1941 NFL Championship
The 1941 NFL Championship: Bears win fifth title in low-attendance game two weeks after Pearl Harbor.
The 1941 NFL Championship Game was the ninth annual championship game of the National Football League, held at Wrigley Field in Chicago on December 21, 1941. The Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants 37–9 to win their fifth league title.
Quick Facts
- Opponent
- New York Giants
- Final score
- 37–9
- Venue
- Wrigley Field, Chicago
- Head coach
- George Halas
- Season record
- 10–1
Lore & Background
The game was played two weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Attendance was 13,341, the fewest to see an NFL title game, possibly due to wartime restrictions. The Bears became the first team to win consecutive NFL championships since the title game era began in 1933.
Reader's Guide
The Bears kicked three field goals in the first half to lead 9–6 at halftime. The Giants tied the game with a short field goal early in the third quarter, but Chicago scored four unanswered touchdowns to win 37–9. With under two minutes remaining, Ray 'Scooter' McLean drop-kicked the extra point, the last successful drop kick in the NFL for 64 years.
Did You Know?
- Two players in the game—Young Bussey of the Bears and Jack Lummus of the Giants—were killed in action in World War II in early 1945.
- Each Bears player received $431, while each Giants player received $288, less than half of the previous year's shares.
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