1961 Chicago Bears season

1961 Chicago Bears season
OwnerGeorge Halas
General managerGeorge Halas
Head coachGeorge Halas
Home stadiumWrigley Field
Results
Record8–6
Division place3rd (tied) NFL Western
PlayoffsDid not qualify

The 1961 Chicago Bears season was their 42nd regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with an 8–6 record under George Halas, which was an improvement over the 5–6–1 record of the previous season.

Offseason

On January 14, Chicago Bears End Willard Dewveall played out his option and joined the Houston Oilers of the American Football League. He became the first player to move deliberately from one league to another.[1]

The Bears were notable for taking part in an exhibition game in their first ever game outside of the United States, taking on the CFL's Montreal Alouettes (the original team), winning 34–16.[2]

Schedule

Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources
1 September 17 at Minnesota Vikings L 13–37 0–1 Metropolitan Stadium 32,236 Recap
2 September 23 at Los Angeles Rams W 21–17 1–1 L.A. Memorial Coliseum 53,315 Recap
3 October 1 at Green Bay Packers L 0–24 1–2 City Stadium 38,669 Recap
4 October 8 at Detroit Lions W 31–17 2–2 Briggs Stadium 53,854 Recap
5 October 15 Baltimore Colts W 24–10 3–2 Wrigley Field 48,719 Recap
6 October 22 San Francisco 49ers W 31–0 4–2 Wrigley Field 49,070 Recap
7 October 29 at Baltimore Colts W 21–20 5–2 Memorial Stadium 57,641 Recap
8 November 5 at Philadelphia Eagles L 14–16 5–3 Franklin Field 60,671 Recap
9 November 12 Green Bay Packers L 28–31 5–4 Wrigley Field 49,711 Recap
10 November 19 at San Francisco 49ers L 31–41 5–5 Kezar Stadium 52,972 Recap
11 November 26 Los Angeles Rams W 28–24 6–5 Wrigley Field 45,965 Recap
12 December 3 Detroit Lions L 15–16 6–6 Wrigley Field 51,017 Recap
13 December 10 Cleveland Browns W 17–14 7–6 Wrigley Field 38,717 Recap
14 December 17 Minnesota Vikings W 52–35 8–6 Wrigley Field 34,539 Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents in bold.

Standings

NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers 11 3 0 .786 9–3 391 223 W1
Detroit Lions 8 5 1 .615 7–4–1 270 258 L1
8 6 0 .571 7–5 326 302 W2
Baltimore Colts 8 6 0 .571 6–6 302 307 W1
San Francisco 49ers 7 6 1 .538 6–5–1 346 272 L1
Los Angeles Rams 4 10 0 .286 3–9 263 333 L1
Minnesota Vikings 3 11 0 .214 3–9 285 407 L2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
New York Giants 10 3 1 .769 9–2–1 368 220 T1
Philadelphia Eagles 10 4 0 .714 8–4 361 297 W1
Cleveland Browns 8 5 1 .615 8–3–1 319 270 T1
St. Louis Cardinals 7 7 0 .500 7–5 279 267 W3
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 8 0 .429 5–7 295 287 L1
Dallas Cowboys 4 9 1 .308 2–9–1 236 380 L4
Washington Redskins 1 12 1 .077 1–10–1 174 392 W1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Game summaries

Week 1

Team 1 234Total
Bears 0 607 13
• Vikings 3 71413 37
  • Date: September 17
  • Location: Metropolitan Stadium
  • Game attendance: 32,236
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); wind 13 mph

[3]

Week 2

Team 1 234Total
• Bears 7 077 21
Rams 3 707 17

[4]

Week 3

Team 1 234Total
Bears 0 000 0
• Packers 7 377 24
  • Date: October 1
  • Location: City Stadium
  • Game attendance: 38,669
  • Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C); wind 19 mph

[5]

Week 4

Team 1 234Total
• Bears 0 7321 31
Lions 10 070 17
  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Tiger Stadium
  • Game attendance: 53,854
  • Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C); wind 7 mph

[6]

