ORLANDO, Fla. — Looking back in time, it seems preposterous. But it really happened.
Every year but one from 1934-76, a team of collegiate all-stars played the defending NFL champions at Chicago’s Soldier Field. In its heyday, it was one of the biggest events on the annual sports calendar. The 1947 and 1948 games drew more than 100,000 fans thanks in part to the hometown Bears and Cardinals being the defending champs.
The final edition of the game never even finished. The game was delayed by a lightning storm in the third quarter, then unceremoniously called when a mob of drunken Chicagoans made off with one of the goal posts.