The 1930 season was the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

' 11th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. The team was able to improve on their 4–9–2 record from 1929 and finished with a 9–4–1 record under first-year head coach

Ralph Jones Ralph Robert "Curley" Jones (September 22, 1880 – July 26, 1951) was an American high school and college American football, football and college basketball, basketball coach. He also served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the Na ...

. Jones, a former player, led the team to recover from its ninth-place finish to a respectable third-place finish. The season started badly with a 1–2–1 record over the first four games, the only win coming against the hapless Minneapolis Redjackets. After splitting games five and six, the Bears got their winning ways back, finishing the season with 5 straight wins and 7 wins in their last 8 games. The only loss those last 8 games was to eventual champion Green Bay. The secret to the Bears' success was new talent in the backfield. All-American and rookie

Bronko Nagurski Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-born professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL), renowned for his strength and size. Nagurski was also a successful professional w ...

starred at fullback while living legend

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...

starred at tailback. These two future Hall of Famers combined for 13 touchdowns overall.

Luke Johnsos Luke Andrew Johnsos Sr. (December 9, 1905 – December 10, 1984) was an American football player, assistant coach, and head coach for the National Football League's Chicago Bears franchise. He started with the Bears in 1929 at the age of 23 as a ...

, in his second year, also starred at the end. The makings of future championships were in place.

Future Hall of Fame players

, back *

Link Lyman William Roy "Link" Lyman (November 30, 1898 – December 28, 1972), also sometimes known as Roy Lyman, was an American football player and coach. Lyman was born in Nebraska and raised in Kansas. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornh ...

, tackle *

, fullback/tackle (rookie from

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

) *

George Trafton George Edward Trafton (December 6, 1896 – September 5, 1971) was an American professional football player and coach, boxer, boxing manager, and gymnasium proprietor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964 and was also selec ...

, center

Other leading players

Carl Brumbaugh Carl Lowry Brumbaugh (September 22, 1906 – October 24, 1969) was an American college and professional football player who was a quarterback and halfback in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons in the 1930s. Brumbaugh played c ...

, quarterback (rookie from

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

) *

Garland Grange Garland Arthur "Gardie" or "Pinky" Grange (December 2, 1906 – May 28, 1981) was a professional American football player for the Chicago Bears from 1929 until 1931. Prior to his professional playing career, he played college football at the Unive ...

, end *

, end * William Senn, back * Joe Sternaman, quarterback *

Laurie Walquist Lawrence Wilfred Walquist (March 9, 1898 – September 28, 1985) was a professional American football player who played quarterback for nine seasons for the Chicago Bears. He was also the first-ever head coach for the Chicago Bruins of the Ameri ...

, quarterback

Players departed from 1929

Paddy Driscoll John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll (January 11, 1895 – June 29, 1968) was an American professional football and baseball player and football coach. A triple-threat man in football, he was regarded as the best drop kicker and one of the best overall pla ...

, back (retired) *

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (; February 2, 1895October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was an American professional football player, coach, and team owner. He was the founder and owner of the National Football League's Chic ...

, end (retired) *

Joe Kopcha Joseph Edwards Kopcha (December 23, 1905 – July 29, 1986) is a former professional American football player. Kopcha played eight years in the National Football League, mainly for the Chicago Bears. He was an guard. Kopcha attended the Universi ...

, guard (temporarily left team)

Schedule

Standings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1930 Chicago Bears Season

Chicago Bears seasons