Joe Stydahar 1943 Chicago Bears jersey on display at NFL Experience (3818214195)

The 1943 NFL Championship Game was the 11th annual title game of 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 ...

(NFL), held at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on December 26 with an attendance of 34,320. In a rematch of the previous year's game, the Western Division champion

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 ...

(8–1–1) met the Eastern Division champion

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

(6–3–1). The previous week, the Redskins had defeated the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

in a playoff game by a score of 28–0 to determine the champs of the east, after the teams ended the regular season with identical records. The Redskins had dropped their final three regular season games, including two to the Giants. Even though the Giants had swept the season series with Washington, the rules of the time called for a tiebreaker game (division tiebreaker games were eliminated in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

with the development of divisional tiebreaking rules). The divisional playoff game pushed the championship game back to its latest ever date, and the late-December Chicago weather caused the game to be dubbed the "Ice Bowl." The Bears were favored by a touchdown, and won by twenty points, 41–21. The crowd was smaller than the previous year's and well off the championship game record of 48,120 set in

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

, but the gross gate receipts of $120,500 set a record. In addition to the gate, radio broadcast rights to the game were sold for $5,000. The Bears were led by quarterback

Sid Luckman Sidney Luckman (November 21, 1916 – July 5, 1998) was an American professional American football, football player who was a quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1939 Chicago Bears season, 1939 through 19 ...

while

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...

was the quarterback for the Redskins. The Redskins were coached by

Dutch Bergman Arthur J. "Dutch" Bergman (February 23, 1895 – August 18, 1972) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now New Mexico State University, from 19 ...

. The Chicago win marked the franchise's third championship in four seasons, their fourth since the institution of the NFL Championship Game in , and their sixth championship overall.

Rosters

Starters

Substitutions

''Bears substitutions'':

Pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

, Steinkemper, Babartsky, Mundee, Ippolito,

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...

, Matuza,

McLean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Goidelic languages, Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish language, Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John (given name), John). The clan surname is an A ...

, Luckman, Famighetti, Nagurski,

McEnulty McNulty (also spelled MacNulty or McAnulty) is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac an Ultaigh'' meaning "son of the Ulsterman". Usually considered a branch of the Ulaid ruling dynasty of ''Mac Duinnshléibhe'' ( MacDon ...

, Nolting and Vodicka. ''Redskins substitutions'': Piasecky, Lapka, Wilkin,

Zeno Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...

Fiorentino Fiorentino is one of the 9 communes or ''castelli'' of the Republic of San Marino. It has 2,548 inhabitants (May 2018) in an area of . Geography It borders the San Marino municipalities Chiesanuova, San Marino, Borgo Maggiore, Faetano, and Mon ...

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

Hayden Hayden may refer to: Places Inhabited places in the United States *Hayden, Alabama *Hayden, Arizona *Hayden's Ferry, former name of Tempe, Arizona *Hayden, California, former name of Hayden Hill, California *Hayden, Colorado *Hayden, Idaho *Hayden ...

, Baugh, Seymour,

Moore Moore may refer to: People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior officer in the British Army * Moore Powell (died c. 1573 ...

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

Akins Akins ( or ) is a Scottish surname and northern Irish family name. Origins Scotland The name has several possible origins, although it is generally considered to be a variant of '' Aikens'', which is considered to be a patronymic form of the n ...

and Stasica.

Officials

*Referee:

Ronald Gibbs Ronald James Gibbs (June 29, 1900 – March 12, 1985) was an American football player, coach, and referee. Coaching career Gibbs was a graduate of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He served as the school's head football coa ...

*Umpire: John Kelly *Head Linesman:

Charlie Berry Charles Francis Berry (October 18, 1902 – September 6, 1972) was an American athlete and sports official who enjoyed careers as a catcher and umpire in Major League Baseball and as an end and official in the National Football League. His fathe ...

*Field Judge: Eddie Tryon The NFL had only four game

officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

in ; the back judge was added in , the line judge in , and the side judge in .

Scoring summary

''Sunday, December 26, 1943''
Kickoff: 2 p.m. CWT (CDT) *First quarter **''no scoring'' *Second quarter **WAS –

Andy Farkas Andrew Geza Farkas (May 2, 1916 – April 10, 2001) was an American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions. Early life Farkas was born in Clay Center, Ohio of Hungarian origins ...

1 yard run ( Bob Masterson kick), 7–0 WAS **CHI –

Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau and ...

31 yard pass from

( Bob Snyder kick), 7–7 tie **CHI –

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 ...

3 yard run (Snyder kick), 14–7 CHI *Third quarter **CHI –

Dante Magnani Dante Alfred Magnani (March 16, 1917 – December 23, 1985) was an American football player who played nine seasons in the National Football League. He was drafted in the 19th round of the 1940 NFL Draft. Magnani, a running back, played college ...

36 yard pass from Luckman (Snyder kick), 21–7 CHI **CHI – Magnani 66 yard pass from Luckman (kick failed), 27–7 CHI **WAS – Farkas 17 yard pass from

(Masterson kick), 27–14 CHI *Fourth quarter **CHI –

Jim Benton Jim K. Benton (born October 31, 1960) is an American illustrator and writer. Licensed properties he has created include Dear Dumb Diary, Dog of Glee, Franny K. Stein, Just Jimmy, Just Plain Mean, Sweetypuss, The Misters, Meany Doodles, Vampy Do ...

26 yard pass from Luckman (Snyder kick), 34–14 CHI **CHI – Clarke 10 yard pass from Luckman (Snyder kick), 41–14 CHI **WAS – Joe Aguirre 25 yard pass from Baugh (Aguirre kick), 41–21 CHI

Game statistics

Players' shares

Each player on the Bears took home $1,135 while each member of the Redskins got $754.

References

{{NFL pre-sb Champ 1943 NFL Championship Game Chicago Bears postseason Washington Redskins postseason

NFL Championship Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...

December 1943 sports events Wrigley Field 1940s in Chicago Sports competitions in Chicago American football in Chicago