Sports in Chicago - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

is the home of many professional sports teams and one of four U.S. cities to have teams from the five major American professional team sports (baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer).

The city was the official United States nominee for the 2016 Summer Olympics

2016 Summer Olympics

The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...

. Its rivals were Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, with the International Olympic Committee selecting Rio de Janeiro as the 2016 Olympics site in October, 2009. Chicago also hosted the 1959 Pan American Games

1959 Pan American Games

The 3rd Pan American Games opened on August 27, 1959 in sunny 90°F heat before 40,000 people in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The first Pan American Games held in North America, they were originally scheduled for Cleveland, Ohio, but the U.S. Congress’s decision to cut $5,000,000 in federal...

.

Chicago has been named as the Best Sports City by Sporting News three times in 1993, 2006, and 2010.

Chicago teams

The following is a list of active, professional Chicago sports teams by year of establishment:

Club	League	Sport	Venue	Established	Championships
Chicago Cubs Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...	MLB Major League Baseball Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...	Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...	Wrigley Field Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...	1870	2 World Series World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy... Wins, 1 World Series Tie, 3 National League National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional... Pennants, 1 National Association National Association of Professional Base Ball Players The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , or simply the National Association , was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 season... Pennant (latter two before the World Series)
Chicago White Sox Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...	MLB Major League Baseball Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...	Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...	U.S. Cellular Field U.S. Cellular Field U.S. Cellular Field is a baseball ballpark in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, it is the home of the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball's American League. The park opened for the 1991 season, after the White Sox had spent 81 years at old Comiskey Park...	1900	3 World Series Wins, 7 American League American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major... Pennants
Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	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...	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...	Soldier Field Soldier Field Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...	1919	1 Super Bowl Win, 8 League Championships (Pre-Super Bowl Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather... Era)
Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...	NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...	Ice hockey Ice hockey Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...	United Center United Center The United Center is an indoor sports arena located in Chicago. It is named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League...	1926	4 Stanley Cup Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug... s
Chicago Lions RFC Chicago Lions The Chicago Lions Rugby Football Club is a SuperLeague rugby union team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The Lions were founded in 1964 and their all black colors follow the color scheme of the New Zealand All Blacks...	RSL	Rugby union Rugby union Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...	Lions for Hope Clubhouse and Field	1964	0 Championships
Chicago Bulls Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...	NBA National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...	Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...	United Center United Center The United Center is an indoor sports arena located in Chicago. It is named after its corporate sponsor, United Airlines. The United Center is home to both the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League...	1966	6 NBA Championships
Chicago Griffins Chicago Griffins The Chicago Griffins RFC rugby union team was founded in 1973. The team competes in the RSL and play their home games at Schiller Woods in Schiller Park, Illinois, USA.- 2010 Team :1.Jojo Bucci2.Keith Bowen3.Tim Paulsen4.Stephen Wolff...	RSL	Rugby union Rugby union Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...	Schiller Park Schiller Park, Illinois Schiller Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,850 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Schiller Park is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land....	1973	0 Championships
Chicago Wolves Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. They are the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois...	AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...	Ice hockey Ice hockey Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...	Allstate Arena Allstate Arena Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in Rosemont, Illinois.It is home to the Chicago Rush, of the Arena Football League, DePaul University's men's basketball team, the Chicago Wolves, of the AHL, and the Chicago Sky, of the WNBA.It is located near the intersection of Mannheim Road and...	1994	2 Turner Cup Turner Cup The Turner Cup is the championship trophy of the International Hockey League. The Cup is named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professional with the Detroit Red Wings organization, and played one season with the Indianapolis Capitals in the American Hockey League... s, 2 Calder Cup Calder Cup The Calder Cup is awarded annually to the playoff champion of the American Hockey League. The trophy is the world's second oldest continuous professional ice hockey championship, having first been awarded in 1937 following the 1936-37 AHL season, and continuously being awarded every year.The cup... s
Chicago Fire	MLS Major League Soccer Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...	Soccer	Toyota Park Toyota Park (Bridgeview) Toyota Park is a soccer-specific stadium located at 71st Street and Harlem Avenue in Bridgeview, Illinois. It is the home stadium of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club, members of Major League Soccer . Toyota Park was developed at a cost of around $100 million. The facility opened June 11, 2006...	1997	1 MLS Cup, 4 U.S. Open Cups, 1 Supporters Shield
Chicago Rush Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...	AFL	Arena football Arena football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....	Allstate Arena Allstate Arena Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in Rosemont, Illinois.It is home to the Chicago Rush, of the Arena Football League, DePaul University's men's basketball team, the Chicago Wolves, of the AHL, and the Chicago Sky, of the WNBA.It is located near the intersection of Mannheim Road and...	2000	1 ArenaBowl ArenaBowl The ArenaBowl is the Arena Football League's championship game. From 1987 to 2004, the ArenaBowl was hosted by either the team with the better regular-season record or the higher seeding in the playoffs. From ArenaBowl XIX in 2005 until ArenaBowl XXII in 2008, the game was played at a neutral site... : 2006
Chicago Force Chicago Force The Chicago Force is a women's football team that is now in the Women's Football Alliance. Founded in 2003, the team has previously played at De La Salle HS & St...	IWFL Independent Women's Football League The Independent Women's Football League was founded in 2000, and began play in 2001.IWFL founders began with the goal to establish a quality women's football league that would be respected as the top level of women's tackle football in the world....	Women's American football Women's American football Women have begun playing full-contact American football. Most leagues play by the same rules as their male counterparts, with one exception: women's leagues use a slightly smaller football. Women primarily play on a semi-professional or amateur level in the United States...	North Park University North Park University North Park University is a four-year university located at 3225 W. Foster Avenue on the north side of Chicago, Illinois in the North Park neighborhood. It was founded in 1891 by the Evangelical Covenant Church and shares its campus with the denomination's only seminary...	2003	1 Eastern Conference Championship: 2008
