Chicago Bears History by the Decade: Bronko’s 30s

Welcome back to our podcast series on Chicago Bears history!

Jeff Berckes is joined by lifelong Bears fan and historian Matt Winter as they make it through the Great Depression and a successful decade on the field.

The 30s were hard for a lot of Americans and no one personified the tough and rugged nature of the NFL quite like Bronko Nagurski (check out Jeff’s Championship Belt series!).

We kick things off in the 1930s with a cocktail recipe of the day and a recap of how the NFL grew in the 30s. After a US History recap, we’ll meet more early Hall of Famers like Nagurski, Danny Fortmann, and Joe Stydahar!

Finally, the guys will give answers to a number of fun categories. Who from the 1930s would you most want on the upcoming 2020 roster? Who from the modern NFL would have helped the Bears over the top to win more championships? Who was the best player and their favorite player to learn about.

The final category, “who won the decade,” denotes the most important Bear from the 1930s. Who do you think it will be? All that and more on this week’s Halas to Mack: Chicago Bears History by the Decade.

Important note: As you listen to the episode it is important to note that the NFL had a ban on African American players over a 12-year period. It’s a dark chapter of the NFL’s history and WCG’s Jack Silverstein broke this story that received attention from Bears players and eventually won notice nationally. The podcast hosts did not include this dark chapter in the show but encourage all listeners to read Jack’s work to help provide context for the era.

Do you have a question or a fun category you’d like to know the answer? Jeff and Matt are planning on recording a recap show at the end of the series to answer the best history-related questions we receive. Ask yours in the comments or find Jeff on Twitter @gridironborn.