Regular season | |
---|---|
Duration | September 13 to December 13, 1942 |
East Champions | Washington Redskins |
West Champions | Chicago Bears |
Championship Game | |
Champions | Washington Redskins |
The 1942 NFL season was the 23rd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, many players left for service in World War II, thus depleting the rosters of all the teams.
The ten teams of the NFL each played a 11 game schedule during the 1942 regular season, for a league total of 55 contests.
Continuing their Chicago Bears finished the regular season at 11–0, and faced the 10–1 Washington Redskins in the championship game. Washington, which had been embarrassed by a massive 73–0 shutout loss in the 1940 Championship Play-off, got a measure of revenge by spoiling the Bears' hope for a perfect season, winning the rematch 14–6.
The 1942 NFL draft was held on December 22, 1941, at Chicago's Palmer House Hotel. With the first pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected runningback Bill Dudley from the University of Virginia.
NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
Washington Redskins | 10 | 1 | 0 | .909 | 7–1 | 227 | 102 | W9 | |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 7 | 4 | 0 | .636 | 5–3 | 167 | 119 | L1 | |
New York Giants | 5 | 5 | 1 | .500 | 4–4 | 155 | 139 | W2 | |
Brooklyn Dodgers | 3 | 8 | 0 | .273 | 2–6 | 100 | 168 | L6 | |
Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 9 | 0 | .182 | 2–6 | 134 | 239 | L1 |
NFL Western Division | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
Chicago Bears | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 8–0 | 376 | 84 | W11 | |
Green Bay Packers | 8 | 2 | 1 | .800 | 6–2 | 300 | 215 | W2 | |
Cleveland Rams | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | 3–5 | 150 | 207 | L1 | |
Chicago Cardinals | 3 | 8 | 0 | .273 | 3–5 | 98 | 209 | L6 | |
Detroit Lions | 0 | 11 | 0 | .000 | 0–8 | 38 | 263 | L11 |
Washington 14, Chi. Bears 6, at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., December 13, 1942
These statistics include the 11 regularly scheduled games played by each team and exclude the Championship game. A new league record for passing was set by the Green Bay Packers, with 2,407 yards gained through the air. [1] The Packers also set new records for most passes completed in a season (172) and most touchdowns passing (28). [1] The Washington Redskins, featuring the passing of Sammy Baugh, set a new NFL record for passing accuracy, completing 53.4% of their 257 pass attempts as a team. [1] Also worthy of note is the point differential of the undefeated Chicago Bears, who amassed 376 points (34.1 points per game) while giving up just 84 (7.6 points per game) — both league bests.
Rank | Team | Total yards | (Rushing) [2] | (Passing) | Penalized | Yards allowed | Takeaways | Turnovers | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chicago Bears | 3,900 | 1,926 | 1,974 | 905 | 1,703 | 43 | 43 | |
2 | Green Bay Packers | 3,790 | 1,383 | 2,407 | 312 | 3,076 | 48 | 26 | |
3 | Washington Redskins | 3,121 | 1,521 | 1,600 | 610 | 1,950 | 26 | 30 | |
4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2,606 | 1,920 | 686 | 383 | 2,383 | 31 | 18 | |
5 | Philadelphia Eagles | 2,535 | 1,119 | 1,416 | 392 | 3,016 | 28 | 28 | |
6 | Chicago Cardinals | 2,453 | 1,021 | 1,432 | 400 | 2,972 | 33 | 40 | |
7 | Cleveland Rams | 2,413 | 876 | 1,537 | 315 | 3,544 | 33 | 35 | |
8 | Brooklyn Dodgers | 2,219 | 1,505 | 714 | 288 | 2,794 | 26 | 34 | |
9 | Detroit Lions | 2,206 | 1,321 | 885 | 364 | 3,083 | 28 | 56 | |
10 | New York Giants | 2,160 | 1,203 | 957 | 437 | 2,877 | 34 | 21 | |
Source: Strickler (ed.), 1943 NFL Record & Roster Manual, pp. 74-75. Takeaways = (Interceptions + Fumble recoveries) |
The Joe F. Carr Trophy was presented annually by the National League as its Most Valuable Player award. For the second year in a row, the award was won by Packer end Don Hutson.
Given the dominant performance of the 1942 Chicago Bears team, it is unsurprising that five of the players named to the First Team eleven were members of George Halas' club, with a sixth Bear player tabbed for the second team. In addition, four Washington Redskins were accorded All-League honors, with the Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Rams adding three players each. There were also 34 players included as part of an "Honorable Mention" list. [3]
First Team ————————————————— Second Team | |||||
Name | Team | Position | Name | Team | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Don Hutson | Green Bay Packers | LE | Perry Schwartz | Brooklyn Dodgers | |
Willie Wilkin | Washington Redskins | LT | Chet Adams | Cleveland Rams | |
Dan Fortmann | Chicago Bears | LG | Riley Matheson | Cleveland Rams | |
"Bulldog" Turner | Chicago Bears | C | Chuck Cherundolo | Pittsburgh Steelers | |
"Monk" Edwards | New York Giants | RG | Charles Goldenberg | Green Bay Packers | |
Lee Artoe | Chicago Bears | RT | "Bruiser" Kinard | Brooklyn Dodgers | |
Bob Masterson | Washington Redskins | RE | George Wilson | Chicago Bears | |
Sid Luckman | Chicago Bears | QB | Sammy Baugh | Washington Redskins | |
Cecil Isbell | Green Bay Packers | LHB | Merl Condit | Brooklyn Dodgers | |
Bill Dudley | Pittsburgh Steelers | RHB | Dante Magnani | Cleveland Rams | |
Gary Famiglietti | Chicago Bears | FB | Andy Farkas | Washington Redskins |
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Cecil Frank Isbell was an American football quarterback and coach. He played 5 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers, leading them to the NFL Championship in 1939. He retired after the 1942 season to become an assistant coach at his alma mater, Purdue University, and the following year became its head coach for three seasons.
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