The 1961 Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 season was their 42nd regular season

Regular season (NFL)

The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...

 completed in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. The club posted an 8-6 record under George Halas

George Halas

George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...

, 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.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result
1	September 17, 1961	at Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...	L 37-13
2	September 23, 1961	at Los Angeles Rams	W 21-17
3	October 1, 1961	at Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...	L 24-0
4	October 8, 1961	at Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...	W 31-17
5	October 15, 1961	Baltimore Colts History of the Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....	W 24-10
6	October 22, 1961	San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...	W 31-0
7	October 29, 1961	at Baltimore Colts History of the Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....	W 21-20
8	November 5, 1961	at Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	L 16-14
9	November 12, 1961	Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...	L 31-28
10	November 19, 1961	at San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...	L 41-31
11	November 26, 1961	at Los Angeles Rams	W 28-24
12	December 3, 1961	Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...	L 16-15
13	December 10, 1961	Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...	W 17-14
14	December 17, 1961	Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...	W 52-35

Standings

NFL Western Eastern and Western Divisions (NFL) 1933-69 The Eastern and Western Divisions of the National Football League, renamed the American and National Conferences in 1950 and then the Eastern and Western Conferences in 1953, were organized as a result of the disputed NFL championship of 1932...
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers 1961 Green Bay Packers season -Regular season:Despite being named NFL MVP, Paul Hornung was briefly lost to the military. In response to the construction of the Berlin Wall, the United States Department of Defense activated thousands of reservists. Two dozen football players were activated, including Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler...	11	3	0	.786	391	223	W-1
Detroit Lions 1961 Detroit Lions season The 1961 Detroit Lions season was the 32nd season in franchise history.-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:-Playoff Bowl:The game were played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. -References:***...	8	5	1	.615	270	258	L-1
Chicago Bears	8	6	0	.571	326	302	W-2
Baltimore Colts 1961 Baltimore Colts season The 1961 Baltimore Colts season was the 9th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1961 season with a record of 8 wins and 6 losses and finished tied for third in the Western Conference with the Chicago Bears...	8	6	0	.571	302	307	W-1
San Francisco 49ers 1961 San Francisco 49ers season The 1961 San Francisco 49ers season was the team's 12th year with the National Football League. The 49ers won seven games and lost six, with one game ending in a tie. As a result, the team finished in fifth-place in the NFL Western Conference. The 49ers had three first round picks in the NFL...	7	6	1	.538	346	272	L-1
Los Angeles Rams 1961 Los Angeles Rams season The 1961 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 24th year with the National Football League and the 16th season in Los Angeles.-Schedule:- Standings :...	4	10	0	.286	263	333	L-1
Minnesota Vikings 1961 Minnesota Vikings season The 1961 Minnesota Vikings season was the first year of season play for the expansion franchise and the 42nd regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of three wins and eleven losses under head coach Norm Van Brocklin. The team's first ever regular season...	3	11	0	.214	285	407	L-2