1940: Bears 73, Redskins 0 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Redskins, 7-3

Three weeks before the championship, the teams met in a regular season game. With the Redskins leading 7-3, the Bears drove to the Washington one yard line late in the game. On the final play, a Sid Luckman pass into the end zone fell incomplete. The Bears protested that there had been pass interference, but to no avail. Odd score, considering what was to come.

Answer: Midgets of the Midway

After the Redskins had beaten the Bears three weeks earlier in a game that the Bears loudly protested they'd lost because of officiating, flamboyant Redskins owner George Preston Marshall poured it on: "The Bears are front-runners", "Quitters", "Just a bunch of cry-babies". "Chicago is a first-half ball club.

As long as you stay close in the first half, you are OK. They won't hurt you in the second half". Before the game, Bears coach George Halas reviewed Marshall's quotes with the players, then said, "Gentlemen, this is what the Redskins think of you! I think you're a great football team the greatest ever assembled. Go out onto that field and prove it!" They did.

Answer: T formation

Clark Shaughnessy, a coach with University of Chicago and later Stanford, developed the T formation, seven players on the line and three backs lined up behind the quarterback, parallel to the line and shared it with his friend George Halas, coach of the Bears.

The idea of the formation was to give defenses little idea of what the offense would be doing. As the ball was snapped, the quarterback could easily hand off to any of the backs behind him, or throw a pass to either his receivers or the running backs. With another wrinkle added by Halas - running a player in motion parallel to the line before the play started - defenses were further confused.

The Bears' T devestated the Redskins. Three weeks later, Shaughnessy's Stanford team used the T to win the Rose Bowl, 21-13, over Nebraska. By 1945, nearly every US football team - pro, college, high school - were exclusively or primarily using the formation.

Answer: Bill Osmanski

Osmanski, aided by a man in motion misdirecting the Redskins defense, and a massive block taking out the final Redskin defender between himself and the goal line, got the rout started in the game's first minute.

Answer: 18

Despite the Redskins being out-gained 381 yards to five on the ground, they managed 18 first downs, one more than the Bears. Of course, when they were letting Chicago score four times from 30 or more yards out, and throwing eight interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns, first downs weren't a critical factor in determining the outcome.

Answer: 15

12 - Harry Clark (two touchdowns)
7 - Joe Maniaci (one touchdown, plus caught a pass for an extra point)
6 - Gary Famigletti, Ken Kavanaugh, Sid Luckman, George McAfee, Ray Nolting, Bill Osmanski, Hampton Pool, Bulldog Turner (one TD each)
2 - Bob Snyder (two extra point kicks)
1 - Jack Manders, Phil Martinovich, Dick Plasman, Joe Stydahar (one extra point kick each)
Eight Bears scored touchdowns; five different players kicked extra points.

Answer: A reminder about purchasing 1941 season tickets

The unfortunate public address announcer picked the wrong time in the wrong game to invite people to spend their hard-earned money on Redskins tickets! Upon hearing the gun ending the game, one sportswriter remarked that it was the sound of the Redskins owner shooting himself.

Answer: The officials were running out of footballs

In 1940, the NFL hadn't adapted the practice of putting up nets to catch kicked footballs. As ball after ball disappeared into the stands on extra point conversions, the officials finally asked the Bears to start running plays from scrimmage for the extra points.

Answer: "Sure. The score would have been 73-7"

One of the great quotes in sports history. Sammy Baugh was an intense competitor, but even he knew he'd been whipped that day.

Answer: Pearl Harbor attack

The NFL season started a week later in 1941 than in 1940, pushing the championship game back in the process. On December 7, 1941, the Redskins were playing their final game of a disappointing season. Word of the bombing of Pearl Harbor reached the press box shortly after kickoff. Owner George Preston Marshall prohibited making an announcement of the attack (he later said that he "didn't want to divert fans' attention from the game"), but as the Redskins went on to beat the Eagles 20-14, announcement after announcement was made requesting one prominent official after another, admirals, generals, and cabinet secretaries to report to their offices for duty.

The Bears did win another title in 1941, and the Redskins did get their revenge on the Bears and win the 1942 championship, but by that time war had displaced football in the minds of most fans.