NFL team season
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 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]
Roster 1961 Chicago Bears offensive line in action. "Bears Workout at Soldier Field for Armed Forces game Friday." 1961 Chicago Bears final roster Quarterbacks 12 Dick Norman 9 Billy WadeRunning backs
39 John Adams49 Charlie Bivins38 Bill Brown 28 Willie GalimoreWide receivers
46 Angelo Coia84 Bo Farrington47 Johnny MorrisTight ends
Offensive linemen 50 Mike Pyle C63 Bob Wetoska T72 Charles Linning RG79 Art Anderson RT73 Stan Jones GDefensive linemen
Linebackers 31 Joe Fortunato61 Bill George33 Larry MorrisDefensive backs
Special teams
Rookies in italics
Regular season Schedule 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 Week 1 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]
Week 2 1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 7 0 7 7 21 Rams 3 7 0 7 17
[4]
Week 3 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]
Week 4 1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 0 7 3 21 31 Lions 10 0 7 0 17
Date: October 8Location: Tiger StadiumGame attendance: 53,854Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C); wind 7 mph
[6]
Week 5 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 7 0 3 10 • Bears 3 7 0 14 24
Scoring summary 1 CHI Roger LeClerc 14-yard field goal Bears 3–0 2 BAL Johnny Unitas 7-yard run (Steve Myhra kick)Colts 7–3 2 CHI Johnny Morris 8-yard pass from Ed Brown (Roger LeClerc kick) Bears 10–7 4 BAL Steve Myhra 32-yard field goal Tie 10–10 4 CHI Willie Galimore 84-yard pass from Ed Brown (Roger LeClerc kick)Bears 17–10 4 CHI Rick Casares 1-yard run (Roger LeClerc kick)Bears 24–10
[7]
Week 6 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]
Week 7 1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 0 7 7 7 21 Colts 7 7 6 0 20
Date: October 29Location: Memorial Stadium • Baltimore, Maryland Game attendance: 57,641Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C) • Wind 8 mph Scoring summary 1 BAL Joe Perry 21 -yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Steve Myhra kick) Colts 7–0 2 BAL Lenny Moore 68-yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Steve Myhra kick)Colts 14–0 2 CHI Mike Ditka 19-yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick)Colts 14–7 3 BAL Alex Hawkins 1-yard run (kick failed)Colts 20–7 3 CHI Johnny Morris 41-yard pass from Bill Wade (Roger LeClerc kick) Colts 20–14 4 CHI Rick Casares 5-yard run (Roger LeClerc kick)Bears 21–20
[9]
Week 8 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]
Week 9 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 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 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 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 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 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 Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.References ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 282 ^ "Bears played game in Canada in 1961". Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2012 . ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-05. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
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 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 Category:Chicago Bears WikiProject Chicago Bears
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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