| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 22 – December 15, 1929 |
| Champions | Green Bay Packers |
The1929 NFL Season was the tenthregular season of theNational Football League. The league increased back to 12 teams with the addition of theStaten Island Stapletons,Orange Tornadoes andMinneapolis Red Jackets and the re-entry of theBuffalo Bisons. ThePottsville Maroons became the Boston Bulldogs, theNew York Yankees folded, and theDetroit Wolverines merged into theNew York Giants, with the Giants the surviving partner.
On November 3, theChicago Cardinals atProvidence Steam Roller match became the first NFL game to be played at night under floodlights. Meanwhile, theGreen Bay Packers were named the NFL champions for the first time in franchise history after finishing the season with the best record.
The league increased back to 12 teams in 1929.
| First season in NFL * | Rejoined the NFL ** | Last active season ^ | Only season in the NFL post-rejoin ѻ |
The NFL added theField Judge as the fourth game official.[1]
Neither theGreen Bay Packers nor theNew York Giants lost a game during the first nine weeks of the season. When they met at New York'sPolo Grounds on November 24, 1929, the Packers were 9–0–0 and Giants were 8–0–1.[2] "Whether New York or Green Bay, Wis., will hoist the 1929 National Professional Football league pennant to the top of the flagstaff will probably be determined here Sunday when the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers, both undefeated teams, meet," anAssociated Press report noted, adding "Although both the Packers and the Giants play other games before the end of the season, past performances indicated that tomorrow's game will be the crucial contest for the league's standings."[3]
Verne Lewellen's pass to Herdis McCrary, andBo Molenda's extra point, gave Green Bay a 7–0 lead in the first quarter. A pass fromBenny Friedman to Tony Plansky gave the Giants a chance to tie in the third quarter, but the point after was blocked, and New York trailed 7–6. Green Bay added two touchdowns in the last quarter to win the game, 20–6 to take a one-game lead.[4][5] Neither team lost their remaining games; the Packers finished at 12–0–1, the Giants at 13–1–1, giving coachCurly Lambeau and the Packers their first league title.[6]
The NFL introduced a scheduled championship game four years later, in1933: a playoff game for the championship was played the previous season in1932, but this counted in the final standings, and was also played indoors on a modified field.
| NFL standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| Green Bay Packers | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 198 | 22 | W2 | ||
| New York Giants | 13 | 1 | 1 | .929 | 312 | 86 | W4 | ||
| Frankford Yellow Jackets | 10 | 4 | 5 | .714 | 129 | 128 | W1 | ||
| Chicago Cardinals | 6 | 6 | 1 | .500 | 154 | 83 | W1 | ||
| Boston Bulldogs | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 98 | 73 | L1 | ||
| Staten Island Stapletons | 3 | 4 | 3 | .429 | 89 | 65 | L2 | ||
| Providence Steam Roller | 4 | 6 | 2 | .400 | 107 | 117 | L1 | ||
| Orange Tornadoes | 3 | 5 | 4 | .375 | 35 | 80 | L1 | ||
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 9 | 2 | .308 | 119 | 227 | L1 | ||
| Buffalo Bisons | 1 | 7 | 1 | .125 | 48 | 142 | W1 | ||
| Minneapolis Red Jackets | 1 | 9 | 0 | .100 | 48 | 185 | L7 | ||
| Dayton Triangles | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 7 | 136 | L6 | ||