NFL team season
1961 Chicago Bears season Owner George Halas General manager George Halas Head coach George Halas Home field Wrigley Field Record 8–6 Division place 3rd (tied) NFL Western Playoff finish Did 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 [ edit ] 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]
1961 Chicago Bears offensive line in action. "Bears Workout at Soldier Field for Armed Forces game Friday." 1961 Chicago Bears final roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Rookies in italics
Regular season [ edit ] Schedule [ edit ] Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 17 at Minnesota Vikings L 13–37 0–1 32,236 2 September 23 at Los Angeles Rams W 21–17 1–1 53,315 3 October 1 at Green Bay Packers L 0–24 1–2 38,669 4 October 8 at Detroit Lions W 31–17 2–2 53,854 5 October 15 Baltimore Colts W 24–10 3–2 48,719 6 October 22 San Francisco 49ers W 31–0 4–2 49,070 7 October 29 at Baltimore Colts W 21–20 5–2 57,641 8 November 5 at Philadelphia Eagles L 14–16 5–3 60,671 9 November 12 Green Bay Packers L 28–31 5–4 49,711 10 November 19 at San Francisco 49ers L 31–41 5–5 52,972 11 November 26 Los Angeles Rams W 28–24 6–5 45,965 12 December 3 Detroit Lions L 15–16 6–6 51,017 13 December 10 Cleveland Browns W 17–14 7–6 38,717 14 December 17 Minnesota Vikings W 52–35 8–6 34,539
Game summaries [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Bears 0 6 0 7 13 • Vikings 3 7 14 13 37
Date: September 17Location: Metropolitan Stadium Game attendance: 32,236Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); wind 13 mph
[3]
1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 7 0 7 7 21 Rams 3 7 0 7 17
[4]
1 2 3 4 Total Bears 0 0 0 0 0 • Packers 7 3 7 7 24
Date: October 1Location: City Stadium Game attendance: 38,669Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C); wind 19 mph
[5]
1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 0 7 3 21 31 Lions 10 0 7 0 17
Date: October 8Location: Tiger Stadium Game attendance: 53,854Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C); wind 7 mph
[6]
1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 7 0 3 10 • Bears 3 7 0 14 24
[7]
1 2 3 4 Total 49ers 0 0 0 0 0 • Bears 0 14 7 10 31
Date: October 22Location: Wrigley Field Game attendance: 49,070Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C); wind 8 mph
[8]
1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 0 7 7 7 21 Colts 7 7 6 0 20
[9]
1 2 3 4 Total Bears 7 7 0 0 14 • Eagles 3 7 6 0 16
Date: November 5Location: Franklin Field Game attendance: 60,671Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C); wind 9 mph
[10]
1 2 3 4 Total • Packers 7 21 3 0 31 Bears 7 0 7 14 28
Date: November 12Location: Wrigley Field Game attendance: 49,711Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C); wind 13 mph
[11]
Week 10 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Bears 7 3 7 14 31 • 49ers 17 3 21 0 41
Date: November 19Location: Kezar Stadium Game attendance: 52,972Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C); wind 7 mph
[12]
Week 11 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Rams 7 0 3 14 24 • Bears 7 14 0 7 28
Date: November 26Location: Wrigley Field Game attendance: 45,965Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C); wind 12 mph
[13]
Week 12 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total • Lions 0 9 0 7 16 Bears 3 3 6 3 15
Date: December 3Location: Wrigley Field Game attendance: 51,017Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C); wind 10 mph
[14]
Week 13 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Browns 14 0 0 0 14 • Bears 0 0 0 17 17
Date: December 10Location: Wrigley Field Game attendance: 38,717Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C); wind 15 mph
[15]
Week 14 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Vikings 14 7 7 7 35 • Bears 7 14 24 7 52
Scoring summary 1 MIN Hugh McElhenny 81 yard punt return (Mike Mercer kick)MIN 7–0 1 MIN Jerry Reichow 30 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Mike Mercer kick)MIN 14–0 1 CHI Angelo Coia 62 yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick)MIN 14–7 2 CHI Willie Galimore 8 yard run (Roger LeClerc kick)Tie 14–14 2 CHI Mike Ditka 2 yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick)CHI 21–14 2 MIN Jerry Reichow 11 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Mike Mercer kick) Tie 21–21 3 CHI Angelo Coia 16 yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick) CHI 28–21 3 CHI Roger LeClerc 17 yard field goal CHI 31–21 3 CHI Mike Ditka 30 yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick) CHI 38–21 3 MIN Gordie Smith 10 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Mike Mercer kick)CHI 38–28 3 CHI Charlie Bivins 30 yard run (Roger LeClerc kick)CHI 45–28 4 MIN Jerry Reichow 24 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Mike Mercer kick) CHI 45–35 4 CHI Willie Galimore 60 yard run (Roger LeClerc kick) CHI 52–35
[16]
Standings [ edit ] Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972. References [ edit ]
Franchise Records Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Minor league affiliates Retired numbers Key personnel Division championships (21) Conference championships (4) League championships (9) Media Broadcasters Radio: Personnel: Television: WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox , official pre-game and post-game alternate) Marquee Sports Network (official post-game and in-season programming) Personnel: Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter) Adam Amin (pre-season play-by-play) Jim Miller (pre-season analyst) Current league affiliations
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)