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1941 NFL season

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1941 NFL season
Inaugural NFL press manual
Regular season
DurationSeptember 7 to
December 7, 1941
East ChampionsNew York Giants
West ChampionsChicago Bears (playoff)
Championship Game
ChampionsChicago Bears
1941 NFL season is located in USA Midwest and Northeast
Giants
Giants
Eagles
Eagles
Dodgers
Dodgers
Steelers
Steelers
Redskins
Redskins
Bears
Bears
Cardinals
Cardinals
Packers
Packers
Rams
Rams
Lions
Lions
NFL teams: West, East

The 1941 NFL season was the 22nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The league's ten teams each played a regular season schedule of 11 games, for a total of 55 regular season contests. The total attendance for these games was 1,118,616 — an average of 20,338 fans per event. This represented an increase of 9% over the previous season's attendance.[1]

The defending league champion Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers finished the regular season tied in the Western Division, forcing the first divisional playoff game in league history. The Bears won this contest 33–14 at Wrigley Field on December 14, before swamping the New York Giants 37–9 in the 1941 NFL Championship Game at Wrigley Field one week later.

The Bears, who averaged 36 points per game over the course of the 1941 season, became the first team since the institution of the East–West play-off in 1933 to repeat as champion.[1]

Preseason

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Before the season, Elmer Layden was named the first Commissioner of the NFL, while Carl Storck resigned as league president. Layden also took on the duties of president and signed a five-year contract at $20,000 annually.[2]

Draft

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The 1941 NFL draft was held on December 10, 1940, at Washington, D.C.'s Willard Hotel. With the first pick, the Chicago Bears selected halfback Tom Harmon from The University of Michigan.

Major changes for 1941

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Rules changes

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The league bylaws were changed to provide for playoffs in cases where division races are tied after the regular season, and rules for sudden-death overtimes in case a playoff game was tied after four quarters.

  • The penalty for illegal shift is 5 yards.
  • The penalty for illegal kick or bat is 15 yards.
  • Whenever a player is ejected from the game, his team is penalized 15 yards.
  • A personal foul committed by the opponent of the scoring team is enforced on the ensuing kickoff.[3]

In addition to these rule changes, this season marked the first time that the league commissioner became involved in enforcement of player conduct standards. Commissioner Elmer Layden in August assessed $25 fines on Green Bay Packers quarterback Larry Craig and New York Giants halfback Hank Soar for fighting.[4]

Wilson became the official game ball of the NFL.

Coaching changes

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Stadium changes

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Division races

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In the Eastern Division, the Redskins held a half-game after nine weeks of play: at 5–1–0, their only loss had been 17–10 to the 5–2-0 Giants, who had lost two games in a row. Washington, however, lost its next three games, while the Giants rebounded to win their next two games. On November 23, the 5–3 Redskins met the 7–2 Giants at the Polo Grounds, and the Giants' 20–13 win clinched the Division championship.

The Western Division race was one between the Bears and Packers. By November 2, when the teams met at Wrigley Field, the Bears were 5–0 and the Packers 6–1, in part because of the Bears' earlier 25–17 win at Green Bay. Green Bay's 16–14 win put them in the lead, and they finished the regular season at 10–1 on November 30 with a 22–17 comeback win at Washington. On the afternoon of December 7, 1941, on the day Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, the Bears were losing to the Cardinals, 0–14, and trailed 24–20 in the fourth quarter before rallying for a 34–24 win. With both the Bears & Packers finishing at 10–1, a playoff was set to determine who would go to, and host, the Championship Game. They met at Wrigley Field on December 14, with Chicago winning 33–14.

Final standings

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NFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
New York Giants 8 3 0 .727 6–2 238 114 L1
Brooklyn Dodgers 7 4 0 .636 6–2 158 127 W2
Washington Redskins 6 5 0 .545 5–3 176 174 W1
Philadelphia Eagles 2 8 1 .200 1–6–1 119 218 L3
Pittsburgh Steelers 1 9 1 .100 1–6–1 103 276 L2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Western Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Chicago Bears 10 1 0 .909 7–1 396 147 W5
Green Bay Packers 10 1 0 .909 7–1 258 120 W8
Detroit Lions 4 6 1 .400 3–4–1 121 195 W1
Chicago Cardinals 3 7 1 .300 1–6–1 127 197 L2
Cleveland Rams 2 9 0 .182 1–7 116 244 L9
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Playoffs

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Western Division Playoff Game

