1944 New York Giants season

This article is about the football team. For the baseball team of the same name in 1944, see 1944 New York Giants (MLB) season.

1944 New York Giants season
Owner	John V. Mara
Head coach	Steve Owen
Home stadium	Polo Grounds
Results
Record	8–1–1
Division place	1st NFL Eastern
Playoffs	Lost NFL Championship (vs. Packers) 7–14
←  1943 Giants seasons 1945  →

The 1944 New York Giants season was the franchise's 20th season in the National Football League.

In an April 2013 article, football analytics website Cold Hard Football Facts named the 1944 Giants the "Stingiest Defense in NFL history," ^[1] as the team only surrendered 75 points in ten games. "The manpower shortage on NFL fields created a variety of statistical anomalies on both sides of the field," said the article, "and the 1944 Giants are no exception. But even then, the 1944 Giants were a truly awesome unit: the average team scored 18.0 points per game in 1944, well above the 7.5 PPG average surrendered by the Giants. But even the best defenses can’t get it done alone: Giants quarterback Arnie Herber threw four interceptions in New York's 14–7 NFL title game loss to Herber's former team, the Packers. The 1944 Giants were a mere No. 5 in scoring offense in the 10-team NFL."

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
1	October 8	at Boston Yanks	W 22–10	1–0	Fenway Park	17,463	Recap
2	October 15	at Brooklyn Tigers	W 14–7	2–0	Ebbets Field	24,854	Recap
3	October 22	Card-Pitt	W 23–0	3–0	Polo Grounds	40,734	Recap
4	October 29	Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–24	3–1	Polo Grounds	42,639	Recap
5	November 5	Boston Yanks	W 31–0	4–1	Polo Grounds	28,364	Recap
6	November 12	at Philadelphia Eagles	T 21–21	4–1–1	Shibe Park	33,248	Recap
7	November 19	Green Bay Packers	W 24–0	5–1–1	Polo Grounds	56,481	Recap
8	November 26	Brooklyn Tigers	W 7–0	6–1–1	Polo Grounds	29,387	Recap
9	December 3	Washington Redskins	W 16–13	7–1–1	Polo Grounds	47,457	Recap
10	December 10	at Washington Redskins	W 31–0	8–1–1	Griffith Stadium	35,540	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Program for the October 29 game against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. It would be New York's only loss of the year.

NFL Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
New York Giants	8	1	1	.889	6–1–1	206	75	W4
Philadelphia Eagles	7	1	2	.875	6–0–2	267	131	W2
Washington Redskins	6	3	1	.667	4–3–1	169	180	L2
Boston Yanks	2	8	0	.200	2–6	82	233	L2
Brooklyn Tigers	0	10	0	.000	0-8	69	166	L10

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	8	2	0	.800	7–1	238	141	W1
Chicago Bears	6	3	1	.667	4–3–1	258	172	W2
Detroit Lions	6	3	1	.667	4–3–1	216	151	W4
Cleveland Rams	4	6	0	.400	4–4	188	224	L2
Card-Pitt	0	10	0	.000	0–8	108	328	L10

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Game summaries

Game 1: at Boston Yanks

Week Four: New York Giants at Boston Yanks

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	10	12	0	22
Yanks	3	0	7	0	10

at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts

• Date: October 8
• Game attendance: 17,463

Game information
First quarter BOS Augie Lio 47-yard FG Second quarter NYG Howie Livingston 38-yard run (Ken Strong kick) NYG Strong 36-yard FG Third quarter NYG Safety, George Cafego tackled in end zone BOS John Morelli 40-yard fumble return (Lio kick) NYG Vic Carroll 28-yard blocked punt return (Strong kick) NYG Strong 16-yard FG

Game 2: at Brooklyn Tigers

Week Five: New York Giants at Brooklyn Tigers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	7	0	7	14
Tigers	0	7	0	0	7

at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York

• Date: October 15
• Game attendance: 24,854

Game information
Second quarter BRK Rocky Uguccioni 12-yard blocked punt return (Bruiser Kinard kick) NYG Frank Liebel 26-yard pass from Hank Soar (Strong kick) Fourth quarter NYG Neal Adams 35-yard pass from Soar (Strong kick)

Game 3: vs Cardinals-Pittsburgh Combine

Week Six: Cardinals-Pittsburgh at New York Giants

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Card-Pitt	0	0	0	0	0
Giants	0	9	7	7	23

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: October 22
• Game attendance: 40,734

Game information
Second quarter NYG Bill Paschal 4-yard run (Strong kick) NYG Safety, John McCarthy punt blocked out of end zone Third quarter NYG Paschal 3-yard run (Strong kick) Fourth quarter NYG Paschal 45-yard run (Ward Cuff kick)

