NFL team season
The 1961 Chicago Bears season was their 42nd regular season completed in the National Football League . The team finished with an 8–6 record under George Halas , which was an improvement over the 5–6–1 record of the previous season.
Offseason
On January 14, Chicago Bears End Willard Dewveall played out his option and joined the Houston Oilers of the American Football League. He became the first player to move deliberately from one league to another.[ 1]
The Bears were notable for taking part in an exhibition game in their first ever game outside of the United States , taking on the CFL's Montreal Alouettes (the original team), winning 34–16.[ 2]
Schedule
Game
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
Recap
Sources
1
September 17
at Minnesota Vikings
L 13–37
0–1
Metropolitan Stadium
32,236
Recap
2
September 23
at Los Angeles Rams
W 21–17
1–1
L.A. Memorial Coliseum
53,315
Recap
3
October 1
at Green Bay Packers
L 0–24
1–2
City Stadium
38,669
Recap
4
October 8
at Detroit Lions
W 31–17
2–2
Briggs Stadium
53,854
Recap
5
October 15
Baltimore Colts W 24–10
3–2
Wrigley Field
48,719
Recap
6
October 22
San Francisco 49ers W 31–0
4–2
Wrigley Field
49,070
Recap
7
October 29
at Baltimore Colts
W 21–20
5–2
Memorial Stadium
57,641
Recap
8
November 5
at Philadelphia Eagles
L 14–16
5–3
Franklin Field
60,671
Recap
9
November 12
Green Bay Packers L 28–31
5–4
Wrigley Field
49,711
Recap
10
November 19
at San Francisco 49ers
L 31–41
5–5
Kezar Stadium
52,972
Recap
11
November 26
Los Angeles Rams W 28–24
6–5
Wrigley Field
45,965
Recap
12
December 3
Detroit Lions L 15–16
6–6
Wrigley Field
51,017
Recap
13
December 10
Cleveland Browns
W 17–14
7–6
Wrigley Field
38,717
Recap
14
December 17
Minnesota Vikings W 52–35
8–6
Wrigley Field
34,539
Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents in bold .
Standings
Program for the December 10 game against the visiting Cleveland Browns. Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Game summaries
Week 1
1
2 3 4 Total
Bears
0
6 0 7
13
• Vikings
3
7 14 13
37
Date: September 17Location: Metropolitan Stadium Game attendance: 32,236Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); wind 13 mph
[ 3]
Week 2
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bears
7
0 7 7
21
Rams
3
7 0 7
17
[ 4]
Week 3
1
2 3 4 Total
Bears
0
0 0 0
0
• Packers
7
3 7 7
24
Date: October 1Location: City Stadium Game attendance: 38,669Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C); wind 19 mph
[ 5]
Week 4
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bears
0
7 3 21
31
Lions
10
0 7 0
17
Date: October 8Location: Tiger Stadium Game attendance: 53,854Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C); wind 7 mph
[ 6]
Week 5
1
2 3 4 Total
Colts
0
7 0 3
10
• Bears
3
7 0 14
24
[ 7]
Week 6
1
2 3 4 Total
49ers
0
0 0 0
0
• Bears
0
14 7 10
31
Date: October 22Location: Wrigley Field Game attendance: 49,070Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C); wind 8 mph
[ 8]
Week 7
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bears
0
7 7 7
21
Colts
7
7 6 0
20
[ 9]
Week 8
1
2 3 4 Total
Bears
7
7 0 0
14
• Eagles
3
7 6 0
16
Date: November 5Location: Franklin Field Game attendance: 60,671Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C); wind 9 mph
[ 10]
Week 9
1
2 3 4 Total
• Packers
7
21 3 0
31
Bears
7
0 7 14
28
Date: November 12Location: Wrigley Field Game attendance: 49,711Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C); wind 13 mph
[ 11]
Week 10
1
2 3 4 Total
Bears
7
3 7 14
31
• 49ers
17
3 21 0
41
Date: November 19Location: Kezar Stadium Game attendance: 52,972Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C); wind 7 mph
[ 12]
Week 11
1
2 3 4 Total
Rams
7
0 3 14
24
• Bears
7
14 0 7
28
Date: November 26Location: Wrigley Field Game attendance: 45,965Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C); wind 12 mph
[ 13]
Week 12
1
2 3 4 Total
• Lions
0
9 0 7
16
Bears
3
3 6 3
15
Date: December 3Location: Wrigley Field Game attendance: 51,017Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C); wind 10 mph
[ 14]
Week 13
1
2 3 4 Total
Browns
14
0 0 0
14
• Bears
0
0 0 17
17
Date: December 10Location: Wrigley Field Game attendance: 38,717Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C); wind 15 mph
[ 15]
Week 14
1
2 3 4 Total
Vikings
14
7 7 7
35
• Bears
7
14 24 7
52
[ 16]
Roster
1961 Bears offensive line practicing for the Armed Forces Benefit Football Game
References
Franchise Records Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Minor league affiliates Retired numbers Key personnel Division championships (21) Conference championships (4) League championships (9) Media
Broadcasters Radio:
Personnel:
Television:
WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox , official pre-game and post-game alternate)Marquee Sports Network (official post-game and in-season programming)
Personnel:
Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter)
Adam Amin (pre-season play-by-play)Jim Miller (pre-season analyst) Current league affiliations
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
