1963.

[306] The Bears have retired 14 uniform numbers, which is the most in the NFL, and ranks fourth behind the basketball Boston Celtics (23), baseball New York Yankees (21), and hockey Montreal Canadiens (15) for the most in major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.

[310] At the time of the publish, the list included 27 Pro Football Hall of Famers, while two more inductees would join in the 2020 Centennial class (Jim Covert and Ed Sprinkle).

The players include (in a following order): Alex Brown, Thomas Jones, Dave Whitsell, Curtis Conway, Tim Jennings, Leslie Frazier, Roberto Garza, Marty Booker, Nathan Vasher and William Perry.

[320] Other notable players assigned includes: George Gulyanics, Ed Ecker, Lloyd Reese, Raymond Schumacher, Jack Karwales and Doug McEnulty.