The 1935 NFL season was the 16th

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. The season ended with the Detroit Lions' 26–7 victory over the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the

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 ...

Overview

Were it not for the cancellation of a Redskins–Eagles game on November 17 due to heavy rain and snow, all of the teams would have played 12 games, which would have made 1935 the first season in which all NFL teams played the same number of games. The standardization of the league's schedule was formalized the following year and has continued ever since, with the number of games being slowly increased to 14 by

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

, 16 by , and 17 by . The next season to have any teams play a different amount of regular season games was in , when a Bills–Bengals game on January 2 was declared a no contest due to the in-game collapse of Damar Hamlin. This marked the last season until

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that every team in one division finished with a winning record, in this case the NFL West.

Teams

With the loss of the Cincinnati franchise and its St. Louis successor at the end of the 1934 NFL season, the league stood with a total of just 9 teams, split into divisions of unequal sizes.

Major rule changes

*The inbounds lines or hashmarks, introduced two years earlier in , were moved closer to the center of the field, from 10 yards to 15 yards from the sidelines, or 70 feet apart. This width lasted for ten seasons, through . The hashmarks were moved to 20 yards from the sidelines (40 feet apart) in , which lasted for 27 seasons. They were moved in to the width of the goalposts (18½ feet) in .

Division races

In the Eastern Division, the key game took place on Thanksgiving Day at

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush, Brooklyn, Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Dodgers baseball tea ...

in Brooklyn, as the 5–4 Dodgers hosted the 6–3 Giants. A Brooklyn win would have tied the teams at 6–4, but New York won, 21–0, and went on to victories in their remaining two games to win the division championship comfortably at 9–3. In the Western Division, all 4 teams were in a close race. On Thanksgiving Day the Lions defeated the Bears 14-2 while the Cardinals won over the Packers 9–7, leaving the Lions at 6–3–2 and the Cardinals at 6–3–1. Three days later on December 1, the Lions defeated Brooklyn 28–0, while the Cardinals tied the Bears 7–7. With this win, Detroit finished its season at 7–3–2 and eliminated the Packers and Bears from contention, while the Cardinals stood at 6–3–2 with another game against the Bears coming up on December 8. The Cardinals needed to win in order to force a playoff for the division title. However, the Bears won 13–0, and the Lions were the division champs. Had the current (post-1972) system of counting ties as half a win and half a loss been in place in 1935, the Packers at 8–4–0 would have tied the 7–3–2 Lions for the Western Division title with .667, requiring a playoff game. This was the last season until

that an entire division finished with a winning record.

Final standings

NFL Championship Game

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

26, N.Y. Giants 7, at

University of Detroit Stadium University of Detroit Stadium, also known as U of D Stadium, Titan Stadium, or Dinan Field, was an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located on the campus of the University of Detroit in Detroit, Michigan. The stadium ...

, in

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, on December 15.

Statistical leaders

The 1935 season marked the fourth year in which official statistics were tracked and retained by the NFL. Certain statistics later regarded as staples were not maintained, including interceptions, punting average, kickoff return yardage and average, and field goal percentage, among others.Palmer, et al. (eds.), ''The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia,'' p. 1043. In the table below, ‡ denotes a new NFL record. Source: Pete Palmer, et al. (eds.), ''The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia.'' First Edition. New York: Sterling Publishing, 2006; p. 1043.

Coaching changes

Boston Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the NFC East, East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). ...

: William Dietz was replaced by Eddie Casey. *

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

: Cap McEwen was replaced by Paul J. Schissler. *

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

: Paul J. Schissler was replaced by Milan Creighton. *

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

: Luby DiMeolo was replaced by

Joe Bach Joseph Anthony Bach (January 17, 1901 – October 24, 1966) was one of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, Notre Dame's famed "Seven Mules" and later the head coach for the NFL's History of the Pittsburgh Steelers#The 1930s: The Pirates yea ...

References

* ''NFL Record and Fact Book'' ()
NFL History 1931–1940
(Last accessed December 4, 2005) * ''Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League'' () {{DEFAULTSORT:1935 Nfl Season NFL seasons