The Chicago Owls 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 based in Chicago, Illinois. They were members of the Continental Football League

Continental Football League

The Continental Football League was a professional minor American football league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside of the...

 (CFL) during the league's last two years (1968-1969). The club was owned by Marty O'Connor and coached by Don Branby.

The Owls signed former Arlington High School

Arlington High School (Arlington Heights, Illinois)

Arlington High School was a public high school located in Arlington Heights, Illinois, which operated from 1922 to 1984. It was the oldest school in Township High School District 214 which served students in Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights,...

 and Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...

 Huskies star George Bork

George Bork

George Bork was an American football player in the 1960s. The 6-1, 185 pound Bork rewrote the Northern Illinois University football record book with some help from end Hugh Rohrschneider during his junior and senior years at the DeKalb school...

 as starting quarterback before their inaugural season in 1968, which featured six home games 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 Owl's tenancy on the lakefront preceded the NFL's Bears by three years.