1963 Chicago Bears season

1963 Chicago Bears season
Owner	George Halas
Head coach	George Halas
General manager	George Halas, Jr.
Home field	Wrigley Field
Results
Record	11–1–2
Division place	1st Western
Playoff finish	Won NFL Championship (vs. Giants) 14–10
← 1962 Bears seasons 1964 →

The 1963 Chicago Bears season was their 44th regular season and 12th post-season appearance in the National Football League. The team finished with an 11–1–2 record to gain their first Western Conference championship since 1956, and the berth to host the NFL Championship Game against the New York Giants (11–3–0).^[1][2]

In the regular season, Chicago defeated the rival Green Bay Packers (11–2–1) twice to deny them a third consecutive NFL title; the Packers had won the previous five meetings with Chicago.^[3][4] In the championship game on December 29, the Bears defeated the Giants 14–10 at Wrigley Field for the club's eighth league title, their first since 1946 and the last under legendary head coach and founder George Halas.^[5][6][7][8]

This was the Bears' last playoff berth prior to the AFL-NFL merger, and their last NFL championship until 1985 and Super Bowl XX. The Bears' defense in 1963 was the third in history to lead the NFL in fewest rushing yards, fewest passing yards, and fewest total yards;^[9] the defense also allowed only 144 points, formerly an NFL record.^[10]

In 2007, ESPN.com ranked the 1963 Bears as the ninth-greatest defense in NFL history,^[11] noting, "[i]n 1963, Bears defensive coach George Allen came up with a new zone defense against the pass, befuddling opponents. With Doug Atkins and Ed O'Bradovich pressuring opposing QBs from their defensive end slots, and Bill George and Larry Morris defending against short passes from the linebacker position, the Bears picked off 36 passes, and allowed just 10.3 points and 227 yards per game. The Bears went on to win the NFL championship, thanks to the Defense. In the title game against Y. A. Tittle and the Giants, who had the best offense in the NFL, Chicago's five picks were the key, as the Bears won 14–10. George Allen got the game ball."

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

1963 Chicago Bears draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	11	Dave Behrman	C	Michigan State	Pick from trade with PIT
2	20	Steve Barnett	T	Oregon	Pick from trade with DAL
2	25	Bob Jencks	E	Miami (OH)
3	38	Larry Glueck	DB	Villanova
4	49	Stan Sanders	E	Whittier	Pick from trade with SF
4	52	Charley Mitchell	HB	Washington	Pick from trade with PIT
6	80	John Johnson	T	Indiana	Pick from trade with PIT
6	81	Dave Mathieson	QB	Washington State
7	94	Paul Underhill	B	Missouri
8	109	Dennis Harmon	DB	Southern Illinois
9	118	Monte Day	T	Fresno State	Pick from trade with DAL
9	122	Dave Watson	LB	Georgia Tech
10	137	Ed Hoerster	LB	Notre Dame
11	150	James Tullis	DB	Florida A&M
12	165	Dick Drummond	B	George Washington
13	178	John Szumcyk	B	Trinity (CT)
14	193	Gordan Banks	B	Fisk
15	206	Bob Dentel	C/LB	Miami (FL)
16	221	Lowell Caylor	DB	Miami (OH)
17	234	John Sisk	B	Miami (FL)
18	249	Jeff Slabaugh	E	Indiana
19	262	Bob Yaksick	DB	Rutgers
20	277	John Gregory	E	Baldwin-Wallace
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Source:^[12]

Personnel[]

Coaches[]

• Head Coach – George Halas
• Assistants – George Allen (Defensive Coordinator), Jim Dooley, Phil Handler, Luke Johnsos, Sid Luckman, Chuck Mather^[13]

Roster[]

1963 Chicago Bears final roster

	Quarterbacks  9 Billy Wade  10 Rudy Bukich Running backs 29 Ronnie Bull 28 Willie Galimore 34 Joe Marconi 35 Rick Casares 49 Charlie Bivins Wide receivers 47 Johnny Morris 84 Bo Farrington 46 Angelo Coia Tight ends 89 Mike Ditka		Offensive linemen 50 Mike Pyle C 67 Ted Karras G 60 Roger Davis G 72 Jim Cadile G 63 Bob Wetoska T 70 Herm Lee T 73 Steve Barnett T Defensive linemen 78 Stan Jones DT 71 Earl Leggett DT 75 Fred Williams DT 76 John Johnson DT 81 Doug Atkins DE 87 Ed O'Bradovich DE 74 Bob Kilcullen DE		Linebackers 61 Bill George MLB 31 Joe Fortunato OLB 33 Larry Morris OLB 65 Tom Bettis OLB Defensive backs 17 Richie Petitbon S 24 Rosey Taylor S 43 Larry Glueck S 26 Bennie McRae CB 23 Dave Whitsell CB 23 J.C. Caroline CB Special teams 88 Bobby Joe Green P 80 Bob Jencks K 83 Roger LeClerc K 22 Billy Martin KR/PR		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

