This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
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Established August 14, 1959; 64 years ago (August 14, 1959)[1] First season: 1960 Play in Nissan Stadium Nashville, Tennessee Headquartered in Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park Nashville, Tennessee[2]
Originally known as the Houston Oilers, the team was founded in 1959 by Houston oil tycoon Bud Adams, who remained the owner until his death in 2013. The team began play in 1960 in Houston, Texas, as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). The Oilers won the first two AFL championships along with four division titles, and joined the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The Oilers made playoff appearances from 1978 to 1980 and from 1987 to 1993, with Hall of FamersEarl Campbell and Warren Moon, respectively.
In 1997, the Oilers relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, playing at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis for one season while waiting for a new stadium to be constructed. The team moved to Nashville's Vanderbilt Stadium in 1998. For those two seasons, the team was known as the Tennessee Oilers, but changed its name to the Titans for the 1999 season, when they moved into Adelphia Coliseum, now known as Nissan Stadium. The Titans' training facility is in Saint Thomas Sports Park, a 31-acre site at the MetroCenter complex in Nashville.[7]
After failed attempts to start an NFL expansion team in Houston, Adams founded the Houston Oilers in 1959, as one of the eight charter members of the upstart American Football League (AFL) and a member of its Eastern Division. Beginning play at Jeppesen Stadium at the University of Houston, the team moved to Rice Stadium at Rice University in 1965. Led by quarterback George Blanda, who played with the team from 1960 to 1966, the Oilers made it to each of the first three AFL championship games. The Oilers won the first two AFL championships, both against the San Diego Chargers, but lost the 1962 American Football League Championship Game 20–17 to the Dallas Texans, now Kansas City Chiefs, after double overtime. The Oilers failed to post a winning season in the next six seasons, but in 1967, a 9–4–1 record returned the team to the AFL championship game where it lost 40–7 to the Oakland Raiders. The Oilers moved into the Astrodome after the season, becoming the first professional football team to move into a domed stadium. After failing to qualify for the AFL playoffs in 1968, the Oilers qualified the following season in 1969, but were eliminated in the divisional round by the Oakland Raiders in a 56–7 blowout.
Following the season, the AFL merged with the NFL in 1970, with the Oilers being assigned to the new American Football Conference (AFC)'s Central division. The Oilers failed to qualify for the NFL playoffs from 1970 to 1977, and posted one winning season in 1975. In 1978, the Oilers selected running back Earl Campbell with the first overall pick in the 1978 NFL draft. Campbell led the team to three consecutive playoff appearances as a wildcard berth from 1978 to 1980. Campbell led the NFL in rushing yards and won the Offensive Player of the Year Award in each of those three seasons. The Oilers made it to the AFC championships in 1978 and 1979, but were defeated both times by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Oilers failed to post a winning record between 1981-1987, a drought that ended when the Oilers acquired quarterback Moon in 1987. With Moon, the Oilers made six consecutive playoff appearances from 1987 to 1993. During the 1992–93 NFL playoffs, the Oilers earned the dubious distinction of being on the losing end of what was then the biggest comeback in NFL history when in the divisional round, the Oilers' third-quarter 32-point lead against the Buffalo Bills turned into a 41–38 loss in overtime. This remains the largest blown lead in playoff history.
After the 1995 season, Bud Adams announced the move to Tennessee. A Nashville stadium for the Tennessee Oilers would not be ready until 1999, so the Oilers planned to play two seasons at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The team was based in Nashville and commuted to Memphis for games.
In Memphis, some of the smallest NFL crowds since the 1950s attended games. In the first seven games of the season, there were crowds of less than 27,000, and two games drew less than 18,000 people.
For the 1998 season, the Tennessee Oilers played their home games at the stadium on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. That year, the team was in playoff contention until losing their last two games for another 8–8 record. The Oilers were 6–2 in Nashville and 2–6 on the road.
The Tennessee Titans' history began in 1999 when the team, formerly known as the Houston Oilers, relocated to Nashville, Tennessee. The franchise was originally established in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) and became part of the NFL in 1970 after the AFL-NFL merger. Upon moving to Tennessee, the team played as the Tennessee Oilers for two seasons before rebranding as the Tennessee Titans in 1999.
The 1999 season marked a remarkable beginning for the Titans, as they made a dramatic run to Super Bowl XXXIV. Led by head coach Jeff Fisher and quarterback Steve McNair, the team finished the regular season with a 13-3 record. Their playoff journey included the famous "Music City Miracle" victory over the Buffalo Bills, where a last-second lateral play resulted in a kickoff return touchdown. The Titans reached the Super Bowl but narrowly lost to the St. Louis Rams, falling one yard short of a potential game-tying touchdown.
In the years following their Super Bowl appearance, the Titans experienced mixed success. They reached the playoffs several times in the early 2000s, with standout performances from players like running back Eddie George and defensive end Jevon Kearse. However, the team struggled with consistency and faced multiple rebuilding phases. The mid-2000s saw the emergence of quarterback Vince Young, who led the team to a playoff berth in 2007, but his tenure was marred by injuries and inconsistency.
The Titans entered a new era in the late 2010s with the hiring of head coach Mike Vrabel in 2018. Under Vrabel's leadership, and with the resurgence of quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Derrick Henry, the team returned to prominence. The Titans reached the AFC Championship Game in the 2019 season and have been regular contenders in the playoffs since then. Derrick Henry's historic rushing performances, including a 2,000-yard season in 2020, have solidified the Titans as a formidable force in the NFL.
