1928 NFL season

Last updated

1928 NFL season
Regular season
DurationSeptember 23 – December 16, 1928
Champions Providence Steam Rollers
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Bears
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Cardinals
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Triangles
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Wolverines
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Yellow Jackets
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Packers
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Giants
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Yankees
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Maroons
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Steam Roller

The 1928 NFL season was the ninth regular season of the National Football League. The league dropped to 10 teams as the Cleveland Bulldogs and the Duluth Eskimos both folded before the season, while the Rochester Jeffersons, after missing two seasons of play, also folded, and the Buffalo Bisons also had a year out from the league. The Detroit Wolverines were added as an expansion team.

Contents

The Providence Steam Rollers were named the NFL champions after finishing the season with the best record.

Teams

The league dropped to ten teams in 1928.

Last active season ^
TeamHead coachStadium
Chicago Bears George Halas Wrigley Field
Chicago Cardinals Fred Gillies Normal Park
Dayton Triangles Faye Abbott Triangle Park
Detroit Wolverines ^ LeRoy Andrews Dinan Field
Frankford Yellow Jackets Ed Weir Frankford Stadium
Green Bay Packers Curly Lambeau City Stadium
New York Giants Earl Potteiger Polo Grounds
New York Yankees ^ Dick Rauch Yankee Stadium
Pottsville Maroons Pete Henry Minersville Park
Providence Steam Rollers Jimmy Conzelman Cycledrome

Championship race

After four weeks, the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Wolverines were both unbeaten. On October 21, the Packers beat the Bears, 16–6, leaving Detroit, at 2–0–0, at the top of the standings. On November 3, near Philadelphia, the Frankford Yellow Jackets (4–1–0) hosted Detroit (3–0–0), and beat them 25–7. The next day, Detroit (3–1–0) lost 0–7 at Providence (4–1–0), and the Yellow Jackets and the Steamrollers were tied for the lead at the end of Week Seven.

Frankford played a series against Pottsville in Week Eight, winning 19–0 at home, and 24–0 on the road, for a 7–1–1 record that put it in first place ahead of Providence. In Week Nine, on November 18, the Providence Steam Rollers (5–1–1) hosted the Frankford Yellow Jackets (7–1–2) in Rhode Island, in a regular season game that ultimately would determine which team would win the NFL championship. Providence's 6–0 win put the Steam Rollers in first place, [1] and it didn't lose any of its last three games, finishing at 8–1–2, while Frankford finished second at 11–3–2. Had the Yellow Jackets beaten the Steamrollers, their records at season's end would have been 12–2–2 and 7–2–2, respectively. Providence was formally awarded the championship at the post-season meeting of the NFL owners.

Standings

NFL standings
WLTPCTPFPASTK
Providence Steam Roller 812.88912842T1
Frankford Yellow Jackets 1132.78617584L1
Detroit Wolverines 721.77818976W4
Green Bay Packers 643.60012092W1
Chicago Bears 751.58318285L2
New York Giants 472.36479136L5
New York Yankees 481.333103179W1
Pottsville Maroons 280.20074134L1
Chicago Cardinals 150.1677107L4
Dayton Triangles 070.0009131L7
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

  1. "Providence Takes Lead," Fresno Bee, Nov 19, 1928, p11