1932 Chicago Bears Season

1932 Chicago Bears season
1932 Chicago Bears season
Head coach	Ralph Jones
Home field	Wrigley Field
Results
Record	7–1–6
League place	1st NFL
Playoff finish	Won NFL Championship; (vs. Spartans) 9–0
	← 1931; Bears seasons; 1933 →;

The team was able to improve on their 9–4–1 record from 1931 and finished with a 7–1–6 record under third-year head coach Ralph Jones.

Season overview

The season started strangely with three consecutive 0–0 ties. After a 2–0 loss to the Packers, the Bears had scored zero points in four games. After that, the offense got on track and the defense stayed incredibly stingy. The Bears were undefeated in their last nine "regular season" games (there was no established playoff system), with six wins, four by shutout, and three ties.

The team that gave the Bears the most trouble was the Portsmouth Spartans. The club tied with the Spartans with identical 6–1 records (ties did not count then and were omitted), so a playoff game was set up to determine a winner. The Bears defeated the Spartans, 9–0 in the first-ever NFL postseason game, which oddly enough was played indoors at Chicago Stadium because it was expected to be cold at Wrigley Field and organizers wanted to maximize the attendance and gate revenue.

For the year, the powerful tandem of Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski again paced the Bears as Grange scored 7 touchdowns and Nagurski ran for 4 and also passed for 3 more. Keith Molesworth also contributed with 3 touchdowns on his own while passing for 3 more. Luke Johnsos had probably his finest season, catching two touchdown passes and scoring twice on defense as well. Coach Ralph Jones also found a reliable kicker in Paul "Tiny" Engebretson.

Future Hall of Fame players

Red Grange, back
Bill Hewitt, end (rookie from University of Michigan)
Bronko Nagurski, fullback
George Trafton, center

Other leading players

Carl Brumbaugh, quarterback
John Doehring, back (rookie)
Paul Engebretsen, guard/kicker (rookie from Northwestern)
Luke Johnsos, end
Joe Kopcha, guard (back after two years off)
Keith Molesworth, back
Dick Nesbitt, back
Ookie Miller, center

Players departed from 1931

Link Lyman, tackle (did not play for unknown reasons)

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue
1	Bye
2	September 25	at Green Bay Packers	T 0–0	0–0–1	City Stadium
3	October 2	at Staten Island Stapletons	T 0–0	0–0–2	Thompson Stadium
4	October 9	at Chicago Cardinals	T 0–0	0–0–3	Wrigley Field
5	October 16	Green Bay Packers	L 0–2	0–1–3	Wrigley Field
6	October 23	Staten Island Stapletons	W 27–7	1–1–3	Wrigley Field
7	October 30	at Boston Braves	T 7–7	1–1–4	Braves Field
8	November 6	at New York Giants	W 28–8	2–1–4	Polo Grounds
9	November 13	Portsmouth Spartans	T 13–13	2–1–5	Wrigley Field
10	November 20	Brooklyn Dodgers	W 20–0	3–1–5	Wrigley Field
11	November 24	Chicago Cardinals	W 34–0	4–1–5	Wrigley Field
11	November 27	at Portsmouth Spartans	T 7–7	4–1–6	Universal Stadium
12	December 4	New York Giants	W 6–0	5–1–6	Wrigley Field
13	December 11	Green Bay Packers	W 9–0	6–1–6	Wrigley Field
Playoff	December 18	Portsmouth Spartans	W 9–0	7–1–6	Chicago Stadium

The December 18 game was added to break the tie and is known as the 1932 NFL Playoff Game, and moved indoors to Chicago Stadium due to inclement weather.

Standings

NFL standings
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears ¹	7	1	6	.875	160	44	W3
Green Bay Packers	10	3	1	.769	152	63	L2
Portsmouth Spartans ¹	6	2	4	.750	116	71	L1
Boston Braves	4	4	2	.500	55	79	W2
New York Giants	4	6	2	.400	93	113	L1
Brooklyn Dodgers	3	9	0	.250	63	131	L4
Chicago Cardinals	2	6	2	.250	72	114	L5
Staten Island Stapletons	2	7	3	.222	77	173	L1

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

¹ The Bears and Spartans records include the result of the 1932 NFL Playoff Game; thus, the Spartans are ranked third behind the Packers.

NFL Playoff Game: Chicago Bears 9, Portsmouth Spartans 0

Awards

NFL Championship (2)