- NFL Championship Game, 1940
Infobox NFLChamp
year=1940
visitor=Chicago Bears
home=Washington Redskins
visitor_qtr1=21
visitor_qtr2=7
visitor_qtr3=26
visitor_qtr4=19
visitor_qtr5=
visitor_total=73
home_qtr1=0
home_qtr2=0
home_qtr3=0
home_qtr4=0
home_qtr5=
home_total=0
date=December 8, 1940
stadium=Griffith Stadium
city=Washington, D.C.
attendance=36,034The 1940National Football League Championship Game, was the 8th in NFL history. The game was played atGriffith Stadium inWashington, D.C. onDecember 8 ,1940 . TheChicago Bears defeated theWashington Redskins , 73-0, the most one-sided victory in NFL history.Washington had defeated Chicago 7-3 in a regular season game three weeks earlier. After the contest, Redskins owner
George Preston Marshall told reporters that the Bears were crybabies and quitters when the going got tough. As the Bears prepared for the rematch, Chicago head coachGeorge Halas fired up his team by showing them newspaper articles of Marshall's comments.The Bears controlled the game right from the start, using the
T formation as their primary offensive strategy. On their secondplay from scrimmage ,running back Bill Osmanski ran 68 yards for a touchdown. Washington then marched to the Chicago 26-yard line on their ensuing drive, butwide receiver Charlie Malone dropped a sure touchdown pass in the end zone that would have tied the game.Later in the first quarter, Bears
Quarterback Sid Luckman scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to increase the lead 14-0. On their third drive,Joe Maniaci ran 42 yards for the Bears' third touchdown of the game.The Bears held a 28-0 halftime lead and then continued to crush the Redskins, scoring 45 points during the second half. After Halas took the team's starters out, the backup players continued to pile on the points. The Bears ended up recording 501 total yards on offense, 382 total rushing yards, and 8 interceptions—returning 3 for touchdowns.
So many footballs were kicked into the stands after touchdowns that officials asked Halas to run or pass for the PAT on the last two TDs.2
This game also marked the last time that an NFL player (Bears end
Dick Plasman ) played without a helmet.¹Redskins quarterback
Sammy Baugh was interviewed after the game, and a sportswriter asked him whether the game would have been different had Malone not dropped the tying TD pass. Baugh reportedly quipped, "Sure. The final score would have been 73-7."coring summary
*CHI TD - Osmanski 68 yard run (Manders kick) "CHI 7-0"
*CHI TD - Luckman 1 yard run (Snyder kick) "CHI 14-0"
*CHI TD - Maniaci 42 yard run (Martinovich kick) "CHI 21-0"
*CHI TD - Kavanaugh 30 yard pass from Luckman (Snyder kick) "CHI 28-0"
*CHI TD - Pool 15 yard interception return (Plasman kick) "CHI 35-0"
*CHI TD - Nolting 23 yard run (kick failed) "CHI 41-0"
*CHI TD - McAfee 35 yard interception return (Stydahar kick) "CHI 48-0"
*CHI TD - Turner 20 yard interception return (kick failed) "CHI 54-0"
*CHI TD - Clarke 44 yard run (kick failed) "CHI 60-0"
*CHI TD - Famiglietti 2 yard run (Maniaci pass from Sherman) "CHI 67-0"
*CHI TD - Clarke 1 yard run (pass failed) "CHI 73-0"References
*Nash, Bruce, and Allen Zullo (1986). "The Football Hall of Shame", 80-82, Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-74551-4.
*"The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995", 391, The Sporting News Publishing Co. ISBN 0-89204-523-X.
*¹Peterson, Robert. "Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football" (1997) p. 132 Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-507607-19
*2Taylor, Roy. "1940's Chicago Bears, Another Dynasty" (2004) http://www.bearshistory.com/seasons/1940schicagobears.aspx
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