1933 Chicago Bears season

1933 Chicago Bears season
General manager	George Halas
Head coach	George Halas
Home field	Wrigley Field
Results
Record	10–2–1
Division place	1st NFL West
Playoff finish	Won NFL Championship (vs. Giants) 23–21

The 1933 season was the Chicago Bears' 14th in the National Football League and the 11th season under head coach George Halas. The team was able to improve on their 7–1–6 record from 1932 and finished with a 10–2–1 record.

The Bears won their first six games while allowing only 33 points. In the middle of the season, the team struggled on the road, losing to Boston and New York and eking out a tie against the new Philadelphia Eagles franchise. After that, however, the Bears regained their winning ways, finishing the regular season with four consecutive wins, including two against Portsmouth, their foe in the indoor 1932 playoff game. The team won the newly established Western Division by 3½ games, and hosted and won the first ever NFL championship game.

Season highlights

The Bears' season was typified by solid defense, a high-octane passing attack (for the era), and the best kicking game in the league. Only three times during the season did opponents score more than 9 points on the Bears. The club finished second behind Brooklyn in scoring defense. Their line was greatly improved by the addition of huge George "Moose" Musso, who weighted over 260 pounds and starred for the Bears for many years. The Bears had the third best scoring offense, trailing the explosive Giants and the Packers. Living legend Red Grange and future legend Bronko Nagurski continued to lead the running attack but the Bears scored a large majority of their touchdowns through the air. Luke Johnsos continued to play well at end but the aerial attack was vastly improved by the emergence of second year end Bill Hewitt and rookie end Bill Karr. All in all, the Bears scored 11 of their 14 offensive touchdowns through passes. Though statistics were spotty in 1933, Bill Hewitt was among the league leaders in receiving with 16 catches for 274 yards and 2 touchdowns. The biggest improvement for the Bears and, in many games, the key to their wins was the addition of "Automatic" Jack Manders, one of the first great place kickers in league history. Manders made 14 of 14 PATs (pretty much unheard of in those days) and led the league with 6 field goals. Undoubtedly, the new rule that brought the ball back to the hash marks after every play helped Manders (and all other NFL kickers), but Manders' consistency in the kicking game contributed to the Bears' success all the way through the 1940 season.

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	Bye
2	September 24	at Green Bay Packers	W 14–7	1–0	City Stadium	Recap
3	October 1	Boston Redskins	W 7–0	2–0	Soldier Field	Recap
4	October 8	at Brooklyn Dodgers	W 10–0	3–0	Ebbets Field	Recap
5	October 15	Chicago Cardinals	W 12–9	4–0	Wrigley Field	Recap
6	October 22	Green Bay Packers	W 10–7	5–0	Wrigley Field	Recap
7	October 29	New York Giants	W 14–10	6–0	Wrigley Field	Recap
8	November 5	at Boston Redskins	L 0–10	6–1	Fenway Park	Recap
9	November 12	at Philadelphia Eagles	T 3–3	6–1–1	Baker Bowl	Recap
10	November 19	at New York Giants	L 0–3	6–2–1	Polo Grounds	Recap
11	November 26	Portsmouth Spartans	W 17–14	7–2–1	Wrigley Field	Recap
12	November 30	at Chicago Cardinals	W 22–6	8–2–1	Wrigley Field	Recap
13	December 3	at Portsmouth Spartans	W 17–7	9–2–1	Universal Stadium	Recap
14	December 10	Green Bay Packers	W 7–6	10–2–1	Wrigley Field	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Western Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears	10	2	1	.833	7–0	133	82	W4
Portsmouth Spartans	6	5	0	.545	3–4	128	87	L3
Green Bay Packers	5	7	1	.417	2–4	170	107	L1
Cincinnati Reds	3	6	1	.333	2–2	38	110	W1
Chicago Cardinals	1	9	1	.100	1–5	52	101	T1

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

NFL Championship Game

Main article: 1933 NFL Championship Game

Summary

The Bears hosted the NFL Eastern Division champion New York Giants in the NFL championship game. The teams had split the season series, with both teams prevailing at home. The game was played at Wrigley Field in clear, crisp weather. Both teams brought high-powered offenses to the game but the Bears had an advantage on defense. Both teams featured their passing attacks throughout the game but the Giants took a first half lead with a 29-yard pass to Red Badgro despite two Manders field goals. The second half was back and forth, with both clubs taking the lead twice. The game was won with an exciting play with less than 3 minutes remaining—a pass from Bronko Nagurski to Bill Hewitt who lateraled to Bill Karr. Karr then scampered 36 yards for the winning score. The Bears won the game 23–21, giving them their second straight league title and third overall.

Future Hall of Fame players

• Red Grange, back
• Bill Hewitt, end
• Link Lyman, tackle
• George Musso, tackle (rookie from Millikin)
• Bronko Nagurski, fullback
• George Trafton, center

Other leading players

• Carl Brumbaugh, quarterback
• Luke Johnsos, end
• Bill Karr, end (rookie from West Virginia University)
• Joe Kopcha, guard
• Jack Manders, back/kicker (rookie from University of Minnesota)
• Keith Molesworth, back
• Gene Ronzani, back (rookie from Marquette)