Bear Memories: The Chicago-Green Bay Rivalry (IL) (Images of Sports)

"Halas would provide food according to how we had fared against the Packers. If we won, it was steaks for everybody. But if we lost, we were lucky to be served hamburgers."
--Harlan Hill, 1950s

"I didn't have any particular grievance with any of the Packer players, I just wanted to beat them all."
--Hall of Famer Doug Atkins, 1960s

"Doug Buffone took me aside to tell me about Green Bay games . . . to set me straight about the importance of the rivalry. It definitely was not a game to be taken for granted."
--Brian Baschnagel, 1970s

"Each year at the start of the season, fans we'd meet would just have the one request--please beat Green Bay."
--Jim Flanigan, 1990s

The Bears and the Packers have squared off for bragging rights on midwestern gridirons every year since 1921. Nearly 50 names enshrined in (or destined for) the Pro Football Hall of Fame have played a part in the rivalry: Halas and Lombardi, Butkus and Nitschke, Payton and Favre. Their stories span decades, and Beth Gorr, longtime writer for the Bear Report, has woven together a narrative of Bear memories that recall all the bitterness, intensity, and mutual respect of the most celebrated rivalry in the NFL.