Week 5

Team 1 234Total
Colts 0 703 10
• Bears 3 7014 24
Scoring summary
1CHIRoger LeClerc 14-yard field goalBears 3–0
2BALJohnny Unitas 7-yard run (Steve Myhra kick)Colts 7–3
2CHIJohnny Morris 8-yard pass from Ed Brown (Roger LeClerc kick)Bears 10–7
4BALSteve Myhra 32-yard field goalTie 10–10
4CHIWillie Galimore 84-yard pass from Ed Brown (Roger LeClerc kick)Bears 17–10
4CHIRick Casares 1-yard run (Roger LeClerc kick)Bears 24–10

[7]

Week 6

Team 1 234Total
49ers 0 000 0
• Bears 0 14710 31
  • Date: October 22
  • Location: Wrigley Field
  • Game attendance: 49,070
  • Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C); wind 8 mph

[8]

Week 7

Team 1 234Total
• Bears 0 777 21
Colts 7 760 20
Scoring summary
1BALJoe Perry 21 -yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Steve Myhra kick)Colts 7–0
2BALLenny Moore 68-yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Steve Myhra kick)Colts 14–0
2CHIMike Ditka 19-yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick)Colts 14–7
3BALAlex Hawkins 1-yard run (kick failed)Colts 20–7
3CHIJohnny Morris 41-yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick)Colts 20–14
4CHIRick Casares 5-yard run (Roger LeClerc kick)Bears 21–20

[9]

Week 8

Team 1 234Total
Bears 7 700 14
• Eagles 3 760 16
  • Date: November 5
  • Location: Franklin Field
  • Game attendance: 60,671
  • Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C); wind 9 mph

[10]

Week 9

Team 1 234Total
• Packers 7 2130 31
Bears 7 0714 28
  • Date: November 12
  • Location: Wrigley Field
  • Game attendance: 49,711
  • Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C); wind 13 mph

[11]

Week 10

Team 1 234Total
Bears 7 3714 31
• 49ers 17 3210 41
  • Date: November 19
  • Location: Kezar Stadium
  • Game attendance: 52,972
  • Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C); wind 7 mph

[12]

Week 11

Team 1 234Total
Rams 7 0314 24
• Bears 7 1407 28
  • Date: November 26
  • Location: Wrigley Field
  • Game attendance: 45,965
  • Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C); wind 12 mph

[13]

Week 12

Team 1 234Total
• Lions 0 907 16
Bears 3 363 15
  • Date: December 3
  • Location: Wrigley Field
  • Game attendance: 51,017
  • Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C); wind 10 mph

[14]

Week 13

Team 1 234Total
Browns 14 000 14
• Bears 0 0017 17
  • Date: December 10
  • Location: Wrigley Field
  • Game attendance: 38,717
  • Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C); wind 15 mph

[15]

Week 14

Team 1 234Total
Vikings 14 777 35
• Bears 7 14247 52
Scoring summary
1MINHugh McElhenny 81 yard punt return (Mike Mercer kick)MIN 7–0
1MINJerry Reichow 30 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Mike Mercer kick)MIN 14–0
1CHIAngelo Coia 62 yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick)MIN 14–7
2CHIWillie Galimore 8 yard run (Roger LeClerc kick)Tie 14–14
2CHIMike Ditka 2 yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick)CHI 21–14
2MINJerry Reichow 11 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Mike Mercer kick)Tie 21–21
3CHIAngelo Coia 16 yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick)CHI 28–21
3CHIRoger LeClerc 17 yard field goalCHI 31–21
3CHIMike Ditka 30 yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick)CHI 38–21
3MINGordie Smith 10 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Mike Mercer kick)CHI 38–28
3CHICharlie Bivins 30 yard run (Roger LeClerc kick)CHI 45–28
4MINJerry Reichow 24 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Mike Mercer kick)CHI 45–35
4CHIWillie Galimore 60 yard run (Roger LeClerc kick)CHI 52–35

[16]

Roster

1961 Chicago Bears roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)


Rookies in italics

References

  1. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 282
  2. ^ "Bears played game in Canada in 1961". Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05.
  4. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05.
  5. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05.
  6. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05.
  7. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  8. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05.
  9. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  10. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05.
  11. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05.
  12. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05.
  13. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05.
  14. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05.
  15. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05.
  16. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
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