The 1942 NFL Championship Game was the tenth
title game of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
(NFL), played at
Griffith Stadium
Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW.
The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Boundar ...
in
Washington, D.C. on December 13, with a sellout capacity attendance of 36,006.
It matched the undefeated Western Division champion
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...
(11–0) and the Eastern Division champion
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
(10–1). The Bears
were co-coached by
Hunk Anderson and
Luke Johnsos (after
George Halas
George Stanley Halas Sr. (; February 2, 1895October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was an American professional football player, coach, and team owner. He was the founder and owner of the National Football League's Chi ...
had entered the
U.S. Navy)
and led on the field by quarterback
Sid Luckman. The Redskins were led by head coach
Ray Flaherty and quarterback
Sammy Baugh
Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...
.
Chicago had won easily in the summer exhibition game with Washington, but the teams had not met during the
1942 regular season. The Bears were aiming for their
third consecutive league title and were favored by three touchdowns,
but were upset 14–6 by the home underdog Redskins.
[
This was the second and final NFL title game played at Griffith Stadium and in the city of Washington. The two teams met on the same site two years earlier with a very different result, as the visiting Bears won in a 73–0 rout.
]
Scoring summary
''Sunday, December 13, 1942''
Kickoff: 2 p.m. EWT (EDT)
* First quarter
** ''no scoring''
* Second quarter
** CHI – Lee Artoe
Lee Robert Reno Artoe (March 2, 1917April 1, 2005) was a professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL) and All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for 7 seasons. A tackle, Artoe played for the NFL's Chicago Bears (19 ...
, 52-yard fumble return (kick failed), 6–0 CHI
** WAS – Wilbur Moore
Wilbur John Moore (April 22, 1916 – August 9, 1965) was an American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Minnesota and was drafted in t ...
, 39-yard pass from Baugh (Bob Masterson
Robert Patrick Masterson (July 23, 1915 – June 29, 1994) was an American football End in the National Football League (NFL). He played six seasons for the Washington Redskins (1938–1943). He played college football at the University of Mi ...
kick), 7–6 WAS
* Third quarter
** WAS – Andy Farkas
Andrew Geza Farkas (May 2, 1916 – April 10, 2001) was an American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and the Detroit Lions.
Early life
Farkas was born in Clay Center, Ohio of Hungarian origins ...
, 1-yard run (Masterson kick), 14–6 WAS
* Fourth quarter
** ''no scoring''
Source:
Officials
*Referee: Ronald Gibbs
*Umpire: Carl Brubaker
*Head Linesman: Charlie Berry
Charles Francis Berry (October 18, 1902 – September 6, 1972) was an American athlete and sports official who enjoyed careers as a catcher and umpire in Major League Baseball and as an end and official in the National Football League. His ...
*Field Judge: Chuck Sweeney[
The NFL had only four game officials in ; the back judge was added in , the line judge in , and the side judge in .
]
Players' shares
The gate receipts from the sellout were over $113,000, a record, and each Redskin player received about $976 while each Bear saw about $639.[
]
Next year
At the time, an owners' winter meeting and the annual draft of college players was held around the title game. A year into World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
for the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and with much of the talent in or entering the military, the meeting focused on whether or not to operate the league in 1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 ...
; the decision was to continue, with the 1943 NFL draft postponed until April.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nfl Championship Game, 1942
Champ
1942 NFL Championship Game
Chicago Bears postseason
Washington Redskins postseason
NFL Championship Game
Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...
December 1942 sports events