As of 2024, the Titans continue to be competitive in the AFC, consistently vying for division titles and playoff success. The team has built a reputation for a strong running game, resilient defense, and innovative coaching under Vrabel. The franchise's journey from the Houston Oilers to the Tennessee Titans reflects a rich history of adaptation and perseverance in the ever-evolving landscape of the NFL.
The Tennessee Titans uniforms used from 1999 to 2017
When the team debuted as the Houston Oilers in 1960, its logo was an oil rig derrick. Except for minor color changes throughout the years, this logo remained the same until the team was renamed the Titans in 1999. The logo was originally called "Ol' Riggy", but this name was dropped before the 1974 season.
The Oilers' uniforms consisted of blue or white jerseys, red trim, and white pants. From 1966 to 1971, the pants with both the blue and white jerseys were silver to match the color of the helmets. The team commonly wore light blue pants on the road with the white jerseys from 1972 to 1994, with the exception of the 1980 season, and selected games in the mid-1980s, when the team wore an all-white road combination. For selected games in 1973 and 1974, and again from 1981 through 1984, the Oilers wore their white jerseys at home. Coach Jeff Fisher discarded the light blue pants in 1995. From 1960 to about 1965 and from 1972 to 1974, the Oilers wore blue helmets; the helmets were silver from 1966 to 1971 and white from 1975 to 1998.
From 1997 to 1998, when it was known as the Tennessee Oilers, the team had an alternate logo that combined elements of the flag of Tennessee with the derrick. The team also wore its white uniforms during home games. In its two years as the Tennessee Oilers, the team wore its colored jerseys for road games against the Miami Dolphins and a Thanksgiving Day game against the Dallas Cowboys. It wore all white exclusively in its last year as the Tennessee Oilers.
When the team was renamed the Titans in 1999, it introduced a new logo that was a circle with three stars representing the state's Grand Divisions, containing a large "T" with a trail of flames similar to a comet. The uniforms consisted of white helmets, red trim, and either navy or white jerseys. White pants were worn with the navy jerseys, and navy pants with the white jerseys. On both the navy and white jerseys, the outside shoulders and sleeves were light Titans blue. In a game against the Washington Redskins on October 15, 2006, the Titans wore their navy jerseys with navy pants for the first time. Since 2000, the Titans have worn their dark uniforms at home. They have worn white at home during daytime contests in September home games to gain an advantage with the heat, except in the 2005, 2006 and 2008 seasons.
In 2003, the Titans introduced an alternate jersey that was light Titans blue with navy outside shoulders and sleeves, which was worn with blue pants. Until 2007, they wore the jersey twice in each regular-season game. They always wore the Titans blue jersey in their annual divisional game against the Houston Texans and for other selected home games. Their selection in those games was representative of the organization's ties to Houston and the AFL. On November 19, 2006, the Titans introduced light Titans blue pants in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles. In December 2006, they combined the Titans blue pants with the Titans blue jersey to create an all Titans blue uniform. Vince Young appeared in this uniform in the cover art for Madden NFL 08.
During the 2006 season, the Titans wore seven different uniform combinations, pairing the white jersey with all three sets of pants (white, Titans blue, navy blue), the navy jersey with the white and navy pants, and the Titans blue jersey with navy and Titans blue pants. In a game against the Atlanta Falcons on October 7, 2007, the Titans paired the navy blue jersey with the Titans blue pants for the first time. They wore the navy blue jerseys with the light blue pants against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team paired the Titans blue jerseys with the white pants for the first time in a home game against the Indianapolis Colts on November 14, 2013. In 2008, the Titans blue jerseys became the regular home uniforms, with the navy blue jerseys being relegated to alternate status but not worn until 2013.[8]
In 2009, the Titans and the Buffalo Bills began the 2009 NFL preseason in the Hall of Fame Game. Played at Canton's Pro Football Hall of Fame Field at Fawcett Stadium on August 9, 2009, the game was nationally televised on NBC. The Titans defeated the Bills, 21–18.[9] In honor of the AFL's 50th anniversary, the Titans wore Oilers' uniforms for the game. In 2009, the team honored former quarterback Steve McNair by placing a small, navy blue disc on the back of their helmets with McNair's white number nine inside of it.
