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On December 29, 1940 the
1940 NFL Champion Chicago
Bears met an All-Star team
from the other NFL clubs in
the third NFL All-Star game
at Gilmore Stadium in Los
Angeles. The crowd was the
largest for a pro game in
Los Angeles history to that
time. With 21,000 fans in
the seats (extra seats had
to be erected to accommodate
the crowd) it surpassed the
attendance totals from Red
Grange’s exhibition debut of
1925 in that city.
Two minutes into the
contest, Sid Luckman of the
Bears hit end Nick Glasman
who lateraled the ball at
midfield to Hampton Pool who
thundered down the field for
the score. The play was
officially good for 48
yards. Early in the second
quarter the All-Stars tied
the game on a freak play
that brought the crowd to
its feet. Washington's Sammy
Baugh dropped back to pass
and was hit hard twice by
Bear defenders. But, he
managed to unleash a long
touchdown pass to Cleveland
Ram, Ted Livingston. The
score was knotted at 7-7.
The Bears wasted little time
responding as Luckman
returned the kickoff to his
own 41. He then hit Harry
Clark for the 49 yard
touchdown. Baugh then
drove the Stars 80 yards on
six consecutive passes,
hitting Eagle Don Looney for
the tying score just before
half.
In the third quarter, the
Bears' Dick Plasman
intercepted a Baugh
pass a returned it 26 yards
inside the Stars' 5. From
there, Luckman pushed it in
on a one yard run. Late in
the third quarter, the Bears
marched 39 yards in 5 plays
with Joe Maniaci carry the
ball in for the score. The
final was 28-14. The Bears'
defensive line had just
proven too tough for the
All-Stars.
Sitting in the stands that
day were the 1941 Rose Bowl
squads from Stanford and
Nebraska. Nebraska took
particular interest as they
studied the Bears' T
formation, the same offense
that Stanford ran that
season. Stanford would
defeat Nebraska, 21-13.
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