Originally named the Decatur Staleys, the football team was established by the A. E. Staley Company of Decatur, Illinois in 1919 as a company team. This was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The company hired George Halas and Edward "Dutch" Sternaman in 1920 to run the team, and turned over full control of the team to them in 1921. The team relocated to Chicago in 1921, where the club was renamed the Chicago Staleys. Under an agreement reached by Halas and Sternaman with Staley, Halas purchased the rights to the club from Staley for 100 dollars, whereupon they were renamed the Chicago Bears.

The Bears dominated the league in the early years. Their rivalry with the Chicago Cardinals, the oldest in the NFL (and a cross-town rivalry from 1920 to 1959), was key in four out of the first six league titles. During the league's first six years, the Bears lost twice to the Canton Bulldogs (who took two league titles over that span), and split with their cross-town rival Cardinals (going 4–4–2 against each other over that span), but no other team in the league defeated the Bears more than a single time. During that span, the Bears posted 34 shutouts, selling tons of Chicago Bears tickets.

After declining throughout the 1950s, the team rebounded in 1963 to capture their 8th NFL Championship, which would be their last until 1985. After the merger, the Bears finished the 1970 season with a last-place finish in the division, a repeat of their placing in the 1969 season. From 1977 through 1985 the club's official cheerleaders were the Honey Bears, who were hired by then-General Manager Jim Finks. They cheered at all Bears home games and performed at halftime.

After the 1985 Championship season, the Bears remained competitive throughout the 1980s but failed to return to the Super Bowl under Mike Ditka. Since the firing of Ditka at the end of the 1992 season, the Bears have made the playoffs five times under three different head coaches: Dave Wannstedt from 1993 through 1998, Dick Jauron from 1999 through 2003, and current head coach, Lovie Smith.

The Bears moved into Soldier Field in 1971 after outgrowing Wrigley Field, the team's home for 50 years, and Northwestern University's residential neighbors objected to their playing at Dyche Stadium, now called Ryan Field.

The divisional schedule this season includes the November 29 game at 12:00 p.m. at Minnesota Vikings Mall of America Field, December 13 at 12:00 p.m. with the Green Bay Packers at home in Soldier Field, Dec. 28 (Monday) at 7:30 p.m. with the Minnesota Vikings at home in Soldier Field, and January 3, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. at Detroit Lions Ford Field. Find Chicago Bears tickets to see if Cutler can redeem the quarterback position in the Windy City.