How far back can we trace the history between the Cardinals and the Bears? To November 28th, 1920, when your great-grandfather's Chicago Cardinals defeated the Decatur Staleys 7-6 at Normal Park, in front of an estimated 5,000 Windy City Cardinals football fans. This was the inaugural season for what we now know as the NFL and this game represents the farthest back two professional football teams can trace their history.
Things happened fast back then and the Staleys moved to Chicago the following year (the Chicago Staleys won the 1921 league championship) and finally became the Bears another year later in 1922 — the same year the American Professional Football Association (APFA) changed their name to the National Football League (NFL).