Team Photo
| 1937 Washington Redskins season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | George Preston Marshall |
| General manager | Jack Espey |
| Head coach | Ray Flaherty |
| Home field | Griffith Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–3 |
| Division place | 1st NFL Eastern |
| Playoff finish | Won NFL Championship (at Bears) 28–21 |
The 1937 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 6th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their first in Washington, D.C. The Boston Redskins moved to Washington after their runner-up 1936 season and became the Washington Redskins . In 1937 they repeated as Eastern Division champions and played the NFL championship game on the road against the Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field. The Redskins won the championship game, 28–21.
The Boston Redskins had won the Eastern Division title the previous season, but had poor attendance, prompting the owner George Preston Marshall to move south to his hometown. [1] The Redskins selected quarterback Sammy Baugh from TCU in the first round of the 1937 NFL draft, on December 12, 1936, while still in Boston. Rookie Baugh led the league in passing in 1937 with a then-record 81 pass completions, and halfback Cliff Battles led the NFL in rushing with 874 yards.
The Redskins were the first team to win a major championship since relocation in their first year and the last until the 1995-96 Colorado Avalanche won their first championship since moving from Quebec.
| 1937 Washington Redskins draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Sammy Baugh * † | Quarterback | TCU | |
| 2 | 16 | Nello Falaschi * | Center | Santa Clara | |
| 3 | 26 | Maurice Elder | Back | Kansas State | |
| 4 | 36 | Dick Bassi * | Guard | Santa Clara | |
| 5 | 46 | Chuck Bond | Tackle | Washington | |
| 6 | 56 | Jimmie Cain | Back | Washington | |
| 7 | 66 | Rotta Holland | Guard | Kansas State | |
| 8 | 76 | Joel Eaves | End | Auburn | |
| 9 | 86 | Bill Docherty | Tackle | Temple | |
| 10 | 96 | Mac Cara | End | NC State | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
In the 1937 NFL draft, the Redskins selected Sammy Baugh with the sixth overall pick. Baugh went on to play sixteen years with the Redskins, retiring after the 1952 season; he was named to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On September 6, 1937, the Redskins played their first Washington-area game following their move from Boston. Washington beat an American Legion All-Star team by a score of 50–0 in front of 1,000 at McCurdy Field in Frederick, Maryland. [2]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bye | ||||||
| 2 | Bye | ||||||
| 3 | September 16 | New York Giants | W 13–3 | 1–0 | Griffith Stadium | 25,000 | Recap |
| 4 | September 24 | Chicago Cardinals | L 14–21 | 1–1 | Griffith Stadium | 22,367 | Recap |
| 5 | October 3 | Brooklyn Dodgers | W 11–7 | 2–1 | Griffith Stadium | 16,000 | Recap |
| 6 | October 10 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 0–14 | 2–2 | Griffith Stadium | 7,320 | Recap |
| 7 | October 17 | Pittsburgh Pirates | W 34–20 | 3–2 | Griffith Stadium | 12,835 | Recap |
| 8 | October 24 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 10–7 | 4–2 | Philadelphia Municipal Stadium | 13,167 | Recap |
| 9 | October 31 | at Brooklyn Dodgers | W 21–0 | 5–2 | Ebbets Field | 22,500 | Recap |
| 10 | Bye | ||||||
| 11 | November 14 | at Pittsburgh Pirates | L 13–21 | 5–3 | Forbes Field | 12,242 | Recap |
| 12 | November 21 | at Cleveland Rams | W 16–7 | 6–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 3,500 | Recap |
| 13 | November 28 | Green Bay Packers | W 14–6 | 7–3 | Griffith Stadium | 30,000 | Recap |
| 14 | December 5 | at New York Giants | W 49–14 | 8–3 | Polo Grounds | 58,285 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance | Game recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | December 12 | at Chicago Bears | W 28–21 | Wrigley Field | 15,878 | Recap |
| NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Washington Redskins | 8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | 6–2 | 195 | 120 | W3 | |
| New York Giants | 6 | 3 | 2 | .667 | 5–2–1 | 128 | 109 | L1 | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 | 4–4 | 122 | 145 | L1 | |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 3 | 7 | 1 | .300 | 2–5–1 | 82 | 174 | T1 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 8 | 1 | .200 | 2–6 | 86 | 177 | L1 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
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| Franchise | |
| Stadiums | |
| Key personnel |
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| Culture | |
| Rivalries | |
| Division championships (15) | |
| Conference championships (5) | |
| League championships (2) | |
| Super Bowl championships (3) | |
| Hall of Famers | |
| Affiliations |
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