Windy City Rollers Windy City Rollers The Windy City Rollers are an all-female flat-track Roller Derby league located in Chicago, the city where roller derby first emerged as a sport in 1937...	WFTDA Women's Flat Track Derby Association The Women's Flat Track Derby Association is an association of women's flat track roller derby leagues in the United States. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Coalition but was renamed in November 2005. It is registered in Raleigh, North Carolina as a 501 business...	Roller derby Roller derby Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...	UIC Pavilion UIC Pavilion The UIC Pavilion is a 6,958-seat multi-purpose arena, located at 525 S. Racine Street on the West Side in Chicago, Illinois, USA, which opened in 1982. It is home to the University of Illinois at Chicago Flames basketball team and the former home of the Chicago Sky WNBA team...	2004	Regular Season Champions: 2005- Hell's Belles 2006- Manic Attackers Ivy league Cup: 2005, 2006- The Fury 2007- Double Crossers Travel Team ALL STARS 2007-2nd Easter/7th National
Chicago Bandits Chicago Bandits The Chicago Bandits are a women's professional softball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. Since the 2005 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch . The Bandits won the 2008 NPF championship, defeating the Washington Glory in the final game of the championship series...	NPF National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch , formerly the Women's Pro Softball League , is the only professional women's softball league in the United States. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001. The NPF revived the league in 2004 and currently features four teams: USSSA Pride, Akron Racers, Chicago...	Softball Softball Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...	Chicago Bandits Stadium	2005	1 World Championship: 2008; 3 Regular Season Championships: 2005, 2006, 2008
Chicago Sky Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky is a professional basketball team based in Rosemont, Illinois, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2006 WNBA season began. The team is owned by Michael J. Alter and Margaret Stender...	WNBA Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...	Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...	Allstate Arena Allstate Arena Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in Rosemont, Illinois.It is home to the Chicago Rush, of the Arena Football League, DePaul University's men's basketball team, the Chicago Wolves, of the AHL, and the Chicago Sky, of the WNBA.It is located near the intersection of Mannheim Road and...	2006	0 WNBA Championships
Chicago Outfit Roller Derby Chicago Outfit Roller Derby Chicago Outfit Roller Derby is an all-female flat-track roller derby league based in the city of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2007, the Chicago Outfit became full members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association on June 17, 2010...	WFTDA Women's Flat Track Derby Association The Women's Flat Track Derby Association is an association of women's flat track roller derby leagues in the United States. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Coalition but was renamed in November 2005. It is registered in Raleigh, North Carolina as a 501 business...	Roller derby Roller derby Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...	Windy City Field House	2007	Shade Brigade (B-Team) 2010 Screw City Smackdown Champions
Chicago Slaughter	IFL Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...	Indoor football	Sears Centre Sears Centre The Sears Centre is an 11,000-seat multi-purpose family entertainment, cultural and sports center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb, 25 miles from Chicago. The arena has 43 luxury suites on two separate levels...	2006	1 CIFL Championship: 2009
Chicago Cardinals Chicago Cardinals (CIFL) The Chicago Knights are a Professional Indoor Football team based in Loves Park, Illinois. The Knights were founded in 2010 and will continue play in 2011 as a member of the Continental Indoor Football League, playing their home games at the Victory Sports Complex.The Knights are currently the...	CIFL	Indoor football	Odeum Expo Center Odeum Expo Center The Odeum Expo Center is a convention center located in Villa Park, Illinois. It features of exhibit space at the North Hall and of exhibit space at the South Hall. Both halls have pitched roofs as high as . The South Hall is also used as an arena with an 85-by-194-foot artificial turf surface...	2009	0 Championships
Chicago Bliss Chicago Bliss Chicago Bliss is one of two teams that were introduced to the Lingerie Football League in 2004 .Being defeated by New York Euphoria in the Eastern Final at Lingerie Bowl II in 2005 and again at Lingerie Bowl III in 2006, the team never reached the Final.On...	LFL Lingerie Football League The Lingerie Football League is a women's 7-on-7 tackle American football league, created in 2009, with games played in the fall and winter at NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS arenas and stadiums. The league was founded by Mitch Mortaza...	Women's American Football Women's American football Women have begun playing full-contact American football. Most leagues play by the same rules as their male counterparts, with one exception: women's leagues use a slightly smaller football. Women primarily play on a semi-professional or amateur level in the United States...	Sears Centre Sears Centre The Sears Centre is an 11,000-seat multi-purpose family entertainment, cultural and sports center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb, 25 miles from Chicago. The arena has 43 luxury suites on two separate levels...	2009	0 Championships
Chicago Stockyarders Chicago Stockyarders The Chicago Stockyarders are a semi-professional rugby league football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are currently planned to join the American National Rugby League in the future...	AMNRL	Rugby League Rugby league Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...		2010	0 Championships
Chicago Riot Chicago Riot The Chicago Riot was an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They were based in Villa Park, Illinois, near Chicago, and they played their home games at the Odeum Expo Center.-Namesake:...	MISL	Indoor soccer Indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer, or six-a-side football in the United Kingdom, is a game derived from association football adapted for play in an indoor arena such as a turf-covered hockey arena or skating rink. The most important difference in play is that the indoor field is surrounded by a wall...	Odeum Expo Center Odeum Expo Center The Odeum Expo Center is a convention center located in Villa Park, Illinois. It features of exhibit space at the North Hall and of exhibit space at the South Hall. Both halls have pitched roofs as high as . The South Hall is also used as an arena with an 85-by-194-foot artificial turf surface...	2010	0 Championships
Chicago Express Chicago Express Chicago Express Airlines, Inc. was a regional airline headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States.It operated regional feeder services from Chicago Midway Airport under the name ATA Connection. On June 1, 1999, ATA Airlines acquired Chicago Express for $1.9 million...	ECHL ECHL The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...	Ice hockey Ice hockey Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...	Sears Centre Sears Centre The Sears Centre is an 11,000-seat multi-purpose family entertainment, cultural and sports center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb, 25 miles from Chicago. The arena has 43 luxury suites on two separate levels...	2011
Schaumburg Boomers Schaumburg Boomers The Schaumburg Boomers are a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois, that will begin play in the independent Frontier League for the upcoming 2012 season. Home games are played at Alexian Field...	Frontier Frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...	Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...	Schaumburg Baseball Stadium	2011	2012 Inaugural Season
Chicago Muscle Chicago Muscle The Chicago Muscle is a professional minor league basketball team in the Premier Basketball League. The Muscle are set to begin play for the 2012 season...	PBL PBL - Sports:* B.C. Premier Baseball League, a youth baseball league in British Columbia, Canada* Philippine Basketball League, a men's basketball minor league in the Philippines...	Basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...	TBD TBD TBD is an abbreviation often meaning in ordinary writing "to be discussed" "to be done", "to be defined", "to be decided", "to be determined", etc...	2012	Inaugural Season 2012

