1951 Chicago Bears season
| 1951 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | George Halas |
| Head coach | George Halas |
| Home stadium | Wrigley Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–5 |
| Division place | 4th NFL National |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The 1951 season was the Chicago Bears' 32nd in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their 9–3 record from 1950 and finished at 7–5 under head coach and owner George Halas, fourth in the NFL's National Conference, but only a game behind winner Los Angeles, the eventual league champion. This season was a drop off from the previous season's tiebreaker playoff appearance.
The Bears lost twice to the crosstown Cardinals, who won just three games.[1][2] The season finale was played in frigid conditions at Wrigley Field and cost the Bears a share of the conference title.[2]
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 30 | at Green Bay Packers | W 31–20 | 1–0 | City Stadium | 24,666 | |
| 2 | October 7 | at Chicago Cardinals | L 14–28 | 1–1 | Comiskey Park | 33,781 | |
| 3 | October 14 | New York Yanks | W 24–21 | 2–1 | Wrigley Field | 37,697 | |
| 4 | October 21 | San Francisco 49ers | W 13–7 | 3–1 | Wrigley Field | 42,296 | |
| 5 | October 28 | at Detroit Lions | W 28–23 | 4–1 | Briggs Stadium | 34,778 | |
| 6 | November 4 | at Washington Redskins | W 27–0 | 5–1 | Griffith Stadium | 21,737 | |
| 7 | November 11 | Detroit Lions | L 28–41 | 5–2 | Wrigley Field | 43,709 | |
| 8 | November 18 | Green Bay Packers | W 24–13 | 6–2 | Wrigley Field | 36,771 | |
| 9 | November 25 | at Cleveland Browns | L 21–42 | 6–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 40,969 | |
| 10 | December 2 | Los Angeles Rams | L 17–42 | 6–4 | Wrigley Field | 50,286 | |
| 11 | December 9 | at New York Yanks | W 45–21 | 7–4 | Yankee Stadium | 13,075 | |
| 12 | December 16 | Chicago Cardinals | L 14–24 | 7–5 | Wrigley Field | 15,085 | |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Game summaries
Week 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bears | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Packers | 0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
- Date: September 30
- Location: City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Game attendance: 24,666
| Q1 | CHI | White 8 yard run (Lujack kick) | CHI 7–0 | |
| Q1 | CHI | Blanda 46 yard field goal | CHI 10–0 | |
| Q2 | CHI | Rykovich 1 yard run (Lujack kick) | CHI 17–0 | |
| Q2 | GB | Mann 12 yard pass from Thomason | CHI 17–6 | |
| Q3 | CHI | Dottley 1 yard run (Lujack kick) | CHI 24–6 | |
| Q3 | GB | Cloud 1 yard pass from Thomason (Cone kick) | CHI 24–13 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Hunsinger 5 yard run (Lujack kick) | CHI 31–13 | |
| Q4 | GB | Cloud 1 yard run (Cone kick) | CHI 31–20 | |
Standings
| NFL National Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Los Angeles Rams | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 7–2 | 392 | 261 | W1 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 4 | 1 | .636 | 5–2–1 | 255 | 205 | W3 | |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 4 | 1 | .636 | 5–4–1 | 336 | 259 | L1 | |
| Chicago Bears | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6–2 | 286 | 282 | L1 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 1–8 | 254 | 375 | L7 | |
| New York Yanks | 1 | 9 | 2 | .100 | 1–7–2 | 241 | 382 | L2 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Roster
| Chicago Bears 1951 roster | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
|
Reserve list
Rookies in italics
|
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- Source:
References
- ^ "Cards upset Bears with 28-14 victory". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. October 8, 1951. p. 7, part 2.
- ^ a b Liska, Jerry (December 17, 1951). "Cards rip Bears, 24-14, on Trippi's passes". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 5, part 2.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Aug-20.