The 1927 season was the Chicago Bears' 8th in the National Football League. The team was unable to improve on their 12–1–3 record from 1926 and finished with a 9–3–2 record under head coach George Halas earning them a third-place finish in the team standings behind the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers.
| 1927 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | George Halas |
| Home field | Wrigley Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–3–2 |
| League place | 3rd NFL |
Notable games during this season were a split of the season series with the New York Yankees, led by former and future Bear Red Grange, a split of the season's games against crosstown rivals Chicago Cardinals, two wins over the Green Bay Packers, and, oddest of all, a win and a tie over the Frankford Yellowjackets in unusual home-and-away back-to-back games on December 3 and 4.
The Bears also played the eventual champion New York Giants, losing 13–7. Paddy Driscoll, William Senn, and Joey Sternaman again starred for the Bears. Driscoll ran for 5 touchdowns and threw 4 others; Senn had 3 rushing TDs and 2 receiving scores; and Sternaman ran and caught 1 touchdown each, while passing for another. Owner and coach George Halas continued to play well, scoring 3 touchdowns himself, 2 on defense.
Schedule
edit| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 25 | at Chicago Cardinals | W 9–0 | 1–0 | Normal Park | 4,000 | Recap | |
| 2 | October 2 | at Green Bay Packers | W 7–6 | 2–0 | City Stadium | 5,500+ | Recap | [1] |
| 3 | October 16 | New York Yankees | W 12–0 | 3–0 | Wrigley Field | 20,000 | Recap | |
| 4 | October 23 | Cleveland Bulldogs | W 14–12 | 4–0 | Wrigley Field | 20,000 | Recap | |
| 5 | October 30 | Dayton Triangles | W 14–6 | 5–0 | Wrigley Field | 8,000 | Recap | |
| 6 | November 6 | Providence Steam Roller | T 0–0 | 5–0–1 | Wrigley Field | 15,000 | Recap | |
| 7 | November 8 | at New York Yankees | L 6–26 | 5–1–1 | Yankee Stadium | 10,000 | Recap | |
| 8 | November 13 | Pottsville Maroons | W 30–12 | 6–1–1 | Wrigley Field | 8,000 | Recap | |
| 9 | November 20 | Green Bay Packers | W 14–6 | 7–1–1 | Wrigley Field | 6,000 | Recap | |
| 10 | November 24 | Chicago Cardinals | L 0–3 | 7–2–1 | Wrigley Field | 6,000 | Recap | |
| 11 | November 27 | at New York Giants | L 7–13 | 7–3–1 | Polo Grounds | 15,000 | Recap | |
| 12 | December 3 | at Frankford Yellow Jackets | T 0–0 | 7–3–2 | Shibe Park | 4,000 | Recap | |
| 13 | December 4 | Frankford Yellow Jackets | W 9–0 | 8–3–2 | Wrigley Field | 2,500 | Recap | |
| 14 | December 11 | Duluth Eskimos | W 27–14 | 9–3–2 | Wrigley Field | 2,500 | Recap |
Game summaries
editGame 3: at Green Bay Packers
editIn a Sunday confrontation deemed a "battle royal," Green Bay's Dick O'Donnell of Green Bay snagged a long pass for the first big play of the day.[1] Controversy ensued, however. Next "Dunn shot a pass to Lewellen and it looked very much as if he were a victim of interference as he tried to grab the ball for a touchdown," the representative of the Green Bay Press-Gazette recounted. "The officials ruled the other way, however, and the Bears scrimmaged on their 20-yard line."[1] The football rule that an incomplete forward pass in the end zone resulted in a touchback had bitten the home team hard. The Bears made effective use of their power running game in the second stanza, with reserve right halfback Bill Senn capping the climax of a long drive with a 1 yard plunge.[1] Paddy Driscoll booted the all-important extra-point to give the Bears a 7–0 lead.[2] The Packers' made their bid in the fourth quarter when player-coach Curly Lambeau hit on a 30 yard catch-and-run to end Lavvie Dilweg, which put the ball on the Chicago 30.[1] Another 15 yard strike from Lambeau to Dilweg halved the distance to the end zone, although "the Bears tried to take the ball away from Dilweg and a near riot was averted."[1] Then Dunn hit Lambeau with a pass for an apparent score, only to have it called back for violation of another rule of the day, that all passes must be thrown from at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage.[1] The Packers were undaunted, with Dilweg making a great catch of a Dunn pass to take the ball down to the 2-yard line.[1] Lewellen took two tries to punch the ball through to paydirt.[1] "Joy reined supreme in the Packer camp but not for long however as Purdy, who substituted for Dunn, failed to come even close to making the extra point which would have given the Packers a tie game."[1] A subsequent onside kick attempt failed and the Bears ran out the clock for a 7–6 victory.[1] The Bears made extensive use of substitutes in the contest, with player-coach George Halas sending in capable replacements at key intervals to keep his best players fresh, using a noteworthy 24 players on the day.[1]
Standings
edit| NFL standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| New York Giants | 11 | 1 | 1 | .917 | 197 | 20 | W9 | ||
| Green Bay Packers | 7 | 2 | 1 | .778 | 113 | 43 | W1 | ||
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 3 | 2 | .750 | 149 | 98 | W2 | ||
| Cleveland Bulldogs | 8 | 4 | 1 | .667 | 209 | 107 | W5 | ||
| Providence Steam Roller | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 105 | 88 | W3 | ||
| New York Yankees | 7 | 8 | 1 | .467 | 142 | 174 | L4 | ||
| Frankford Yellow Jackets | 6 | 9 | 3 | .400 | 152 | 166 | L1 | ||
| Pottsville Maroons | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 80 | 163 | L1 | ||
| Chicago Cardinals | 3 | 7 | 1 | .300 | 69 | 134 | L1 | ||
| Dayton Triangles | 1 | 6 | 1 | .143 | 15 | 57 | L4 | ||
| Duluth Eskimos | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 68 | 134 | L7 | ||
| Buffalo Bisons | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 8 | 123 | L5 | ||
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Roster
editFuture Hall of Fame players
edit- Paddy Driscoll, back
- George Halas, end
- Ed Healey, tackle
- Link Lyman, tackle
- George Trafton, center
Other leading players
edit- William Senn, back
- Ed Sternaman, back
- Joe Sternaman, quarterback
- Laurie Walquist, quarterback