Chicago Bears: The Complete Illustrated History

The Bears history comes to colorful life in Chicago Bears: The Complete Illustrated History published by Voyageur Press. From the team's 1919 origins as the Decatur Staleys to their appearance in Super Bowl XLI, this lavishly illustrated book using over 250 contemporary and archive photographs, covers the highs and lows from nearly nine decades of Bears football. Here is the story of the first dynasty under George "Papa Bear" Halas; the "Monsters of the Midway" of the 1940s; the team's resurgence in the late 1960s; its 1985 Super Bowl win; and the run for the title in 2006. Sports editor at the Chicago Tribune and longtime Bears aficionado Lew Freedman highlights the legends who have donned Bears uniforms, outsize characters like Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski, Sid Luckman, Mike Ditka, Dick Butkus, Gayle Sayers, Walter Payton, Mike Singletary, and many more. He includes the numbers behind the stories---the stats and team records---as well as pivotal plays in Bears' history, from Halas' T-formation to William "The Refrigerator" Perry's touchdown runs.

The appeal to Bears fans is unmistakable. "Bears fans are right up there with the best pro football fans in the country. They are fanatical in their support, hunger for victory, follow the team year-round, and above all seem to have a special kinship with the club as a team that truly represents the city it is located in. If Chicago is regarded as a city of hard-working, blue-collar people, so is its team," says author Lew Freedman. A feast for Bears fans and football enthusiasts alike, this journey through almost a hundred years of Chicago football brings the Chicago gridiron to life.

About the Author

Lew Freedman is a former editor for the sports department at the Chicago Tribune and the author of more than two dozen books, including Stadium Stories: Chicago Bears and Game of My Life: Chicago Bears. He has also been an award-winning journalist with the Anchorage Daily News, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and other newspapers.

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