YMCA History: The Chicago Bears’ Den
At the YMCA, we make history — and at the Irving Park YMCA, one of our highlights is the Bears’ Den.
The story begins with Clyde Emrich, born in Chicago in 1931. At the age of 15, Emrich began weightlifting, creating makeshift equipment out of cans of sand and cement in his northwest-side basement. After serving in the U.S. Army for two years and placing 8th in the Light-Heavyweight division at the 1952 Olympic games, he returned to Chicago.
Emrich’s longtime friend Jim Davis encouraged him to continue his training at the Irving Park Y. Over the years, Emrich remained active in national and international competitions. As a Middle-Heavyweight, he placed 3rd in the 1954 World Championships in Vienna, Austria, and 2nd in the 1955 World Champions in Munich, Germany. In 1957, Emrich established two world records, lifting 400 and 409 pounds, as a Middle-Heavyweight in the Clean and Jerk. In 1959, he won the Middle-Heavyweight Gold Medal in the Pan American Games, held in Chicago. Throughout the 1950s, Emrich consistently placed first or second in AAU Senior National competitions both in the Light-Heavyweight and Middle-Heavyweight divisions.
In 1962, Chicago Bears funder and coach George Halas contacted Emrich to learn how strength training and isometric resistance training might benefit the Chicago Bears players. Emrich’s credentials as one of America’s foremost weightlifters and approach to conditioning made a strong impression on “Papa Bear.” Halas charged Emrich with developing an isometric program for his team, and the Irving Park Y became the Bears’ off-season training headquarters and one of the first strength training facilities used in the National Football League.
Emrich’s work with the Bears from 1962 through 1963 produced remarkable results. The players’ preparation for that season at Irving Park Y helped propel them to the 1963 NFL Championship. The success of “Clyde’s Boys” that year set a high standard for future Bears teams and solidified Emrich’s reputation among Bears players and coaches.
Over the next decade, the Irving Park Y became a home-away-from-home for an entire generation of Bears players, who came to the Y to train under Emrich’s demanding regimen. Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers rehabilitated from knee surgery at the Irving Park Y. Linebacker Dough Buffone’s off-season preparation combined pick-up basketball games with Emrich’s weights program. Doug Atkins spent many hours in the Irving Park Y weight room to become one of the NFL’s strongest players. Mike Ditka, Dick Gordon, Johnny Morris, Ronnie Bull, and countless others were regular participants in Emrich’s off-season workouts held at the Irving Park Y.
In 1971, the Bears moved their off-season training to their own newly built weight training facility. However, their legacy is still felt at the Irving Park Y. On April 16, 2005, the Irving Park Y named a weight room the “Bears Den” in honor of Clyde Emrich’s fitness philosophy and the togetherness that molded them.
Stop by the Irving Park YMCA to see this history for yourself!