1936 Chicago Bears season
Head coachGeorge Halas
Home fieldWrigley Field
Results
Record9–3
Division place2nd NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

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 NFL draft

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

The 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

Other leading players

Players departed from 1935

Schedule

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

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.

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