In 2013, the team wore the navy blue jerseys twice in honor of their 15th anniversary as the Titans.[10] The Titans wore white jerseys for all games in 2014, for the exceptions of two preseason home games, in which the team wore their light Titans blue jerseys, and a game against the Houston Texans on October 26, 2014, in which the Titans wore their navy blue uniforms.[11]
Beginning in 2015, navy blue became the team's primary home jersey color again, marking the first time since 2007 that the Titans wore navy as their primary home jersey. The light Titans blue jersey, which was the team's primary jersey color from 2008 to 2014, became the team's alternate jersey for a second time.[12][13]
On April 4, 2018, the Titans debuted new uniforms that retain the color palette of navy blue, Titans blue and white, with new red and silver elements being introduced. The new helmets are navy blue with one silver sword-shaped stripe through the center and metallic gray face masks.[3][14][15]
On July 23, 2023, the Titans unveiled the throwback powder blue Oilers uniforms.[16]
The rivalry with the Jaguars began in 1995 when the Titans were the Houston Oilers.[17] The rivalry was heated in the late 1990s and early 2000s due to the success of both franchises at the time, including a season in which Jacksonville went 14–2 and Tennessee went 13–3.[18] That season, all three of Jacksonville's losses, including the playoffs, came against the Titans, who played that year in Super Bowl XXXIV. The rivalry cooled when both teams experienced misfortune in the late 2000s to early 2010s, but both teams ended lengthy playoff droughts in 2017.[19][20][21]
The Titans’ rivalry with the Houston Texans is more prevalent in Houston due to the Titans having previously played in the city. The Titans dominated the rivalry in the early 2000s, but the series has since evened out in the 2010s.[22][23][24][25]
Since the creation of the AFC South, the Titans and the Colts have been division rivals.[26][27][28] In 2011, the Titans swept the Colts after 11 straight losses.[29] In 2018, the Colts defeated the Titans in the last game of the regular season to clinch the final Wild Card spot, eliminating Tennessee from playoff contention. In 2020, the Titans claimed the AFC South championship over the Colts due to tie-breaking measures.[30]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The club joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, along with the Seattle Seahawks, and played its first season in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Prior to the 1977 season, Tampa Bay switched conferences and divisions with Seattle, becoming a member of the NFC Central division. The Seahawks eventually rejoined the NFC in 2002, leaving the Buccaneers as the only NFL team not to play in their original conference. As a result of the league's realignment prior to the 2002 season, the Buccaneers joined three former NFC West teams to form the NFC South. The club is owned by the Glazer family and plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
The Buccaneers have won two Super Bowl championships and, along with the Baltimore Ravens, are the only two NFL franchises who are undefeated in multiple Super Bowl appearances. They were regarded as a perennial losing franchise for most of their first two decades due to suffering 26 consecutive losses in their first two seasons (including a winless inaugural season) and 14 consecutive losing seasons from 1983 to 1996—the most in NFL history—contributing to their league-worst overall winning percentage at .406. Despite these early struggles, Tampa Bay is the first post-merger expansion team to clinch a division title, win a playoff game, and host a conference championship, all of which they accomplished by their fourth season in 1979. The team's image improved by the time of their first championship in 2002, also the first for any of the six organizations built after the merger,[b] but they would not win another playoff game until their second Super Bowl championship season in 2020.
The Buccaneers joined the NFL as members of the AFC West in 1976. The following year, they were moved to the NFC Central, while the other 1976 expansion team, the Seattle Seahawks, switched conferences with Tampa Bay and joined the AFC West. This realignment was dictated by the league as part of the 1976 expansion plan, so that both teams could play each other twice and every other NFL franchise once during their first two seasons. Instead of a traditional schedule of playing each division opponent twice, the Buccaneers played every conference team once, plus the Seahawks.[6]
Tampa Bay did not win their first game until the 13th week of their second season, starting with a record of 0–26 (though the Bucs had beaten the Atlanta Falcons, 17–3, in a 1976 pre-season game before their first regular season).[7] Until the Detroit Lions in 2008, the 1976 Bucs were the only Super Bowl-era team to go winless in a whole season. Their losing streak caused them to become the butt of late-night television comedians' jokes.[8] Their first win came in December 1977, on the road against the New Orleans Saints. The Saints' head coach, Hank Stram, was fired after losing to the Buccaneers.[9] Tampa Bay needed one more week to get their second victory, a home win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1977 season finale. The Cardinals also fired their coach, Don Coryell, shortly afterward.[10]
In their fourth season, the Buccaneers defeated the Eagles in their first playoff appearance in 1979 after suffering three consecutive losing seasons.
The Bucs' situation improved rapidly in the 1979 season. With the maturation of quarterback Doug Williams and future four-time Pro Bowl tight end Jimmie Giles, the first 1,000-yard rushing season from running back Ricky Bell, and a smothering, league-leading defense led by future NFL Hall of FamerLee Roy Selmon,[11] the Bucs kicked off the season with five consecutive victories, a performance that landed them on the cover of Sports Illustrated.[12]
With four games left in the season, the Bucs needed to win only one of them to make the playoffs. In the first, STP was put all over the goal posts in Tampa to prevent the goalposts from being ripped down in the event of a celebration. Four blocked kicks later, the Bucs wasted the oily substance, falling to the Minnesota Vikings 23–22. STP was wasted again the following week as the Bucs were shut out 14–0 by the Chicago Bears; and in O. J. Simpson's final home game in San Francisco, Tampa Bay lost its third straight attempt to clinch a division title against a 49ers team which came in with a 1–13 record. However, in the season finale at home against the Kansas City Chiefs, which was played in the worst downpour in Bucs history, Tampa Bay pulled out a 3–0 victory. Finishing with a 10–6 record, the Bucs had their first winning season in franchise history, and won the Central Division in a tiebreaker over the Bears. In an upset, the Bucs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24–17 in the divisional round of the playoffs.[13] Because the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the other NFC playoff game, the Bucs hosted the NFC Championship Game the following week in Tampa. The Bucs lost to the Rams 9–0. In their fourth season, the Bucs seemed on the verge of fulfilling McKay's five-year plan.
The Bucs made the playoffs again by winning their division in the 1981 season. It came down to a thrilling final game at Detroit; the winner would take the Central Division crown and the loser would miss the playoffs. The Detroit Lions had not lost at home all season. Although the Bucs trailed early, an 84-yard touchdown bomb from QB Williams to WR Kevin House and a fumble recovery for a touchdown by DT David Logan sealed the win for the Bucs. In the playoffs, the Cowboys defeated the Bucs, 38–0, in the divisional round.
