An NFL game was televised for the first time when NBC broadcast the October 22 Philadelphia Eagles at Brooklyn Dodgers game at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn (the Dodgers won 23-14). The experimental broadcast was broadcast only to viewers in New York and Albany; regular broadcasting of NFL games would not begin until 1951.
The 1939 NFL Draft was held on December 9, 1938, at New York City's New Yorker Hotel. A total of 22 rounds of selections were made, with only the five lowest-finishing teams allowed to select players in rounds 2 and 4 as a means of building parity. Only the five highest-finishing teams were allowed to select players in the final two rounds so that each team had the same number of potential rookies for the coming season.
Thus, a total of 20 players were chosen by each of the 10 teams in the 1939 draft.
A total of 55 regular season contests were held by the National Football League during the 1939 season, with each of the league's ten teams playing an 11-game schedule.[1] For the fourth consecutive year, the league set a new record for total attendance of 1,280,332 recorded for the regular season.[1] An additional 32,279 people attended the 1939 league championship playoff game, for a 56-game total of 1,312,611 — an increase of 12.3% over the previous year.[1]
Another 262,678 made their way to one of the nine all-star games held during the year.[1]
The New York Giants led the league in attendance, with 233,301 fans attending one of the team's six home dates — an average of 38,884 people per contest.[1] The Detroit Lions were the second leading draw, with a total attendance of 185,061 for their six home games (30,844 average), with the Washington Redskins in third place, with a six-game home attendance of 164,509 (27,418 average).[1]
Three teams failed to break the 100,000 mark for the year, with the Pittsburgh Pirates the league's poorest draw, seating only 58,686 fans for five home dates — an average of just 11,737 fans per game.[2]
The biggest crowd of the year was recorded on December 3 at the Polo Grounds in New York City, when a crowd of 62,543 assembled to see the Giants do battle against the visiting Redskins.[2]
Division races
Though both the Giants and the Packers finished a game ahead of their closest division rivals, both clinched their divisions on December 3, the final day of the 11-game regular season. The New York Giants and Washington Redskins had played to a 0–0 tie earlier in the season, and both had 8–1–1 records when they met at New York's Polo Grounds before a crowd of 62,404. The Giants did not reach the end zone, but three field goals were enough for a controversial 9–7 win and the division title, in which a disputed missed Washington field goal in the final seconds was the deciding factor.
The Western Division race was between the Lions, Bears and Packers. Detroit was unbeaten after four games, but on October 22, Green Bay beat them 26–7 to give both teams records of 4–1–0. The same day, the 4–1 Bears lost 13–16 to the Giants to fall to 4–2.
On November 5, Week 9 of the season, the Lions beat the Giants 18–14, while the Bears beat the Packers 30–27, giving Detroit the lead at 6–1–0. The next week (November 12), the Bears beat the Lions 23–13, and the Packers beat the Eagles 23–16, tying Detroit and Green Bay at 6–2–0, half a game ahead of the 6–3–0 Bears. On November 19, the Lions lost to the Rams, 3–14, while the Packers and Bears both won. On November 26, the Bears closed their season at 8–3–0 after a 48–7 win over the Cardinals, while the Packers edged the Rams, 7–6 to reach 8–2–0. Green Bay was behind 7–3 at halftime in its season ender at Detroit, and a loss would have forced a playoff for the Western Division, but Clarke Hinkle's touchdown in the final quarter gave the Packers a 12–7 win and the division title.
The penalty for an ineligible receiver who touches a forward pass is 15 yards and a loss of down.
The penalty for an ineligible receiver who is downfield prior to a forward pass being thrown is 15 yards and a loss of down.
If a kickoff goes out of bounds after only being touched by members of the receiving team, the receiving team takes possession of the ball at that inbounds spot.
Cleveland Rams: Dutch Clark became the new Rams head coach. Hugo Bezdek had been released after three games into 1938, and Art Lewis served as interim for the last eight of that previous season.
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League (NFL). To increase revenue, the league, for the first time since 1966, reinstated bye weeks, so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 10 teams to 12 teams by adding another wild card from each conference, thus adding two more contests to the postseason schedule; this format was modified with realignment in 2002 before the playoffs expanded to 14 teams in 2020.
