1931 Chicago Bears season

NFL team season

The 1931 season was the Chicago Bears' 12th in the National Football League. The team was unable to improve on their 9–4–1 record from 1930 and finished with an 8–5 record under sophomore head coach Ralph Jones. The club finished in third place once again behind the Green Bay Packers and the Portsmouth Spartans. The Bears opened the season well, winning three of their first four games, including victories over the Cardinals and Giants. Chicago then dropped two in a row, both at home to the Packers and Yellowjackets. Four consecutive wins in the middle of the season put the Bears back in contention; however, another weak ending, losing two of their last three, made the season somewhat of a disappointment. Grange and Nagurski again carried the team, with 9 touchdowns between them (7 by Grange). The Bears' biggest weakness was an aging interior line, with few young linemen joining the team who had an impact. They also lacked a consistent kicking game, now that Paddy Driscoll and the Sternaman brothers had all retired. Owner George Halas would remedy these problems over the next few years and get the Bears back on top.

Future Hall of Fame players

  • Red Grange, back
  • Link Lyman, tackle
  • Bronko Nagurski, fullback
  • George Trafton, center

Other leading players

  • Carl Brumbaugh, quarterback
  • Garland Grange, end
  • Luke Johnsos, end
  • Keith Molesworth, back
  • William Senn, back

Other players

Players departed from 1930

Schedule

Date Opponent Result Record Venue
September 18 Cleveland Indians W 21–0 1–0 Loyola Stadium
September 27 at Green Bay Packers L 0–7 1–1 City Stadium
October 11 New York Giants W6–0 2–1 Wrigley Field
October 18 Chicago Cardinals W 26–13 3–1 Wrigley Field
October 25 Frankford Yellow Jackets L 12–13 3–2 Wrigley Field
November 1 Green Bay Packers L 2–6 3–3 Wrigley Field
November 8 Portsmouth Spartans W 9–6 4–3 Wrigley Field
November 15 at New York Giants W 12–6 5–3 Polo Grounds
November 22 at Brooklyn Dodgers W 26–0 6–3 Ebbets Field
November 26 Chicago Cardinals W 18–7 7–3 Wrigley Field
November 29 at Portsmouth Spartans L 0–3 7–4 Universal Stadium
December 6 Green Bay Packers W 7–6 8–4 Wrigley Field
December 13 New York Giants L 6–25 8–5 Wrigley Field

Standings

NFL standings
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W L T PCT PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers 12 2 0 .857 291 87 L1
Portsmouth Spartans 11 3 0 .786 175 77 W1
Chicago Bears 8 5 0 .615 145 92 L1
Chicago Cardinals 5 4 0 .556 120 128 W1
New York Giants 7 6 1 .538 154 100 W2
Providence Steam Roller 4 4 3 .500 78 127 T1
Staten Island Stapletons 4 6 1 .400 79 118 W2
Cleveland Indians 2 8 0 .200 45 137 L5
Brooklyn Dodgers 2 12 0 .143 64 199 L8
Frankford Yellow Jackets 1 6 1 .143 13 99 L2

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

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Chicago Bears
  • Founded in 1919
  • Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1919–1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
  • Based in Chicago, Illinois
  • Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois
Franchise
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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
  • Category:Chicago Bears
  • WikiProject Chicago Bears
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Chicago Bears seasons
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory
Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance
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