12/8/1940 - I was going to go with the murder of John Lennon in 1980 (36 years ago ... that just seems crazy, where did all that time go ... I was out jogging around in Playa Del Rey when I heard the news) for the factoid of the day, but since so many of you out there have ties to the good old sport of football (including myself just a tad!), I thought I'd instead go with one of the most famous games in NFL lore being played on this day in 1940 ... the Chicago Bears championship win over the Washington Redskins by the incredible, and still record score, of 73-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ouch!
No strangers to each other, the two teams had played for the championship before, in 1937, with the Redskins prevailing in a close game played on the loser's home field, Chicago's famous Wrigley Field. During the 1940 NFL season, Washington wins the Eastern Division with a record of 9-2, while Chicago wins the Western Division behind an 8-3 performance ... with one of the losses coming only three weeks before to the Redskins' team, 7-3 (featuring a goal line stand by the Redskins with only seconds left in the game ... with Halas running on to the field to argue with officials about a pass interference play in the end zone only moments before that is not called) ... a loss that Redskins owner George Preston Marshall pours salt into the wounds of by calling the Bears a team of crybabies and quitters when the going gets tough. Predictably, owner and Bears coach, George Halas, uses the ensuing time between then and the championship game to constantly remind his team of what has been said about them in the nation's capitol. Additionally, Halas prepares his team by bringing in special help for the big contest, enlisting his friend, future college Hall of Fame Stanford coach Clark Shauhnessy (during the same year in which he will lead the then Indians to a national championship with a 10-0 record that includes a 1941 Rose Bowl win over Nebraska), who devises a number of counter plays out of Chicago's new T-formation to attack Redskins shifting linebackers as they react to motion in the Bears' backfield.
Halas And QB Sid Luckman
Shaughnessy
Arriving by train in Washington D.C. the day before the game, the Bears check in to the Mayflower Hotel (a local landmark only five blocks away from the White House) and discover in each of their rooms, on the bed, the sports section of Washington Post, with the headline ... "GUTLESS BEARS HIT THE CAPITOL!" Already pumped to pound the crap out of the Redskins, before taking the field the next afternoon (the game begins at 1:30), Halas delivers a locker room speech that further arouses his team, stating as he points to various clippings taped up around the room, "Gentlemen, this is what Mr. Marshall thinks of you. I know you are the greatest football team in America. I know it and you know it. I want you to prove that to Mr. Marshall, and the Redskins, and above all, the nation!" Releasing a loud war whoop, the screaming team then charges on to the Griffith Stadium field in front of a 36,034 roaring hometown fans (for those not at the contest, the game is broadcast on CBS radio to a national audience, and called by Brooklyn Dodgers announcer, Walter Lanier "Red" Barber).
Barber
Griffith Stadium - 12/8/1940
Program
A total contrast in styles, the Redskins run what almost everybody else in the sport runs on offense ... a single-wing formation with the halfback taking a long snap, and then that player either running, handing off, or throwing a pass ... somewhat like the shotgun formation currently in use in the NFL, but with a lot more running. And in that all important position of game management, the Redskins have the multi-talented (he is an all-star throwing, punting, and playing safety and in 1943 will lead the league in passing, punting, and interceptions), future Hall of Famer, Samuel Adrian "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh. Opposing Baugh, the Bears go with a T-formation in which the quarterback takes a direct snap from center before orchestrating the play called, running backs lined up behind him ... with the Chicago leader being an equally adept future Hall of Famer, Sidney "Sid" Luckman (first team all-Pro five times, four NFL championships, the NFL's 1943 MVP award, and an NFL record for throwing 7 TDs in a single game).
Baugh
Luckman
On the first play of the game, Bears halfback George McAfee runs for 7 yards, and people on the sideline are surprised to hear Halas exclaim, "We got 'em!" ... unaware that Halas has run the play to see if Washington will react to motion in the same way they did only a few weeks before ... and they do, running a 5-3-3 style defense, telling Halas that his entire game plan will be a surprise, and work. Crystal ball correct, on the very next play, running back Bill Osmanski takes a hand-off from Luckman and rumbles 68 yards for the first score of the game. Bears 7, Redskins 0! Responding to the score, Washington's Max Krause runs the kickoff back to the Chicago 40 and the Redskins are in business ... almost. Moving down to the Chicago 25, on third down, wide open on the 4 yard line, Redskins' receiver Charley Malone drops a sure touchdown pass from Baugh, and on 4th down, Bob Masterson misses a 32 yard field goal ... Bears ball on the 20, still a game at 7-0 ... but not for long.