Major league

Chicago is one of four metro areas in the United States that has two Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

teams, the other three being Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and the San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

, and is one of only two, along with New York, which has both teams in the central city.

The Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

of the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

play at Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...

, which is located in the north side neighborhood of Lakeview

Lakeview, Chicago

Lake View, or Lakeview, is one of the 77 community area of the Chicago, Illinois, located in the city's North Side. It is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road on the north, North Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and the shore of Lake Michigan on the east...

, the western part of which is commonly referred to as "Wrigleyville." The Cubs are the oldest team to play continuously in the same city since the formation of the National League

National League

in 1876.

The Chicago White Sox

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...

of the American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

play at US Cellular Field, which is located in the South Side

South Side (Chicago)

The South Side is a major part of the City of Chicago, which is located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Much of it has evolved from the city's incorporation of independent townships, such as Hyde Park Township which voted along with several other townships to be annexed in the June 29,...

neighborhood of Armour Square

Armour Square, Chicago

Armour Square is both the name of a Chicago neighborhood on the city's South Side, as well as the larger, officially defined community area that the neighborhood is located in. The Armour Square community area also includes Chinatown and the CHA Wentworth Gardens housing project...

. They have played in Chicago since the formation of the American League in 1900.

Minor league

The Chicago metropolitan area is home to the Kane County Cougars

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Kansas City Royals, that plays in the Midwest League. Their home games are played in Geneva, Illinois, about 35 miles west of Chicago....

, a Class-A minor league baseball

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

team that plays in suburban Geneva, Illinois

Geneva, Illinois

Geneva is the county seat of Kane County, Illinois. It is located on the western fringe of the Chicago suburbs. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 26,652. Geneva is part of a tri-city area, along with St. Charles and Batavia...

as part of the Midwest League

Midwest League

The Midwest League is a Class-A minor league baseball league which operates in the Midwestern United States.-History:Six teams – the Belleville Stags, the Centralia Cubs, the Marion Indians, the Mattoon Indians or East Frankfort White Sox, the Mount Vernon Braves, and the West Frankfort...

; the Gary SouthShore RailCats

Gary SouthShore RailCats

The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a professional baseball team based in Gary, Indiana, in the United States. The RailCats are a member of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The RailCats have played their home games at...

, members of the independent American Association, the Schaumburg Boomers

Schaumburg Boomers

The Schaumburg Boomers are a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois, that will begin play in the independent Frontier League for the upcoming 2012 season. Home games are played at Alexian Field...

, Joliet Slammers

Joliet Slammers

The Joliet Slammers are a professional baseball team based in Joliet, Illinois, that play in the independent Frontier League. They play their home games at Silver Cross Field in Joliet. They replaced the Joliet JackHammers of the Northern League after the franchise was crippled by numerous...

and Windy City ThunderBolts

Windy City ThunderBolts

The Windy City ThunderBolts are a professional baseball team based in the Chicago suburb of Crestwood, Illinois, in the United States. The ThunderBolts are a member of the East Division of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...

(based in Crestwood

Crestwood, Illinois

Crestwood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,251 at the 2000 census. In April 2009 the Chicago Tribune reported that for 20 years the city had been drawing its drinking water from a well that was contaminated with toxic chemicals.-Geography:According to the...

), members of the independent Frontier League

Frontier League

The Frontier League, based in Sauget, Illinois, is a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States, Western Pennsylvania, and Southern Ontario. It operates mostly in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either...

; and the Lake County Fielders

Lake County Fielders

The Lake County Fielders are a professional minor league baseball team based in Zion, Illinois, located in Lake County in the northern reaches of the Chicago area...

(based in Zion

Zion, Illinois

Zion is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,866 at the 2000 census, and estimated at 24,303 as of 2005. The city was founded in July 1901 by John Alexander Dowie. He also started the Zion Tabernacle of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, which was the only...

), members of the North American League

North American League

The North American League is an independent baseball league that began play in the 2011 season...

. The McHenry County K-Nines

McHenry County K-Nines

The McHenry County K-Nines are a professional baseball team based in Woodstock, Illinois, part of the greater Chicago metropolitan area. They are not scheduled to begin play in 2012 as a member of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Home games will be played...

(based in Woodstock

Woodstock, Illinois

Woodstock is a far northwest suburb of Chicago in McHenry County, Illinois. The population was 20,151 at the 2000 census. The 2010 Census shows 24,770 residents. It is the county seat of McHenry County...

) are slated to join the Frontier League in 2013.

Men's leagues

The Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...

of the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

is a professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

team. One of the team's most well-known players, Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan

Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...

, led the Bulls to six NBA championships in eight seasons in the 1990s. Other well known Bulls that helped them win the championships were Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman

Dennis Keith Rodman is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The...

and Scottie Pippen

Scottie Pippen

Scottie Maurice Pippen is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association . He is most remembered for his time with the Chicago Bulls, with whom he was instrumental in six NBA Championships and their record 1995–96 season of 72 wins...

. The new generation of Bulls, "The Baby Bulls", have made it to the playoffs in 2005, 2006, 2007,2009 and 2010. In 2007, they swept the defending champs, the Miami Heat

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...