The 1982 season started 0–3 for the Bucs, before a player's strike shut down the NFL for seven weeks. When the league resumed play, the Bucs were nicknamed the "Cardiac Kids" for winning five of their next six games, all in the final moments, to go 5–4 and qualify for the expanded playoff slate. In the first round, the Bucs once again faced the Cowboys at Dallas, losing 30–17. As it turned out, this would be the last winning regular season under Culverhouse's ownership.
Before the 1983 season, Williams bolted to the United States Football League in a salary dispute. The Bucs lost their first nine games of the 1983 season en route to finishing 2–14, the first of 12 consecutive seasons with at least ten losses—an NFL record. Included was the drafting of Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson with the first pick in the 1986 draft. Jackson had let it be known that he would never play a down for Hugh Culverhouse at Tampa Bay. Making good on his threat, he opted instead to play baseball for the Kansas City Royals and would later return for parts of football seasons with the Los Angeles Raiders. Along with Williams, who later was a Super Bowl champion QB for Washington, two other Buc quarterbacks during this era led other teams to Super Bowl wins. Steve Young won with the 49ers and Trent Dilfer won with the Baltimore Ravens.
Under Culverhouse, the Bucs were one of the NFL's more profitable teams during the 1980s; however, this was largely because he kept the payroll among the lowest in the league, hampering their ability to sign quality players. Attendance also sagged; at one point the Buccaneers went parts of three whole seasons without having a home game televised locally, and when they did it was more attributed to a strong visiting team with a large following in the area, such as the Chicago Bears or Green Bay Packers.
Hardy Nickerson, a future five-time Pro Bowl linebacker, signed as a free agent from the Pittsburgh Steelers. John Lynch, a future Pro Bowl, and Hall of Fame strong safety, was drafted in 1993. In the 1995 NFL draft the Buccaneers drafted two future Hall of Famers: Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks. Pro Bowl Fullback, Mike Alstott, was drafted the next year in the 1996 draft.
Despite the profitability of the Buccaneers in the 1980s, Culverhouse's death in 1994 revealed a man close to bankruptcy despite having a low payroll for his team.[14] His son, Miami attorney Hugh Culverhouse Jr. soon sued his father's associates (Stephen Story, Jack Donlan, and Fred Cone) who had built the trust account that was meant to manage the elder Culverhouse's business (which involved a $350 million estate) after having his wife sign a post-nuptial agreement. At any rate, a settlement was soon reached that gave control of the trust to Culverhouse Jr., who sold the team for $192 million. Interested parties included New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner[15] and Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, the latter of whom publicly declared he would move the team to Baltimore, as the city did not have an NFL franchise at that time.[16]
However, in a last-minute surprise, real estate magnate Malcolm Glazer outbid both of them for $192 million, the highest sale price for a professional sports franchise up to that point. Glazer immediately placed his sons Bryan, Edward, and Joel in charge of the team's financial affairs. He stated that he had every intention of keeping the team in Tampa, but informed area citizens its current stadium deal would not support the record paid amount and that a new stadium would be required. The Glazers convinced Hillsborough County voters to raise sales taxes to fund the construction of what would become Raymond James Stadium.
The Glazers' deep pockets and serious commitment to fielding a winning team–in Tampa Bay–finally allowed the Bucs to become competitive. The team's performance dramatically improved when the Glazers hired Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Tony Dungy as head coach. Additionally, the team jettisoned the old uniform designs in favor of a modern look.
During Dungy's first season in 1996, the team continued to struggle, starting the season 1–8. But in the second half of the season, they finished 5–2, primarily due to the performance of a defense ranked seventh in the NFL led by Hardy Nickerson and the maturing of Sam Wyche's draftees Brooks, Lynch, and Sapp. Dungy, with his even-tempered personality, quickly brought balance and morale to the team, and his Cover 2 defensive scheme, sharpened to perfection by defensive coordinatorMonte Kiffin and linebackers coach Lovie Smith, became the foundation for Tampa Bay's future success.[17] Their version of Cover 2 was so successful that it became known as the Tampa 2.[18] It has been brought to the Chicago Bears by Smith, Detroit Lions by Rod Marinelli, Kansas City Chiefs by Herman Edwards and to the Indianapolis Colts by Dungy himself, and copied by several other teams.
The team started the 1997 season 5–0, picking up where they left off the previous year, and this quick start once again landed them on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice.[19][20] The Bucs went 10–6 for their first winning season and playoff appearance since 1982, as a wild-card team. In the Bucs' final home game at Houlihan's Stadium (formerly Tampa Stadium), the team defeated the Lions 20–10. They lost at Lambeau Field to the eventual NFC champion Packers 21–7. Still, there was reason for optimism, and the expectations were high for the following season.
The 1998 season, the first to be played in the newly constructed Raymond James Stadium,[21] saw the Bucs lose several close games en route to a disappointing 8–8 record. The Bucs had to play the first six football games of the year (including preseason) on the road, as the new stadium was not quite finished.
