1940 NFL Championship Game explained

Type:nflc
1940
Visitor:Chicago Bears
Home:Washington Redskins
Visitor Coach:George Halas
Home Coach:Ray Flaherty
Visitor Conf:Western
Home Conf:Eastern
Visitor Abbr:CHI
Home Abbr:WAS
Visitor Record:8–3
Home Record:9–2
Visitor Qtr1:21
Visitor Qtr2:7
Visitor Qtr3:26
Visitor Qtr4:19
Visitor Total:73
Home Qtr1:0
Home Qtr2:0
Home Qtr3:0
Home Qtr4:0
Home Total:0
Date:December 8, 1940
Stadium:Griffith Stadium
City:Washington, D.C.
Attendance:36,034
Radio:Mutual
Radioannouncers:Red Barber
Hofers:Bears: George Halas (owner/coach), Dan Fortmann, Sid Luckman, George McAfee, George Musso, Joe Stydahar, Bulldog Turner
Redskins: George Preston Marshall (owner/founder), Ray Flaherty (coach), Sammy Baugh, Turk Edwards, Wayne Millner

The 1940 NFL Championship Game, sometimes referred to simply as 73–0, was the eighth title game of the National Football League (NFL). It was played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., on December 8, with a sellout capacity attendance of 36,034.[1] [2]

The Chicago Bears (8–3) of the Western Division met the Washington Redskins (9–2), champions of the Eastern Division.[3] Neither team had played in the title game since 1937, when the Redskins won a close game at Chicago's Wrigley Field. For this game in Washington, the Bears entered as slight favorites.[4] [5]

The Bears scored eleven touchdowns and won 73–0, the most one-sided victory in NFL history.[6] The game was broadcast on radio by Mutual Broadcasting System, the first NFL title game broadcast nationwide.

Background

Washington had defeated Chicago 7–3 in a regular season game three weeks earlier in Washington.[7] 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 coach George Halas fired up his team by showing them newspaper articles containing Marshall's comments, then said, "Gentlemen, this is what George Preston Marshall thinks of you. Well, I think you're a GREAT football team! Now, go out there and prove it!"

Before the game, Halas's friend Clark Shaughnessy, who was concurrently coaching the undefeated Stanford Indians, helped the Bears' gameplan. Shaughnessy devised several counters for linebacker shifts that he had noted the Redskins using.[8]

Game summary

The Bears controlled the game right from the start, using the T formation as their primary offensive strategy. On their second play 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, but wide receiver Charlie Malone dropped a sure touchdown pass in the end zone that would have tied the game. The field goal attempt on 4th down was missed as well. 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, all in the third quarter.

So many footballs were kicked into the stands after touchdowns that officials asked Halas to run or pass for the point after touchdown on the last two touchdowns.[9]

This game also marked the last time that an NFL player (Bears end Dick Plasman) played without a helmet.[8] Reportedly, after the final gun went off, a sports writer jokingly yelled, "Marshall just shot himself!" Marshall's only statement to the press was, "We needed a 50 man line against their power."

Redskins 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 touchdown pass. Baugh reportedly quipped, "Sure. The final score would have been 73–7."[9]

Legacy

As of, Chicago's 73 points is the most scored by one team in any NFL game, regular season or postseason.[10] Since 1940, three NFL teams have scored at least 70 points in regular season games. The regular-season record holder is the Redskins, who defeated the New York Giants 72–41 in 1966. The most recent team to reach 70 points was the Miami Dolphins, who beat the Denver Broncos 70–20 in 2023. Notably, the Dolphins had a clear opportunity to at least tie the Bears' record with 33 seconds remaining, but the Dolphins offense instead opted to effectively end the game at that point with a quarterback kneel (which was not an accepted way of ending a game in 1940).