The 1963 NFL season was the 44th regular season of the National Football League.
The 1962 NFL season was the 43rd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Before the season, CBS signed a contract with the league to televise all regular-season games for a $4.65 million annual fee.
The 1961 NFL season was the 42nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The league expanded to 14 teams with the addition of the Minnesota Vikings, after the team's founders declined to be charter members of the new American Football League. The schedule was also expanded from 12 games per team to 14 games per team where it would stay for 17 years. The Vikings were placed in the Western Division, and the Dallas Cowboys were switched from the Western Division to the Eastern Division. The addition of the Vikings returned the NFL to an even number of teams.
The 1935 NFL season was the 16th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with the Detroit Lions' 26–7 victory over the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game.
The 1936 NFL season was the 17th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time since the league was founded, there were no team transactions, and all league teams played the same number of games.
The 1937 NFL season was the 18th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Rams joined the league as an expansion team. Meanwhile, the Redskins relocated from Boston to Washington, D.C.
The 1938 NFL season was the 19th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the New York Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship Game.
The 1940 NFL season was the 21st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins in the NFL Championship Game by 73–0; this result still stands as the most one-sided victory in NFL history as of the 2023 season.
The 1941 NFL season was the 22nd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Elmer Layden was named the first Commissioner of the NFL, while Carl Storck resigned as league president. Layden also took on the duties of president and signed a five-year contract at $20,000 annually.
The 1943 NFL season marked the 24th year of the National Football League. A total of 38 regular season games were scheduled, starting on Sunday, September 19 and culminating on Sunday, December 12.
The 1944 NFL season was the 25th regular season of the National Football League. The Boston Yanks joined the league as an expansion team. Also, the Triangles-Dodgers franchise changed their name to the Brooklyn Tigers for this one season before merging with the aforementioned Yanks the following year. Meanwhile, both the Cleveland Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles resumed their traditional operations, while the Pittsburgh Steelers merged with the Chicago Cardinals for this one season due to player shortages as a result of World War II. The combined team, known as Card-Pitt, played three home games in Pittsburgh and two in Chicago, and set the 20th century record for lowest punting average by an NFL team with 32.7 yards per punt.
The 1946 NFL season was the 27th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Elmer Layden resigned as NFL Commissioner and Bert Bell, co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles, replaced him. Meanwhile, the All-America Football Conference was formed to rival the NFL, and the Rams became the first NFL team based on the West Coast after they relocated from Cleveland, Ohio, to Los Angeles, California. A regular season game was played on Tuesday, the last until the 2010 season, on October 1, between New York and Boston.
The 1950 NFL season was the 31st regular season of the National Football League. The merger with the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) expanded the league to 13 teams. Meanwhile, television brought a new era to the game. The Los Angeles Rams became the first NFL team to have all of its games – both home and away – televised. The Washington Redskins became the second team to put their games on TV. Other teams arranged to have selected games televised.
The 1951 NFL season was the 32nd regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, Baltimore Colts (I) owner Abraham Watner faced financial difficulties, and thus folded his team and gave its player contracts back to the league for $50,000. However, many Baltimore fans started to protest the loss of their team. Supporting groups such as its fan club and its marching band remained in operation and worked for the team's revival, which eventually led to a new, more lucrative Baltimore expansion team named the Colts in 1953.
The 1952 NFL season was the 33rd regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, New York Yanks owner Ted Collins sold his team back to the NFL. A few days later, an ownership group in Dallas, Texas, purchased the Yanks from the NFL, relocated them to Dallas, Texas, and renamed them the Dallas Texans.
The 1953 NFL season was the 34th regular season of the National Football League. The names of the American and National divisions were changed back to the Eastern and Western divisions.
The 1954 NFL season was the 35th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Cleveland Browns defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game.
The 1935 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 6th season in the National Football League (NFL) and second in Detroit. Under fifth-year head coach Potsy Clark, the Lions placed first in the NFL's Western Division and defeated the New York Giants 26–7 in the NFL Championship Game for their first league title.
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