| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 22 – December 18, 1949 |
| East Champions | Philadelphia Eagles |
| West Champions | Los Angeles Rams |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | Philadelphia Eagles |
The1949 NFL season was the 30thregular season of theNational Football League. Prior to the season,Boston Yanks ownerTed Collins asked the league to fold his team due to financial woes and give him a new one inNew York City. This new team would be called theNew York Bulldogs. The franchise, which has never missed a season in some form, carried on the legacy of the finalOhio League memberDayton Triangles, and the players and assets of the Boston Yanks moved to New York but did not fold. As a result of the move, professional football would not return to Boston until theBoston Patriots of the 4thAmerican Football League began play in1960.
As the regular season came to a close, a merger agreement between the NFL and theAll-America Football Conference was announced on December 9. Three AAFC teams joined the NFL in1950, theCleveland Browns,San Francisco 49ers, and the originalBaltimore Colts.[1][2]
The season ended on December 18 with theNFL Championship Game. In muddy conditions, the visitingPhiladelphia Eagles defeated theLos Angeles Rams 14–0, as heavy rain in southern California kept the attendance under 23,000 at theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[3] Both teams had potent offenses but were severely limited by the poor field conditions. The management of the Eagles and Rams had favored a postponement for a week but were overruled by commissionerBert Bell.[4]
The1949 NFL draft was held on December 21, 1948, atPhiladelphia'sBellevue-Stratford Hotel. With the first pick, thePhiladelphia Eagles selected centerChuck Bednarik from theUniversity of Pennsylvania.
In the Eastern Division, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh both had records of 4–1–0 when they met inWeek Six. The Eagles won 38–7 and kept the lead for the remainder of the season. In the Western Division, the Rams got off to a 6–0–0 start while the Bears were 3–3–0 at midseason. Though the Bears won all of their remaining games, they never caught up to the Rams, who finished at 8–2–2.
Had the current (post-1972) system of counting ties as half a win and half a loss been in place in 1949, the Rams would have required a playoff with the Bears for the Western Division.
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Philadelphia 14, Los Angeles 0 atLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum,Los Angeles, December 18, 1949.[3][4]
| Statistic | Name | Team | Yards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Johnny Lujack | Chicago Bears | 2658 |
| Rushing | Steve Van Buren | Philadelphia | 1146 |
| Receiving | Bob Mann | Detroit | 1014 |
TheNew York Bulldogs began play at thePolo Grounds, sharing it with theGiants.
