The 1940

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

All-star Game (December) was the professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

league's third

all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

. The game pitted the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

, the league's

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

for the 1940 season, against a team of all-stars. The game was played on Sunday, December 29, 1940, at

Gilmore Stadium Gilmore Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was opened in May 1934 and demolished in 1952, when the land was used to build CBS Television City. The stadium held 18,000. It was located next to Gilmore Field. The st ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

before an overflow crowd of 21,000, with members of the

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

football teams also in attendance; the two were scheduled to play in the Rose Bowl, with Nebraska using the All-Star Game to research the Bears'

T formation In American football, a T formation (frequently called the full house formation in modern usage, sometimes the Robust T) is a formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about five yards behind the quarter ...

, which was being used by Stanford head coach and former Bears assistant

Clark Shaughnessy Clark Daniel Shaughnessy (born Clark Daniel O'Shaughnessy; March 6, 1892 – May 15, 1970) was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation" and the original founder of the forward pass, althou ...

. The Bears defeated the All-Stars by a score of 28–14. The Bears were an 8–5

favorite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler. It was es ...

over the All-Stars after crushing the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

73–0 in the championship game a few weeks earlier. Luke Johnsos coached the Bears in place of

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

, who was hospitalized following an appendectomy. The All-Stars were coached by

Ray Flaherty Raymond Paul Flaherty (September 1, 1903 – July 19, 1994) was an American professional football player and coach who spent 18 total seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as both a player and a coach. He played college football for the ...

of the

. John Olds was the referee for the game. Quarterback

Ace Parker Clarence McKay "Ace" Parker (May 17, 1912 – November 6, 2013) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played professional football as a quarterback, tailback and safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the Brooklyn ...

of the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

was voted into the game, but declined participation due to ankle and shoulder injuries he suffered during the season. His decision sparked a clash with NFL President

Carl Storck :''This is about the American football executive, not to be confused with sculptors Carol Storck or Karl Storck Carl H. Storck (born November 14, 1892 – March 13, 1950) was a co-founder of the National Football League (NFL), as well as the fou ...

, who warned him of potential expulsion from the league should he not play until Dodgers owner

Dan Topping Daniel Reid Topping (June 11, 1912May 18, 1974) was an American sports executive who was part owner and president of the New York Yankees baseball team from 1945 to 1964. During Topping's tenure as chief executive of the Yankees, the team won 14 ...

successfully pulled him out without consequence. Rather than the All-Star Game, Parker decided to play two charity games in Virginia over the following weeks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1940 National Football League All-Star Game (12) Pro Bowl National Football League All-Star Game (December) All-Star Game (December) National Football League All-Star Game (December) Chicago Bears NFL in Los Angeles National Football League All-Star Game