The 1999 season brought much better fortune. On the strength of the NFL's number 3 overall defense and a performance by rookie quarterback Shaun King, the Bucs finished the season with an 11–5 record and won their third NFC Central Division Championship. They beat the Washington Redskins 14–13 in the Divisional round, before losing to the eventual Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams in a low-scoring NFC Championship Game, 11–6. The Bucs' loss was controversial, highlighted by the reversal of a pass from King to wide receiver Bert Emanuel, which ended the Bucs' chances at continuing their last-minute drive. In league meetings following the season, the NFL changed the rules regarding what constituted an incomplete pass.[22]
While the Bucs played well in 2000 and 2001 and made the playoffs in each season, they were unable to fulfill their primary goal of a Super Bowl victory. The wild card spots that Tampa Bay earned forced them to go on the road for their postseason opener in each year, and both road games took them into frigid Philadelphia to play the Eagles. The Buccaneers historically have struggled in games played with a temperature of less than 32 °F (0 °C) (as late as 1999, they had never won a game with a temperature played under 40 degrees[23]) and the latter loss to the Eagles was the sixth time that Tampa Bay had lost a postseason game on the road (out of six played).[24][25][23]
Dungy was fired by the Buccaneers following a 31–9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wildcard Round of 2001[26] and soon thereafter hired as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts,[27] while the Bucs mounted a search for his replacement that would include numerous names and rejections.[28] Several potential candidates were offered the job, including University of Florida head coach (and former Buccaneers quarterback) Steve Spurrier, former New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells, and Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. Spurrier jumped to the Redskins when he was offered the most lucrative salary package ever offered to an NFL head coach, and Parcells eventually passed on the Bucs' offer—the second time he had done so in the history of the franchise. Bucs' general manager Rich McKay threw his support behind Lewis. The Glazer brothers were so displeased with the selection of yet another defensive-minded coach that they overruled McKay and took control of the candidate search themselves. They made it clear that their top choice was Jon Gruden; however, he was still under contract with the Oakland Raiders.
While talks with the Raiders were secretly underway, the Glazers publicly pursued another respected offensive mind, San Francisco 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci. Just when initial reports indicated that Mariucci had agreed to become both the Bucs' head coach and their general manager, Raiders owner Al Davis agreed to release Gruden to Tampa Bay.[29]
The Glazers' shrewd move eventually paid off in acquiring Gruden, but it was costly. The team hired Gruden away from the Raiders on February 20, 2002, but the price was four draft picks, including the Bucs' first and second-round picks in 2002, their first-round pick in 2003, and their second-round selection in 2004, along with $8 million in cash.[30] (The league as a result prohibited any further trading of draft picks for coaches.) Gruden was frustrated by the limitation of his coaching authority by Davis and was more than pleased to return to Tampa Bay. His parents lived in Carrollwood, and he had spent part of his childhood in Tampa in the early 1980s when his father was a running backs coach and later a scout for the Bucs.[31]
Upon his arrival in Tampa, Gruden immediately went to work, retooling a sluggish offense, changing over 50% of the starting offense. With a new Tailback, Wide Receiver, Two Tight Ends, Left Tackle, and Left Guard, Gruden put his stamp on the teams offense to remove the "Dungy's Team" label. The league's sweeping realignment sent the Bucs to the new NFC South Division, along with the Falcons, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints.[32]
Led by the league's top defense, the 2002 season was the Buccaneers' most successful to date. Linebacker Derrick Brooks was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year with a tendency to make big plays.[33] They won the NFC South title with the team's best ever record, 12–4, and scored more points in two playoff wins over the 49ers and Eagles than in Bucs playoff history combined. The Philadelphia Eagles were a thorn in Tampa Bay's side, having eliminated the Bucs in each of the last two seasons' wild card games. Tampa Bay entered the game as heavy underdogs and fell behind early. However, the Bucs persevered and took a ten-point lead into the fourth quarter. Ronde Barber sealed the win in dramatic fashion with a late interception return for a touchdown, and a 27–10 victory.[34] The Bucs then went on to rout Gruden's former team, the Raiders, who had the league's number one offense, by a score of 48–21 in Super Bowl XXXVII, nicknamed 'The Pirate Bowl'.
Soon after the Super Bowl victory, a growing number of press reports indicated Gruden's lack of patience with general manager McKay, a major architect of the Bucs' rebuilding effort over the previous ten years. McKay, like Gruden, had long-established ties to the Tampa Bay area. However, during the 2003 season, the Gruden-McKay relationship deteriorated as the Bucs struggled on the field. In November, Keyshawn Johnson was deactivated by the team ten games into the season for his conduct, which included sideline arguments with Bucs coaches and players.[35] Johnson was eventually traded to the Dallas Cowboys for wide receiver Joey Galloway, who later in his career played for the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Washington Redskins.[36]
In December, the Glazers allowed McKay to leave the Bucs before the end of the regular season, and he promptly joined the Falcons as president and general manager.[37] Thus, McKay watched his first game as a Falcons executive sitting next to owner Arthur Blank in a Raymond James Stadium skybox. The Falcons defeated the Bucs 30–28. The Bucs suffered a sluggish start and finished the season 7–9. With the Raiders' dismal 4–12 performance, neither Super Bowl team reached the playoffs that year.
