Chicago Bears Chronicles: The 1930s in the NFL

Football History Exposed

For the first time in franchise history, the Chicago Bears head coaching duties were handled by someone other than George Halas in 1930. Ralph Jones took over, and the Bears went 9-4-1 under him during his first year with the team. One of the star players that Jones had in 1930 was a rookie by name of Bronko Nagurski.

The 1930 season also marked a first in pro football history as the Bears and Cardinals played in the first ever indoor game. The Bears won that first game by the score of 9-7 on an 80-yard indoor field at Chicago Stadium. The game was played in an effort to help those that had been unemployed because of the Great Depression.

In 1931, the Bears finished with an 8-5 record, and the league had been struggling financially to afloat because of the Great Depression. The next year, the Bears finished the season in a first place tie with the Portsmouth Spartans, and a one game playoff was used for the first time ever to settle the league championship. The game was moved indoors to Chicago Stadium after bad weather struck the city in mid-December of that year. The Bears were able to secure their second league title by winning the game, 9-0. After the season, Dutch Sternaman sold his share of the team to Halas because of finances.

By 1933, the Bears had been struggling so bad that Jones stepped down as coach to become an athletic director for Lake Forest College. The NFL had also decided to split the league in two divisions: The Western Division and Eastern Division. The Bears didn't lose a beat as they went 10-2-1 to win the Western Division. The Bears faced the Eastern Division winning New York Giants for the league title, and the Bears would hold on to win 23-21 at Wrigley Field.