• Team photo^[14]
• Rosters - 1963 NFL title game^[15]

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	Attendance
1	September 15	at Green Bay Packers	W 10–3	City Stadium	1–0	42,327
2	September 22	at Minnesota Vikings	W 28–7	Metropolitan Stadium	2–0	33,923
3	September 29	at Detroit Lions	W 37–21	Tiger Stadium	3–0	55,400
4	October 6	Baltimore Colts	W 10–3	Wrigley Field	4–0	48,998
5	October 13	at Los Angeles Rams	W 52–14	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	5–0	40,476
6	October 20	at San Francisco 49ers	L 14–20	Kezar Stadium	5–1	35,837
7	October 27	Philadelphia Eagles	W 16–7	Wrigley Field	6–1	48,514
8	November 3	at Baltimore Colts	W 17–7	Memorial Stadium	7–1	60,065
9	November 10	Los Angeles Rams	W 6–0	Wrigley Field	8–1	48,312
10	November 17	Green Bay Packers	W 26–7	Wrigley Field	9–1	49,166
11	November 24	at Pittsburgh Steelers	T 17–17	Forbes Field	9–1–1	36,465
12	December 1	Minnesota Vikings	T 17–17	Wrigley Field	9–1–2	47,249
13	December 8	San Francisco 49ers	W 27–7	Wrigley Field	10–1–2	46,994
14	December 15	Detroit Lions	W 24–14	Wrigley Field	11–1–2	45,317

Game summaries[]

Week 1[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 3 0 7 0 10 Packers 3 0 0 0 3 Date: September 15 Location: City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin Game attendance: 42,327 Game weather: 54°F • Wind 7

Scoring summary 1 CHI Bob Jencks 32-yard field goal Bears 3–0 1 GB Jerry Kramer 41-yard field goal Tie 3–3 3 CHI Joe Marconi 1-yard run (Bob Jencks kick) Bears 10–3

Source:^[3][16]

Week 2[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 7 7 0 14 28 Vikings 0 7 0 0 7 Date: September 22 Location: Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, MN Game attendance: 33,923 Game weather: 51°F; wind 9

Scoring summary Q1 CHI Bull 24 yard pass from Wade (Jencks kick) CHI 7–0 Q2 MIN Reichow 24 yard pass from Tarkenton (Cox kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 CHI Ditka 36 yard pass from Wade (Jencks kick) CHI 14–7 Q4 CHI Wade 1 yard run (Jencks kick) CHI 21–7 Q4 CHI Ditka 10 yard pass from Wade (Jencks kick) CHI 28–7

• Mike Ditka 8 Rec, 124 Yds

^[17]

Week 3[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 7 28 0 2 37 Lions 0 0 14 7 21 Date: September 29 Location: Tiger Stadium, Detroit, MI Game attendance: 55,400 Game weather: 54°F; wind 13

Scoring summary Q1 CHI Coia 18 yard pass from Wade (Jencks kick) CHI 7–0 Q2 CHI Morris 16 yard pass from Wade (Jencks kick) CHI 14–0 Q2 CHI Ditka 13 yard pass from Wade (Jencks kick) CHI 21–0 Q2 CHI Petitbon 66 yard interception return (Jencks kick) CHI 28–0 Q2 CHI Wade 1 yard run (Jencks kick) CHI 35–0 Q3 DET Barr 60 yard pass from Morrall (Walker kick) CHI 35–7 Q3 DET Cogdill 67 yard pass from Morrall (Walker kick) CHI 35–14 Q4 CHI Safety, Atkins tackled Morrall in end zone CHI 37–14 Q4 DET Cogdill 38 yard pass from Morrall (Walker kick) CHI 37–21

^[18]

Week 4[]

1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 0 3 0 3 • Bears 0 0 0 10 10 Date: October 6 Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL Game attendance: 48,998 Game weather: 73°F; wind 11

Scoring summary Q3 BAL Martin 16 yard field goal BAL 3–0 Q4 CHI Bull 44 yard pass from Bukich (Jencks kick) CHI 7–3 Q4 CHI LeClerc 16 yard field goal CHI 10–3

^[19]

Week 5[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 7 21 3 21 52 Rams 0 7 0 7 14 Date: October 13 Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Game weather: 66°F; wind 9

