The 1930 season was the Chicago Bears' 11th in the National Football League. The team was able to improve on their 4–9–2 record from 1929 and finished with a 9–4–1 record under first-year head coach Ralph Jones. Jones, a former player, led the team to recover from its ninth-place finish to a respectable third-place finish. The season started badly with a 1–2–1 record over the first four games, the only win coming against the hapless Minneapolis Redjackets. After splitting games five and six, the Bears got their winning ways back, finishing the season with 5 straight wins and 7 wins in their last 8 games. The only loss those last 8 games was to eventual champion Green Bay. The secret to the Bears' success was new talent in the backfield. All-American and rookie Bronko Nagurski starred at fullback while living legend Red Grange starred at tailback. These two future Hall of Famers combined for 13 touchdowns overall. Luke Johnsos, in his second year, also starred at the end. The makings of future championships were in place.[1]
| 1930 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Ralph Jones |
| Home field | Wrigley Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–4–1 |
| League place | 3rd NFL |
Future Hall of Fame players edit
- Red Grange, back
- Link Lyman, tackle
- Bronko Nagurski, fullback/tackle (rookie from University of Minnesota)
- George Trafton, center
Other leading players edit
- Carl Brumbaugh, quarterback (rookie from University of Florida)
- Garland Grange, end
- Luke Johnsos, end
- William Senn, back
- Joe Sternaman, quarterback
- Laurie Walquist, quarterback
Players departed from 1929 edit
- Paddy Driscoll, back (retired)
- George Halas, end (retired)
- Joe Kopcha, guard (temporarily left team)
Schedule edit
| Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 21 | Brooklyn Dodgers | T 0–0 | 0–0–1 | Mills Stadium | 10,000 | ||
| September 28 | at Green Bay Packers | L 0–7 | 0–1–1 | City Stadium | 10,000 | ||
| October 2 | at Milwaukee Nighthawks* | W 26–0 | Exhibition | Borchert Field | 3,000 | ||
| October 5 | at Minneapolis Red Jackets | W 20–0 | 1–1–1 | Nicollet Park | 7,000 | ||
| October 12 | New York Giants | L 0–12 | 1–2–1 | Wrigley Field | 12,000 | ||
| October 19 | at Chicago Cardinals | W 32–6 | 2–2–1 | Comiskey Park | 7,000 | ||
| October 22 | at Portsmouth Spartans | L 6–7 | 2–3–1 | Universal Stadium | 7,500 | ||
| October 26 | Frankford Yellow Jackets | W 13–7 | 3–3–1 | Wrigley Field | 5,000 | ||
| November 2 | Minneapolis Red Jackets | W 20–7 | 4–3–1 | Wrigley Field | 4,000 | ||
| November 9 | Green Bay Packers | L 12–13 | 4–4–1 | Wrigley Field | 22,000 | ||
| November 16 | at New York Giants | W 12–0 | 5–4–1 | Polo Grounds | 5,000 | ||
| November 22 | at Frankford Yellow Jackets | W 13–6 | 6–4–1 | Frankford Stadium | 6,500 | ||
| November 23 | Ironton Tanks* | L 13–26 | Exhibition | Crosley Field‡ | 6,000 | ||
| November 27 | Chicago Cardinals | W 6–0 | 7–4–1 | Wrigley Field | 8,175 | ||
| November 30 | Portsmouth Spartans | W 14–6 | 8–4–1 | Wrigley Field | 6,000 | ||
| December 7 | Green Bay Packers | W 21–0 | 9–4–1 | Wrigley Field | 22,000 | ||
| December 15 | Chicago Cardinals | W 9–7 | Exhibition | Chicago Stadium (indoor)‡ | 10,000 | ||
| * Non-NFL team ‡ Neutral site game | |||||||
Standings edit
| NFL standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 234 | 111 | T1 | ||
| New York Giants | 13 | 4 | 0 | .765 | 308 | 98 | L1 | ||
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 4 | 1 | .692 | 169 | 71 | W5 | ||
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 7 | 4 | 1 | .636 | 154 | 59 | L1 | ||
| Providence Steam Roller | 6 | 4 | 1 | .600 | 90 | 125 | L1 | ||
| Staten Island Stapletons | 5 | 5 | 2 | .500 | 95 | 112 | L1 | ||
| Chicago Cardinals | 5 | 6 | 2 | .455 | 128 | 132 | L1 | ||
| Portsmouth Spartans | 5 | 6 | 3 | .455 | 176 | 161 | T1 | ||
| Frankford Yellow Jackets | 4 | 13 | 1 | .235 | 113 | 321 | T1 | ||
| Minneapolis Red Jackets | 1 | 7 | 1 | .125 | 27 | 165 | L6 | ||
| Newark Tornadoes | 1 | 10 | 1 | .091 | 51 | 190 | L6 | ||
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.