The following is a list of active, professional
major-league Chicago
sports teams, ranked by attendance:
American football (NFL) is the home of the
Chicago Bears (NFL) and
Chicago Fire FC (MLS) The
Chicago Bears of the
National Football League (NFL) play at
Soldier Field. The Bears' history includes many NFL personalities, including owner
George Halas, players
Dick Butkus,
Gale Sayers,
Walter Payton, and coach
Mike Ditka. The Bears are one of the original teams of the NFL, founded by Halas in 1919 in
Decatur, Illinois. They currently have the most players inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame with
26. In
1985, the Bears won
Super Bowl XX 46–10 over the
New England Patriots. In the
2006 season, the Bears reached
Super Bowl XLI, but lost 29–17 to the
Indianapolis Colts. They were led by coach
Lovie Smith. The Bears'
rivalry with the
Green Bay Packers dates back the 1920s, and is one of the most intense in American professional sports. The Bears have other regional and
divisional rivalries with the
Minnesota Vikings and the
Detroit Lions. The Bears play their home games at Soldier Field, named after "The men and women of the armed forces". It is located next to the shores of Lake Michigan, on
DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Soldier Field was an aging stadium and was in dire need of renovation by the end of the 20th century. In 2003, the stadium re-opened after an extensive renovation, which increased the number of luxury boxes and dramatically improved the game day experience for Bears fans. However, because of this renovation, the stadium lost its National Historic Landmark designation on February 17, 2006.
Baseball (MLB) has been the home to the
Chicago Cubs since 1916. has been the home of the
Chicago White Sox since 1991. Chicago is one of three metro areas in the United States that has two
Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, the others being
Los Angeles and
New York City. Of these, only Chicago and New York City have both teams in the city limits. Chicago is the only city that has had more than one MLB team every year since the founding of the American League in 1901 (New York City hosted one team between 1958 and 1962, and Los Angeles has only done so since 1961). The
Chicago Cubs are members of the
National League (NL), while the
Chicago White Sox are members of the
American League (AL). The Cubs play in
Wrigley Field in the North side neighborhood of
Wrigleyville. The Cubs are the oldest Major League Baseball team to have never changed their city, one of nine out of the sixteen teams to predate expansion that have not changed cities. They have played in Chicago since 1871, and continuously so since 1874 due to the
Great Chicago Fire. The White Sox play in
Rate Field in the
South Side neighborhood of
Armour Square. They have played in Chicago since the formation of the American League in 1901. The Cubs'
rivalry with the
St. Louis Cardinals is one of the most bitter in North American professional sports. The Cubs are the oldest team to play continuously in the same city since the formation of the National League in 1876. They have played more games, have more wins and scored more runs than any other team in Major League baseball since 1876. They have won three
World Series titles (
1907,
1908,
2016) and are fourth among National League teams with
17 NL pennants. In
2016, the Cubs broke the two longest droughts in professional sports: 1) they won their sport's title for the first time since
1908, a drought of 108 years, and 2) participated in a World Series for the first time since
1945, a drought of 71 years. The White Sox have played on the South Side continuously since 1901, with all three of their home fields throughout the years being within mere blocks of one another. They have won three World Series titles (
1906,
1917,
2005) and
six American League pennants, including the first in 1901. The Sox are fifth in the American League in all-time wins, and sixth in pennants.
Basketball (NBA, WNBA) The
Chicago Bulls of the
National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional
basketball team.
Michael Jordan and
Scottie Pippen led the Bulls to six NBA championships in two "threepeats" from 1991 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 1998. The new generation of Bulls, known as "The Baby Bulls", emerged in 2005. In 2007, they swept the defending champs, the Miami Heat. In 2011, led by league MVP
Derrick Rose, the Bulls made it to the Eastern Finals, losing to the Miami Heat. and NHL's
Chicago Blackhawks Chicago is home to the
Chicago Sky of the
Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Chicago Sky won the
2021 WNBA Finals beating the Phoenix Mercury 3-1.
Ice hockey (NHL) The
Chicago Blackhawks of the
National Hockey League (NHL) is the city's professional
ice hockey team, and are an
Original Six team. The Blackhawks won the
Stanley Cup in
1934,
1938,
1961,
2010,
2013, and again in
2015. The Blackhawks receive national attention for the intense rivalries with the
Detroit Red Wings, also an Original Six team. Other rivalries include the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues (former
Norris Division rivals), and the Nashville Predators. Some well-known players include:
Stan Mikita,
Tony Esposito,
Bobby Hull,
Keith Magnuson,
Glenn Hall,
Denis Savard,
Steve Larmer,
Jeremy Roenick,
Chris Chelios,
Ed Belfour,
Patrick Kane,
Patrick Sharp,
Marián Hossa,
Corey Crawford,
Jonathan Toews, and
Duncan Keith.
Soccer (MLS, NWSL) Soccer in Chicago can be traced back to
Chicago Sparta. Founded in 1917 by immigrant Czechs, Sparta competed in several leagues during its existence. The club's achievements include: winning the National Soccer League of Chicago; winning 9 titles in Chicago's International League, of which the team was a member 1926–1936; and winning the National Challenge Cup twice. In the 1950s, the Chicago Falcons operated. They won the National Challenge Cup in 1953. during the match between
Chicago Fire FC and Vancouver at
SeatGeek Stadium in
Bridgeview, Illinois Chicago was once the home of the
Chicago Sting who competed in the major professional
North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1984. They spread their home games at
Soldier Field,
Wrigley Field, and
Comiskey Park. The Sting won the
Soccer Bowl twice:
1981 and
1984. They were the only club other than the
New York Cosmos to win multiple titles in the NASL One of the club's notable players was German forward
Arno Steffenhagen.
Chicago Fire FC, a member of
Major League Soccer (MLS), have won one
MLS Cup and four
U.S. Open Cups since they entered the league in 1998. The Fire won their sole MLS Cup in
1998, their inaugural season, led by head coach
Bob Bradley, who later went on to coach the
U.S. national soccer team. The Fire played from 2006 to 2019 at
SeatGeek Stadium (originally Toyota Park), a
soccer-specific stadium located in the Chicago suburb of
Bridgeview near Midway Airport. The club currently plays at
Soldier Field after finalizing an agreement with the Chicago Park District in September 2019. Some notable former players include
Cuauhtémoc Blanco from Mexico,
Brian McBride from the U.S.,
Peter Nowak from Poland, and
Bastian Schweinsteiger from Germany – a demonstration of the team's international flavor. The club is named after the
Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Chicago is also home to the
Chicago Stars FC (formerly Chicago Red Stars), currently playing in the
National Women's Soccer League. The Stars began their second stint at the venue now known as SeatGeek Stadium in 2016, having played there previously as a member of the now-defunct
Women's Professional Soccer. After the 2025 season, they left SeatGeek Stadium, moving to
Martin Stadium on
Northwestern University's main campus in
Evanston. ==Major league professional championships==