  • CHI. BEARS 33, Green Bay 14

NFL Championship Game

  • CHI. BEARS 37, N.Y. Giants 9

Home team in capitals

Team statistics

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The following statistics cover the 11 regular season games only, exclusive of playoff games.[5] The Chicago Bears, unleashing a juggernaut around their novel T-formation with motion offense, smashed numerous league records for the year, including total yards gained (4,265), passing yards (2,002), single-game total yards (613) and passing yards (376), first downs (181), touchdowns (56), rushing touchdowns (37) — as well as continuing to be the most flagged team in football, setting a new record in penalty yards (officially 676.5).[6]

Rank Team Total yards (Rushing)[7] (Passing) Penalized Yards allowed Takeaways Turnovers
1 Chicago Bears 4,265 2,263 2,002 677 2,539 48 30
2 Green Bay Packers 3,294 1,563 1,731 509 2,564 48 24
3 Brooklyn Dodgers 2,886 1,755 1,131 371 2,379 28 28
4 Chicago Cardinals 2,756 1,097 1,659 446 2,639 31 32
5 Washington Redskins 2,675 1,112 1,563 402 2,448 35 41
6 New York Giants 2,378 1,290 1,088 323 2,378 42 26
7 Philadelphia Eagles 2,313 950 1,363 407 2,887 31 40
8 Cleveland Rams 2,286 968 1,352 265 2,978 26 43
9 Pittsburgh Steelers 1,871 1,217 654 363 2,724 36 49
10 Detroit Lions 1,843 989 854 455 3,021 30 31
Source: Strickler (ed.), 1942 NFL Record & Roster Manual, pp. 94-95. "Takeaways" = Interceptions + Fumble recoveries

Individual leaders

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Rushing

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Brooklyn fullback Pug Manders topped NFL ground-gainers in 1941.

Although it was the brother of a Chicago Bear — Pug Manders of the Brooklyn Dodgers — that led the league in rushing, three of the top ten ball-carriers in 1941 hailed from George S. Halas' team. No runner in the league cracked the 500 yard mark for the year.

Rank Name Team Yards rushing Attempts Long gain Yards per carry
1 Clarence "Pug" Manders Brooklyn Dodgers 486 111 46 4.4
2 George McAfee Chicago Bears 474 65 70 7.3
3 Marshall "Biggie" Goldberg Chicago Cardinals 427 117 25 3.6
4 Norm Standlee Chicago Bears 414 81 46 5.1
5 Clarke Hinkle Green Bay Packers 393 129 20 3.0
6 Dick Riffle Pittsburgh Steelers 388 109 54 3.6
7 Frank Filchock Washington Redskins 383 115 51 3.3
8 Bill Osmanski Chicago Bears 361 76 23 4.8
9 Merl Condit Brooklyn Dodgers 357 91 41 3.9
10 Tuffy Leemans New York Giants 332 100 26 3.3
Source: Strickler (ed.), 1942 NFL Record & Roster Manual, pp. 102-103.

Receiving

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Future Hall-of-Famer Don Hutson led the league in receiving for the fourth time in 1941.

Packer end Don Hutson returned to his place of preeminence among NFL receivers, recording more than twice the yardage of the second most successful receiver in the league. He set a new NFL record for touchdowns (10) and tied the league mark for total receptions, with 58.[8]

Rank Name Team Receiving yards Receptions Long gain Touchdowns
1 Don Hutson Green Bay Packers 738 58 45 10
2 Perry Schwartz Brooklyn Dodgers 362 25 36 2
3 Dick Humbert Philadelphia Eagles 332 29 33 3
4 Ward Cuff New York Giants 317 19 41 2
5 Ken Kavanaugh Chicago Bears 314 11 48 6
6 Marshall "Biggie" Goldberg Chicago Cardinals 313 16 76 1
7 Lou Brock Green Bay Packers 307 22 36 2
8 Johnny Hall Chicago Cardinals 302 16 80 2
9 Howard "Red" Hickey Cleveland Rams 294 21 39 4
10 Dick Plasman Chicago Bears 283 14 42 0
Source: Strickler (ed.), 1942 NFL Record & Roster Manual, pp. 106-107.

Passing

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Green Bay tailback Cecil Isbell set new NFL marks for passing yards (1,479) and passing touchdowns (15) in 1941.

