The History of Pro Football in 1934

In this episode, we talk about the history of Professional Football in 1934. The Football History Rewind Series Part 75, goes through the rules revisions, the big games, the star players, and the top teams of the season.

The 1934 NFL season was the 15th regular season of the National Football League. Here are some of the notable events from the 1934 NFL season:

They made a couple of more rules changes in just the second year that they were not using the NCAA college rules:

• It was determined that a forward hand-to-hand transfer of the ball, made behind the line of scrimmage that hits the ground before it is possessed by the second player is to be ruled as a fumble.
• Incomplete passes no longer result in a five-yard penalty.

There were a few venue changes from the year previous as well:

• The Cincinnati Reds played each of the four home games at different stadiums: Cincinnati's Crosley Field, Dayton's Triangle Park, Portsmouth's Universal Stadium, and Xavier University's Corcoran Stadium. Speaking of the Reds they made news in 1934 by losing their first eight games, and then getting suspended by the NFL for not paying League dues.
• Before the season, the franchise in Portsmouth finally succumbed to the lack of funds. On March 24, 1934 the Portsmouth franchise was sold and moved to Detroit where they have resided as the Lions ever since. the Portsmouth Spartans moved from Ohio to Detroit, Michigan, and were renamed the Detroit Lions. The relocated franchise moved from Portsmouth's Universal Stadium to University of Detroit Stadium
• The Green Bay Packers home games in Milwaukee moved from Borchert Field to Wisconsin State Fair Park
• The St. Louis Gunners played their home games at Sportsman's Park
• The Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy was established as the league's award for the NFL champion, and was awarded through 1967. The host team for the NFL Championship Game would now alternate between the two divisions, with the Eastern Division champion hosting in even-numbered years, and the Western champion hosting in odd-numbered years.

The stats leaders of the NFL in 1934 were:

• Green Bay's quarterback Arnie Herber leading all passers with 799 yards. 
• The leading rusher was the Chicago Bears Beattie Feathers, who had 1004 hard fought yards on the ground for the season.
• The top NFL receiver Harry Ebding of the Detroit Lions with 264 gained through the air.

Portsmouth Spartan Historical Society

Portsmouth Spartans, APFA, Chris Willis,

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The image above is courtesy of Wikimmedia Commons of the 1934 NFL Champion New York Giants roster posing for a team photo.