For 2004, Bruce Allen was hired as general manager. After Allen's arrival, both John Lynch and Warren Sapp were released, stunning many Buccaneer fans.[38] The distracted Buccaneers began the 2004 season with a 1–5 record, their worst start under Gruden. The fading accuracy of kickerMartín Gramática did not help matters, as the team lost many close games en route to a 5–11 record.[39]
In the 2005 season, the Buccaneers celebrated their 30th season in the league, and returned to their winning ways. The Bucs selected Carnell "Cadillac" Williams in the first round of the 2005 draft, and the rookie would provide a running game the Buccaneers had not possessed since the days of James Wilder Sr. in the 1980s. Williams would later go on to receive the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.[40] After starting 5–1, the team entered a midseason slump hampered by a season-ending injury to starting QB Brian Griese. Replacement starter Chris Simms struggled early,[41] but came into his own, leading the team to a last-minute win over the Redskins. The Bucs won the NFC South Division finishing 11–5. The season ended abruptly, however, with a 17–10 loss in the Wild Card round, in a rematch with Washington that saw receiver Edell Shepherd drop the game-winning catch in the endzone.[42]
After winning the division in 2005, the Bucs suffered through an abysmal 2006 season. The season was plagued by injuries, with starters such as guard Dan Buenning,[43] wide receiver Michael Clayton,[44] running back Cadillac Williams, defensive end Simeon Rice, cornerback Brian Kelly,
The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, on September 20, 1919,[14][15][16] became professional on September 17, 1920, and moved to Chicago in 1921.[17][18] It is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFL's founding in 1920, along with the Arizona Cardinals, which was originally also in Chicago. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season; they now play at Soldier Field on the Near South Side, adjacent to Lake Michigan.
The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois. The Bears practice at adjoining facilities there during the season, and began hosting training camp at Halas Hall in 2020 after major renovations.
In March of 1920 a man telephoned me ... George Chamberlain and he was general superintendent of the A.E. Staley Company ... In 1919, [the company's Fellowship Club] had formed a football team. It had done well against other local teams but Mr. Staley wanted to build it into a team that could compete successfully with the best semi-professional and industrial teams in the country ... Mr. Chamberlain asked if I would like to come to Decatur and work for the Staley Company.
Originally named the Decatur Staleys, the club was established by the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur, Illinois as a company team. This was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The team played independently in 1919, winning the Central Illinois Championship.[19] The company hired George Halas and Edward "Dutch" Sternaman in 1920 to run the team. The 1920 Decatur Staleys season[20] was their inaugural regular season completed in the newly formed American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League (NFL) in 1922).
Full control of the team was turned over to Halas and Sternaman in 1921.[21] Official team and league records cite Halas as the founder as he took over the team in 1920 when it became a charter member of the NFL.[22]
The team moved to Chicago in 1921, where the club was renamed the Chicago Staleys; Under an agreement reached by Halas and Sternaman with Staley, they received US$5,000 to keep the name "Staleys" for the 1921 season.[23]
In 1922, Halas changed the team name from the Staleys to the Bears.[24] The team moved into Wrigley Field, which was home to the Chicago Cubsbaseball franchise. As with several early NFL franchises, the Bears derived their nickname from their city's baseball team (some directly, some indirectly – like the Bears, whose young are called "cubs").[25] Halas liked the bright orange-and-blue colors of his alma mater, the University of Illinois, and the Bears adopted those colors as their own, albeit in a darker shade of each (the blue is Pantone 5395, navy blue, and the orange is Pantone 1665, similar to burnt orange).[26][27]
The Staleys/Bears dominated the league in the early years. Their rivalry with the Chicago Cardinals, the oldest in the NFL (and a crosstown rival from 1920 to 1959), was key in four out of the first six league titles. During the league's first six years, the Bears lost twice to the Canton Bulldogs (who took two league titles over that span), and split with their crosstown rival Cardinals (going 4–4–2 against each other over that span), but no other team in the league defeated the Bears more than a single time. During that span, the Bears posted 34 shutouts.
The Bears' rivalry with the Green Bay Packers is one of the oldest and most storied in American professional sports, dating back to 1921 (the Green Bay Packers were an independent team until they joined the NFL in 1921). In one infamous incident that year, Halas got the Packers expelled from the league in order to prevent their signing a particular player, and then graciously got them re-admitted after the Bears had closed the deal with that player.[28]
The 1924 team photo
The franchise was an early success under Halas, capturing the NFL Championship in 1921 and remaining competitive throughout the decade. In 1924 the Bears claimed the Championship after defeating the Cleveland Bulldogs on December 7, even putting the title "World's Champions" on their 1924 team photo. But the NFL had ruled that games after November 30 did not count towards league standings, and the Bears had to settle for second place behind Cleveland.[29] Their only losing season came in 1929.
During the 1920s the club was responsible for triggering the NFL's long-standing rule that a player could not be signed until his college's senior class had graduated. The NFL took that action as a consequence of the Bears' aggressive signing of famous University of Illinois player Red Grange within a day of his final game as a collegian.[30]
Despite much of the on-field success, the Bears were a team in trouble. They faced the problem of increased operating costs and flatlined attendance. The Bears would only draw roughly 5,000–6,000 fans a game, while a University of Chicago game would draw 40,000–50,000 fans a game. By adding top college football draw Red Grange to the roster, the Bears knew that they found something to draw more fans to their games. C.C. Pyle was able to secure a $2,000 per game contract for Grange, and in one of the first games, the Bears defeated the Green Bay Packers, 21–0. However, Grange remained on the sidelines while learning the team's plays from Bears quarterback Joey Sternaman. Later in 1925, The Bears would go on a barnstorming tour, showing off the best football player of the day. 75,000 people paid to see Grange lead the Bears to a 17–7 victory over the Los Angeles Tigers, who were a quickly put together team of West Coast college all-stars. After a loss to San Francisco, the Bears cruised to a 60–3 over a semi-pro team called the Portland All Stars.[31]
Any hopes that Grange would lead the Bears to glory in 1926 were quickly dashed. A failed contract talk led to Grange bolting to the AFL's New York Yankees, owned by Pyle. The Bears also lost star quarterback Joey Sternaman, who joined the Chicago Bulls of the AFL. The Bears replaced Grange with Paddy Driscoll, a star football player in his own right. The Bears used the money made from the Grange barn-storming tour to sign the man that replaced him. Grange split his time between making movies and playing football. However, the time was not right to have two competing pro football leagues, and the AFL folded after only one season. Grange would return to the Bears.[31]
After the financial losses of the 1932 Championship season, Halas' partner Dutch Sternaman left the organization. Halas maintained full control of the Bears until his death in 1983. He also coached the team off-and-on for forty seasons, an NFL record. In the 1932 "Unofficial" NFL Championship, the Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans in the first NFL playoff game.[32] Due to blizzard conditions in Chicago, the game was played at Chicago Stadium,[32][33] marking it as the first indoor American football game.