Osmanski Takes Off
Seventeen plays and 80 yards later, Luckman scores on a QB sneak and the score becomes 14-0 ... and the wheels of the Redskins' band wagon begin coming off! Defense settling in on their second time on the field, the Bears stop the Redskins, and once more with the ball, score their third TD of the game, this time on a 42 yard run by Joe Maniaci ... it is 21-0 at the end of the first quarter. Settling down somewhat, the only score in the second quarter comes on a 30 yard pass from Luckman to Ken Kavanaugh. 28-0 at halftime ... not good, but not an epic crushing ... yet. In the locker room at the half, the Redskins are ripped by their coaches and themselves, while Halas tells his team not to let up, that the Redskins are a good enough team to come back and win ... but not on this day.
Kavanaugh
Maniaci
Message received, in the third quarter it is the defense's turn to really shine as the poppers on that side of the ball intercept three passes (one from Baugh, and two from his replacement, Roy Zimmerman) ... and return each of them for touchdowns (picks by Hampton Pool, George McAfee, and Clyde "Bulldog" Turner). And not to be forgotten, the offense also gets another tally, this time on a 23 yard run from Ray Nolting. Also in the third quarter, midway through the 15 minute period, not very wisely, the Redskins' PA announcer gets on his mike and urges fans to buy season tickets for 1941 ... an announcement that wakes up the unhappy, silent fans in the stadium, who boo mightily. One quarter left, the score explodes to 54-0 in favor of the Bears.
Bulldog
McAfee
54-0 and there is now a problem to finish the game ... in a time before the NFL puts up netting behind the goal posts, with each extra point kick or field goal attempt, a ball has gone into the stands and not been returned (upset with the performance of the home team, fans refuse to give up the balls they grab, even when the Redskins' business manager, Sid Carroll, goes up in the stands and tries to buy the pigskins back for $40 each). And they will need more balls because the Bears aren't done scoring, picking up three more touchdowns on a 44 yard run by Harry Clarke, a 2 yard run by Gary Famiglietti, and a 1 yard run, again by Clarke. At 66-0, Solly Sherman comes out to hold for the extra point and is told emphatically that there will be no more kicks ... the officials are down to one final ball (the head official, William "Red" Friesall at this point goes over to Halas and tells him the same thing ... no more kicks). And also at this point, Marshall shows he is not playing with a full deck, and thinking his traumatized team needs his presence, in a time before private elevators and escalators for owners, Marshall needs a police escort to make his way down the steps of the stadium to the field through a booing and screaming mob of irate fans, telling him to take his team back to Boston (and much fouler things too!).
Typical Of How The Day Goes - Six On One In Favor Of The Bears!
Mercifully, the game clock eventually reaches 0:00 and the game ends, 73-0, Bears ... still the most lopsided game in all of NFL history (in 1942, the Redskins will bounce back and beat the Bears in that year's championship game, 14-6) ... a drubbing in which the Bears gain 501 yards on offense, intercept EIGHT passes (for 117 more yards and three scores), recover one of Washington's four fumbles, hold the Redskins to 22 yards rushing, and score eleven TDs ... an almost perfect performance. In the aftermath, one of the classic moments in NFL history takes place in the locker room as newspaper reporters begin questioning the Redskins as to what went wrong ... asked by a sportswriter whether Malone's first quarter dropped pass would have made a difference in the game, Baugh sarcastically quips, "Sure. The final score would have been 73-7." Indeed!
Champs - Halas And The Bears After, In The Locker Room
Why today mattered ... 12/8/1940 ... 73-0 and the NFL begins to fall in love with the T-formation.
The 1940 NFL Champions - The Chicago Bears
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