1941 Chicago Bears season

1941 Chicago Bears season
1941 Chicago Bears season
Head coach	George Halas
Home field	Wrigley Field
Results
Record	10–1
Division place	1st NFL Western
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoff; (vs. Packers) 33–14; Won NFL Championship; (vs. Giants) 37–9
	← 1940; Bears seasons; 1942 →;

The 1941 season was the Chicago Bears' 22nd in the National Football League. The team improved on their 8–3 record in 1939–40 and finished at 10–1 under head coach George Halas, en route to their second straight NFL championship and fifth league title.^[1]^[2]

Before the season

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1941 Chicago Bears draft
1	1	Tom Harmon	Halfback	Michigan
1	3	Norm Standlee *	Fullback	Stanford
1	9	Don Scott	Back	Ohio State
3	23	Hugh Gallarneau *	Halfback	Stanford
5	39	Charlie O'Rourke	Quarterback	Boston College
6	48	Tommy O'Boyle	Guard	Tulane
7	59	John Federovitch *	Tackle	Davis & Elkins
8	61	Fred Hartman	Tackle	Rice
8	62	David Rankin	End	Purdue
8	68	Al Matuza *	Center	Georgetown
9	79	Hal Lahar *	Guard	Oklahoma
10	88	Jim (Sweet) Lalanne	Back	North Carolina
11	99	Jim Hardin	End	Kentucky
12	108	Bob Morrow	Back	Illinois Wesleyan
13	119	Jim Johnson	Back	Santa Clara
14	128	Johnny Martin	Wingback	Oklahoma
15	139	Jack Mulkey	End	Fresno State
16	148	Bob Osterman	Center	Notre Dame
17	159	Bill Glenn	Quarterback	Eastern Illinois
18	168	Ollie Hahnenstein	Back	Northwestern
19	179	Alex Winterson	Tackle	Duke
20	188	Jack Odle	Quarterback	TCU
21	194	Hunter Corbern	Guard	Mississippi State
22	198	Dave Buck	Tackle	Colgate
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Program for a preseason exhibition game against a team of college Eastern All-Stars.

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 28	at Green Bay Packers	W 25–17	1–0	City Stadium	24,876	Recap
2	October 5	at Cleveland Rams	W 48–21	2–0	Municipal Stadium	23,850	Recap
3	October 12	Chicago Cardinals	W 53–7	3–0	Wrigley Field	34,668	Recap
4	October 19	Detroit Lions	W 49–0	4–0	Wrigley Field	29,980	Recap
5	October 26	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–7	5–0	Wrigley Field	17,212	Recap
6	November 2	Green Bay Packers	L 14–16	5–1	Wrigley Field	46,484	Recap
7	November 9	Cleveland Rams	W 31–13	6–1	Wrigley Field	18,102	Recap
8	November 16	Washington Redskins	W 35–21	7–1	Wrigley Field	30,095	Recap
9	November 23	at Detroit Lions	W 24–7	8–1	Briggs Stadium	28,657	Recap
10	November 30	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 49–14	9–1	Shibe Park	32,608	Recap
11	December 7	at Chicago Cardinals	W 34–24	10–1	Comiskey Park	18,879	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Program for the October 19 match-up with the visiting Detroit Lions. This is a stock commercial cover illustration.

This program for the 1941 Redskins game features QB Solly Sherman in 1940 action against the Detroit Lions.

NFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears	10	1	0	.909	7–1	396	147	W5
Green Bay Packers	10	1	0	.909	7–1	258	120	W8
Detroit Lions	4	6	1	.400	3–4–1	121	195	W1
Chicago Cardinals	3	7	1	.300	1–6–1	127	197	L2
Cleveland Rams	2	9	0	.182	1–7	116	244	L9

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
New York Giants	8	3	0	.727	6–2	238	114	L1
Brooklyn Dodgers	7	4	0	.636	6–2	158	127	W2
Washington Redskins	6	5	0	.545	5–3	176	174	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	2	8	1	.200	1–6–1	119	218	L3
Pittsburgh Steelers	1	9	1	.100	1–6–1	103	276	L2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Postseason

The Bears won the Western Division championship by beating the Packers, 33–14, in a playoff at Wrigley Field. The Bears then beat the Giants, 37–9, at Wrigley Field to win the NFL Championship.

See 1941 NFL playoffs and NFL Championship Game, 1941

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
Western Division	December 14	Green Bay Packers	W 33–14	1–0	Wrigley Field	43,425	Recap
NFL Championship	December 21	New York Giants	W 37–9	2–0	Wrigley Field	13,341	Recap

All-Star Game

The Bears defeated the NFL All-Stars 35–24 on January 4, 1942.

References

^ "1941 Chicago Bears Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
^ "Chicago Bears 1941 Games and Schedule". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
^ "1941 Chicago Bears Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved June 27, 2024.

[1] "1941 Chicago Bears Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[2] "Chicago Bears 1941 Games and Schedule". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[3] "1941 Chicago Bears Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved June 27, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Chicago Bears seasons
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

v t e Chicago Bears
Founded in 1919 Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1919–1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921) Based in Chicago, Illinois Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois
Franchise	History Coaches Seasons Current season
Records	Franchise records Team awards and honors All-time roster (A–Kla, Kle–Z) Head coaches Pro Football Hall of Famers First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Staley Field Wrigley Field Memorial Stadium Soldier Field Chicago Bears Stadium (proposed)
Culture	Brian's Song 1971 2001 Brian Piccolo Award "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" "The Super Bowl Shuffle" Monsters of the Midway "Sweet Home Chicago" Bill Swerski's Superfans Chuck Swirsky Chicago Honey Bears Staley Da Bear Logos and uniforms Halas Hall A. E. Staley Jack Brickhouse George Halas Mike Ditka Roosevelt/Wabash 85386 Payton Jim Cornelison Club Dub ("Swag Surfin")
Lore	Staley Swindle 1932 Playoff Game First NFL Championship Game Sneakers Game T formation 73–0 1985 season Super Bowl XX 46 defense Asterisk Game Fog Bowl "They are who we thought they were!" Double Doink Madhouse in Maryland
Rivalries	Arizona Cardinals Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings New York Giants
Minor league affiliates	Newark Bears (AA, 1939–1941) Wichita Aero Commandos (1942) Akron Bears (AFL, 1946) Bloomfield Cardinals (AFL, 1947) Richmond Rebels (AFL, 1948–1950) Quad City Mohawks (MWPFL, 1970–1972)
Retired numbers	3 5 7 28 34 40 41 42 51 56 61 66 77 89
Key personnel	Principal owner: Virginia Halas McCaskey Chairman: George McCaskey President/CEO: Kevin Warren General manager: Ryan Poles Head coach: Thomas Brown (interim)
Division championships (21)	1933 1934 1937 1940 1941 1942 1943 1946 1956 1963 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 2001 2005 2006 2010 2018
Conference championships (4)	1956 1963 1985 2006
League championships (9)	1921 1932 1933 1940 1941 1943 1946 1963 1985 (XX)
Media	Broadcasters Radio: WMVP Personnel: Jeff Joniak (play-by-play) Tom Thayer (analyst) Jason McKie (sideline reporter) Television: WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox, official pre-game and post-game alternate) Marquee Sports Network (official post-game and in-season programming) Personnel: Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter) Adam Amin (pre-season play-by-play) Jim Miller (pre-season analyst)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division
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