1932 Chicago Bears season

1932 Chicago Bears season
Head coach Ralph Jones
Home field Wrigley Field
Results
Record 7–1–6
(Home: 6–1–2)
(Road: 1–0–4)
League place 1st NFL
Playoff finish NFL Champions
Team photo

The 1932 Chicago Bears season was their 13th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 7–1–6 record under third year head coach Ralph Jones.

Season Overview

The season started strangely with three consecutive 0–0 ties. After a 0–2 loss to the Packers, the Bears had scored zero points in four games. After that, the offense got on track and the defense stayed incredibly stingy. The Bears were undefeated in their last nine "regular season" games (there was no established playoff system), with six wins, four by shutout, and three ties.

The team that gave the Bears the most trouble were the Portsmouth Spartans. The club tied with the Spartans with identical 6–1 records (ties did not count then and were omitted), so a playoff game was set up to determine a winner. The Bears defeated the Spartans, 9–0 in the first ever NFL postseason game, which oddly enough was played indoors at Chicago Stadium because it was expected to be cold at Wrigley Field and organizers wanted to maximize the attendance and gate revenue.

For the year, the powerful tandem of Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski again paced the Bears as Grange scored 7 touchdowns and Nagurski ran for 4 and also passed for 3 more. Keith Molesworth also contributed with 3 touchdowns on his own while passing for 3 more. Luke Johnsos had probably his finest season, catching two touchdown passes and scoring twice on defense as well. Coach Ralph Jones also found a reliable kicker in Paul "Tiny" Engebretson.

Future Hall of Fame Players

Other Leading Players

Dermot Rice, Running Back

Players Departed from 1931

Schedule

Date Opponent Location Result Score Record
Sep 25 at Green Bay Packers City Stadium Tie0–0 0–0–1
Oct. 2 at Staten Island Stapletons Thompson Stadium Tie0–0 0–0–2
Oct. 9 Chicago Cardinals Wrigley Field Tie0–0 0–0–3
Oct 16 Green Bay Packers Wrigley Field Loss 0–2 0–1–3
Oct 23 Staten Island Stapletons Wrigley Field Win 27–7 1–1–3
Oct 30 at Boston Braves Braves Field Tie 7–7 1–1–4
Nov 6 at New York Giants Polo Grounds Win 28–8 2–1–4
Nov 13 Portsmouth Spartans Wrigley Field Tie 13–132–1–5
Nov 20 Brooklyn Dodgers Wrigley Field Win 20–0 3–1–5
Nov 24 Chicago Cardinals Wrigley Field Win 34–0 4–1–5
Nov. 27 at Portsmouth Spartans Universal Stadium Tie 7–7 4–1–6
Dec. 4 New York Giants Wrigley Field Win 6–0 5–1–6
Dec. 11 Green Bay Packers Wrigley Field Win 9–06–1–6
Dec. 18 Portsmouth Spartans Chicago Stadium Win 9–07–1–6

The December 18 game was added to break the tie and is known as the 1932 NFL Playoff Game

Standings

NFL standings
W L T PCT PF PA STK
Chicago Bears 1 7 1 6 .875 160 44 W3
Green Bay Packers 10 3 1 .769 152 63 L2
Portsmouth Spartans 1 6 2 4 .750 116 71 L1
Boston Braves 4 4 2 .500 55 79 W2
New York Giants 4 6 2 .400 93 113 L1
Brooklyn Dodgers 3 9 0 .250 63 131 L4
Chicago Cardinals 2 6 2 .250 72 114 L5
Staten Island Stapletons 2 7 3 .222 93 113 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
1 The Bears and Spartans records include the result of the 1932 NFL Playoff Game. Thus, the Spartans are ranked third with a lower winning percentage than the Packers.

NFL Playoff Game: Chicago Bears 9, Portsmouth Spartans 0

For more details on this topic, see NFL Playoff Game, 1932.

Awards

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