In this era still dominated by the single-wing formation, it was many times the left halfback ("tailback") that handled the bulk of passing duties, with the quarterback ("blocking back") primarily serving as an obstruction or a receiver. "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh was a single-wing halfback during the 1941 season and it was Green Bay halfback Cecil Isbell who lead the league in passing. Isbell, in fact, set new NFL single-seasonn records for both passing yards (1,479) and touchdown passes (15).[9]

Rank Name Team Passing Yards Longest Complete - Attempt Percentage TD : INT
1 Cecil Isbell Green Bay Packers 1,479 56 117-for-206 56.8% 15 : 11
2 Sammy Baugh Washington Redskins 1,236 55 106-for-193 54.9% 10 : 19
3 Sid Luckman Chicago Bears 1,181 65 68-for-119 57.1% 9 : 6
4 Tommy Thompson Philadelphia Eagles 974 50 86-for-162 53.1% 8 : 14
5 Parker Hall Cleveland Rams 863 39 84-for-190 44.2% 7 : 19
6 Ray Mallouf Chicago Cardinals 725 80 48-for-96 50.0% 2 : 4
7 Johnny Clement Chicago Cardinals 690 76 48-for-100 48.0% 3 : 7
8 Clyde "Ace" Parker Brooklyn Dodgers 642 47 51-for-102 50.0% 2 : 8
9 Tuffy Leemans New York Giants 475 44 31-for-66 46.9% 4 : 5
10A Bob Snyder Chicago Bears 353 59 13-for-28 46.4% 3 : 2
10B Young Bussey Chicago Bears 353 48 14-for-30 32.5% 5 : 3
Sources: Strickler (ed.), 1942 NFL Record & Roster Manual, pp. 104-105.

Awards

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Joe F. Carr Trophy

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League MVP Don Hutson with the 1941 Joe F. Carr Memorial Trophy.

The Joe F. Carr Trophy was presented annually by the National League as its Most Valuable Player award.

All-National League Team

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Six members of the Chicago Bears and five members of the Green Bay Packers were named to the All-National League Team for 1941. There were dozens of other players included as "honorable mentions".[10]

First Team ————————————————— Second Team
Name Team Position Name Team
Don Hutson Green Bay Packers LE Ray Riddick Green Bay Packers
Bruiser Kinard Brooklyn Dodgers LT John Mellus New York Giants
Danny Fortmann Chicago Bears LG Riley Matheson Cleveland Rams
Bulldog Turner Chicago Bears C George Svendsen Green Bay Packers
Joe Kuharich Chicago Cardinals RG Monk Edwards New York Giants
Willie Wilkin Washington Redskins RT Ed Kolman Chicago Bears
Perry Schwartz Brooklyn Dodgers RE Dick Plasman Chicago Bears
Sid Luckman Chicago Bears QB Tuffy Leemans New York Giants
Cecil Isbell Green Bay Packers LHB Marshall Goldberg Chicago Cardinals
George McAfee Chicago Bears RHB Whizzer White Detroit Lions
Clarke Hinkle Green Bay Packers FB Pug Manders Brooklyn Dodgers

References

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  1. ^ a b Kirksey, George (December 26, 1941). "Chicago Bears dominate pro grid picture". Telegraph Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. United Press. p. 10.
  2. ^ Strickler, George (April 6, 1941). "Layden installed as pro football commissioner". Chicago Sunday Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
  3. ^ "11 rule changes in pro football are approved". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 7, 1941. p. 26.
  4. ^ "Layden Fines Two Pros for Fighting". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. August 26, 1941. p. 18. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
  5. ^ Strickler (ed.), 1942 Record and Roster Manual, p. 94.
  6. ^ "Records Broken in 1941," in Strickler (ed.), Record and Roster Manual, 1942, p. 97.
  7. ^ Official NFL stats included yardage agained "by rushing" and "on laterals", which are combined here.
  8. ^ Strickler (ed.), 1942 NFL Record & Roster Manual, p. 106.
  9. ^ Strickler (ed.), 1942 NFL Record & Roster Manual, p. 104.
  10. ^ Strickler (ed.), 1942 NFL Record & Roster Manual, p. 114.

Further reading

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  • Tom Bennett, et al. (eds.), The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football. Revised and expanded edition. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.
  • Bob Carroll, et al. (eds.), Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins, 1999.
  • NFL Communications Department and Santo Labombarda (eds.), Official National Football League 2024 Record and Fact Book. New York: National Football League, 2024.
  • Joseph S. Page, Pro Football Championships Before the Super Bowl: A Year-by-Year History, 1926–1965. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2011.