. In 2010 they made it to the Eastern Finals losing to the Miami Heat

Miami Heat

. The players on the team include Derrick Rose

Derrick Rose

Derrick Martell Rose is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association ....

, Luol Deng

Luol Deng

Luol Deng is a South Sudanese-British professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls and the Great Britain national basketball team. He plays the small forward position.-Early life:...

, Carlos Boozer

Carlos Boozer

Carlos Austin Boozer, Jr. is an American professional basketball player with the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association...

, Ronnie Brewer

Ronnie Brewer

Ronnie Brewer is an American professional basketball player, currently playing for the Chicago Bulls. The Utah Jazz selected him with the 14th pick of the 2006 NBA Draft. Brewer played collegiately at the University of Arkansas, where his father Ron Brewer was a star in the late 1970s...

, Kyle Korver

Kyle Korver

Kyle Elliot Korver is an American basketball player, who currently plays for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association...

, Brian Scalabrine

Brian Scalabrine

Brian David Scalabrine is an American professional basketball power forward who plays for the Italian club Benetton Treviso. Raised in Enumclaw, Washington, Scalabrine attended the University of Southern California after transferring from Highline Community College...

, Keith Bogans

Keith Bogans

Keith Ramon Bogans is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Chicago Bulls.-High school and college:...

, Taj Gibson

Taj Gibson

Taj Jami Gibson is a professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association . Following the 2010 signing of Carlos Boozer, he has played as the second string power forward...

, Kurt Thomas

Kurt Thomas

Kurt Thomas is the name of:* Kurt Thomas , NBA player* Kurt Thomas , American gymnast*Kurt Thomas...

, CJ Watson Omer Asik, and Joakim Noah

Joakim Noah

Joakim Simon Noah is a professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association . Born in New York City to a Swedish mother and French father, he holds American, Swedish and French citizenship...

Women's leagues

Chicago is home to the Chicago Sky

Chicago Sky

The Chicago Sky is a professional basketball team based in Rosemont, Illinois, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2006 WNBA season began. The team is owned by Michael J. Alter and Margaret Stender...

of the Women's National Basketball Association

Women's National Basketball Association

The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

Men's leagues

The Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

of the National Football League

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...

play at Soldier Field

Soldier Field

Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...

. The Bears' history includes many NFL personalities, including owner George Halas

George Halas

George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...

, players Dick Butkus

Dick Butkus

Richard Marvin "Dick" Butkus is a former American football player for the Chicago Bears. He was drafted in 1965 and he is also widely regarded as one of the best and most durable linebackers of all time. Butkus starred as a football player for the University of Illinois and the Chicago Bears. He...

, Gale Sayers

Gale Sayers

Gale Eugene Sayers also known as "The Kansas Comet", is a former professional football player in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Chicago Bears....

, Jim McMahon

Jim McMahon

James Robert "Jim" McMahon, Jr. is a former American football player. He played college football at Brigham Young University, where he was a two-time All-American and later in the professional ranks with the Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona...

, William "Refrigerator" Perry

William Perry (American football)

William Perry is a former professional American football player. He is best known for his years as a defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears. In reference to his large size, he was popularly known as "The Refrigerator" or, abbreviated, "The Fridge".-Life and athletic career:Perry was born in...

, Walter Payton

Walter Payton

Walter Jerry Payton was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for thirteen seasons. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football...

, and coach Mike Ditka

Mike Ditka

Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...

. The Bears are one of the original teams of the NFL, founded by Halas in 1919 in Decatur, Illinois

Decatur, Illinois

Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...

. They currently have the most players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with 26. In the 2006 season, the Bears made it to the Super Bowl. They were led by coach Lovie Smith

Lovie Smith

Lovie Lee Smith is the head coach of the Chicago Bears professional football team of the NFL. Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice, as the defensive coordinator for the 2001 Saint Louis Rams and as the head coach for the Chicago Bears in 2006....

. The Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

and Bears rivalry dates back the 1920s, and is one of the most intense in American professional sports. The NFC North

NFC North

The NFC North is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference, based in the Upper Midwest region of the United States...

, which the Bears are a part of, is sometimes referred to as the NFC Norris Division, a mimic to the NHL's old Norris Division. The Chicago Bears have rivalries with the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

and the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

, similar to the Blackhawks' rivalries with the Red Wings, the North Stars, and the I-55 Rivalry with the St. Louis Blues hockey team.

The Chicago metropolitan area is also home to the Chicago Rush

Chicago Rush

The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...

of the Arena Football League, playing at the Allstate Arena

Allstate Arena

Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in Rosemont, Illinois.It is home to the Chicago Rush, of the Arena Football League, DePaul University's men's basketball team, the Chicago Wolves, of the AHL, and the Chicago Sky, of the WNBA.It is located near the intersection of Mannheim Road and...

in Rosemont. The Rush was established in 2001 and, making the playoffs each year of the team's existence. The Rush won its first championship in 2006, ArenaBowl XX

ArenaBowl XX

ArenaBowl XX, held on Sunday, June 11, 2006, was played to determine the championship of the 2006 season of the Arena Football League. For the second consecutive year, the game was played at the neutral site of the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It pitted the National Conference...

. Chicago was also home to the Chicago Bruisers

Chicago Bruisers

The Chicago Bruisers were a charter member of the Arena Football League, playing in the four-team "demonstration season" of 1987. They played their home games in the former Rosemont Horizon, now the Allstate Arena, home of the Chicago Rush.-History:...

from 1987 to 1989, an original team in the AFL's inaugural season in 1987. The Bruisers hosted ArenaBowl II

ArenaBowl II

Arena Bowl '88 was the Arena Football League's second-ever championship game. The game featured the #2 Detroit Drive against the #1 Chicago Bruisers .-Game summary:...

