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The Chicago Bears are the NFL franchise that once played in Decatur, Il.

The Bears were founded in 1919 by the A.E. Staley Co. (makers of a fine brand of corn starch) of Decatur ,Illinois. The company named the team The Decatur Staleys for their inaugural season.

In 1920 the A.E. Staley Company turned full ownership & control of the team over the coaches George Halas and Edward "Dutch" Sternaman. Halas and Sternaman joined the new APFA, American Professional Football Association in 1920, becoming one of the founding members of what would become the NFL (the APFA was renamed the National Football League in 1922.) George Halas bought out Sternaman in 1933 and the Halas family has controlled the Bears ever since.

Halas and Sternaman moved the team from Decatur to Chicago in 1921, renaming the team the Chicago Staleys. One year later, in 1922, they would change the name of the team to the Chicago Bears.

The Bears are considered to be the second oldest football organization in the NFL, with the oldest team being the now Arizona Cardinals, who trace their roots back to 1898.

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What current NFL franchise was once known as the Decatur Staleys?

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