Eagles-Bears 1970 in Evanston

[philadelphia97]

The Bears played their 1970 home opener at Northwestern with the possibility that Wrigley Field would be in use for playoff baseball, which would have delayed the installation of the football bleachers. The reaction among Evanstonians was mixed according to a Chicago Tribune article that July:

“We don’t want 40,000 people invading our town on a Sunday afternoon.”

"People who object to the Bears playing here are trying to turn Evanston into a morgue."

"If people are worried about the noise and hoopla - well, I’d rather have people fighting in and near the stadium than in Vietnam."

Even the Eagles were weary of possible protests, as referenced in the Philadelphia Daily News game recap:

"Fearful of rumored protests by the rich townsfolk of Evanston, who were allegedly planning to interfere with the traffic going into Northwestern’s Dyche Stadium, the Eagles’ buses were led dangerously by police cars with blaring sirens through a stomach-upsetting 22-mile trip which saw the buses run red lights, curl screechingly around traffic tieups and startle old ladies, who were secretly going to church, right off the road."

[readjack]

I pulled a number of clips from this game a few years ago:

https://twitter.com/readjack/status/1406319044479836167

Talk of the NFL in Dyche had long existed, starting with the Cardinals, but as an Evanstonian, it's still wild to think about the Bears playing there, especially full time as Halas had explored.

[Retro Rider]

I don't recall ever seeing another NFL game that featured two different sets of goalposts:
https://youtu.be/09kJxWYbqoo?si=UQkK839NDJReJUTt

[Ten Minute Ticker]

Immortalized in that NFL Films feature on the Bears mascot.