Women's leagues

Chicago is home to the Chicago Force

Chicago Force

The Chicago Force is a women's football team that is now in the Women's Football Alliance. Founded in 2003, the team has previously played at De La Salle HS & St...

of the Independent Women's Football League

Independent Women's Football League

The Independent Women's Football League was founded in 2000, and began play in 2001.IWFL founders began with the goal to establish a quality women's football league that would be respected as the top level of women's tackle football in the world....

.

Chicago is also home to the Chicago Bliss

Chicago Bliss

Chicago Bliss is one of two teams that were introduced to the Lingerie Football League in 2004 .Being defeated by New York Euphoria in the Eastern Final at Lingerie Bowl II in 2005 and again at Lingerie Bowl III in 2006, the team never reached the Final.On...

of the Lingerie Football League

Lingerie Football League

The Lingerie Football League is a women's 7-on-7 tackle American football league, created in 2009, with games played in the fall and winter at NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS arenas and stadiums. The league was founded by Mitch Mortaza...

Ice hockey

The Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...

of the National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

is the city's professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

team, and are an Original Six

Original Six

The Original Six is a term for the group of six teams that composed the National Hockey League for the 25 seasons between the 1942–43 season and the 1967 NHL Expansion. These six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and the...

team. Some well-known players include: Stan Mikita

Stan Mikita

Stanislav "Stan" Mikita , is a Slovak-born Canadian retired professional ice hockey player, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s. In 1961, he won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he played his entire career.-Early life:Mikita was born in Sokolče, Slovak Republic...

, Tony Esposito

Tony Esposito

For the Italian musician, please see Tony Esposito .Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito is a retired Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender, who played in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of the pioneers of the now popular butterfly style....

, Bobby Hull

Bobby Hull

Robert Marvin "Bobby" Hull, OC is a former Canadian ice hockey player. He is regarded as one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time and perhaps the greatest left winger to ever play the game. Hull was famous for his blonde hair, blinding skating speed, and having the hardest shot, earning...

, Keith Magnuson

Keith Magnuson

Keith Arlen Magnuson was a professional ice hockey defenceman from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan who played in the National Hockey League between 1969 and 1979...

, Glenn Hall

Glenn Hall

Glenn Henry "Mr. Goalie" Hall is a former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, and St. Louis Blues, Hall seldom missed a game and was a consistent performer, winning the Vezina Trophy three times, and the...

, Denis Savard

Denis Savard

Denis Joseph Savard is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League from 1980 to 1997, and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000...

, Steve Larmer

Steve Larmer

Steven Donald Larmer is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward.Steve played in the NHL for the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers. He won the 1983 Calder Memorial Trophy as well as being named to the NHL All-Rookie Team that year...

, Jeremy Roenick

Jeremy Roenick

Jeremy Shaffer "J.R." Roenick is a former American professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League . He played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks over the course of his 18 NHL...

, Chris Chelios

Chris Chelios

Christos Kostas Tselios is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently the Executive Advisor to Ken Holland, the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, a role that Steve Yzerman held before leaving to become general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.Chelios played...

, and Ed Belfour

Ed Belfour

Edward John Belfour is a former Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender.Belfour was born in Carman, Manitoba and grew up playing hockey. He played junior hockey for the Winkler Flyers before going to the University of North Dakota where he helped the school win the NCAA championship in the...

. The Blackhawks have one of the most exciting young teams in the NHL. They are led by young forwards Jonathan Toews

Jonathan Toews

Jonathan Bryan Toews is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who plays for and is captain of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League . He is currently the youngest captain in the NHL, having been appointed in 2008....

and Patrick Kane

Patrick Kane

Patrick Timothy Kane, Jr. is an American professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League . The Blackhawks selected him with the first overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.-Minor and junior:Kane attended the St...

, veteran stars Marian Hossa

Marian Hossa

Marián Hossa is a Slovak professional ice hockey player who currently plays for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League . Hossa was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft; after playing for the Senators, he played for the Atlanta Thrashers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and...

, Patrick Sharp

Patrick Sharp

Patrick Sharp is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and alternate captain currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League .-Playing career:Sharp was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba...

star defensemen Duncan Keith

Duncan Keith

Duncan Keith is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is an alternate captain for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League...

, Brent Seabrook

Brent Seabrook

Brent Seabrook is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League . He was selected 14th overall by the Blackhawks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft out of the Western Hockey League . He played four seasons of junior with the Lethbridge...

and goaltender Corey Crawford

Corey Crawford

Corey Crawford is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, who is currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. His teammates and coaches often refer to him as "Crawf" or "Crow".-Playing career:...

. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010

2010 Stanley Cup Finals

The 2010 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League season. As the culmination of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers faced the Western Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks...

on June 9th. The Blackhawks receive national attention for the intense rivalries with the Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

, also an Original Six team. Other rivalries include the Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...

, St. Louis Blues, the Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...

with St. Louis being former Norris Division

Norris Division

The NHL's Norris Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Prince of Wales Conference. The division moved to the Clarence Campbell Conference in 1981, with the Detroit Red Wings being the only member to remain from the previous season. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. The...

rivals.

The Chicago metropolitan area is also home to the Chicago Wolves

Chicago Wolves

The Chicago Wolves are a professional hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. They are the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois...

of the American Hockey League

American Hockey League

The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

, the Chicago Express

Chicago Express

Chicago Express Airlines, Inc. was a regional airline headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States.It operated regional feeder services from Chicago Midway Airport under the name ATA Connection. On June 1, 1999, ATA Airlines acquired Chicago Express for $1.9 million...

of the ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

, and the Chi-Town Shooters

Chi-Town Shooters

The Chi-Town Shooters are a professional ice hockey team that play in the All American Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the Midwest Training & Ice Center in Dyer, Indiana...

of the All American Hockey League. The Chicago Wolves have been very successful, making numerous playoff appearances and winning the Turner and Calder cups many times. Playing in suburban Bensenville are the Chicago Steel

Chicago Steel

The Chicago Steel is a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team formed in 2000. It plays all of its home games at the Edge Ice Arena, located in Bensenville, Illinois. The Steel play in the Eastern Division of the United States Hockey League. The current GM and Head Coach of the Steel is Scott McConnell...

of the United States Hockey League

United States Hockey League

The United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States. The USHL has 16 member teams located in the Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger...

