1936 NFL season
American football season
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The 1936 NFL season was the 17th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time since the league was founded, there were no team transactions (neither a club folded nor did a new one join the NFL), and all league teams played the same number of games (12).
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 13 â December 13, 1936 |
| East Champions | Boston Redskins |
| West Champions | Green Bay Packers |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | Green Bay Packers |
West, 
East1936 was also the third season of the NFL's 12-year ban on black players.
The season ended when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Boston Redskins in the NFL Championship Game at the Polo Grounds in New York City, the first NFL title game to be held at a neutral venue.
This is also the only time in NFL history that a team declined home field advantage and elected to play at a neutral site: while the Eastern Division champion Redskins were the home team, franchise owner George Preston Marshall, the Packers, and the League mutually agreed to move the game from Fenway Park due to low ticket sales in Boston.
Draft
The 1936 NFL draft, the first ever draft held by the NFL, was held on February 8, 1936, at Philadelphia's Ritz-Carlton Hotel. With the first pick, the Philadelphia Eagles selected halfback Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago.
Major rule changes
- A draft shall be held to assign all new players entering the league for the first time to teams in an arbitrary and equitable manner.
- The penalty for an illegal forward pass that is thrown beyond the line of scrimmage is five yards from the spot of the foul.
Division races
In the Western Division, the Bears were 6â0 and the Packers were 5â1 midway through the 12-game season, with the Packers' only loss having been a 30â3 blowout against Chicago.
On November 1, Green Bay beat the Bears 21â10 to give both teams a 6â1 record. Both teams continued to win, and both were 9â1 as Thanksgiving approached. The Bears lost their last two games, while Green Bay won both, thus putting the Packers into the Championship Game.
In the Eastern Division, the Pittsburgh Pirates were at 6â5 and the Boston Redskins at 5â5 when they met on November 29 in Boston before a crowd of only 7,000. The Pirates lost 30â0, leaving 6â5 Boston and the 5â5â1 New York Giants as the remaining contenders. Boston and New York finished the season by playing each other on December 6, with the Redskins winning 14â0 before 18,000 spectators in the Polo Grounds.
The Eastern winner had the right to host the 1936 title game, but due to low attendance in Boston, George Preston Marshall, the Packers and the League mutually agreed to move the Championship Game to New York, where 29,545 turned out. Marshall would subsequently move the Redskins to Washington in 1937.
Final standings
| NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Boston Redskins | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6â2 | 149 | 110 | W3 | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 6â1 | 98 | 187 | L3 | |
| New York Giants | 5 | 6 | 1 | .455 | 3â3â1 | 115 | 163 | L1 | |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 3 | 8 | 1 | .273 | 2â5â1 | 92 | 161 | L1 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 1 | 11 | 0 | .083 | 1â7 | 51 | 206 | L11 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
| NFL Western Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 1 | 1 | .909 | 5â1â1 | 248 | 118 | T1 | |
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 3â3 | 222 | 94 | L2 | |
| Detroit Lions | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 3â3 | 235 | 102 | W1 | |
| Chicago Cardinals | 3 | 8 | 1 | .273 | 1â5â1 | 74 | 143 | T1 | |
NFL Championship Game
Green Bay 21, Boston 6, at Polo Grounds, New York City, December 13, 1936
Statistical leaders
The 1936 season marked the fifth year in which official statistics were tracked and retained by the NFL.[1]
| Name | Team | Yards | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing | 1. Arnie Herber | Green Bay Packers | 1,239 |
| 2. Ed Matesic | Pittsburgh Pirates | 850 | |
| 3. Pug Vaughan | Chicago Cardinals | 546 | |
| Rushing | 1. Tuffy Leemans | New York Giants | 830 |
| 2. Ace Gutowsky | Detroit Lions | 827 | |
| 3. Dutch Clark | Detroit Lions | 628 | |
| Receiving | 1. Don Hutson | Green Bay Packers | 536 |
| 2. Bill Smith | Chicago Cardinals | 414 | |
| 3. Bill Hewitt | Chicago Bears | 358 | |
| Touchdowns | 1. Don Hutson | Green Bay Packers | 9 |
| 2. Bill Hewitt | Chicago Bears | 7 | |
| 2. Dutch Clark | Detroit Lions | 7 | |
| 2. Cliff Battles | Boston Redskins | 7 |
Source: Gary Gillette, et al. (eds.), The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia. First Edition. New York: Sterling Publishing, 2006; p. 1044.
Coaching changes
- Boston Redskins: Eddie Casey was replaced by Ray Flaherty.
- Philadelphia Eagles: Lud Wray was replaced by Bert Bell.
Stadium changes
The Philadelphia Eagles moved from the Baker Bowl to Philadelphia Municipal Stadium