1929 Chicago Bears season

NFL team season November 2013 March 2026 Chicago Bears 1929 4–9–2 9th NFL George S. Halas, Dutch Sternaman George Halas Wrigley Field Bears seasons The 1929 season was the Chicago Bears' 10th in the National Football League. The team was unable to improve on their 7–5–1 record from 1928 and finished with a 4–9–2 record during head coach George Halas's final season. The showing earned them a ninth-place finish in the team standings their worst record to date and first time the club finishing below .500. Chicago scored 119 points total during the season, but the defensive squad conceded 227, most in the league. History The Bears' season started promising enough, with a 4–1–1 start. However, three of those wins were against the Minneapolis Red Jackets, a team that finished the season 1–9. The final 9 games represented the worst stretch in franchise history, as the Bears went 0–8–1 to finish the season. Few of the Bears losses were even close contests. They lost three times to Green Bay, all shutouts. They also lost three times to New York. Against the Chicago Cardinals, the Bears fought them to a 0–0 tie in the first meeting, but ran into an NFL record performance in the rematch. Ernie Nevers, the former All-America from Stanford and owner-coach-player of the defunct Duluth Eskimos, had the game of a lifetime against Chicago on Thanksgiving Day, November 28. Nevers rushed for an NFL record 6 touchdowns and added 4 PATs for an NFL record 40 points; 6 TDs and 40 points are both still records and among the oldest standing records in NFL history (although Gale Sayers and Dub Jones tied Nevers with 6 touchdowns in a game, Nevers' 6 rushing touchdowns are still an unmatched record). The Bears were crushed 40–6, with Nevers scoring all the Cardinals' points.http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?player_id=163 Hall of Famers » ERNIE NEVERS Profootballhof.com September 6, 2012 The inability of Chicago to compete with the top teams in the NFL may have been the catalyst for Halas to step down as player-coach and focus on his owner duties (Halas would return to coach in a few years). Clearly, the Bears needed more talent at the "skill positions" as the Chicago backfield was mostly unchanged since the early 1920s. One bright spot was the emergence of End Luke Johnsos, who caught two touchdown passes late in the season. In addition, the legendary Red Grange rejoined the team and regained some of his earlier form. Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 22 at Minneapolis Red Jackets W 19–6 1–0 Breese Stevens Field 6,000 Recap 2 September 29 at Green Bay Packers L 0–23 1–1 City Stadium 13,000 Recap 3 October 6 at Minneapolis Red Jackets W 7–6 2–1 Nicollet Park 6,000 Recap 4 October 13 at Buffalo Bisons W 16–0 3–1 Bison Stadium 5,200 Recap Cy Kritzer,"Senn Scores Twice on Passes as Bears Down Buffalo, 16–0: Red Grange Stars, But His Play is Example of Difference Between Pro and College Football," Buffalo Evening News, Oct. 14, 1929, p. 24. 5 October 20 Chicago Cardinals T 0–0 3–1–1 Wrigley Field 20,000 Recap 6 October 27 Minneapolis Red Jackets W 27–0 4–1–1 Wrigley Field 9,500 Recap 7 November 3 New York Giants L 14–26 4–2–1 Wrigley Field 26,000 Recap 8 November 10 Green Bay Packers L 0–14 4–3–1 Wrigley Field 13,000 Recap 9 November 16 at Frankford Yellow Jackets L 14–20 4–4–1 Frankford Stadium 9,000 Recap 10 November 17 at New York Giants L 0–34 4–5–1 Polo Grounds 15,000 Recap 11 November 24 Buffalo Bisons L 7–19 4–6–1 Wrigley Field 3,500 Recap 12 November 28 at Chicago Cardinals L 6–40 4–7–1 Comiskey Park 8,000 Recap 13 December 1 Frankford Yellow Jackets T 0–0 4–7–2 Wrigley Field 1,500 Recap 14 December 8 Green Bay Packers L 0–25 4–8–2 Wrigley Field 6,000 Recap 15 December 15 New York Giants L 9–14 4–9–2 Wrigley Field 5,000 Recap Note: Thanksgiving Day: November 28. Standings thumb|right|400px|Aided by the lead blocking of Red Grange and the body block of Bill Senn, Bears quarterback Joey Sternaman breaks around end in October 1929 action against the Buffalo Bisons. Roster 1929 Chicago Bears final rosterBacks 10 Shorty Elness RB/QB/CB/S 77 Red Grange RB/CB  9 Walt Holmer FB/LB  2 Paddy Driscoll RB/QB/CB/S/K  6 Bill Senn RB/CB  4 Joey Sternaman QB/S/K  5 Laurie Walquist RB/QB/CB/S  8 Roy White FB/LB Linemen 20 Zuck Carlson G/DG 19 Earl Evans G/T/DG/DT 22 Joe Kopcha G/T/DG/DT 18 Don Murry T/DT 17 Packie Nelson T/DT 26 Bert Pearson C/MG 16 Bull Polisky G/DG 12 Sod Ryan T/DT 13 George Trafton C/MG Ends/Receivers 14 Cookie Cunningham 15 Bill Fleckenstein G/DG 25 Gardie Grange 24 Luke Johnsos K Rookies in italics Future Hall of Fame players Paddy Driscoll, halfback Red Grange, fullback (did not play in 1928) George Halas, end Ed Healey, tackle Link Lyman, tackle George Trafton, center Other leading players Luke Johnsos, end (rookie from Northwestern) Joe Kopcha, guard (rookie from Chattanooga) Bill Senn, halfback Joey Sternaman, quarterback Laurie Walquist, quarterback Packie Nelson, tackle Sod Ryan, tackle References 35em Chicago Bears Category:Chicago Bears seasons Chicago Bears Category:1929 in Chicago