Editing Chicago Bears (section)

===1950s–1968: Late-Halas era===
[[File:8X10A 1961 Chicago Bears o-line practice 1.jpg|thumb|1961 Bears offensive line practicing for the [[Armed Forces Benefit Football Game]]]]
After declining throughout the 1950s, the team rebounded in {{nfly|1963}} to capture its eighth NFL Championship, which would be its last until 1985.<ref name="h741">{{cite web | last=Coppock | first=Chet | title=Bears defeat Giants 14-10 for 1963 championship | website=Chicago Bears | date=2013-12-27 | url=https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-defeat-giants-14-10-for-1963-championship-12278583 | access-date=2024-08-02 | archive-date=August 2, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802195945/https://www.chicagobears.com/news/bears-defeat-giants-14-10-for-1963-championship-12278583 | url-status=live }}</ref> The late 1960s and early-1970s produced notable players like [[Dick Butkus]], [[Gale Sayers]], and [[Brian Piccolo]],<ref>the subject of the film ''[[Brian's Song]]''</ref> who died of [[embryonal carcinoma]] in 1970. The American television network [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] aired a movie about Piccolo in 1971 entitled ''[[Brian's Song]]'', starring [[James Caan (actor)|James Caan]] and [[Billy Dee Williams]] in the roles of Piccolo and Sayers respectively; [[Jack Warden]] won an [[Emmy Award]] for his performance as Halas. The movie was later released for theater screenings after first being shown on television. Despite Hall of Fame careers, Butkus and Sayers would also have their careers cut short due to injuries, hamstringing the Bears of this era.

Halas retired as coach in [[1967 Chicago Bears season|1967]] and spent the rest of his days in the front office.<ref name="r846">{{cite web | title=The Story of "Papa Bear" George Halas | website=University of Illinois Athletics | date=2020-02-02 | url=https://fightingillini.com/news/2020/2/2/general-the-story-of-papa-bear-george-halas.aspx | access-date=2024-08-02 | archive-date=September 14, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914224536/https://fightingillini.com/news/2020/2/2/general-the-story-of-papa-bear-george-halas.aspx | url-status=live }}</ref> He became the only person to be involved with the NFL throughout the first 60 years of its existence. He was also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's first induction class in 1963.<ref name="u291">{{cite web | title=Inaugural HOF Class of 1963 | website=Pro Football Hall of Fame | date=1963-01-29 | url=https://www.profootballhof.com/news/2020/09/inaugural-hof-class-of-1963/#:~:text=The%20first%20class%20of%20enshrinees,Joe%20Carr%2C%20Tim%20Mara%20and | access-date=2024-08-02 | archive-date=August 2, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802200117/https://www.profootballhof.com/news/2020/09/inaugural-hof-class-of-1963/#:~:text=The%20first%20class%20of%20enshrinees,Joe%20Carr%2C%20Tim%20Mara%20and | url-status=live }}</ref> As the only living founder of the NFL at the February 1970 [[AFL-NFL Merger|merger]] between the NFL and the [[American Football League]], the owners honored Halas by electing him the first President of the [[National Football Conference]], a position that he held until his death in 1983. In his honor, the NFL named the NFC Championship trophy as the [[NFC Championship|George Halas Memorial Trophy]].<ref name="h712">{{cite web | last=Kozlowski | first=Joe | title=Who were Lamar Hunt and George Halas, and why are trophies named for them? | website=Newsweek | date=2024-01-28 | url=https://www.newsweek.com/who-were-lamar-hunt-george-halas-why-are-nfl-trophies-named-them-1864064 | access-date=2024-08-02 | archive-date=August 2, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802200048/https://www.newsweek.com/who-were-lamar-hunt-george-halas-why-are-nfl-trophies-named-them-1864064 | url-status=live }}</ref>