, a Tier One Junior Hockey league, the only tier one junior league in the United States.

Roller derby

Chicago is home to two all-female roller derby leagues; Chicago Outfit Roller Derby

Chicago Outfit Roller Derby

Chicago Outfit Roller Derby is an all-female flat-track roller derby league based in the city of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2007, the Chicago Outfit became full members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association on June 17, 2010...

and Windy City Rollers

Windy City Rollers

The Windy City Rollers are an all-female flat-track Roller Derby league located in Chicago, the city where roller derby first emerged as a sport in 1937...

of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association

Women's Flat Track Derby Association

The Women's Flat Track Derby Association is an association of women's flat track roller derby leagues in the United States. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Coalition but was renamed in November 2005. It is registered in Raleigh, North Carolina as a 501 business...

Rugby League

Chicago Stockyarders

The Chicago Stockyarders are a semi-professional rugby league football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are currently planned to join the American National Rugby League in the future...

rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

team will be playing in 2010'sAMNRL's War at the Shore in a 7s match against the Northern Raiders

Northern Raiders

The New York Raiders are an American semi-professional rugby league football team based in Congers, New York. The team currently plays in the American National Rugby League competition...

Rugby Union

The Chicago Griffins

Chicago Griffins

The Chicago Griffins RFC rugby union team was founded in 1973. The team competes in the RSL and play their home games at Schiller Woods in Schiller Park, Illinois, USA.- 2010 Team :*1.Jojo Bucci*2.Keith Bowen*3.Tim Paulsen*4.Stephen Wolff...

and Chicago Lions

Chicago Lions

The Chicago Lions Rugby Football Club is a SuperLeague rugby union team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The Lions were founded in 1964 and their all black colors follow the color scheme of the New Zealand All Blacks...

both play in the Rugby Super League

Rugby Super League

The Rugby Super League, usually referred to as simply the Super League, formerly the Michelob Super League, is a national rugby union competition currently contested by 11 clubs in the United States...

Soccer

The Chicago Fire, a member of Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

, have won one MLS Cup

MLS Cup

The MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...

and four U.S. Open Cups

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a knockout tournament in American soccer. The tournament is the oldest ongoing American soccer competition and is presently open to all United States Soccer Federation affiliated teams, from amateur adult club teams to the professional clubs of Major League...

since 1998. The Fire played at Soldier Field until 2006, spending parts of two seasons at Cardinal Stadium in Naperville. They now play at Toyota Park

Toyota Park (Bridgeview)

Toyota Park is a soccer-specific stadium located at 71st Street and Harlem Avenue in Bridgeview, Illinois. It is the home stadium of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club, members of Major League Soccer . Toyota Park was developed at a cost of around $100 million. The facility opened June 11, 2006...

, located at 71st Street and Harlem Avenue in Bridgeview, near Midway Airport. The Fire have historically drawn an attendance average of over 15,000 fans per game. Some notable former players are Cuauhtémoc Blanco

Cuauhtémoc Blanco

Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo is a Mexican professional footballer currently signed for Irapuato in the Mexican Liga de Ascenso.Known for his aggressive yet charismatic personality on the field, playing most of his career as a deep-lying forward and his last years as an attacking midfielder...

from Mexico, Brian McBride

Brian McBride

Brian Robert McBride is a retired American soccer player who finished his career for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer , but spent the majority of his time in MLS playing for the Columbus Crew. For much of his career he played in Europe, notably for Fulham in the English Premier League...

from the USA, and Peter Nowak

Piotr Nowak

Piotr Nowak is a Polish former professional soccer player. He is currently the head coach of the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer.Nowak enjoyed a successful playing career in Europe, playing for Polish clubs such as Zawisza Bydgoszcz and Widzew Łódź, before going on to play in Turkey,...

from Poland – a demonstration of the team's international flavor.

Softball

Chicago is home to the Chicago Bandits

Chicago Bandits

The Chicago Bandits are a women's professional softball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. Since the 2005 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch . The Bandits won the 2008 NPF championship, defeating the Washington Glory in the final game of the championship series...

of the National Pro Fastpitch

National Pro Fastpitch

National Pro Fastpitch , formerly the Women's Pro Softball League , is the only professional women's softball league in the United States. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001. The NPF revived the league in 2004 and currently features four teams: USSSA Pride, Akron Racers, Chicago...

softball league.

Wrestling

The Chicago area has also played host to the WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

's WrestleMania

WrestleMania

WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut...

multiple times, most recently for WrestleMania 22

WrestleMania 22

Notes: .The predominant feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton over the World Heavyweight Championship. Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Orton, to earn a World Championship match at WrestleMania. At No Way Out, Orton defeated...

Baseball

Chicago Columbia Giants
Chicago Columbia Giants
The Columbia Giants were a professional, black baseball team based in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century, prior to the Negro Leagues.- Founding :...

(Negro National League
Negro National League
Negro National League can refer to either one or both of these two leagues of major league baseball in the USA in the first half of the twentieth century:* Negro National League * Negro National League...

)
Chicago Unions
Chicago Unions
The Chicago Unions were a professional, black baseball team that played in the late 19th century, prior to the formation of the Negro Leagues.- Founding :...

(Negro National League
Negro National League
Negro National League can refer to either one or both of these two leagues of major league baseball in the USA in the first half of the twentieth century:* Negro National League * Negro National League...

)
Chicago Union Giants (Negro National League
Negro National League
Negro National League can refer to either one or both of these two leagues of major league baseball in the USA in the first half of the twentieth century:* Negro National League * Negro National League...

)
Leland Giants
Leland Giants
The Chicago Union Giants, the top black baseball team in the Midwest or West in the first decade of the 20th century, changed its name in 1905 to the Leland Giants, after manager and owner Frank Leland....

