1936 NFL Championship Game
The 1936 NFL Championship Game was the fourth championship game played in the National Football League (NFL). It took place on December 13 at Polo Grounds in New York City, making it the first NFL title game held on a neutral field. The Eastern Division champion Boston Redskins (7–5) were the home team, but their owner George Preston Marshall, the Packers and the league mutually agreed to move the game from Fenway Park to the Polo Grounds due to low ticket sales in Boston. Several days after the game, Marshall announced he would move the team to his hometown of Washington, D.C. for the following season. This was the first championship game for both the Redskins and the Western Division champion Green Bay Packers (10–1–1), who were favored. The Packers won 21–6 for their fourth NFL title, all under longtime head coach Curly Lambeau, having previously won league championships awarded by league standing in 1929, 1930, and 1931. 61 years later, the Packers would then defeat the Boston team that replaced the Redskins, the New England Patriots, in Super Bowl XXXI.
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| Date | December 13, 1936 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Polo Grounds Manhattan, New York | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Wilmer G. Crowell | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 29,545 | ||||||||||||||||||
Grounds
The 1936 NFL Championship Game was the fourth championship game played in the National Football League (NFL). It took place on December 13 at Polo Grounds in New York City, making it the first NFL title game held on a neutral field.[1][2][3][4]
The Eastern Division champion Boston Redskins (7–5) were the home team, but their owner George Preston Marshall, the Packers and the league mutually agreed to move the game from Fenway Park to the Polo Grounds due to low ticket sales in Boston.[5][6][7][8]
Several days after the game, Marshall announced he would move the team to his hometown of Washington, D.C. for the following season.[8][9]
This was the first championship game for both the Redskins and the Western Division champion Green Bay Packers (10–1–1), who were favored.[10] The Packers won 21–6 for their fourth NFL title, all under longtime head coach Curly Lambeau, having previously won league championships awarded by league standing in 1929, 1930, and 1931.[11]
61 years later, the Packers would then defeat the Boston team that replaced the Redskins, the New England Patriots, in Super Bowl XXXI.
Scoring summary
[edit]Sunday, December 13, 1936
Kickoff: 2 p.m. EST[10]
- First quarter
- GB – Don Hutson 48-yard pass from Arnie Herber (Ernie Smith kick), 7–0 GB
- Second quarter
- BOS – Pug Rentner 2-yard run (kick failed), 7–6 GB
- Third quarter
- GB – Milt Gantenbein 8-yard pass from Herber (Smith kick), 14–6 GB
- Fourth quarter
- GB – Bob Monnett 2-yard run (Tiny Engebretsen kick), 21–6 GB
Starters
[edit]Players played both ways, offensively and defensively, in 1936. Thus, there were only these eleven starters for each squad.[12]
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Green Bay Packers
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Boston Redskins
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- † - Note: The quarterback in the single-wing offense was sometimes called the "blocking back", the ball was generally shotgun snapped to a halfback or the fullback.
- ‡ - Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
Officials
[edit]The NFL had only four game officials in 1936; the back judge was added in 1947, the line judge in 1965, and the side judge in 1978. The following were the four officials who called the 1936 championship game.[12]
- Referee: Jordie Jordan
- Umpire: Bobby Cahn
- Head linesman: Maurice J. Meyer
- Field judge: William Halloran
References
[edit]- ^ Smith, Wilfrid (December 14, 1936). "Green Bay wins title; whips Boston, 21-6". Chicago Tribune. p. 21.
- ^ "Packers beat Boston 21-6, for pro crown". Milwaukee Sentinel. December 14, 1936. p. 11.
- ^ Keuchle, Oliver E. (December 14, 1936). "Packers win pro championship; passes beat Boston, 21 to 6". Milwaukee Journal. p. 4, part 2.
- ^ "Arnold Herber's arm hurls Green Bay Packers into pro championship". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 14, 1936. p. 9.
- ^ "Play-off game is definitely set at Polo Grounds". Milwaukee Journal. December 7, 1936. p. 6, part 2.
- ^ "Bays, Boston play for crown in N.Y. Sunday". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. December 8, 1936. p. 14.
- ^ Smith, Wilfrid (December 13, 1936). "Packers and Redskins meet today for championship". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ a b McGrath, John (January 10, 2006). "Redskins history lesson". Lakeland Ledger. Florida. McClatchy News Service. p. C1.
- ^ "Capital gets Boston team". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. December 17, 1936. p. 8, part 2.
- ^ a b Keuchle, Oliver E. (December 13, 1936). "30,000 to see Packers, Boston". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
- ^ Howard Roberts (1953). "Redskins On The Warpath". The Story of Pro Football. Rand McNally & Company. pp. 208–209. LCN 53-9336.
- ^ a b Roger Treat, The Official National Football League Football Encyclopedia. New York: A.S. Barnes & Co., 1952; p. 235.
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