 Upon returning home, George Halas signed Raymond and his brother Harold to the Chicago Bears at the same time, on July 26, 1946.He first played for the Bears' farm team Akron Bears of the American Association, taking on their parent team in a September exhibition game at the Rubber Bowl.In early 1947, Akron left the AFL leaving Newark as the Chicago Bears' primary farm team; Newark then moved to Bloomfield, New Jersey and became the Cardinals.