Football History Rewind Part 71

Our year-by-year look at the history of American football takes us to the 1932 Pro Football season. We dive into the top teams of the NFL that season and the very unique and new way that the Champion was determined.

For many reasons, the start of the 1932 season may have been a low point for the NFL. The Great Depression was in full swing affecting the revenue of member franchises due to dwindling ticket sales as many people could barely scratch enough coin together to eat, let alone attend a football game. The ecnomic trickle affect caused financial pain for the NFL with the great loss of income in conjunction with its franchises and patrons. The League dropped to its lowest level of participating teams ever when only eight franchises took the field under the National Football League banner that year. This low amount of teams occurred only one other time in the League’s history, in 1943 amid World War II.

The financial woes had meant the demise of major and recently competitive teams such as the Providence Steam Roller, Frankford Yellow Jackets, and Cleveland Indians. Softening some of this retraction was the addition of the Boston Braves, owned by George Preston Marshall.

Despite all the setbacks early on, the season was highly successful as three teams vied for the NFL title that season; the Green Bay Packers, Portsmouth Spartans, and the Chicago Bears.

Green Bay finished the season with a 10-3 record, a great campaign by all accounts but not when the Spartans and Bears had a higher winning percentage and virtually tied for the best record in the League for 1932. The Bears and the Spartans had met head-to-head twice int he regular season, with both contests ending in a tie.

After some alleged backroom meetings with the NFL hierarchy, the NFL brass decided that a final game to determine a Champ would be played in a unique Chicago at Wrigley Field on December 18, 1932. The title was supposed to be given to the team with the best record, as it had been for over a decade in the young NFL. The season though, ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans in a virtual tie for the top record in the League.

It is believed that George Halas challenged the Spartans to play a game to settle the tie; they wanted no part of any Co-Champion bologna. Thus we had the first NFL Championship! This first postseason game in NFL history had some massive twists and turns to make it quite a remarkable story, even besides the fact that a game was going to be played to determine an NFL Champion. The first odd occurrence was that Spartans star Earl "Dutch" Clark could not play in the game because he had to work. While that may sound crazy to us today, professional players of that era did not make enough to make a living all year. Most had to take off-season jobs to make ends meet, even the superstars like Dutch Clark, who worked as the Head Basketball Coach at  Colorado College his hoops team had a game on that December 18, and Dutch couldn't get off work to make the football game in Chicago. The second crazy thing that happened was that due to a freak late-fall blizzard in Chicago, the game had to be moved inside the Chicago Stadium because Wrigley was covered with deep snow and frozen with dangerous sub-zero temperatures. The playing field had to be modified to play inside, so the game was played on a field only 80 yards long and some 30 yards narrower than the regular width the teams played on all season. The last item surrounding the game happened on the contest's only touchdown. Bronko Nagurski threw a scoring jump pass to Red Grange but the Spartans argued that Nagurski did not meet the requirement of legal forward passes in those days of being 5 yards or more behind the line. The play stood, and the Bears won the NFL title by 9-0.

Chi Bears beat Spartans 19 Dec 1932, Mon The Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com

When all of the smoke cleared from the controversial ending to the controversial game we had a few things happen. The NFL had in essence its first Championship game. It was also the first time an NFL title game would be played in doors.

Here are the final standings

The interest in the NFL impromptu championship game that occurred in 1932 led to a title game being scheduled each year going forward and announced the birth of the NFL post season. The competitive nature of the historic 1932 season, along with some local laws changing provided interest from other cities gaining franchises in the League for the 1933 season. Things were about to change in the NFL. We will learn about that more in a couple of weeks in Football History Rewind Part 73 - the 1933 NFL season.

Here are some related links we have for teams players and more mentioned above. The Football History continues as we preserve the memories of these subjects as well.

A select few NFL players are selected to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Chris Willis book on the legend ‣ Bronko Nagurski

Bronko Nagurski's legendary football story is told by NFL Films' Chris Willis. Nagurski bio

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The Legend ‣ Bronko Nagurski

Bronko Nagurski's legendary football story and football journey. Nagurski bio

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Portsmouth Spartan Historical Society

Portsmouth Spartans, APFA, Chris Willis,

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Football History, Early Pro Football Teams « Portsmouth Spartans

Ohio Teams

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A select few NFL players are selected to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Father of the NFL | Identify Medals website ‣ George Halas

George Halas 1932

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Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site Bio ‣ George Halas

George Halas 1932

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A select few NFL players are selected to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

(1951) - Hall of Fame | National Football Foundation ‣ Dutch Clark

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WHO IS DUTCH CLARK? ‣ Dutch Clark

The legendary football player is examined with his place in NFL history

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Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site ‣ Dutch Clark

The Pro Football Hall of Fame's bio on legendary Quarterback Dutch Clark

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Special thanks to Newspapers.com, Pro Football Hall of Fame website, Pro-Football-Reference, and author Chris Willis for his books on Bronko Nagurski, Red Grange, and Joe Carr that each had special reference to this pivotal season in the NFL.

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