The margin of victory is not only the largest ever in the NFL, but also remains the largest in the four major American professional team sports. On December 2, 2021, the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies matched this feat with a 73-point victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder (Memphis led by as many as 78 points in that game).[11]

The First Fifty Years, a 1969 book that chronicles the first half century of the NFL, listed the game as one of "Ten Games That Mattered" to the growth of pro football in the United States.[12] "On a Sunday in the 1940 December," the book states, "the Chicago Bears played perfect football for a greater percentage of the official hour than any team before or since. In the championship game, as an underdog to the team which had just beaten them, the Bears made an eleven-touchdown pile and used it as a pedestal to raise the NFL to view in all corners of the country.... Pro football, the T-formation and the Chicago Bears were the sudden sports news of the year."

Scoring summary

December 8, 1940
Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. EST

Officials

The NFL had only four game officials in ; the back judge was added in, the line judge in, and the side judge in .

Statistics

Source: 3

Statistical comparison

Chicago BearsWashington Redskins
First downs1717
First downs rushing134
First downs passing310
First downs penalty13
Total yards501245
Passing yards119223
Passing – Completions-attempts7–1020–51
Passing – Yards per attempt11.94.4
Interceptions-return yards8–1170–0
Rushing yards38222
Rushing attempts5714
Yards per rush6.71.6
Penalties-yards3–258–70
Fumbles-lost2–14–1
Punts-Average2–46.03–41.3

Individual statistics

Bears Passing
C/ATT*YdsTDINT
Sid Luckman3/48810
Bob Snyder3/33100
Bears Rushing
CaraYdsTDLGb
Bill Osmanski10109168
Harry Clarke873244
Joe Maniaci660242
Ray Nolting1368123
Bears Receiving
ReccYdsTDLGb
Joe Maniaci3390n/a
Ken Kavanaugh232130
Redskins Passing
C/ATT*YdsTDINT
Sammy Baugh10/1710202
Frankie Filchock7/238705
Redskins Rushing
CaraYdsTDLGb
Frankie Filchock2200n/a
Bob Seymour4160n/a
Jimmy Johnston150n/a
Ed Justice110n/a
Redskins Receiving
ReccYdsTDLGb
Wayne Millner5840n/a
Bob Masterson3330n/a

Players' shares

The net gate receipts from the sellout were over $102,000, a record, and each Bears’ player received $874 while each Redskins’ player saw $606.[1] [2]

References

Notes

38.9175°N -77.02°W

Notes and References

  1. News: Chicago Bears crush Redskins, 73-0 . Milwaukee Sentinel . Associated Press . Feder . Sid . December 9, 1940 . 15 .
  2. News: Bears overwhelm Washington, 73 to 0; game draws record gate of $102,000 . Milwaukee Journal . December 9, 1940 . 6, section 2 .
  3. News: Bears meet Redskins today for pro football title . Chicago Tribune . Strickler . George . December 8, 1940. 1, part 2.
  4. News: Pro league title game Sunday to draw record $100,000 gate . Milwaukee Journal . Associated Press . December 7, 1940 . 8.
  5. News: Grid 'World Series' stirs Capitol fans . Pittsburgh Press . United Press . Kirksey . George. December 8, 1940 . 15, section 3.
  6. News: Bears win world football title, 73 to 0 . Chicago Tribune . Strickler . George . December 9, 1940 . 21.
  7. News: 'Skins, Bears move toward pro finale . Pittsburgh Press. United Press . Kirksey . George. November 18, 1940 . 18.
  8. Douglas A. Noverr, The Games They Played: Sports in American History, 1865–1980, p. 143, Rowman & Littlefield, 1983, .
  9. Web site: Hall of Famers » SAMMY BAUGH . Profootballhof.com . September 22, 2012.
  10. http://pfref.com/tiny/sOw4x Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single game, from 1940 to 2021, in the regular season and playoffs, sorted by descending Points For.
  11. News: Bailey. Clay. GRIZZLIES THROTTLE THUNDER BY NBA-RECORD 73-POINT MARGIN. Associated Press. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. NBA.com. December 3, 2021. June 17, 2024.
  12. https://www.amazon.com/First-Fifty-Years-Celebration-National/dp/B0018NJUO0 The First Fifty Years: A Celebration of the National Football League in its Fiftieth Season