The success of the playoff game led the NFL to institute a championship game. In the first NFL Championship, the Bears played against the New York Giants, defeating them 23–21. The teams met again in the 1934 NFL Championship where the Giants, wearing sneakers[34] defeated the Bears 30–13 on a cold, icy day at the Polo Grounds.
From 1940 to 1947, quarterbackSid Luckman led the Bears to victories in four out of the five NFL Championship Games in which they appeared. The team acquired the University of Chicago's discarded nickname "Monsters of the Midway" and their now-famous helmet wishbone-C, as well as a newly penned theme song that declared them "The Pride and Joy of Illinois". One famous victory during that period was their 73–0 victory over the favored Washington Redskins at Griffith Stadium in the 1940 NFL Championship Game; the score is still an NFL record for lopsided results.[35] The secret behind the one-sided outcome was the introduction of a new offensive formation by Halas. The T-formation, as Halas named it, involved two running backs instead of the traditional one in the backfield. Luckman established himself as one of the franchise's most elite quarterbacks. Between 1939 and 1950, he set the Bears' passing records for most career touchdowns, yards, and completions. Many of Luckman's records stood for decades before they were eclipsed by Jay Cutler in 2014.[36]
Cutler then went on to break Luckman's franchise record for most career passing touchdowns a year later in 2015.[37]
1961 Chicago Bears offensive line in action. "Bears Workout at Soldier Field for Armed Forces game Friday."
After declining throughout the 1950s, the team rebounded in 1963 to capture its eighth NFL Championship, which would be its last until 1985. The late 1960s and early-1970s produced notable players like Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, and Brian Piccolo,[38] who died of embryonal carcinoma in 1970. The American television network ABC aired a movie about Piccolo in 1971 entitled Brian's Song, starring James Caan and Billy Dee Williams in the roles of Piccolo and Sayers respectively; Jack Warden won an Emmy Award for his performance as Halas. The movie was later released for theater screenings after first being shown on television. Despite Hall of Fame careers, Butkus and Sayers would also have their careers cut short due to injuries, hamstringing the Bears of this era.
Halas retired as coach in 1967 and spent the rest of his days in the front office. He became the only person to be involved with the NFL throughout the first 60 years of its existence. He was also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's first induction class in 1963. As the only living founder of the NFL at the February 1970 merger between the NFL and the American Football League, the owners honored Halas by electing him the first President of the National Football Conference, a position that he held until his death in 1983. In his honor, the NFL named the NFC Championship trophy as the George Halas Memorial Trophy.
On November 1, 1983, a day after the death of George Halas, his oldest daughter, Virginia McCaskey, took over as the majority owner of the team. Her husband, Ed McCaskey, succeeded her father as the chairman of the board.[43] Their son Michael became the third president in team history.[44] Mrs. McCaskey holds the honorary title of "secretary of the board of directors", but has been called the glue that holds the franchise together.[45] Mrs. McCaskey's reign as the owner of the Bears was not planned, as her father originally earmarked her brother, George "Mugs" Halas Jr. as the heir apparent to the franchise. However, he died of a severe heart attack in 1979. Her impact on the team is well-noted as her own family has dubbed her "The First Lady of Sports", and the Chicago Sun-Times has listed her as one of Chicago's most powerful women.[46]
1983–1985: Contenders, then Super Bowl champions[edit]
Bears Hall of Famer Mike Ditka is the only person in the modern era to win an NFL championship as a player and coach for the Chicago Bears.
