1932 Chicago Bears season


The 1932 season was the Chicago Bears' 13th in the National Football League. The team was able to improve on their 9–4–1 record from 1931 and finished with a 7–1–6 record under third-year head coach Ralph Jones.

Season overview

The season started with three consecutive 0–0 ties. After a 2–0 loss to the Packers, the Bears had scored zero points in their first four games. After that, the Bears offense improved starting with a 27–7 victory over the Staten Island Stapletons; while their defense never allowed any team, except for the Portsmouth Spartans on November 13, to score in double-digit points. The Bears were undefeated in their last nine "regular season" games, with six wins – four of which were by shutout – and three ties.
The team that gave the Bears the most trouble was the Portsmouth Spartans. The club tied with the Spartans with identical 6–1 records, so a playoff game was set up to determine a winner. The Bears defeated the Spartans, 9–0 in the first-ever NFL postseason game. The game was played indoors at Chicago Stadium because it was expected to be cold at Wrigley Field, and organizers wanted to maximize the attendance and gate revenue.
For the year, the tandem of Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski again paced the Bears as Grange scored seven touchdowns, whereas Nagurski ran for four and passed for three more. Keith Molesworth also contributed with three touchdowns on his own while passing for three more. Luke Johnsos caught two touchdown passes and scored twice on defense as well. Coach Ralph Jones also found a kicker in Paul "Tiny" Engebretson, who had a league-leading 10 extra-point field goals made.
Despite ending with a league championship, the 1932 season was a financial disaster for the Bears, who lost $18,000 on the season. This was the only year during which the team lost money outside of the 1921 season, when the team's books closed $71.63 in the red.

Schedule

Note: The December 18 game was added to break the tie and is known as the 1932 NFL Playoff Game. It was moved indoors to Chicago Stadium due to inclement weather.

Roster

Players departed from 1931

Future Hall of Fame players

Other leading players

Awards