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With news that the Chicago Bears might leave Illinois to go play in Hammond, Indiana, it's worth revisiting some history.
Yes, the Bears have almost always played in Chicago. But not always.
They first had another home.
MORE: Will they still be called the Chicago Bears if they play in Indiana?
Bears outside of Chicago
The franchise was originally known as the Decatur Staleys.
They played in, as you'd imagine, Decatur, Illinois.
George Halas began running the team in 1920, which was the inaugural season in the American Professional Football Association -- the AFPA became the NFL in 1922.
When Halas and Edward Sternamen took full control of the club in 1921, they moved it to Chicago.
They kept the name Staleys for one more season (after the A.E. Staley food starch company in Decatur) before becoming the Bears in 1922.
In their early years as the Bears, they played in Wrigley Field, the MLB home of the Chicago Cubs.
Chicago has been their home ever since.
It would certainly be drastic to see the Bears moved elsewhere. And technically, they were never the "Decatur Bears."
They'd still be known as the Chicago Bears even if they were playing elsewhere nearby in the future, but a move certainly has the attention of the fanbase to see how this all concludes.
More than 100 years ago, this franchise began not in Chicago but in Decatur. And while that doesn't mean much now, it's a fascinating tidbit.
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