1946 NFL season
The 1946 NFL season was the 27th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Elmer Layden resigned as NFL Commissioner and Bert Bell, co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles, replaced him. Meanwhile, the All-America Football Conference was formed to rival the NFL, and the Rams became the first NFL team based on the West Coast after they relocated from Cleveland, Ohio, to Los Angeles, California. A regular season game was played on Tuesday, the last until the 2010 season, on October 1, between New York and Boston.
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 20 – December 8, 1946 |
| East Champions | New York Giants |
| West Champions | Chicago Bears |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | Chicago Bears |
The season ended when the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game.
Draft
The 1946 NFL Draft was held on January 14, 1946 at New York City's Commodore Hotel. With the first pick, the Boston Yanks selected quarterback Frank Dancewicz from the University of Notre Dame.
Major rule changes
- A forward pass that strikes the goal posts is automatically ruled incomplete. This is sometimes known as the "Baugh/Marshall Rule" after Washington Redskins quarterback Sammy Baugh and team owner George Preston Marshall. In the previous year's championship game, the Rams scored a safety when Baugh, throwing the ball from his own end zone, hit the goal posts (which were on the goal line for 41 seasons, from 1933 through 1973). The two points were the margin of victory as the Rams won 15–14, and Marshall was so outraged at the outcome that he was a major force in passing this rule change.
- The free substitution rule was repealed and substitutions were limited to no more than three players at a time.
- The receiving team is permitted to return punts and missed field goal attempts from behind their own goal line.
- The penalty for an invalid fair catch signal is 5 yards from the spot of the signal.
- A fair catch signal is valid when it is made while the ball is in flight.
Division races
In the Eastern Division, the Giants, Eagles, and Steelers all had 4 wins and 2 losses in Week Seven of an 11-week season, while in the Western Division, the Bears' 10–7 win over the Packers (Nov. 3) put them a game ahead of the Rams. In Week Eight, the Giants beat the Eagles 45–17, and the Steelers lost to Detroit 17–7, and the Bears beat the Rams 27–21 to widen their lead. Week Nine the Giants were tied by Boston, 28–28, putting them at 5–2–1, while the Steelers beat the Eagles 10–7 to be a half-game behind at 5–3–1. The teams met in New York in Week Ten, and the Giants' 7–0 win put them in front again.
The final week of the season had the 6–3–1 Giants hosting the 5–4–1 Redskins, and a Washington win would have given them both 6–4–1 records and forced a playoff. That became a moot point with New York's 31–0 win. A crowd of 60,337 turned out at the Polo Grounds, more than the 58,346 that went there for the championship a week later.
Final standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
Note: The NFL did not officially count tie games in the standings until 1972
| Eastern Division | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 7 | 3 | 1 | .700 | 236 | 162 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6 | 5 | 0 | .545 | 231 | 220 |
| Washington Redskins | 5 | 5 | 1 | .500 | 171 | 191 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 5 | 1 | .500 | 136 | 117 |
| Boston Yanks | 2 | 8 | 1 | .200 | 189 | 273 |
| Western Division | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 8 | 2 | 1 | .800 | 289 | 193 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 6 | 4 | 1 | .600 | 277 | 257 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 5 | 0 | .545 | 148 | 158 |
| Chicago Cardinals | 6 | 5 | 0 | .545 | 260 | 198 |
| Detroit Lions | 1 | 10 | 0 | .091 | 142 | 310 |
NFL Championship Game
Chicago Bears 24, New York Giants 14, at the Polo Grounds in New York City on December 15, 1946
League leaders
| Statistic | Name | Team | Yards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | Sid Luckman | Chicago Bears | 1826 |
| Rushing | Bill Dudley | Pittsburgh | 604 |
| Receiving | Jim Benton | Los Angeles | 981 |
Awards
| Joe F. Carr Trophy (Most Valuable Player) | Bill Dudley, Halfback, Pittsburgh |
Coaching changes
- Chicago Bears: George Halas returned after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In his place since the middle of the 1942 season, Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos served as co-coaches of the Bears.
- Chicago Cardinals: Phil Handler was replaced by Jimmy Conzelman.
- Pittsburgh Steelers: Jim Leonard was replaced by Jock Sutherland.
- Washington Redskins: Dudley DeGroot was replaced by Turk Edwards.
Stadium changes
The relocated Los Angeles Rams moved from Cleveland's League Park to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
References
- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1941–1950 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)