Scoring summary Q1 CHI Ditka 13 yard pass from Wade (Jencks kick) CHI 7–0 Q2 CHI McRae 35 yard interception return (Jencks kick) CHI 14–0 Q2 LA Phillips 10 yard pass from Bratkowski (Villanueva kick) CHI 14–7 Q2 CHI Ditka 25 yard pass from Wade (Jencks kick) CHI 21–7 Q2 CHI Ditka 2 yard pass from Wade (Jencks kick) CHI 28–7 Q3 CHI LeClerc 31 yard field goal CHI 31–7 Q4 LA Bass 4 yard run (Villanueva kick) CHI 31–14 Q4 CHI Ditka 14 yard pass from Wade (Jencks kick) CHI 38–14 Q4 CHI Galimore 2 yard run (Jencks kick) CHI 45–14 Q4 CHI Farrington 17 yard pass from Bukich (Jencks kick) CHI 52–14

• Mike Ditka 9 Rec, 110 Yds

^[20]

Week 6[]

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 0 7 0 7 14 • 49ers 10 7 3 0 20 Date: October 20 Location: Kezar Stadium

^[21]

Week 7[]

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 0 7 0 0 7 • Bears 10 0 6 0 16 Date: October 27 Location: Wrigley Field

^[22]

Week 8[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 7 0 7 3 17 Colts 0 0 7 0 7 Date: November 3 Location: Memorial Stadium

^[23]

Week 9[]

1 2 3 4 Total Rams 0 0 0 0 0 • Bears 3 0 3 0 6 Date: November 10 Location: Wrigley Field

^[24]

Week 10[]

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 0 0 7 7 • Bears 13 0 3 10 26 Date: November 17 Location: Wrigley Field

^[25]

Week 11[]

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 7 7 0 3 17 Steelers 0 14 0 3 17 Date: November 24 Location: Forbes Field

^[26]

Week 12[]

1 2 3 4 Total Vikings 3 14 0 0 17 Bears 3 0 7 7 17 Date: December 1 Location: Wrigley Field

^[27]

Week 13[]

1 2 3 4 Total 49ers 0 7 0 0 7 • Bears 14 0 7 6 27 Date: December 8 Location: Wrigley Field

^[28]

Week 14[]

1 2 3 4 Total Lions 0 7 0 0 7 • Bears 3 0 14 7 24 Date: December 15 Location: Wrigley Field

^[29]

Standings[]

NFL Western Conference
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears	11	1	2	.917	10–1–1	301	144	W2
Green Bay Packers	11	2	1	.846	9–2–1	369	206	W2
Baltimore Colts	8	6	0	.571	7–5	316	285	W3
Detroit Lions	5	8	1	.385	4–7–1	326	265	L1
Minnesota Vikings	5	8	1	.385	4–7–1	309	390	W1
Los Angeles Rams	5	9	0	.357	5–7	210	350	L2
San Francisco 49ers	2	12	0	.143	1–11	198	391	L5

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

NFL Championship[]

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 7 3 0 0 10 • Bears 7 0 7 0 14 Date: December 29 Location: Wrigley Field Game attendance: 45,801 Game weather: 4°F; wind 11 Referee: Norm Schachter TV announcers (NBC): Jack Brickhouse, Chris Schenkel & George Connor

Scoring summary Q1 7:38 NYG Gifford 14 yard pass from Tittle (Chandler kick) NYG 7–0 Q1 0:16 CHI Wade 2 yard run (Jencks kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 9:49 NYG Chandler 13 yard field goal NYG 10–7 Q3 2:12 CHI Wade 1 yard run (Jencks kick) CHI 14–10

The Giants opened the scoring in the first quarter when quarterback Y. A. Tittle led New York on an 83-yard drive that was capped off by a 14-yard touchdown pass to Frank Gifford. The drive was set up by Bears quarterback Bill Wade's fumble deep in the Giants territory, which was recovered by former Bear Erich Barnes.^[30] However, later in the first period, Tittle suffered an injury to his left knee when Larry Morris hit him during his throwing motion. For the rest of the game, Tittle would never be the same. Morris then intercepted Tittle's screen pass and returned the ball 61 yards to the Giants 6-yard line. Two plays later, Wade scored a touchdown on a two-yard quarterback sneak to tie the game at 7.

In the second quarter, the Giants retook the lead, 10–7, on a 13-yard field goal. But on New York's next drive, Tittle re-injured his left knee on another hit by Morris. With Tittle out for two possessions, the Giants struggled, only able to advance 2 yards in 7 plays. New York coach Allie Sherman even punted on third down, showing no confidence in backup Glynn Griffing. However, the score remained 10–7 at halftime.

Tittle came back in the third period, but due to the injury, Tittle was forced to throw off his back foot. An interception on a screen pass by the Bears' Ed O'Bradovich was brought deep into Giant territory, setting up Wade's 1-yard touchdown to give Chicago a 14–10 lead. The score held up, and the Bears iced the game on Richie Petitbon's interception in the end zone with 10 seconds left. It was Tittle's 5th interception. At the end of the game, defensive coordinator George Allen was given the game ball due to his defense's spectacular play.

References[]

Additional sources[]

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 978-1-932994-36-0)

External links[]

• 1963 Chicago Bears season, YouTube.com/