The Chicago Bears are one of the oldest franchises in the history of the National Football League. They are one of two franchises remaining from when the NFL originally started in 1920. They were found on September 20th, 1919, in Decatur, Illinois.
For one year, they were known as the Decatur Staleys. After the franchise relocated to Chicago, they became known as the Chicago Staleys for one year before taking on the name “Chicago Bears.” Indeed, there is no doubt that this franchise has plenty of prestige due to its age.
The Bears have 8 NFL Championships and 1 Super Bowl to their credit. On top of that, the Chicago Bears have a league record of 30 Hall of Famers. These Hall of Famers include Walter Payton, Mike Singletary, Brian Urlacher, and Richard Dent. Therefore, it only makes sense that we go over the logo history of a franchise with such a vast amount of history.
There is no question that Chicago Bears fans will appreciate this helpful review of all of the franchise’s primary logos. We will do so in this piece!
Chicago Staleys Primary Logo 1921
To start our primary logo journey of the Chicago Bears, we need to go back to 1920. As mentioned before, the Chicago Bears were named the Decatur Staleys. Accordingly, that name was represented in the first ever primary logo. The first primary logo was a circular logo. One half of the circular logo was orange, while the other half was purple.
The orange upper half of the circle has a purple “S” wordmark. The purple lower half has a tan “STALEYS” wordmark in all caps. If you look further down the lower half of the circle, one can see an italicized “Decatur” wordmark. The entire circle has a black outline around it.
The franchise used the company sponsor's logo, “A.E Staley Company.”
As mentioned before, the franchise would move to Chicago one year after starting in Decatur. Since they became the Chicago Staleys, a new logo was necessary.
The logo features a brown football on top. The brown football has a black outline around it. On the bottom half of the logo, a red “STALEYS” wordmark can be seen in bold capital letters. A blue outline can be around the “STALEYS” wordmark.
Even though the franchise would be named the Chicago Bears the year after they were named the Chicago Staleys, the franchise did not get its first Chicago Bears logo until 1940.
Chicago Bears Primary Logo 1954 - 1973
The first logo was logo of a black bear standing upright with a slight running motion. He is holding a football under one of his claws. His head is slightly turned. It’s almost as if he’s trying to see if oncoming defenders are approaching. This logo lasted until 1953.
In 1954, the Chicago Bears went utterly different with their logo. One’s eyes get immediately drawn to the orange football that nearly dominates the logo. It is pretty broad, and it has white laces right in the middle. A black outline can be seen all around the football. The outline even extends to the middle, where the white laces are.
However, the most intriguing part of the logo may be the menacing black bear that can be seen on top of the orange football. The black bear is practically clawing the front of the football and has an honest, intimidating look. It almost sends the following message: “If you try to get this football, it’s not going to end well for you.” It is almost as if the bear is ready to pounce on his opponent. White outlines can be seen across his face and on some parts of his body. This logo lasted until 1973.
Chicago Bears Primary Logo 1962 - 1972
In 1962, the Chicago Bears released its first version of the wishbone “C” logo. The logo is white. However, there is a dark blue outline all across the logo. Around that time, the Cincinnati Reds have the same type of “C” logo on their baseball caps. This logo was primarily worn on their football helmets. This logo lasted until 1972.
In 1974, the Bears would change their primary logo to a logo that Bears fans, and diehard football fans have come to know. The team decided to stick with the same wishbone “C” wordmark. However, the franchise decided to add some color this time around. Instead of the logo’s primary color being white, the logo’s primary color was now orange. The logo has two outlines. The inner outline of this logo is white, while the outline around the circle is dark blue.
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