1971 Chicago Bears season - Misplaced Pages

NFL team season

1971 Chicago Bears season
Owner	George Halas
Head coach	Jim Dooley
Home field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	3rd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
← 1970 Bears seasons 1972 →

The 1971 Chicago Bears season was their 52nd regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 6–8 record, another below .500 showing, eventually costing head coach Jim Dooley his job. This was their 1st season at Soldier Field.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1971 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1971 Chicago Bears draft
1	11	Joe Moore	Running back	Missouri
2	28	Jim Harrison	Running back	Missouri
2	36	Charlie Ford	Cornerback	Houston
3	64	Tony McGee	Defensive end	Bishop
3	71	Bob Newton	Tackle	Nebraska
4	89	Jerry Moore	Safety	Arkansas
6	135	Earl Thomas	Wide receiver	Houston
7	167	Buddy Lee	Quarterback	LSU
7	176	Dennis Ferris	Running back	Pittsburgh
8	192	Karl Weiss	Tackle	Vanderbilt
9	220	Lester McClain	Wide receiver	Tennessee
10	245	Larry Rowden	Linebacker	Houston
11	270	Cliff Hardy	Cornerback	Michigan State
12	298	Steve Booras	Defensive end	Mesa C. C.
13	323	Ed Nicholas	Tackle	N. C. State
14	347	Willie Lewis	Running back	Arizona
15	376	Ron Maciejowski	Quarterback	Ohio State
16	401	Sid Bailey	Defensive end	Texas–Arlington
17	426	Ray Garganes	Linebacker	Millersville
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

**1971 Chicago Bears roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 11 Jack Concannon 10 Bobby Douglass 16 Kent Nix Running backs (RB) 33 Jim Grabowski FB 35 Jim Harrison FB 22 Cyril Pinder 24 Don Shy 34 Bill Tucker Wide receivers (WR) 43 George Farmer 45 Dick Gordon 84 Jim Seymour 21 Cecil Turner Tight ends (TE) 82 Earl Thomas 89 Bob Wallace		Offensive linemen (OL) 72 Jim Cadile G 70 Jeff Curchin T 52 Rich Coady C 50 Gene Hamlin C 61 Glen Holloway G 65 Randy Jackson T 78 Bob Newton G 73 Steve Wright T Defensive linemen (DL) 75 Dave Hale DT 79 John Hoffman DE 85 Willie Holman DE 71 Tony McGee DE 87 Ed O'Bradovich DE 67 George Seals DT 76 Bill Staley DT		Linebackers (LB) 31 Ross Brupbacher 55 Doug Buffone 51 Dick Butkus 30 Jimmy Gunn 53 Larry Rowden Defensive backs (DB) 32 Charlie Ford CB 17 Cliff Hardy CB 29 Bob Jeter CB 18 Jerry Moore S 44 Garry Lyle FS 48 Ron Smith SS 20 Joe Taylor CB Special teams 88 Bobby Joe Green P 83 Mac Percival K		Practice squad -- Leo Johnson WR Reserve 46 Craig Baynham RB (IR) 40 Gale Sayers RB (IR) Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 19	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–15	1–0	Soldier Field	55,049
2	September 26	at Minnesota Vikings	W 20–17	2–0	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
3	October 3	at Los Angeles Rams	L 3–17	2–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	66,957
4	October 10	New Orleans Saints	W 35–14	3–1	Soldier Field	55,049
5	October 17	at San Francisco 49ers	L 0–13	3–2	Candlestick Park	44,000
6	October 24	at Detroit Lions	W 28–23	4–2	Tiger Stadium	54,418
7	October 31	Dallas Cowboys	W 23–19	5–2	Soldier Field	55,049
8	November 7	Green Bay Packers	L 14–17	5–3	Soldier Field	55,049
9	November 14	Washington Redskins	W 16–15	6–3	Soldier Field	55,049
10	November 21	Detroit Lions	L 3–28	6–4	Soldier Field	55,049
11	November 29	at Miami Dolphins	L 3–34	6–5	Miami Orange Bowl	75,312
12	December 5	at Denver Broncos	L 3–6	6–6	Mile High Stadium	51,200
13	December 12	at Green Bay Packers	L 10–31	6–7	Lambeau Field	56,263
14	December 19	Minnesota Vikings	L 10–27	6–8	Soldier Field	55,049
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

See also: 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers season Week One: Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0) at Chicago Bears (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	6	6	3	15
Bears	0	3	0	14	17

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Date: September 19, 1971
Game time: 2:00 p.m.
Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C)
Game attendance: 55,049
Referee: Bernie Ulman
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

Second quarter

PIT – Preston Pearson fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed). Steelers 6–0. Drive:
CHI – Mac Percival 33-yard field goal. Steelers 6–3. Drive:

Third quarter

PIT – Roy Gerela 32-yard field goal. Steelers 9–3. Drive:
PIT – Roy Gerela 29-yard field goal. Steelers 12–3. Drive:

Fourth quarter

PIT – Roy Gerela 42-yard field goal. Steelers 15–3. Drive:
CHI – Ross Brupbacher 30-yard fumble return (Mac Percival kick). Steelers 15–10.
CHI – George Farmer 8-yard pass from Kent Nix (Mac Percival kick). Bears 17–15. Drive:

Top passers

PIT – Terry Bradshaw – 10/24, 129 yards, 4 INT
CHI – Jack Concannon – 15/26, 116 yards, INT

