The 1940 NFL season was the 21st regular season of the National Football League. The ten teams of the league each played an 11 game schedule, for a total of 55 regular season games.
The season ended on December 8, when the Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins in the NFL Championship Play-off Game by a score of 73–0 in front of 36,034 fans. This result still stands as the most one-sided victory (and highest score) in NFL history as of the 2024 season.
The rule requiring players removed for substitutes be ineligible for return until a subsequent quarter, with the exception of two permitted returning players in the fourth quarter,[4] remained unchanged.[5]
Other important changes were enacted by the NFL for its 1940 season, however. These included:
The penalty for clipping was reduced from 25 yards[6] to 15 yards.[7]
A penalty committed in the field of play could no longer carry the ball more than half the distance to the offender's goal line.[7]
For offensive pass interference committed in the end zone, the defense now had the option of placing the ball 15 yards from the previous spot with a loss of down, or taking the ball on the 20 yard line via touchback.[7]
Penalties for fouls that occur prior to a pass or kick from behind the line of scrimmage were to be enforced from the previous spot. However, penalties for fouls during a free ball or when the offensive team fouls behind their line were to be enforced from the spot of the foul.[7]
Champions of the National League in 1940, the Chicago Bears.
The NFL's champion was determined with a single "Championship Play-off Game" on December 8 between the Western champion Chicago Bears and the Eastern champion Washington Redskins at Griffith Stadium in Washington, DC. A total of 36,034 fans were in attendance, generating gross gate receipts of $112,508 ($3.12 per patron).[8] The game still stands as the greatest whitewash in the history of the NFL, with Bill Osmanski of the Bears breaking free on a 68 yard touchdown run on the third play of the game and Chicago never looking back en route to a 73–0 victory.[8]
Source: Strickler (ed.), 1941 NFL Record & Roster Manual, pp. 56–57.
Receiving
Rookie Don Looney's 707 yards receiving topped the NFL, earning him second team All Pro honors in 1940. Looney's career was ended by the war and he returned afterwards as an NFL referee.
Source: Strickler (ed.), 1941 NFL Record & Roster Manual, pp. 60-61.
Passing
Iconic photo of Redskins stars on the bench in 1942. Star passer "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh in the center, 1940's total-yards-from-scrimmage leader fullback Dick Todd with broken nose at right.
The "1940 All-Professional Team" was selected by National Professional Football Writers' Association.[9] The New York Giants and Washington Redskins were each represented by four members of the 22-man squad. There were also 22 players added to an "Honorable Mention" list.[9]
↑ This modification launched in 1938. See: Joe F. Carr (ed.), Official Guide of the National Football League, 1938. New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1938; p. 72.
↑ Official Rules of the National Football League, 1940, in Carl L. Storck (ed.), Official Guide of the National Football League, 1940. New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1940; rules p. 20.
↑ Rule 10-2-5-3, Official Football Rules of the National Football League, 1939, p. 54.
1 2 3 4 "National Football League Rules Changes for 1940," in Official Rules of the National Football League, 1940, inside cover.
1 2 George Strickler (ed.), Official National Football League Roster and Record Manual, 1941. Chicago: National Football League, 1941; pp. 66-67.
1 2 George Strickler (ed.), Roster and Record Manual, 1941. Chicago: Commissioner's Office, 1941; p. 68.
Further reading
Tom Bennett, et al. (eds.), The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football. Revised and expanded edition. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.
Bob Carroll, et al. (eds.), Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins, 1999.
NFL Communications Department and Santo Labombarda (eds.), Official National Football League 2024 Record and Fact Book. New York: National Football League, 2024.
Joseph S. Page, Pro Football Championships Before the Super Bowl: A Year-by-Year History, 1926–1965. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2011.
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