You will hear the term “Monsters of the Midway” when the Chicago Bears have a dominant defense. The nickname will make fans think of leaders from past Bears defenses, Mike Singletary and Brian Urlacher. The Bears were first called that when founder George Halas was coach, and the name received a surge when the 1985 Bears defense ruled the league.
The nickname is now connected to the Bears, but it originally started from another Chicago team. The first team known as the Monsters of the Midway were the University of Chicago Maroons, under the direction of legendary coach Amos Stagg.
The Original ‘Monsters of the Midway’
The Midway portion of the nickname is not because of Chicago’s location in the Midwest of the country. It actually comes from the Midway Plaisance, a one-mile-long stretch that runs through the University of Chicago’s campus.
It was originally designed as a park that was used for displays of culture from around the world and was home to the world’s first Ferris Wheel during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.
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The University of Chicago was a member of the Big Ten, and the school won the conference’s first championship. The Maroons went on to win the Big Ten seven total times from 1899 to 1924. Fans started calling the team “Monsters of the Midway” because of their dominance.
Stagg led his team to two national championships and won 227 total games. Maroons running back Jay Berwanger won the first Heisman Trophy in 1935.
The University of Chicago stopped playing football in 1939 because the sport did not fit the image the school wanted. The Maroons returned to the football field in 1969, but not at the Division I level.
Bears Become Monsters of the Midway
It seemed the Chicago Cardinals would be the natural fit to carry on the legacy of the nickname because, like the University of Chicago, the team played on the south side of the city. The Cardinals were not a good team at a time when the Bears were one of the NFL’s best.
The Bears won four NFL titles in the 1940s and took over the nickname after the University of Chicago stopped playing football. The nickname comes and goes for the team based on how well they, especially the defense, perform.
The nickname mostly disappeared following the 1940s championship run until the 1985 Bears, under the direction of head coach Mike Ditka and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, had one of the best defenses in NFL history.
The nickname has returned a few different times since 1985 when the team’s defense led winning Bears teams.