From 1984 to Today: the History of the Gsh Letters on Bears Uniforms
Following Halas's death in October 1983, Chicago played out the remainder of that season with black armbands. When the front office prepared for the 1984 campaign, team president Michael McCaskey and the Halas family sought a lasting visual statement. Rather than affixing a circular chest patch, the conventional format for team memorials, Chicago decided to stitch Halas's initials directly across the left sleeve stripes.
The letters appeared on game day for the first time on September 2, 1984, during Chicago's 24-14 season-opening victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Soldier Field. On the traditional navy home jerseys, designers rendered the letters in bright orange with white trim, nesting them inside the center orange sleeve stripe. On the road white tops, the lettering reversed to navy with orange borders.
The tribute caught national attention during the historic 1985 championship run. As Mike Ditka's defense dominated opponents and the "Super Bowl Shuffle" became a pop-culture fixture, the GSH sleeve initials were broadcast into tens of millions of living rooms. By the time Chicago dismantled New England 46-10 in Super Bowl XX, the sleeve marking was no longer seen as a recent memorial. It had become an indelible part of the Bears' aesthetic.
