The 1942 Washington University Bears football teamrepresented Washington University in St. Louis as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1942 college football season. Led by Tom Gorman in his first and only season as head coach, the Bears compiled an overall record of 5–5 with a mark of 2–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the MVC. The team played home games at Francis Field in St. Louis. Washington University did not field another football team in the 1947 season.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19		at Iowa*	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 7–26	8,200–10,000	[1][2][3]
September 26	2:30 p.m.	Cape Girardeau*	Francis Field St. Louis, MO	W 26–7	1,000	[4][5][6][7]
October 2	8:15 p.m.	at Creighton	Creighton Stadium Omaha, NE	W 13–12	10,000	[8][9][10]
October 10	2:30 p.m.	Wichita	Francis Field St. Louis, MO	W 27–6	6,000	[11][12][13]
October 17	8:15 p.m.	at Tulsa	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	L 0–40	8,000	[14][15][16][17]
October 24	2:30 p.m.	at Oklahoma A&M	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 7–40	4,500	[18][19][20]
November 7		at Kansas*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 7–19	2,400	[21]
November 14	2:30 p.m.	Drake	Francis Field St. Louis, MO	W 14–7	5,000	[22][23][24]
November 21	2:30 p.m.	Missouri Mines*	Francis Field St. Louis, MO	W 19–6	2,000	[25][26][27]
November 26	2:30 p.m.	at Saint Louis	Walsh Stadium St. Louis, MO	L 0–26	13,192	[28][29]
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Central time

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