1964 Chicago Bears season

The 1964 Chicago Bears season was their 45th regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 5–9 record, earning them a sixth-place finish in the NFL Western Conference. It was a downfall from winning their eighth league title the previous December.

1964 Chicago Bears season
Owner	George Halas
Head coach	George Halas
Home field	Wrigley Field
Results
Record	5–9
Division place	6th Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
← 1963 Bears seasons 1965 →

Running back Willie Galimore and wide receiver John Farrington were killed in an automobile accident on July 27; Galimore's Volkswagen left the road on a curve and rolled, a few miles from the team's training camp at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana.^[1][2][3]

Roster

1964 Chicago Bears final roster

	Quarterbacks  9 Billy Wade Running backs 21 Jon Arnett 29 Ronnie Bull FB 34 Joe Marconi Wide receivers 47 Johnny Morris Tight ends 89 Mike Ditka		Offensive linemen 50 Mike Pyle C 63 Bob Wetoska T Defensive linemen 81 Doug Atkins DE 87 Ed O'Bradovich DE		Linebackers 31 Joe Fortunato 61 Bill George Defensive backs 26 Bennie McRae CB 17 Richie Petitbon S 24 Rosey Taylor S 23 Dave Whitsell CB Special teams 88 Bobby Joe Green P		Rookies in italics , 5 practice squad

Schedule

Main article: 1964 NFL season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 13	at Green Bay Packers	L 12–23	0–1	42,327
2	September 20	at Minnesota Vikings	W 34–28	1–1	41,387
3	September 27	at Baltimore Colts	L 0–52	1–2	56,537
4	October 4	at San Francisco 49ers	L 21–31	1–3	33,132
5	October 11	Los Angeles Rams	W 38–17	2–3	47,358
6	October 18	Detroit Lions	L 0–10	2–4	47,567
7	October 25	at Washington Redskins	L 20–27	2–5	49,219
8	November 1	Dallas Cowboys	L 10–24	2–6	47,527
9	November 8	Baltimore Colts	L 24–40	2–7	47,891
10	November 15	at Los Angeles Rams	W 34–24	3–7	61,115
11	November 22	San Francisco 49ers	W 23–21	4–7	46,772
12	November 26	at Detroit Lions	W 27–24	5–7	52,231
13	December 5	Green Bay Packers	L 3–17	5–8	43,636
14	December 13	Minnesota Vikings	L 14–41	5–9	46,486

Source^[4]

Game summaries

Week 1 at Packers

See also: 1964 Green Bay Packers season and Bears–Packers rivalry

Week One: Chicago Bears (0–0) at Green Bay Packers (0–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	3	9	0	12
Packers	7	10	3	3	23

at City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: September 13, 1964
• Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C)
• Game attendance: 42,327
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter GB – Max McGee 11-yard pass from Bart Starr (Paul Hornung kick). Packers 7–0. Drive: Second quarter CHI – Bob Jencks 8-yard field goal. Packers 7–3. Drive: GB – Tom Moore 33-yard pass from Bart Starr (Paul Hornung kick). Packers 14–3. Drive: GB – Paul Hornung 52-yard field goal. Packers 17–3. Drive: Third quarter CHI – Bob Jencks 36-yard field goal. Packers 17–6. Drive: CHI – Mike Ditka 13-yard pass from Rudy Bukich (kick failed). Packers 17–12. Drive: GB – Paul Hornung 29-yard field goal. Packers 20–12. Drive: Fourth quarter GB – Paul Hornung 20-yard field goal. Packers 23–12. Drive: Top passers CHI – Rudy Bukich – 7/16, 83 yards, TD, 2 INT GB – Bart Starr – 8/16, 127 yards, 2 TD Top rushers CHI – Ronnie Bull – 8 rushes, 25 yards GB – Jim Taylor – 16 rushes, 79 yards Top receivers CHI – Mike Ditka – 7 receptions, 74 yards, TD GB – Ron Kramer – 3 receptions, 48 yards

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 0 21 3 3 27 Lions 3 14 7 0 24 Date: November 26 Location: Tiger Stadium Game attendance: 52,231 Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C); wind 13 mph

Scoring summary Q1 DET Walker 25 yard field goal DET 3–0 Q2 CHI Arnett 1 yard pass from Bukich (Jencks kick) CHI 7–3 Q2 DET Barr 13 yard pass from Plum (Walker kick) DET 10–7 Q2 CHI Marconi 5 yard pass from Bukich (Jencks kick) CHI 14–10 Q2 CHI Morris 16 yard pass from Bukich (Jencks kick) CHI 21–10 Q2 DET Gibbons 5 yard pass from Plum (Walker kick) CHI 21–17 Q3 CHI LeClerc 27 yard field goal CHI 24–17 Q3 DET Watkins 1 yard run (Walker kick) Tie 24–24 Q4 CHI LeClerc 17 yard field goal CHI 27–24

^[5]

Standings

NFL Western Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts	12	2	0	.857	10–2	428	225	W1
Green Bay Packers^[a]	8	5	1	.615	6–5–1	342	245	T1
Minnesota Vikings	8	5	1	.615	6–5–1	355	296	W3
Detroit Lions	7	5	2	.583	6–4–2	280	260	W2
Los Angeles Rams	5	7	2	.417	3–7–2	283	339	T1
Chicago Bears	5	9	0	.357	5–7	260	379	L2
San Francisco 49ers	4	10	0	.286	3–9	236	330	L1

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

1. Green Bay was awarded the Playoff Bowl berth from the Western Conference by outscoring Minnesota 65–37 in their two meetings.

References

1. "Galimore, Farrington killed in auto crash". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. July 27, 1964. p. 19.
2. "Bears' Galimore, Farrington killed". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. July 27, 1964. p. 8.
3. "Bears to honor crash victims". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. July 28, 1964. p. 19.
4. "1964 Chicago Bears Schedule & Results | The Football Database". FootballDB.com. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
5. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Aug-13.