(Negro National League
Negro National League
Negro National League can refer to either one or both of these two leagues of major league baseball in the USA in the first half of the twentieth century:* Negro National League * Negro National League...

)
Chicago American Giants
Chicago American Giants
Chicago American Giants were a Chicago-based Negro league baseball team, owned and managed from 1911 to 1926 by player-manager Andrew "Rube" Foster. From 1910 until the mid-1930s, the American Giants were the most dominant team in black baseball...

(Negro National League
Negro National League
Negro National League can refer to either one or both of these two leagues of major league baseball in the USA in the first half of the twentieth century:* Negro National League * Negro National League...

)
Chicago Whales
Chicago Whales
The Chicago Whales were a professional baseball team based in Chicago. They played in the Federal League, a short-lived "third Major League", in 1914 and 1915. They originally lacked a formal nickname, and were known simply as the "Chicago Federals" to distinguish them from the Chicago Cubs and...

(Federal League
Federal League
The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that operated as a "third major league", in competition with the established National and American Leagues, from to...

)

Basketball

Chicago Bruins
Chicago Bruins
The Chicago Bruins were an American basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois that was a member of the American Basketball League. The Bruins later played in the National Basketball League and World Professional Basketball Tournament....

(American Basketball League
American Basketball League (1925-1955)
The American Basketball League was an early professional basketball league. During six seasons from 1925-26 to 1930-31, the ABL was the first attempt to create a major professional basketball league in the United States...

)
Chicago American Gears
Chicago American Gears
The Chicago American Gears were a National Basketball League team who played from 1944 to 1947.Led by George Mikan and Bobby McDermott, they defeated the Rochester Royals to win the 1947 NBL Championship....

(National Basketball League
National Basketball League
National Basketball League may mean:* National Basketball League , the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia* National Basketball League * National Basketball League of Canada...

)
Chicago Stags
Chicago Stags
The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago, Illinois, U.S..- Franchise history :The Chicago Stags were founded in 1946 and folded in 1950. Despite their short history, they were able to acquire the draft rights to a young Bob Cousy in a trade with the Tri-Cities...

(National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

)
Chicago Packers (also known as the Chicago Zephyrs; currently the Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...

) (National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

)
Chicago Majors
Chicago Majors
The Chicago Majors was an American basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois that was a member of the American Basketball League. They played in the old Chicago Stadium.-Year-by-year:...

(American Basketball League
American Basketball League (1961-1963)
The American Basketball League played one full season, 1961-1962, and part of 1962-1963. The league actually folded on December 31, 1962. The ABL was the first basketball league to have a three point shot for baskets scored far away from the goal.-Formation:...
Chicago Express
Chicago Express (basketball team)
The Chicago Express was a professional basketball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois, in 1988. The team played its inaugural season in the World Basketball League, which folded before the schedule ended....

(World Basketball League
World Basketball League
World Basketball League was a minor professional basketball league in the United States and Canada. It was founded as the International Basketball Association in November 1987, before changing its name prior to the 1988 season. One of the major differences between it and other leagues was that it...
Chicago Rockstars (American Basketball Association)
Chicago Skyliners (American Basketball Association)
Chicago Soldiers
Chicago Soldiers
The Chicago Soldiers were an American Basketball Association team based in Chicago. The team played three games in the fall of 2004 before folding that December finishing with a record of 1-2.-Expansion:...

(American Basketball Association)
Chicago Hustle
Chicago Hustle
The Chicago Hustle was a team in the Women's Professional Basketball League from 1978-1981. Their team colors were orange and blue. Its radio broadcaster was Les Grobstein....

(Women's Professional Basketball League
Women's Professional Basketball League
The Women's Professional Basketball League was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981...

)

Football

Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

(National Football League
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...

)
Chicago Tigers
Chicago Tigers
The Chicago Tigers of the American Professional Football Association played only in the first year of the league and, because of this, have the distinction of being the first official NFL team to fold. They had a record of 2 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie...

(National Football League
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...

)
Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls (AFL)
The Chicago Bulls were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by Joey Sternaman , the Bulls also had AFL founders C. C. Pyle and Red Grange as shareholders...

(American Football League
American Football League (1926)
The first American Football League , sometimes called AFL I, AFLG, or the Grange League, was a professional American football league that operated in 1926. It was the first major competitor to the National Football League. Founded by C. C...

)
Chicago Fire (World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...

)
Chicago Winds
Chicago Winds
The Chicago Winds was the World Football League's ill-fated 1975 successor to the Chicago Fire. The team was named the Winds because Chicago was nicknamed "The Windy City." The Winds played at Soldier Field and was assigned to the WFL's Western Division for 1975 .-Pursuit of Joe...

(World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...

)
Chicago Blitz
Chicago Blitz
The Chicago Blitz were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League in the mid 1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.- Team history :...

(United States Football League
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...

)
Chicago Enforcers
Chicago Enforcers
The Chicago Enforcers were a short-lived American football team based in Chicago, Illinois at Soldier Field. This team was part of the failed XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States...

(XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...

)
Chicago Bruisers
Chicago Bruisers
The Chicago Bruisers were a charter member of the Arena Football League, playing in the four-team "demonstration season" of 1987. They played their home games in the former Rosemont Horizon, now the Allstate Arena, home of the Chicago Rush.-History:...

(Arena Football League)

Hockey

Chicago Cougars
Chicago Cougars
The Chicago Cougars were an original franchise in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1975. The Cougars played their home games in the dilapidated International Amphitheatre. During the 1974 Avco Cup Finals against Gordie Howe and the Houston Aeros, the team's two home games were played at...

(World Hockey Association
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...

)
Chicago Hounds
Chicago Hounds
The Chicago Hounds were a professional ice hockey team in the United Hockey League for the 2006-07 UHL season. They played their home games at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The Hounds franchise was officially a relocation of the Richmond RiverDogs franchise, which played in...

