The Boston Bears were a professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940

1940 American Football League season

The 1940 American Football League season was the first season of the third American Football League. The league was formed when the New York Yankees, Boston Bears, and Buffalo Indians were joined by the Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Bullies, and Milwaukee Chiefs of the minor American Professional...

. Owned by Sheldon H. Fairbanks, the team played its home games in the Fenway Park

Fenway Park

Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...

 in Boston, Massachusetts. Coach Eddie Casey

Eddie Casey

Edward Lawrence Casey was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Harvard University and was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968...

’s team was a competitive one, finishing the 1940 season with a 5-4-1 record, good for third place in the AFL, behind league champions Columbus Bullies

Columbus Bullies

The Columbus Bullies were a professional football team founded by Phil H. Bucklew in Columbus, Ohio in 1938. The Bullies started out as a member of the American Professional Football Association in 1939. Later, in 1940, the Bullies joined the Cincinnati Bengals and Milwaukee Chiefs in leaving the...

 and second-place Milwaukee Chiefs

Milwaukee Chiefs (AFL)

The Milwaukee Chiefs were a professional American football team that competed in the third American Football League in 1940 and in 1941. The team played its home games in the Dairy Bowl in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...

.

But success on the field did not transform itself into success in the stands. The Bears became the third professional football team to leave Boston in the space of four years (behind the Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 of the NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 (which moved to Washington in 1937) and the Boston Shamrocks

Boston Shamrocks

The Boston Shamrocks can be:* , a Ladies Gaelic Football Team*Boston Shamrocks , an American football team*Boston Shamrocks , a basketball exhibition team...

 (of the defunct second American Football League, which folded in 1937; the Shamrocks lasted one more year as an independent team before calling it quits). Before the league’s annual preseason meeting, Fairbanks announced the dissolution of the team (in the meeting, the league tabbed Detroit for an expansion team for the 1941 season to replace the Bears; the team later asked the league for a deferment until 1942, which was granted; but the league suspended operations in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack and the U.S. entry into World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

). Boston would not have a major league football franchise until 1960, when the fourth American Football League

American Football League

The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

’s Boston Patriots started play.

Year	W	L	T	Finish	Coach
1940 1940 American Football League season The 1940 American Football League season was the first season of the third American Football League. The league was formed when the New York Yankees, Boston Bears, and Buffalo Indians were joined by the Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Bullies, and Milwaukee Chiefs of the minor American Professional...	5	4	1	3rd (AFL)	Eddie Casey Eddie Casey Edward Lawrence Casey was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Harvard University and was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968...