The 1936 NFL Championship Game was the fourth championship game played in 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 ...

(NFL). It took place on December 13 at

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...

in New York City, making it the first NFL title game held on a neutral field. The Eastern Division champion

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). ...

(7–5) were the home team, but their owner

George Preston Marshall George Preston Marshall (October 11, 1896 – August 9, 1969) was an American professional American football, football executive who founded the National Football League (NFL)'s Washington Commanders. The team began play as the Boston Braves in ...

, the Packers and the league mutually agreed to move the game from

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

to the Polo Grounds due to low ticket sales in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Several days after the game, Marshall announced he would move the team to his hometown of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

for the following season. This was the first championship game for both the Redskins and the Western Division champion

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

(10–1–1), who were favored. The Packers won 21–6 for their fourth NFL title, all under longtime head coach

Curly Lambeau Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau ( ; April 9, 1898 – June 1, 1965) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin native, George Whitney ...

, having previously won league championships awarded by league standing in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

, and

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

Scoring summary

''Sunday, December 13, 1936''
Kickoff: 2 p.m. EST ;First quarter: *GB –

Don Hutson Donald Montgomery Hutson (January 31, 1913 – June 26, 1997), nicknamed "the Alabama Antelope", was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). In the era of the one-platoon football, he played a ...

48-yard pass from

Arnie Herber Arnold Charles "Flash" Herber (April 2, 1910 – October 14, 1969) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. During his Packers ...

( Ernie Smith kick), 7–0 GB ;Second quarter: *BOS –

Pug Rentner Ernest John "Pug" Rentner (September 18, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American football halfback and quarterback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Boston Redskins and the Chicago Bears. He was inducted ...

2-yard run (kick failed), 7–6 GB ;Third quarter: *GB – Milt Gantenbein 8-yard pass from Herber (Smith kick), 14–6 GB ;Fourth quarter: *GB – Bob Monnett 2-yard run ( Tiny Engebretsen kick), 21–6 GB

Starters

Players played both ways, offensively and defensively, in 1936. Thus, there were only these eleven starters for each squad.Roger Treat, ''The Official National Football League Football Encyclopedia.'' New York: A.S. Barnes & Co., 1952; p. 235. Green Bay Packers * LE - Milt Gantenbein * LT - Ernie Smith * LG/K - Paul "Tiny" Engebretsen * C - George Svendsen * RG - Lon Evans * RT - Louis Gordon * RE -

‡
* QB † - Hank Bruder * LHB - George Sauer * RHB -

‡ * FB - Clarke Hinkle ‡ Boston Redskins * LE -

Wayne Millner Wayne Vernal Millner (January 31, 1913 – November 19, 1976) was an American professional football player who was an offensive and defensive end for the Boston / Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college fo ...

‡ * LT -

Turk Edwards Albert Glen "Turk" Edwards (September 28, 1907 – January 10, 1973) was an American professional football player who was a tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire career for the Washington Redskins, starting with t ...

‡ * LG - Les Olsson * C -

Frank Bausch Frank Joseph "Pete" Bausch (June 14, 1908 – April 6, 1976) was an American football Center (American football), center in the National Football League (NFL) for the Boston Redskins, the Chicago Bears, and the Philadelphia Eagles. He played col ...

* RG - Jim Karcher * RT - James Barber * RE - Charley Malone
* QB -

Riley Smith Riley Smith (born April 12, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for his roles on television, such as recurring roles in the series '' 24'', ''Joan of Arcadia'', '' 90210'', ''True Blood'' and '' The Messengers'', and starring roles on the ...

* LHB - Ed "Chug" Justice * RHB - Cliff Battles ‡ * FB -

Don Irwin Donald Emerson Irwin (July 22, 1913 – June 8, 1983) was an American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Boston/Washington Redskins. He played college football at Colgate University and was drafted in the seve ...

:† - Note: The quarterback in the single-wing offense was sometimes called the "blocking back", the ball was generally shotgun snapped to a halfback or the fullback. :‡ - Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

Officials

The NFL had only four game officials in ; the back judge was added in , the line judge in , and the side judge in . The following were the four officials who called the 1936 championship game. *Referee: Jordie Jordan *Umpire: Bobby Cahn *Head linesman: Maurice J. Meyer *Field judge: William Halloran

References

{{NFL pre-sb

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 ...

Green Bay Packers playoff games Boston Redskins postseason Championship Game NFL Championship games

Sports competitions in Manhattan American football competitions in New York City

1930s in Manhattan Washington Heights, Manhattan