 1944 edition of the NFL's press manual | |
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 17 to December 17, 1944 |
| East Champions | New York Giants |
| West Champions | Green Bay Packers |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | Green Bay Packers |
Card-PittThe1944 NFL season was the 25thregular season of theNational Football League (NFL). Each of the ten teams in the league played a ten game regular season schedule — a total of 50 contests. This culminated with aChampionship Playoff played at thePolo Grounds in New York City on December 17, 1944 — a game won by theGreen Bay Packers over theNew York Giants, 14–7.
In 1944 theBoston Yanks joined the NFL as anexpansion team, while the flounderingBrooklyn Dodgers rebranded as the Brooklyn Tigers for one final season before merging with the Boston newcomers in 1945. Both theCleveland Rams and thePhiladelphia Eagles resumed operations in 1944, while thePittsburgh Steelers chose to combine operations again, this time with theChicago Cardinals. This combined team, known asCard-Pitt, played three home games in Pittsburgh and two in Chicago.[1]
The1944 NFL draft was held on April 19, 1944 atPhiladelphia'sWarwick Hotel. With the first pick, theBoston Yanks selected quarterbackAngelo Bertelli from theUniversity of Notre Dame.
The season is notable in that it featured two winless teams, the first and only such case in NFL history after 1926 — back in the days of "revolving door" league membership — when theHammond Pros and theLouisville Colonels both went 0–4.[2] In 1944 both the Brooklyn Tigers (née Dodgers) and the combined Card-Pitt franchise finished 0–10.
Since 1944, only five teams have had winless seasons in the NFL: the1960Dallas Cowboys (0–11–1), the1976Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0–14), the1982Baltimore Colts (0–8–1) the2008 Detroit Lions (0–16), and the2017Cleveland Browns (0–16). In the case of the Colts, the season was shorteneddue to a league-wide players strike, while the Cowboys and Buccaneers were bothexpansion teams.
Each team played ten games over thirteen weeks. The Brooklyn Tigers lost seven of their games by a touchdown or less. On October 29, they had 14–7 lead over Boston at halftime, before losing 14-17 inWeek Seven. The same week, Card-Pitt's 20-42 loss at Washington eliminated it from playoff contention. Card-Pitt had actually taken a 28–23 lead over the Rams in its first game, played September 24 at Pittsburgh, before falling 30–28; its only other lead was a 7–0 in a game at Chicago against the Packers, which it eventually lost 20-35.
The Western Division race was no contest, as the Packers won their first six games and stayed ahead of all challengers. In the Eastern Division, Washington (5–0–1) and Philadelphia (4–0–2) were both unbeaten after nine weeks. The teams met in Washington inWeek Ten (November 26), and the Eagles won 37–7, putting them at 5–0–2, with the Redskins and Giants a half game back at 5–1–1. The Eagles lost, while the Giants and Redskins won, inWeek Eleven, putting New York and Washington in the lead at 6–1–1. InWeek Twelve, a crowd of 47,457 turned out at New York's Polo Grounds to watch the Giants and Redskins. Washington had a 13–10 lead before falling 16–13. InWeek Thirteen, the Eagles beat the Rams 26–13, giving them a 7–1–2 finish, then waited to see how the 7–1–1 Giants would fare in their rematch at Washington. The Giants beat the Skins 31–0, capturing the division and the right to host the championship.
| NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| NFL Western Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
Green Bay Packers 14, New York Giants 7, atPolo Grounds, New York City, December 17, 1944
| Statistic | Name | Team | Yards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Irv Comp | Green Bay | 1159 |
| Rushing | Bill Paschal | New York | 737 |
| Receiving | Don Hutson | Green Bay | 866 |
| Joe F. Carr Trophy (Most Valuable Player) | Frank Sinkwich,Halfback, Detroit |