Mike Ditka, a tight end for the Bears from 1961 to 1966, was hired to coach the team by George Halas in 1982. His gritty personality earned him the nickname "Iron Mike". The team reached the NFC Championship game in 1984. In the 1985 season the fire in the Bears–Packers rivalry was re-lit when Ditka used 315-pound defensive tackle "Refrigerator" Perry as a running back in a touchdown play at Lambeau Field, against the Packers. The Bears won their ninth NFL Championship, first since the AFL-NFL merger, in Super Bowl XX after the 1985 season in which they dominated the NFL with their then-revolutionary 46 defense and a cast of characters that recorded the novelty rap song "The Super Bowl Shuffle". The season was notable in that the Bears had only one loss, the "unlucky 13th" game of the season, a Monday night affair in which they were defeated by the Miami Dolphins. At the time, much was made of the fact that the 1972Dolphins were the only franchise in history to have had an undefeated
In 1900, Ban Johnson, the president of a minor league known as the Western League (1894–1899),[25] changed the Western League name to the American League (AL) and asked the National League to classify it as a major league.[26] Johnson held that his league would operate on friendly terms with the National League, but the National League demanded concessions which Johnson did not agree with and declared major league status for the AL in 1901 anyway.[27][28][29]
Plans to add an AL team in New York City were blocked by the NL's New York Giants.[30] A team was instead placed in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1901 and named the Orioles.[31] The Orioles were managed by John McGraw, who was also a part owner. After many personal clashes with Johnson, during the 1902 season McGraw jumped to become the new manager of the Giants, taking many players with him.[32] The Orioles limped through the remainder of the season under league control, using a roster of players loaned from the rest of the AL clubs. The Orioles were disbanded at the end of the season.[33]
In early 1903, the two leagues decided to settle their disputes and try to coexist.[34] At a conference, Johnson requested that an AL team be put in New York, to play alongside the NL's Giants.[35] It was put to a vote, and 15 of the 16 major league owners agreed on it.[30] The franchise was awarded to Frank J. Farrell and William S. Devery.[36][37]
1903–1912: Establishment in New York and the Highlanders years[edit]
The team's new ballpark, Hilltop Park (formally known as "American League Park"),[38] was constructed in one of Upper Manhattan's highest points—between 165th and 168th Streets in the Washington Heights neighborhood.[39] The team was named the New York Highlanders.[40] Fans believed the name was chosen because of the team's elevated location in Upper Manhattan, or as a nod to team president Joseph Gordon's Scottish-Irish heritage (the Gordon Highlanders were a well known Scottish military unit).[41][42]: 18 The land was owned by the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind and was leased to the Highlanders for 10 years.[43]
Initially, the team was commonly referred to as the New York Americans.[44] The team was also referred to as the "Invaders" in the Evening Journal and The Evening World.[45][46]New York Press Sports Editor Jim Price coined the unofficial nickname Yankees (or "Yanks") for the club as early as 1904, because it was easier to fit in headlines.[47] The Highlanders finished second in the AL in 1904, 1906, and 1910.[48] In 1904, they lost the deciding game on a wild pitch to the Boston Americans, who later became the Boston Red Sox.[49][50] That year, Highlander pitcher Jack Chesbro set the single-season wins record at 41.[51] At this time there was no formal World Series agreement wherein the AL and NL winners would play each other.[51]
1913–1922: New owners, a new home, and a new name: Years at the Polo Grounds[edit]
The Polo Grounds, home of the Yankees from 1913 to 1922, was demolished in 1964, after the Mets had moved to Shea Stadium in Flushing.
The Polo Grounds,[b] located on the shore of the Harlem River in Washington Heights, was home to the New York Giants of the National League.[53] The Giants were inter-city rivals with the Highlanders, dating back to when Giants manager John McGraw feuded with Ban Johnson after McGraw jumped from the Orioles to the Giants.[54][55] Polo Grounds III burned down in 1911 and the Highlanders shared Hilltop Park with the Giants during a two-month renovation period.[56][57] Later, from 1913 to 1922, the Highlanders shared the Polo Grounds with the Giants after their lease with Hilltop Park expired.[58] While playing at the Polo Grounds, the name "Highlanders" fell into disuse among the press.[47] In 1913 the team became officially known as the New York Yankees.[59]
In the mid‑1910s, the Yankees finished towards the bottom of the standings.[42]: 66–69 The relationship between Farrell and Devery became strained due to money issues and the team performance.[60] At the start of 1915, the pair sold the team to Colonel Jacob Ruppert, a brewer, and Captain Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston, a contractor-engineer.[6][61] Ruppert and Huston paid $350,000 (equivalent to $9,375,000 in 2021) with both men contributing half of the total price.[62] After the purchase, Ruppert assumed the role of team president with Huston becoming team secretary and treasurer.[63]
1923–1935: Sluggers and the Stadium: Ruth, Gehrig, and Murderer's Row[edit]
With his hitting prowess, Babe Ruth (1895–1948) ushered in an offensive-oriented era of baseball and helped lead the Yankees to four World Series titles.
In the years around 1920, the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Chicago White Sox had a détente.[64] The trades between the three ball clubs antagonized Ban Johnson and garnered the teams the nickname "The Insurrectos".[65][66] This détente paid off well for the Yankees as they increased their payroll. Most new players who later contributed to the team's success came from the Red Sox, whose owner, Harry Frazee, was trading them for large sums of money to finance his theatrical productions.[67][68] Pitcher-turned-outfielder Babe Ruth was the most talented of all the acquisitions from Boston, and the outcome of that trade would haunt the Red Sox for the next 86 years, a span in which the team did not win a single World Series championship.[69] This phenomenon eventually became known as the Curse of the Bambino, which was coined by writer Dan Shaughnessy in the 1990 book of the same name.[70]
Ruth's multitude of home runs proved so popular that the Yankees began drawing more people than their National League counterpart, the Giants.[66] In 1921 — the year after acquiring Ruth — the Yankees played in their first World Series.[71][72] They competed against the Giants,[73] and all eight games of the series were played in the Polo Grounds.[74] After the 1922 season, the Yankees were told to move out of the Polo Grounds.[75] Giants manager John McGraw became upset with the increase of Yankees attendance along with the number of home runs.[76] He was said to have commented that the Yankees should "move to some out-of-the-way place, like Queens",
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