By Darin The 1937 NFL season is a landmark in football history. It represents the inaugural championship for the Washington franchise, the establishment of one of the league’s greatest rivalries, and, most importantly, the arrival of a revolutionary new style of play led by a rookie legend known as “Slingin’ Sammy.”
An Instant Champion in the Capital
The Washington Redskins arrived in D.C. under unique circumstances. Owner George Preston Marshall, a showman and highly successful businessman, had grown tired of the poor attendance in Boston—a city devoted primarily to college sports. In a dramatic gesture, Marshall refused to host the 1936 Championship game in Boston, forcing it to be played in New York’s Polo Grounds instead.
For 1937, he moved the team to the nation’s capital, where his Palace Laundry business was based. By winning the NFL Championship in their first season in Washington, D.C., the Redskins joined the 1921 Chicago Staleys (now the Bears) as the only franchises to accomplish such a feat.
Marshall was also a forward-thinking innovator who was key to modernizing the game in the 1930s, advocating for:
- Goal Post Placement: Moving the goalposts to the goal line to increase scoring.
- Divisional Setup: Instrumental in creating the divisional structure (East and West) that led to the championship game.
- The Forward Pass: Pushing for the rule change that allowed the passer to throw the ball from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage, eliminating the previous rule requiring the passer to be five yards back. This change would prove critical in 1937.
The Rookie Who Changed Everything: Slingin’ Sammy Baugh
While Marshall laid the structural foundation, the 1937 on-field success was driven by a historic rookie: quarterback Sammy Baugh, the team’s number six draft pick out of TCU.
Before Baugh, the NFL was a run-based league. In his first professional season, Baugh put up what were considered “unfathomable numbers” at the time, throwing for approximately 1,200 yards and posting a completion rate in the high 40s to low 50s.
Baugh was the ultimate triple-threat man in the single-platoon era:
- Passer: Led the league’s best offense (alongside Hall of Fame running back Cliff Battles and end Wayne Milner).
- Punter: Set the all-time single-season punting average record (an astounding 51 yards per punt) and frequently employed the “quick kick” on third down to catch defenses off guard.
- Defender: Retired as the NFL’s all-time leader in interceptions, proving to be an equally tremendous defensive player.
The Icy Showdown in Wrigley Field
The Redskins, having dominated the Eastern Division (including a 49-14 destruction of the Giants), advanced to face their burgeoning rivals: the Chicago Bears, champions of the Western Division. The Bears, coached by Hall of Famer George Halas, boasted the league’s best defense and a star-studded roster that included future Hall of Famers like Bronco Nagursky, George Musso, and Joe Stydahar.
The championship game, played at Wrigley Field, was defined by the brutal weather conditions. A rainstorm the night before left the field completely covered in ice. Baugh later recalled, “It was the worst game I ever played in terms of the conditions… I never saw so much blood after a ball game in my life.” To gain traction, both teams reportedly wore sneakers, similar to the infamous 1934 “Sneakers Game.”
Game Highlights: The Offense vs. The Defense
The game was a brutal, back-and-forth affair that showcased the offense-vs.-defense battle:
- Bears Take the Lead: Chicago’s ground game gave them an early 14-7 advantage.
- The Screen Pass Innovation: Coach Ray Flaherty (a hero from the 1934 Sneakers Game) called for the Redskins to unveil an extended version of the screen pass. Baugh executed, hitting Wayne Milner for a 55-yard touchdown. On the play, Milner was viciously horse-collared but slid into the end zone, scoring because in that era, a player was only considered down when his momentum completely stopped.
- The Collision: With the score tight, the Redskins converted a critical fourth-and-inches at midfield when fullback Don Irwin collided with the immovable Bronco Nagursky, making the first down by an inch and extending the drive.
- The Final Score: Baugh proved too much for the Bears defense. He completed three touchdown passes—including a 78-yard bomb to Milner and the game-winning 35-yard strike to Ed Justice—to secure the 28-21 victory.
The intense contest almost spilled over, with players nearly coming to blows and even owners Marshall and Halas exchanging heated words on the sideline, cementing a rivalry that would define the NFL for the next decade. The 1937 Championship marked the beginning of D.C.’s football legacy and proved that the new era of passing football had officially arrived.
