A brief history of the Bears and #PearlHarbor — a thread

@WCGridiron

On December 7, 1941, the Chicago Bears were "on the road" at Comiskey Park for a win-or-go-home game against the crosstown Cardinals when news arrived that the U.S. naval base Pearl Harbor was under attack.

The Bears were 9-1 and needed to beat the Cardinals to force a Western Division one-game playoff against the 10-1 Packers. Members of the Packers, including coach Curly Lambeau and star quarter back Ceci Isbell, were in attendance to scout the Bears.

cc @acmepackingco

What the Packers saw was a Bears team that erased a 17-14 halftime deficit to win 34-24 and force the playoff, which would be played the following week at Wrigley Field.

What they heard, along with the rest of the stadium, was an announcement that Japan had attacked the United States, effectively plunging the U.S. immediately into war. This cartoon ran on the page of the @chicagotribune, Dec. 8, 1941:

At the Polo Grounds in New York, where the Giants were hosting the Brooklyn Dodgers, the p.a. announcer interrupted the game to tell all servicemen to report to their respective units. #PearlHarbor

At Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., meanwhile, the announcer during the Washington-Philly game paged high-ranking government officials and military personnel in attendance, though without mentioning the attack. #PearlHarbor

Comiskey Park mentioned the attack. U.S. Army recruitment was already ramping up prior to this news — the Tribune ran an Army recruiting advertisement on Dec. 7, in fact, asking for 400,000 new men in the U.S. Army Air Corps. #PearlHarbor

When Bears head coach George Halas heard the announcement of the attack, he made the decision to enter the war effort, which he did in October 1942 as a Lt. Commander in the Navy.

From the Belvidere Daily Republican, Oct. 29, 1942:

By the start of the 1942 season, more than 100 NFL players entered the U.S. military. Notable Bears who left the team to enter the service during the war included Halas, tackle Joe Stydahar (Navy), half back George McAfee (Navy), and half back Hugh Gallarneau (Marines).

McAfee and Gallarneau played brilliantly in the win over the Cardinals on Dec. 7, 1941. Gallarneau scored the go-ahead TD in the 3rd (see photo) while McAfee hauled in a 39-yard TD pass from Sid Luckman and then scoring the game's final points on a 70-yard run. #PearlHarbor

A week later, the Bears crushed the Packers 33-14 to advance to the NFL championship game — the two teams would not meet again in the playoffs until the 2010 NFC championship game at Soldier Field. #PearlHarbor

Bears-Packers rivalry, complete history: https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2017/9/28/16376358/wild-swings-championship-rings-complete-history-chicago-bears-green-bay-packers-rivalry-football

The Bears wrapped the 1941 season on December 21, with a spectacular 37-9 victory over the Giants, their 2nd straight championship en route to four in the 1940s. #PearlHarbor @WCGridiron

For more on the Bears' military history, our own @SamHouseholder wrote about that on @WCGridiron in 2013:

#PearlHarbor https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2013/5/27/4367390/chicago-bears-military-history-nfl-army-navy-memorial-day-veterans

By the end of the 1944 NFL season, 79% of players from 1941 were out of the league and fighting in the war. There were 10 teams in 1941, with about 30-35 players per team, so 300-350 players total. By the end of 1944, 493 NFL players had spent time in the service.

#MemorialDay

The attack on #PearlHarbor took place with three NFL games in progress:

Brooklyn Dodgers at New York Giants, Polo Grounds
Chicago Bears at Chicago Cardinals, Comiskey Park
Philadelphia Eagles at Washington, Griffith Stadium

From @ProFootballHOF: https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/1941-the-nfl-on-pearl-harbor-day/

For #MemorialDay, here is a brief thread on the history of the Chicago Bears, Pearl Harbor and World War II:

@WCGridiron @bearsreddit @RTFanning @NFL_DougFarrar https://twitter.com/readjack/status/1071178145557069827

For more on the impact of World War II on the @ChicagoBears, see my story from @WCGridiron last year on Sid Luckman’s 1943 season, and the day he became the first NFL player ever to toss 7 touchdowns in a game.

Art: @WhiskeyRanger29
#MemorialDay https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2018/11/1/17940586/sid-luckman-seven-touchdown-passes-chicago-bears-new-york-giants-nfl-record-sammy-baugh

Sid Luckman, 1940-1946

1940: NFL champ
1941: NFL champ, All Pro
1942: NFL runner-up, All Pro
1943: NFL MVP, champ, led NFL in yards/TD, entered Merchant Marine
1944: All Pro, STORMED NORMANDY BEACH
1945: Led NFL in yards/TD
1946: NFL champion, yards/TD https://twitter.com/gil_brandt/status/740222643656228864?s=21