 | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 8, 1940 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadium | Griffith Stadium Washington, D.C. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 36,034 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Radio in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Mutual | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Red Barber | ||||||||||||||||||
The1940 NFL Championship Game, sometimes referred to simply as73–0, was the eighthtitle game of theNational Football League (NFL). It was played atGriffith Stadium inWashington, D.C., on December 8, with a sellout capacity attendance of 36,034.[1][2]
TheChicago Bears (8–3) of the Western Division met theWashington Redskins (9–2), champions of the Eastern Division.[3] Neither team had played in the title game since1937, when the Redskins won a close game atChicago'sWrigley 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 byMutual Broadcasting System, the first NFL title game broadcast nationwide.
Washington had defeated Chicago 7–3 in a regular season game three weeks earlier in Washington.[7] After the contest, Redskins ownerGeorge 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 coachGeorge 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 friendClark Shaughnessy, who was concurrently coaching the undefeatedStanford Indians, helped the Bears' gameplan. Shaughnessy devised several counters for linebacker shifts that he had noted the Redskins using.[8]
The Bears controlled the game right from the start, using theT formation as their primary offensive strategy. On their secondplay from scrimmage,running backBill Osmanski ran 68 yards for a touchdown. Washington then marched to the Chicago 26-yard line on their ensuing drive, butwide 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, BearsquarterbackSid 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 thepoint after touchdown on the last two touchdowns.[9]
This game also marked the last time that an NFL player (Bears endDick Plasman) played without ahelmet.[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 quarterbackSammy 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]
As of2023, 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.[11] The regular-season record holder is theRedskins, who defeated theNew York Giants 72–41 in 1966. The most recent team to reach 70 points was theMiami Dolphins, who beat theDenver 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 aquarterback 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, theNBA'sMemphis Grizzlies matched this feat with a 73-point victory over theOklahoma City Thunder (Memphis led by as many as 78 points in that game)[12] with a final score of 152-79.
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.[13] "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."
December 8, 1940
Kickoff: 1:30 p.m.EST
The NFL had only four game officials in1940; the back judge was added in1947, the line judge in1965, and the side judge in1978.
Source:3
| Chicago Bears | Washington Redskins | |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 17 | 17 |
| First downs rushing | 13 | 4 |
| First downs passing | 3 | 10 |
| First downs penalty | 1 | 3 |
| Total yards | 501 | 245 |
| Passing yards | 119 | 223 |
| Passing – Completions-attempts | 7–10 | 20–51 |
| Passing – Yards per attempt | 11.9 | 4.4 |
| Interceptions-return yards | 8–117 | 0–0 |
| Rushing yards | 382 | 22 |
| Rushing attempts | 57 | 14 |
| Yards per rush | 6.7 | 1.6 |
| Penalties-yards | 3–25 | 8–70 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Punts-Average | 2–46.0 | 3–41.3 |
| Bears Passing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/ATT* | Yds | TD | INT | |
| Sid Luckman | 3/4 | 88 | 1 | 0 |
| Bob Snyder | 3/3 | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| Bears Rushing | ||||
| Cara | Yds | TD | LGb | |
| Bill Osmanski | 10 | 109 | 1 | 68 |
| Harry Clarke | 8 | 73 | 2 | 44 |
| Joe Maniaci | 6 | 60 | 2 | 42 |
| Ray Nolting | 13 | 68 | 1 | 23 |
| Bears Receiving | ||||
| Recc | Yds | TD | LGb | |
| Joe Maniaci | 3 | 39 | 0 | n/a |
| Ken Kavanaugh | 2 | 32 | 1 | 30 |
| Redskins Passing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/ATT* | Yds | TD | INT | |
| Sammy Baugh | 10/17 | 102 | 0 | 2 |
| Frankie Filchock | 7/23 | 87 | 0 | 5 |
| Redskins Rushing | ||||
| Cara | Yds | TD | LGb | |
| Frankie Filchock | 2 | 20 | 0 | n/a |
| Bob Seymour | 4 | 16 | 0 | n/a |
| Jimmy Johnston | 1 | 5 | 0 | n/a |
| Ed Justice | 1 | 1 | 0 | n/a |
| Redskins Receiving | ||||
| Recc | Yds | TD | LGb | |
| Wayne Millner | 5 | 84 | 0 | n/a |
| Bob Masterson | 3 | 33 | 0 | n/a |
*Completions/AttemptsaCarriesbLong playcReceptions
The net gate receipts from the sellout were over $102,000, a record; each Bears player received $874 while each Redskins player saw $606.[1][2]
38°55′03″N77°01′12″W / 38.9175°N 77.020°W /38.9175; -77.020
| |
| Franchise | |
| Records | |
| Stadiums | |
| Culture |
|
| Lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Retired numbers | |
| Key personnel |
|
| Division championships (21) | |
| Conference championships (4) | |
| League championships (9) | |
| Media |
|
| Current league affiliations |
|
| |
| Affiliations |
|
| Franchise | |
| Stadiums | |
| Key personnel |
|
| Culture and lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Retired numbers | |
| Hall of Famers | |
| League championships (5) | |
| Division championships (15) | |
| Wild Card playoff berths (10) | |
