LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears will wear 1936 throwback uniforms when they host the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field on Sunday.
The Bears wore the uniform for just the 1936 season, a year in which Chicago finished with a 9-3 record.
The 1936 season also fell in an era when there were no African-American players in the NFL (1934-45).
The Bears’ five-player social justice committee and team chairman George McCaskey posted a video this week in which they discussed the significance of wearing jerseys from a period when the NFL was not integrated.
“This Sunday against the Vikings, our players will wear the 1936 classic jersey,” McCaskey said in the video. “That was from a time when unfortunately African-Americans were not included on the Bears or other NFL rosters. Integration of the NFL and the Bears was too long in coming. But we’re proud that this year’s Bears will be the first African-Americans to wear these jerseys.”
The Bears also will wear the 1936 throwbacks when the Dallas Cowboys visit Soldier Field on Dec. 5.