1940 NFL Championship Game won 73–0, the most one-sided victory in NFL history. The game was broadcast on radio by Mutual Broadcasting System, the first NFL title game broadcast nationwide. Washington had defeated Chicago 7–3 in a regular season game three weeks earlier in Washington. After the contest, Redskins owner George Preston Marshall told reporters that the Bears were crybabies and quitters when the going got tough. As the Bears prepared for the rematch, Chicago head coach George Halas fired up his team by showing them newspaper articles containing Marshall's comments. Before the game, Halas's friend Clark Shaughnessy, who was concurrently coaching the undefeated
History of the Chicago Bears in a second place tie with an 8–4 record, one game away from the Championship Game. The Bears closed out the decade in 1959 with yet another 8–4 finish that was only good enough for second place in the division. The 1950s gave way to Bear greats such as Ed "The Claw" Sprinkle, Bill George, George Connor, and Harlon Hill. The end of the decade also marked the first time in team history that the Bears did not win an NFL Championship during a decade. This was a sign of the downfall that the Bears were about to encounter. Halas,