The Honey Bears worked as NFL cheerleaders in Chicago for about 10 years before the group was shutdown permanently due to an interesting incident with Playboy. After a racy incident involving one of it’s members, Virginia McCaskey severed all ties between the Chicago Bears and it’s cheer squad. Here’s the story.
Dancing Girls On The Sideline
In 1976, George “Papa Bear” Halas was interested in hiring “dancing girls” to excite the crowd after seeing success from other franchises like the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins.
Halas would eventually hire Cathy Core to run The Honey Bears and choreograph their routines.
Halas stated that “As long as I’m alive, we will have dancing girls on the sidelines.”
Halas was true to his word, as the Honey Bears were around for the rest of his life until his death in 1983.
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However, back in the 70’s / 80’s the notion of “dancing girls” to entertain football fans didn’t sit well with many people. There were several discussions about the cheerleaders and the image they portrayed for the team.
The Playboy Incident
In 1978, Honey Bear Jackie Rohr posed for the December issue of Playboy. The Bears had warned its cheering squad not to pose nude, so Rohrs modeled for a very short spread for Playboy called “Pro Football’s Main Attractions” that only featured cleavage. Even though she tried to follow the guidelines set forth by the Bears, the criticism rolled in.
“What`s wrong with cleavage anyway?` she asked. “I show cleavage on the Honey Bears` poster. What San Diego did is unfair, horrible. How can they punish the whole team for what one girl did?“
The San Diego Chargers fired its entire squad, back in the 70’s, when management learned that one member had bared it all for a photographer.
Rohrs was also fired by the Bears before the photos appeared in the December, 1978, issue of Playboy. This started a chain of events that lead to the group’s demise.
George Halas’ Death
Even though the Honey Bears were a hit before and seemingly after the Playboy incident, when Halas’ died (’83) his daughter Virginia attempted to immediately sever all ties with the group but she couldn’t just fire them. The Halas family was reportedly interested in football and football ONLY in Chicago, that change in philosophy prompted Virginia to take the necessary steps to disband the group in any way she could.
The Chicago Honey Bears had their final performance in Super Bowl XX in the Superdome in New Orleans, performing at halftime to Prince’s song Baby I’m a Star. The Chicago Bears won the game 46-10 over the New England Patriots and that marked the end of “dancing girls” on the sidelines.
Curse of the Honey Bears
Many Bears fans claim that their team lingers under a “Honey Bear Curse”, as the team still has yet to win a Super Bowl after the group’s termination. Others might refer to Chicago’s inability to bring in a franchise quarterback for 30 years but “dancing girls” on the sideline could have only helped that on-going situation.
I think I speak for all Chicago Bears fans when I say “bring them back!”
It’s not the 1980’s anymore Virginia and Chicago football fans could use the entertainment.
Bear Down.
Here’s some past photos of the team.
(use the arrow above to see more pics)
