The 1936 season was the Chicago Bears' 17th in the National Football League and 14th season under head coach George Halas. The team was able to improve on their 6–4–2 record from 1935 and finished with a 9–3 record. The team also finished in second place in the Western Division behind the Green Bay Packers. After week 10, the Bears were tied with the Packers in first place with identical 9–1 records, having split their season series. However, the club swooned at the end of the year, losing their last two games on the road to Detroit and the Cardinals. Green Bay went on to easily defeat the Boston Redskins and win the NFL title.
| 1936 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | George Halas |
| Home field | Wrigley Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–3 |
| Division place | 2nd NFL Western |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
1936 NFL draft
edit| 1936 Chicago Bears draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Joe Stydahar † | Offensive tackle | West Virginia | |
| 2 | 14 | Ed Michaels | Offensive guard | Villanova | |
| 3 | 24 | George Roscoe | Back | Minnesota | |
| 4 | 32 | Bob Allman | Offensive end | Michigan State | |
| 5 | 42 | Vern Oech | Offensive guard | Minnesota | |
| 6 | 50 | Ted Christofferson | Back | Washington State | |
| 7 | 60 | Dick Smith | Tackle | Minnesota | |
| 8 | 68 | John Sylvester | End | Rice | |
| 9 | 78 | Dan Fortmann † | Guard | Colgate | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Season highlights
editThe Bears featured a high-powered offense with a dynamic rushing scheme and a "vertical" passing attack. Bill Hewitt starred at end, catching 15 passes for 358 yards and 6 touchdowns (this fine performance was overshadowed by that of Don Hutson, who led the league in receiving). Bernie Masterson and Carl Brumbaugh shared quarterbacking duties, although coach Halas continued to feature passing, rushing, and receiving from all the backs in his still fairly primitive T-formation scheme. As a team, the Bears averaged 18.9 yards per pass completion for 17 touchdowns. Keith Molesworth continued as a triple-threat from the halfback position. Bronko Nagurski returned to form and led the team in rushing. Rookie linemen and future hall of famers Joe Stydahar and Danny Fortmann joined tackle George Musso on the line. Rookie Ray Nolting joined the strong backfield. Jack Manders had a fine season as a rusher and kicker, scoring 4 touchdowns while making 7 of 8 field goals and 17 of 21 PATs. He was second in the league in scoring, behind the Lions' all-purpose threat Dutch Clark. The Bear defense led the league in points allowed, giving up only 94 points and allowing more than 14 points only once, to the Packers.
Future Hall of Fame players
edit- Dan Fortmann, guard (rookie from Colgate)
- Bill Hewitt, end
- George Musso, tackle
- Bronko Nagurski, fullback
- Joe Stydahar, tackle (rookie from West Virginia University)
Other leading players
edit- Beattie Feathers, halfback
- Luke Johnsos, end
- Bill Karr, end
- Jack Manders, fullback/kicker
- Bernie Masterson, quarterback
- Keith Molesworth, halfback
- Ray Nolting, halfback (rookie from University of Cincinnati)
- Gene Ronzani, back
Players departed from 1935
edit- Joe Kopcha, guard (went to Detroit)
Schedule
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bye | ||||||
| 2 | September 20 | at Green Bay Packers | W 30–3 | 1–0 | City Stadium | ||
| 3 | September 27 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 17–0 | 2–0 | Municipal Stadium | ||
| 4 | October 4 | at Pittsburgh Pirates | W 27–9 | 3–0 | Forbes Field | ||
| 5 | October 11 | Chicago Cardinals | W 7–3 | 4–0 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 6 | October 18 | Pittsburgh Pirates | W 26–7 | 5–0 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 7 | October 25 | Detroit Lions | W 12–10 | 6–0 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 8 | November 1 | Green Bay Packers | L 10–21 | 6–1 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 9 | November 8 | New York Giants | W 25–7 | 7–1 | Polo Grounds | ||
| 10 | November 15 | at Boston Redskins | W 26–0 | 8–1 | Fenway Park | ||
| 11 | November 22 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 28–7 | 9–1 | Philadelphia Municipal Stadium | ||
| 12 | November 26 | at Detroit Lions | L 7–13 | 9–2 | Titan Stadium | ||
| 12 | November 29 | Chicago Cardinals | L 7–14 | 9–3 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 13 | Bye | ||||||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Standings
edit| NFL Western Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 1 | 1 | .909 | 5–1–1 | 248 | 118 | T1 | |
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 3–3 | 222 | 94 | L2 | |
| Detroit Lions | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 3–3 | 235 | 102 | W1 | |
| Chicago Cardinals | 3 | 8 | 1 | .273 | 1–5–1 | 74 | 143 | T1 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.