“Pard” Pearce. Look him up. Full name Walter Irvin Pearce. He is where it all began. He was the first starting QB in Chicago Bears history. Actually, when he started in 1920, we were the Decatur Staleys; in 1921, we became the Chicago Staleys. It wasn’t until 1922, when the Bears became the Bears, whose name was picked as an ode to the Cubs, since they allowed the Staleys to play on their field. But yes, back to good old Pard… As we all wonder who will be next on the QB carousel for our boys…. Mariota? Alex Smith? Those are some of the latest names thrown out there. I thought about Bears QBs of days past; it hasn’t been pretty. I thought the best place to start would be looking at those QBs of the Bears 9 NFL Championship teams. This search brought me to Mr. Pearce.
In 1920 and 1921, there was no championship game; actually, there were no championship games until 1933. The National Football League didn’t officially become the NFL until 1922. In 20 & 21, the league was called the APFA: American Professional Football Association. It was in 1921, where the Chicago Staleys won the Bears franchise their first NFL Championship by finishing 9-1-1; Pard Pierce was the QB for that first championship team. The title by the way was highly disputed; I didn’t know this. Buffalo (the All Americans NOT the Bills), who finished the regular season 9-0-2, would have been the champions had Halas not talked them into a rematch. They agreed only if this game didn’t count. Well, the Staleys won, Halas got the other owners to make it count, then got the other owners to count it as the tiebreaker between the teams, saying the 2nd game between the two teams counted for more. This is how the Bears franchise won their first NFL title. How many of you knew that? I know I didn’t.
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Anyways, as I wade through Chicago Bears QB history, I will attempt to find the great ones; this may be harder than I thought. Maybe I’ll try to rank them eventually, I don’t know. If Pard Pearce wasn’t great, he was at least the first: the first Bears QB ever and the first Bears QB on a Championship team. This should stand for something. Next Bears title was 1932… hello Keith Molesworth.
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