But the building is most likely recognized for Staley Fellowship Club, created by A.E. Staley, who brought his starch company to Decatur in 1909. The organization was created to give employees a ...

One dramatic event of Prohibition in Decatur came in 1931 when a gambling room proprietor, Jerry Manuel, in the upstairs of a South Main Street building, now the parking lot next to the Decatur ...

FRANCHISES: The first season, 1920, the American Professional Football Association had 14 teams, including two Tigers (Cleveland and Chicago). The Akron Pros, Decatur Staleys (later the Chicago Bears) ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Folks in central Illinois still talk about their links to the Decatur Staleys -- the team that later became the Chicago Bears. Decatur Mayor Terry Howley's grandfather worked ...