1937 NFL season

1937 National Football League season

Regular season

Duration

September 5, 1937 – December 12, 1937

East Champions

Washington Redskins

West Champions

Chicago Bears

Championship Game

Champions

Washington Redskins

National Football League seasons

< 1936

1938 >

The 1937 NFL season was the 18th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Rams joined the league as an expansion team. Meanwhile, the Redskins relocated from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C.

The season ended when the Redskins defeated the Chicago Bears in the NFL Championship Game.

Major rule changes

All players are required to wear numerals on their jerseys whose color must be in sharp contrast with the jersey color. The numbers on the front must be at least 6 inches (150 mm) while the ones on the back must be at least 8 inches (200 mm).
If a kickoff goes out of bounds, the ball is put in play either on the opponent's 35-yard line or 10 yards from the spot where it crossed the sideline.
The penalty for an illegal forward pass that is thrown beyond the line of scrimmage is a loss of down and five yards from the spot of the foul.

Division races

Midway through the NFL's 11-game season, the Bears were unbeaten (5–0) in the Western Division, while the Giants were leaders in the Eastern (4–1), and they played to a 3–3 tie. The Giants and Bears continued to stay in the lead in their divisions, and the Bears clinched a spot in the title game with its 13–0 win over Detroit. On December 5, the final game of the season had Washington (7–3 and .700) traveling to New York (6–2–2 and .750). A win or a tie would have given the Giants the Eastern title; the Redskins triumphed, 49–14, and got the division crown and the trip to face Chicago in the 1937 championship game.

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against Note: The NFL did not officially count tie games in the standings until 1972

Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Eastern Division
Washington Redskins	8	3	0	.727	195	120
New York Giants	6	3	2	.667	128	109
Pittsburgh Pirates	4	7	0	.364	122	145
Brooklyn Dodgers	3	7	1	.300	82	174
Philadelphia Eagles	2	8	1	.200	86	177

Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Western Division
Chicago Bears	9	1	1	.900	201	100
Green Bay Packers	7	4	0	.636	220	122
Detroit Lions	7	4	0	.636	180	105
Chicago Cardinals	5	5	1	.500	135	165
Cleveland Rams	1	10	0	.091	75	207

NFL Championship Game

For more details on this topic, see 1937 NFL Championship Game.

Washington 28, Chi. Bears 21, at Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois, December 12, 1937

League leaders

Statistic	Name	Team	Yards
Passing	Sammy Baugh	Washington	1127
Rushing	Cliff Battles	Washington	874
Receiving	Gaynell Tinsley	Chicago Cardinals	675

References

NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
NFL History 1931–1940 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
1937 season in details
Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)