(United Hockey League
United Hockey League
The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...

)

Lacrosse

Chicago Shamrox
Chicago Shamrox
The Chicago Shamrox were a professional lacrosse team that played in the National Lacrosse League in the 2007 and 2008 NLL seasons. Home matches were played at the Sears Centre in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The team's ownership group was headed by Kevin Loughery Jr., the son of...

(National Lacrosse League
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It currently has nine teams; three in Canada and six in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring. Each year, the playoff...

)
Chicago Machine
Chicago Machine
The Chicago Machine is a mens field lacrosse team that plays in Major League Lacrosse that was based in Chicago, Illinois until the franchise left after the 2009 season to be a travel team in 2010. The team then transferred its roster to the reborn Rochester Rattlers on November 23, 2010 when it...

(Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...

)

Soccer

Chicago Spurs
Chicago Spurs
Chicago Spurs were an American professional soccer team based out of Chicago, Illinois that was a charter member of the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League in 1967. The owners of the franchise were Al Kaczmarek, William Cutler and Michael Butler...

(National Professional Soccer League
National Professional Soccer League (1967)
The National Professional Soccer League was a North American professional soccer league that existed for only the 1967 season before merging with the United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League. It had ten charter members, nine from the United States and one from Canada...

)
Chicago Mustangs
Chicago Mustangs
The Chicago Mustangs were an American professional soccer team based out of Chicago, Illinois that was a charter member of the United Soccer Association in 1967. The league was made up of teams imported whole from foreign leagues. The Chicago club was actually Cagliari Calcio from Italy...

(United Soccer Association
United Soccer Association
The United Soccer Association is a former professional soccer league featuring teams from the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American Soccer League. All the teams in the league were imported...

)
Chicago Horizons (Major Indoor Soccer League)
Chicago Sting
Chicago Sting
The Chicago Sting was an American professional soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from in the 1982-83 season and again from 1984 to 1988...

(North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

and Major Indoor Soccer League)
Chicago Vultures (American Indoor Soccer Association)
Chicago Shoccers
Chicago Shoccers
The Chicago Vultures were an indoor soccer club based in Chicago, Illinois that competed in the American Indoor Soccer Association.After their first season, the club was renamed the Chicago Shoccers.-Former Players:...

(American Indoor Soccer Association)
Chicago Power
Chicago Power
The Chicago Power were an indoor soccer club based in Chicago, Illinois that competed in the American Indoor Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League.After the 1995/96 season, the team became the Edmonton Drillers.-Year-by-year:...

(American Indoor Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League)
Chicago Storm
Chicago Storm
The Chicago Storm is a team in the Ultimate Soccer League that began play in the 2004-2005 season as a member of the Major Indoor Soccer League.-History:The Storm played home games during its first two seasons at the UIC Pavilion on the west side of Chicago...

(Major Indoor Soccer League)
Chicago Red Stars
Chicago Red Stars
The Chicago Red Stars are a American professional soccer club that is based in the Chicago suburb of Lisle, Illinois that participates in the Women's Premier Soccer League. From 2009-2010, the Red Stars played their home games at Toyota Park in the Womens Professional Soccer...

(Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer
Women's Professional Soccer is the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded 6 teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion...

)
Chicago Riot
Chicago Riot
The Chicago Riot was an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They were based in Villa Park, Illinois, near Chicago, and they played their home games at the Odeum Expo Center.-Namesake:...

(Major Indoor Soccer League)

College sports

Seven NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

Division I schools reside in the Chicago metropolitan area. The DePaul Blue Demons

DePaul Blue Demons

The DePaul Blue Demons are the intercollegiate athletic teams of DePaul University, located in Chicago Illinois. The Blue Demons participate in NCAA Division I and is a member of the Big East Conference....

, Loyola Ramblers

Loyola Ramblers

The Loyola Ramblers are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the Horizon League of the NCAA Division I...

, Chicago State Cougars

Chicago State University

Chicago State University is a state university of the U.S. state of Illinois, located in Chicago.-History:Cook County Normal School was founded in 1867, largely through the initiative of John F. Eberhart, the Commissioner of Schools for Cook County...

, and UIC Flames

UIC Flames

The UIC Flames are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Chicago. They are called the Flames as a reference to the Great Chicago Fire, and their team colors are navy blue and fire engine red. Approximately 300 student athletes compete in 18 varsity sports...

all play within the city limits.

The Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern Wildcats

The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern has eight men's and eleven women's Division I sports teams. The mascot is Willie the Wildcat...

, Northern Illinois Huskies

Northern Illinois Huskies

The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University. The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Mid-American Conference...

, and Valparaiso Crusaders

Valparaiso Crusaders

The Valparaiso University Crusaders compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I .Valparaiso competes in the Horizon League in all sports except for football, which is not sponsored by the conference. The football team is a member of the Pioneer Football League. On May 27,...

are all programs that play in the surrounding area. Northern Illinois is a Division I Bowl Subdivision school along with Northwestern, which is the lone BCS

BCS conference

An Automatic Qualifying conference is an athletic conference in NCAA Division I FBS whose champion receives an automatic berth in one of the five Bowl Championship Series bowl games...

school in the Chicago area. Although the Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois Fighting Illini

The Fighting Illini are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The University offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports....

are located two and a half hours south, they have a huge following in Chicago.

The Big Ten Conference

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

is headquartered in the Chicago

Chicago

suburb of Park Ridge

Park Ridge, Illinois

-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 37,775 people, 14,219 households, and 10,465 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,374.6 people per square mile . There were 14,646 housing units at an average density of 2,083.8 per square mile...

Chicago teams

Major league

Minor league

Men's leagues

Women's leagues

Men's leagues

Women's leagues

Ice hockey

Roller derby

Rugby League

Rugby Union

Soccer

Softball

Wrestling

Baseball

Basketball

Football

Hockey

Lacrosse

Soccer

College sports

See also