1942 NFL Championship Game
The 1942 NFL Championship Game: Redskins upset the undefeated Bears 14-6 at Griffith Stadium.
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The 1942 NFL Championship Game was the tenth title game of the National Football League (NFL), played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., on December 13, with a sellout capacity attendance of 36,006. It matched the undefeated Western Division champion Chicago Bears (11–0) and the Eastern Division champion Washington Redskins (10–1). The Bears were co-coached by Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos (after George Halas had entered the U.S. Navy) and led on the field by quarterback Sid Luckman. The Redskins were led by head coach Ray Flaherty and quarterback Sammy Baugh. The Redskins defeated the Bears in a low-scoring contest, 14-6, to win their second championship in team history.
Quick Facts
- Visitor
- Chicago Bears
- Home
- Washington Redskins
- Visitor coach
- George Halas
- Hunk Anderson
- Luke Johnsos
- Home coach
- Ray Flaherty
- Visitor record
- 11–0
- Home record
- 10–1
- Home total
- 14
- Date
- December 13, 1942
Lore & Background
This was the second and final NFL title game played at Griffith Stadium and in the city of Washington. The two teams met on the same site two years earlier with a very different result, as the visiting Bears won in a 73–0 rout. Chicago had won easily in the summer exhibition game with Washington, but the teams had not met during the 1942 regular season. The Bears were aiming for their third consecutive league title and were favored by three touchdowns, but were upset 14–6 by the home underdog Redskins.
Reader's Guide
Tickets were sold out three weeks in advance, and some were being resold for up to fifty dollars. Officials: Referee: Ronald Gibbs, Umpire: Carl Brubaker, Head linesman: Charlie Berry, Field judge: Chuck Sweeney.
Did You Know?
- This was the last major professional sports championship won by a Washington, D.C.-based team until the then-Washington Bullets won the NBA championship in 1978.
- This was the last championship won by the Redskins until Super Bowl XVII in 1983.
- At the time, an owners' winter meeting and the annual draft of college players was held around the title game.
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