1940 National Football League All-Star Game (December) 1940 National Football League All-Star Game (December) The 1940 National Football League All-star Game (December) was the professional football league's third all-star game. The game pitted the Chicago Bears, the league's champion for the 1940 season, against a team of all-stars. The game was played on Sunday, December 29, 1940, at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles, California before an overflow crowd of 21,000. The Bears defeated the All-Stars by a score of 28–14. The Bears were an 8–5 favorite over the All-Stars after crushing the Washington Redskins 73–0 in the championship game a few weeks prior. Luke Johnsos coached the
Chicago Bears Bears were a team in trouble. They faced the problem of increased operating costs and flatlined attendance. The Bears would only draw roughly 5,000–6,000 fans a game, while a University of Chicago game would draw 40,000–50,000 fans a game. By adding top college football draw Red Grange to the roster, the Bears knew that they found something to draw more fans to their games. C.C. Pyle was able to secure a $2,000 per game contract for Grange, and in one of the first games, the Bears defeated the Green Bay Packers, 21–0. However, Grange remained on the sidelines while learning