Game 4: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week Seven: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	3	7	7	7	24
Giants	7	10	0	0	17

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: October 29
• Game attendance: 42,639

Game information
First quarter PHI Roy Zimmerman 22-yard FG NYG Liebel 63-yard fumble return (Strong kick) Second quarter NYG Strong 26-yard FG NYG Paschal 68-yard run (Cuff kick) PHI Steve Van Buren 6-yard run (Zimmerman kick) Third quarter PHI Zimmerman 15-yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Fourth quarter PHI Zimmerman 1-yard run (Zimmerman kick)

Game 5: vs. Boston Yanks

Week Eight: Boston Yanks at New York Giants

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Yanks	0	0	0	0	0
Giants	10	0	14	7	31

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: November 5
• Game attendance: 28,364

Game information
First quarter NYG Len Calligaro 1-yard run (Strong kick) NYG Strong 38-yard FG Third quarter NYG Cuff 40-yard pass from Joe Sulaitis (Strong kick) NYG Paschal 18-yard run (Strong kick) Fourth quarter NYG Bill Petrilas 67-yard interception return (Strong kick)

Game 6: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week Nine: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	7	0	0	14	21
Eagles	7	7	7	0	21

at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: November 12
• Game attendance: 33,248

Game information
First quarter NYG Paschal 1-yard run (Strong kick) PHI Steve Van Buren 97-yard kickoff return (Zimmerman kick) Second quarter PHI Mel Bleeker 9-yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Third quarter PHI Bleeker 48-yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick) Fourth quarter NYG Livingston 12-yard pass from Arnie Herber (Strong kick) NYG Liebel 58-yard pass from Herber (Strong kick)

Game 7: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week Ten: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	0	0	0	0
Giants	7	7	3	7	24

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: November 19
• Game attendance: 56,481

Game information
First quarter NYG Livingston 34-yard interception return (Strong kick) Second quarter NYG Liebel 36-yard pass from Herber (Strong kick) Third quarter NYG Strong 8-yard FG Fourth quarter NYG Paschal 1-yard run (Strong kick)

Steve Owen won his 100th regular season game as Giants head coach. Tom Coughlin would be the next to accomplish the feat 61 years later.

Game 8: vs. Brooklyn Tigers

Week Eleven: Brooklyn Tigers at New York Giants

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	0	0	0	0
Giants	7	0	0	0	7

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: November 26
• Game attendance: 29,387

Game information
First quarter NYG Paschal 1-yard run (Strong kick)

Game 9: vs. Washington Redskins

Week Twelve: Washington Redskins at New York Giants

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	10	3	0	13
Giants	10	0	0	6	16

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: December 3
• Game attendance: 47,457

Game information
First quarter NYG Petrilas 24-yard interception return (Strong kick) NYG Strong 17-yard FG Second quarter WAS Wilbur Moore 9-yard pass from Sammy Baugh (Joe Aguirre kick) WAS Aguirre 43-yard FG Third quarter WAS Aguirre 7-yard FG Fourth quarter NYG Paschal 2-yard run (conversion failed)

Game 10: at Washington Redskins

Week Thirteen: New York Giants at Washington Redskins

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	14	0	7	10	31
Redskins	0	0	0	0	0

at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.

• Date: December 10
• Game attendance: 35,540

Game information
First quarter NYG Cuff 22-yard pass from Herber (Strong kick) NYG Liebel 11-yard pass from Herber (Strong kick) Third quarter NYG Liebel 44-yard pass from Herber (Strong kick) Fourth quarter NYG Cuff 32-yard FG NYG Chuck Avedisian 48-yard interception return (Strong kick)

Post-season

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
Championship	December 17	Green Bay Packers	L 7–14	Polo Grounds	46,015	Recap

1944 NFL Championship: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants

1944 NFL Championship: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	14	0	0	14
Giants	0	0	0	7	7

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: December 17
• Game attendance: 46,015

Game information

Second quarter GB Ted Fritsch 1-yard run (Hutson kick) GB Fritsch 28-yard pass from Comp (Hutson kick) Fourth quarter NYG Cuff 1-yard run (Strong kick) Top passers GB – Irv Comp – 3/10, 73 YDS, TD, 3 INT NYG – Arnie Herber – 8/22, 117 YDS, 4 INT Top rushers GB – Joe Laws – 13 CAR, 74 YDS NYG – Ward Cuff – 12 CAR, 55 YDS, TD Top receivers GB – Don Hutson – 2 REC, 47 YDS NYG – Frank Liebel – 3 REC, 71 YDS

See also

• List of New York Giants seasons

References

1. Cold Hard Football Facts, The 100 Stingiest Defenses In Football History Archived November 14, 2015, at the Wayback Machine April 1, 2013

1944 New York Giants season at Pro Football Reference