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

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), held at

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

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

(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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

(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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

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 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...

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 Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

with the development of divisional tiebreaking rules). Wrigley Field in line with sign

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 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

, 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 football quarterback who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1939 through 1950. During his 12 seasons with the Bears, he led t ...

while

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football quarterback who played 16 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the TCU Horne ...

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: Bodies of water * 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 roc ...

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 of berries in the cul ...

, 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 gove ...

, Matuza, McLean, Luckman, Famighetti, Nagurski,

McEnulty McNulty is an Irish surname. It is derived from the Goidelic languages, Gaelic ''Mac an Ultaigh'' meaning "son of the Ulsterman". Usually considered a branch of the Ulaid ruling dynasty of ''Mac Duinnshléibhe'' (Donlevy, MacDonlevy), a branch o ...

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

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

Fiorentino Fiorentino (Romagnol: ''Fiurentêin'') is one of the nine castelli of San Marino. It occupies an area of and is the fourth smallest castello in the country by land area. As of 2023, it had a population of 2,615 inhabitants. History The ter ...

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 *Hayde ...

Baugh Baugh is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Albert C. Baugh (1891–1981), linguist *Bruce Baugh, game designer * Bruce Baugh (philosopher), Canadian philosopher * Carl Baugh (born 1936), American creationist * Dan Baugh (born ...

Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia *Seymour, Victoria, a township ** Seymour railway station * Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria * Se ...

Moore Moore may refer to: Language * Mooré language, spoken in West Africa People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...

, Gibson, Akins and Stasica.

Officials

*Referee: Ronald Gibbs *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 fat ...

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

officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of 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 the ...

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 who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions. Early life Farkas was born in Clay Center, Ohio of Hungar ...

1 yard run (

Bob Masterson Robert Patrick Masterson (July 23, 1915 – June 29, 1994) was an American football end in the National Football League (NFL). He played six seasons for the Washington Redskins (1938–1943). He played college football at the University of Mia ...

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 ...

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-American professional football player who was a fullback and defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Renowned for his strength and size, Nagurski ...

3 yard run (Snyder kick), 14–7 CHI *Third quarter **CHI – Dante Magnani 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 :''This is about the American illustrator and writer. For the American football player, see Jim Benton (American football)'' Jim K. Benton (born October 31, 1960) is an American illustrator and writer. Licensed properties he has created include ...

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 Joseph Andrew Aguirre (October 17, 1918 – July 13, 1985) was an American football end. He played collegiately at Saint Mary's College of California and was drafted in the eleventh round of the 1941 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins. In ...

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 Champ, CHAMP or The Champ may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Champ (cartoon character), an animated dog introduced in 1960 * The Champ, played on radio and created by Jake Edwards (radio personality), Jake Edwards * Champ ...

1943 NFL Championship Game The 1943 NFL Championship Game was the 11th annual title game of the National Football League (NFL), held at Wrigley Field in Chicago on December 26 with an attendance of 34,320. In a rematch of the previous year's game, the Western Division ...

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 ...

December 1943 sports events in the United States 1940s in Chicago American football competitions in Chicago American football in Chicago Events at Wrigley Field