The Golden Era: 1950s-1970s

By 1950, Soldier Field had been around for 26 years. The limestone was weathering. The Dempsey-Tunney fight was two decades in the past. The stadium had done its time as a WWII training ground.

By Dear Kevin Warren · 2026-01-21

Section 1: A Stadium Between Identities

By 1950, Soldier Field had been around for 26 years. The limestone was weathering. The Dempsey-Tunney fight was two decades in the past. The stadium had done its time as a WWII training ground.

The Bears were still at Wrigley Field. George Halas liked it there—the tight sightlines, the neighborhood bars, the ivy. But Soldier Field kept pulling him south for special events. The College All-Star Game still packed 90,000 into the lakefront every summer. Ski jumping off artificial ramps drew winter crowds. Auto races circled the field on temporary tracks.

The NFL was changing. Television contracts were getting bigger. Stadiums needed more seats. Soldier Field had 100,000 of them (though fire codes would eventually trim that number down).

Section 2: The 1963 Championship — Wrigley's Last Title

Here's the part that stings: when the Bears won their last NFL championship in 1963, they weren't playing at Soldier Field.

The 1963 Bears went 11-1-2 in the regular season. Bill George ran the defense. Mike Ditka was rewriting how tight ends played. On December 29, 1963, at Wrigley Field, they beat the New York Giants 14-10 for the title.

That game was played in 9-degree weather. Wind chill well below zero. 45,801 fans packed Wrigley's 46,000 seats. Y.A. Tittle threw five interceptions. Billy Wade sneaked in both Bears touchdowns from the one-yard line.

It was the franchise's eighth NFL championship. Nobody in the stands that day knew it would be the last for 22 years—or that when the next one came, the game would look completely different and the team wouldn't even be playing there.

Section 3: The Move South — 1971

The Bears played their first game at Soldier Field in 1959, but they went back to Wrigley afterward. The permanent move didn't happen until 1971.

The reason was simple: seats. Wrigley held 46,000. Soldier Field could handle 55,000 and change. Television money was getting serious. Halas wanted a bigger gate.

The first permanent Bears game at Soldier Field came on September 19, 1971: a 17-15 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dick Butkus was in his prime. Gale Sayers was already slowed by knee injuries that would end his career two years later. The stadium still had its original layout—the full bowl, the colonnades at both ends, all 100 Doric columns right where Holabird & Roche put them in 1924.

After hosting everything from prizefights to papal visits, Soldier Field finally had a permanent tenant.

Section 4: JFK, the Pope, and the Lakefront

The 1960s and '70s weren't just about football. Some of the biggest crowds at Soldier Field had nothing to do with sports.

On June 24, 1962, President Kennedy spoke at a rally for Chicago Democrats. Over 90,000 people showed up. Kennedy was sixteen months away from Dallas. The stadium did what it was built to do—give the city a place to gather.

Seventeen years later, on October 5, 1979, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass during his first visit to America. Around 350,000 people attended—inside the stadium and spread across the surrounding grounds. Chicago had seen big crowds before, but not like this.

These events get forgotten when people talk about Soldier Field. It's not just where the Bears play. It's where Kennedy spoke. Where a pope said Mass. The stadium was built as a war memorial first, a football venue second.

Section 5: Sayers, Butkus, Ditka

The 1960s and early 1970s gave Chicago three players who still define what Bears football looks like.

Gale Sayers (1965-1971) scored 22 touchdowns as a rookie—still the record. His six-touchdown game against the 49ers at Wrigley is in the Hall of Fame highlight reel. Knee injuries wrecked him before he turned 30. He played only 68 games. It was enough.

Dick Butkus (1965-1973) was born in Chicago, played at Illinois, then spent nine years hitting people harder than anyone thought was legal. He's the reason people expect Bears linebackers to be mean. Chicago born, Chicago raised, Chicago Bear.

Mike Ditka (1961-1966) caught 56 passes his rookie year when tight ends were supposed to block. He won a championship in 1963, then came back twenty years later and coached the 1985 team to another one. Two eras, same guy.

These three played through the move from Wrigley to Soldier Field. Singletary, Payton, and the '85 defense inherited what they built.

Section 6: 1977 — National Historic Landmark

On July 27, 1977, the National Park Service made it official: Soldier Field was a National Historic Landmark. The citation mentioned the "Classical Revival colonnades" and the stadium's status as a war memorial.

The landmark designation meant something. The colonnades and the limestone weren't just old—they were protected. Holabird & Roche's design had stood for 53 years. The Park Service said it deserved to keep standing.

The irony came later. When the 2003 renovation dropped a glass-and-steel bowl inside the historic shell, the Park Service stripped the major status. They said the renovation "destroyed" the architectural integrity.

But in 1977, no one was thinking about renovations. The stadium was officially worth protecting. That used to mean something.

Section 7: What the Lean Years Built

Look, the '50s, '60s, and '70s weren't a Bears dynasty. One championship in 1963. Then a lot of losing seasons. Halas aged. The roster cycled. The stadium got old.

But things happened. The Bears moved in permanently. Soldier Field got major status. Sayers, Butkus, and Ditka gave the franchise three Hall of Famers who actually played there. Kennedy spoke. A pope said Mass.

By 1977, those limestone columns had seen 53 years of Chicago history. Prizefights. Presidential speeches. A papal visit. The best football players of a generation grinding through losing seasons because that's what the job was.

The 1985 Bears were coming. The NFC Championship snow game was coming. The renovation that would gut the interior was coming too.

The stadium would be ready. Columns don't move.

Sources

- Chicago Park District Historical Archives - National Register of Historic Places documentation - Pro Football Reference (Bears records 1950-1979) - Chicago Tribune archives, 1950-1979 - NFL Films historical documentation - National Park Service major citation, 1977