The Chicago Tribune's 50 Best Chicago Bears of All Time

An in-depth look at the fifty best Bears players in franchise history, featuring profiles and photography created by the Chicago Tribune.

The Chicago Bears football team has a grip on the Windy City that spans generations and cultures, endures disappointments, and impels celebration of triumphs great and small. From the team’s humble beginnings through its century-long history as the flagship NFL franchise, the Chicago Tribune has documented every season and kept a close eye on the superstars who have shone the brightest over the last 100 years. The Chicago Tribune’s 50 Best Chicago Bears of All Time is a tribute to Bears tradition, collecting classic photography and original profiles on the very best players to don the navy and orange uniform. In 2019, as the team set out to begin their 100th season, the Chicago Tribune took a look at the one thousand, five hundred and eighty-two players who have ever suited up for the Bears and culled down the list to the fifty best of all time.

The Chicago Tribune’s 50 Best Chicago Bears of All Time is a must-have collector’s item for any Bears fan. From Larry Morris to Walter Payton, the Chicago Tribune has put together an in-depth look at each of these top players in franchise history, with profiles that provide readers with an overview of the player’s life and career, as well as his stats and how he measures up against the rest of the field. As a team, the Bears found success at its very beginning, dominating the sport with four NFL titles in the 1940s, seven winning campaigns in the 1950s, and a final title with founder George Halas as coach in 1963. Their 1985 Super Bowl championship transformed the city's passion into a full-blown love affair that continues today.

Professional football was practically born in Chicago, nurtured by Halas through the Depression and a world war. The NFL game was made for Chicago, in Chicago, by a Chicagoan. Now the award-winning journalists, photographers, and editors of the Chicago Tribune have produced a collector’s item that every Bears fan will love.