Top rushers

PIT – John Fuqua – 17 rushes, 114 yards
CHI – Don Shy – 9 rushes, 19 yards

Top receivers

PIT – Ron Shanklin – 6 receptions, 113 yards
CHI – George Farmer – 4 receptions, 59 yards, TD

Week 2

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bears	0	0	3	17	20
Vikings	0	7	10	0	17

Date: September 26
Location: Metropolitan Stadium
Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C); wind 13 mph (21 km/h)
Referee: Fred Silva

Scoring summary

Q2	MIN	Grim 4 yard pass from Cuozzo (Cox kick)	MIN 7–0

Q3	CHI	Percival 45 yard field goal	MIN 7–3

Q3	MIN	Grim 52 yard pass from Cuozzo (Cox kick)	MIN 14–3

Q3	MIN	Cox 14 yard field goal	MIN 17–3

Q4	CHI	Gordon 36 yard pass from Nix (Percival kick)	MIN 17–10

Q4	CHI	Percival 45 yard field goal	MIN 17–13

Q4	CHI	Gordon 19 yard pass from Nix (Percival kick)	CHI 20–17

Dick Gordon 10 Rec, 115 Yds

Week 6

See also: 1971 Detroit Lions season and Bears–Lions rivalry Week Six: Chicago Bears (3–2) at Detroit Lions (4–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	14	0	7	28
Lions	6	14	3	0	23

at Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan

Date: October 24, 1971
Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
Game attendance: 54,418
Referee: Jack Reader
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter

DET – Errol Mann 28-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive:
CHI – Don Shy 21-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 7–3. Drive:
DET – Errol Mann 49-yard field goal. Bears 7–6. Drive:

Second quarter

CHI – George Farmer 54-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 14–6. Drive:
DET – Ron Jessie 102-yard kickoff return (Errol Mann kick). Bears 14–13.
DET – Larry Walton 16-yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick). Lions 20–14. Drive:
CHI – Bob Wallace 15-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 21–20. Drive:

Third quarter

DET – Errol Mann 29-yard field goal. Lions 23–21. Drive:

Fourth quarter

CHI – Bobby Douglass 1-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 28–23. Drive:

Top passers

CHI – Bobby Douglass – 15/21, 160 yards, 2 TD
DET – Greg Landry – 11/26, 173 yards, TD, 2 INT

Top rushers

CHI – Don Shy – 18 rushes, 99 yards, TD
DET – Steve Owens – 16 rushes, 81 yards

Top receivers

CHI – George Farmer – 6 receptions, 95 yards, TD
DET – Altie Taylor – 4 receptions, 41 yards

Chuck Hughes became the first NFL player to die on the field during a game.

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	11	3	0	.786	5–1	9–2	245	139	W2
Detroit Lions	7	6	1	.538	2–3–1	3–6–1	341	286	L2
Chicago Bears	6	8	0	.429	2–4	5–6	185	276	L5
Green Bay Packers	4	8	2	.333	2–3–1	2–7–2	274	298	L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-14.

v t e Chicago Bears
Founded in 1919 Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1919–1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921) Based in Chicago, Illinois Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois
Franchise	History Coaches Seasons Current season
Records	Franchise records Team awards and honors All-time roster (A–Kla, Kle–Z) Head coaches Pro Football Hall of Famers First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Staley Field Wrigley Field Memorial Stadium Soldier Field Chicago Bears Stadium (proposed)
Culture	Brian's Song 1971 2001 Brian Piccolo Award "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" "The Super Bowl Shuffle" Monsters of the Midway "Sweet Home Chicago" Bill Swerski's Superfans Chuck Swirsky Chicago Honey Bears Staley Da Bear Logos and uniforms Halas Hall A. E. Staley Jack Brickhouse George Halas Mike Ditka Roosevelt/Wabash 85386 Payton Jim Cornelison Club Dub ("Swag Surfin")
Lore	Staley Swindle 1932 Playoff Game First NFL Championship Game Sneakers Game T formation 73–0 1985 season Super Bowl XX 46 defense Asterisk Game Fog Bowl "They are who we thought they were!" Double Doink Madhouse in Maryland
Rivalries	Arizona Cardinals Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings New York Giants
Minor league affiliates	Newark Bears (AA, 1939–1941) Wichita Aero Commandos (1942) Akron Bears (AFL, 1946) Bloomfield Cardinals (AFL, 1947) Richmond Rebels (AFL, 1948–1950) Quad City Mohawks (MWPFL, 1970–1972)
Retired numbers	3 5 7 28 34 40 41 42 51 56 61 66 77 89
Key personnel	Principal owner: Virginia Halas McCaskey Chairman: George McCaskey President/CEO: Kevin Warren General manager: Ryan Poles Head coach: Thomas Brown (interim)
Division championships (21)	1933 1934 1937 1940 1941 1942 1943 1946 1956 1963 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 2001 2005 2006 2010 2018
Conference championships (4)	1956 1963 1985 2006
League championships (9)	1921 1932 1933 1940 1941 1943 1946 1963 1985 (XX)
Media	Broadcasters Radio: WMVP Personnel: Jeff Joniak (play-by-play) Tom Thayer (analyst) Jason McKie (sideline reporter) Television: WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox, official pre-game and post-game alternate) Marquee Sports Network (official post-game and in-season programming) Personnel: Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter) Adam Amin (pre-season play-by-play) Jim Miller (pre-season analyst)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division
Category Commons WikiProject

v t e Chicago Bears seasons
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

1971 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets			Washington

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