1951 NFL Quarterfinal-Los Angeles Rams-31, Chicago Bears-14



Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch

December 23, 1951

Weather-60 degrees, 5 mph S

Los Angeles got off to a quick start against the Bears and Chicago could never recover, losing 31-14. The Rams scored on three of their first four possessions, with Norm Van Brocklin firing 3 touchdowns in the first 20 minutes. Elroy Hirsch caught TD of 24 and 14 yards, with the second one breaking the record for TD catches in a season with 19. The Bears were able to move the ball on the Los Angeles defense, but the Rams pass rush was able to come up large on third down, finishing with 5 sacks, including 2 each by Don Paul and Larry Brink. John Dottley led the Chicago ground game with 101 yards on 18 carries.

The Rams will travel to the Polo Grounds to face the Giants at 3 pm next Sunday for a berth in the NFL Title Game.

Chicago Bears.....(7-6)-0-0-7-7-14
Los Angeles Rams.(9-4)-14-7-7-3-31

LA-Hirsch 24 pass from Van Brocklin (Waterfield Kick)
LA-Fears 7 pass from Van Brocklin (Waterfield Kick)
LA-Hirsch 14 pass from Van Brocklin (Waterfield Kick)
Chi-Gulyanics 6 run (Blanda Kick)
LA-Hoerner 9 run (Waterfield Kick)
Chi-Wightkin 15 pass from Lujack (Blanda Kick)
LA-Waterfield 36 FG

Rushing (season totals in parentheses)
Chi-Dottley-18-101-0 (145-771-3), Gulyanics-14-73-1 (119-476-5), Rykovich-8-7-0 (91-406-4), Lujack-4-4-0 (51-175-7), Stone-1-3-0 (31-126-1)
LA-Towler-12-138-0 (138-992-6), Hoerner-11-55-1 (105-624-7), Smith-4-21-0 (56-164-1), Hirsch-1-(-3)-0 (2-0-0), Van Brocklin-3-(-6)-0 (10-(-4)-2)

Passing
Chi-Lujack-29-15-208-1-0 (205-100-1,503-9-8)
LA-Van Brocklin-20-10-154-3-0 (214-110-1,879-16-11), Waterfield-1-1-3-0-0 (177-89-1,569-13-10)

Receiving
Chi-Hoffman-4-52-0 (32-446-2), Schroeder-3-70-0 (27-531-3), Keane-3-33-0 (18-280-1), Dottley-2-18-0 (16-243-1), Wightkin-1-15-1 (2-62-1), Boone-1-12-0 (7-129-0), Gulyanics-1-8-0 (14-154-0)
LA-Hirsch-4-73-2 (70-1,568-19), Fears-4-47-1 (36-575-4), Keane-1-18-0 (13-151-0), Towler-1-15-0 (17-272-0), Boyd-1-4-0 (10-132-1)