1943 NFL Championship

Lore & Background

The game was a rematch of the previous year's championship. The Redskins had defeated the New York Giants 28–0 in a divisional playoff the previous week to determine the Eastern champion after both teams finished the regular season with identical records. The late-December Chicago weather was bitterly cold, but the game is not to be confused with the 1967 'Ice Bowl.' The Bears were favored by a touchdown and won by twenty points. The gross gate receipts of $120,500 set a record.

In Their Own Story

Under the floodlights, Sammy Baugh surveyed the field, his eyes scanning the opposing line where former rivals now stood as teammates. The whistle blew, and for sixty minutes, Washington moved like a single organism. When the final gun sounded, silence fell over the Chicago bench before erupting into cheers from the D.C. faithful; it was a victory not just of skill, but of unity in a time of global crisis.

Reader's Guide

The Bears were led by quarterback Sid Luckman, while Sammy Baugh was the quarterback for the Redskins. The Redskins were coached by Dutch Bergman. The Chicago win marked the franchise's third championship in four seasons, their fourth since the institution of the NFL Championship Game in 1933, and their sixth championship overall.

Did You Know?

• The game was pushed to its latest ever date due to the divisional playoff.
• Radio broadcast rights to the game were sold for $5,000.
• Each player on the Bears took home $1,135 while each member of the Redskins got $754.
• The NFL had only four game officials in 1943; the back judge was added in 1947, the line judge in 1965, and the side judge in 1978.