1939 Chicago Bears season The 1939 Chicago Bears season was their 20th regular season completed in the National Football League . They finished second in the Western Division with an 8 - 3 record . The Bears started the season well , winning 4 of their first 5 games . However , two mid - season losses to New York and Detroit cost them the Division to Green Bay . The Packers went on to win the NFL championship . According to [ A Christmas Story ] they were known as the Chicago Chipmunks . Season highlights . The Bears were much improved from 1938 , adding two new players who contributed immediately and would be part of the great Chicago teams of the 1940s . Overall , the Bears had a potent offense , leading the NFL in scoring , touchdowns , total yards ( averaging 364 yards per game ) , rushing yards , rushing average per carry , rushing touchdowns , passing yards , and passing yards per attempt . Perhaps most impressively , the club led the NFL with a gaudy 22 . 1 average yards per pass completion . The T - formation was beginning to demonstrate itself as a superior passing scheme , particularly regarding the deep game . Luckman Arrives . Sid Luckman was a Single Wing tailback at Columbia University before joining the Bears . Coach Halas traded with Pittsburgh for the rights to Luckman , seeing potential to run the complicated T - formation in the relatively unknown player . It took a $ 5 , 000 bonus to convince Luckman to sign with the Bears . Bernie Masterson continued to be the primary quarterback , but Luckman played more in the second half of the season . Luckman was a more accurate passer than Masterson , with a flair for the long ball . His first NFL touchdown pass was a 68 - yard bomb to Dick Plasman in the fourth quarter of the October 22nd game against the Giants , a game the Bears lost despite Luckman leading a furious fourth quarter comeback . By the end of the year , Luckman was playing in the first half ahead of Masterson ; he finished the season with 636 yards passing , completing 23 of 51 attempts , with 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions . He also had an interception return for a touchdown . Osmanski . The other major rookie performer was Bill Osmanski from Holy Cross , a hard - running fullback who led the league in rushing with 699 yards , averaging 5 . 8 yards per carry and finishing with 7 rushing touchdowns . Osmanski possessed great speed and was a threat to go all the way from anywhere on the field ; he burned the Cardinals with an 86 yard run and the Eagles with a 65 yard scamper . Osmanski ' s arrival freed up running room for Joe Maniaci , who averaged 7 . 1 yards per carry for his 544 yards . Other Top Performances . Dick Plasman and Les McDonald continued to play well at end , combining for 35 receptions and 6 touchdowns . Jack Manders continued to kick well in his last season and led the team in scoring . The interior line continued to be strong , with Bausch , Fortmann , Stydahar , and Musso representing one of the strongest units in football . The defense fell down a bit this season , and probably cost the Bears the division , allowing 157 points including more than 20 four times . The pieces were almost in place for the Bears to dominate the league , but that would have to wait for the next decade . Standings . " W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , PCT = Winning Percentage , PTS = Points Scored , OPP = Opponents ' Points " " Note : Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972 "