Only longterm fans know: when the Bears called Wrigley home

Long before Soldier Field became synonymous with Chicago Bears football, the Monsters of the Midway had a different den—one they shared with the Cubs. For nearly five decades, from 1921 to 1970, the Chicago Bears called Wrigley Field home. Yes, the same ivy-covered ballpark where “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” echoes during the seventh-inning stretch was once the fortress where NFL legends like Red Grange, Sid Luckman, and George Halas built the Bears dynasty. The setup was far from perfect. Wrigley’s dimensions, designed for baseball, created one of the most unique home-field advantages in NFL history. The field was notoriously narrow, and the end zones were cramped, leading to a style of play that favored the Bears’ grinding, defensive approach. Visiting teams often struggled with the unfamiliar confines, while Chicago players knew every quirk of their unconventional home. Picture this: the same field where Ernie Banks hit home runs also witnessed the Bears’ 1963 NFL Championship season. The same bleachers that would later see Sammy Sosa’s moonshots once cheered as the Bears dominated the old NFL Western Division. It wasn’t until 1971 that the Bears finally moved to their current lakefront home at Soldier Field. But for those old-school fans who remember, there’s nothing quite like the thought of Bears football under Wrigley’s lights—a true piece of NFL history that younger generations never experienced. #NFL #ChicagoBears