1941 New York Giants season
Encyclopedia
The 1941
New York Giants
season was the seventeenth season for the club in the National Football League
.
was lured out of retirement, Tuffy Leemans' back healed, and Mel Hein
was talked out of a potential retirement. The New Yorkers virtually sailed through their first 5 games, with only the Washington Redskins coming within a touchdown of them as they outscored their opponents, 122–27. But the Brooklyn Dodgers, coached by Jock Sutherland
and guided on the field by All-Pro Ace Parker, dealt their first loss of the season over at Ebbets Field
. Then after an upset by the cellar-dwelling Chicago Cardinals of the NFL West, The Giants got back on track.
By the last game of the season, the Giants had clinched the NFL East title with a record of 8–3. It mattered little that they lost that Sunday December 7, 1941, at the Polo Grounds to the Dodgers 21–7. It mattered much more, of course, that while they were playing that game Pearl Harbor
was under attack by the Japanese. For the United States of America
, World War II
had begun.
1941 NFL season
The 1941 NFL season was the 22nd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Elmer Layden was named the first Commissioner of the NFL, while Carl Storck resigned as league president....
New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
season was the seventeenth season for the club in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
.
Season recap
The Giants managed to put together a quite respectable team that year. Ed DanowskiEd Danowski
Edward Frank Danowski was an American football player who played quarterback and halfback in the National Football League. Danowski played for the New York Giants for seven seasons and quarterbacked the team when they won the 1934 and 1938 NFL Championship Games...
was lured out of retirement, Tuffy Leemans' back healed, and Mel Hein
Mel Hein
Melvin Jack Hein was an American Professional Football player for the New York Giants. Hein played fifteen seasons for the Giants and never missed a down due to injury...
was talked out of a potential retirement. The New Yorkers virtually sailed through their first 5 games, with only the Washington Redskins coming within a touchdown of them as they outscored their opponents, 122–27. But the Brooklyn Dodgers, coached by Jock Sutherland
Jock Sutherland
Dr. John Bain "Jock" Sutherland, D.D.S., was an American football coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College and the University of Pittsburgh and professional football for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers...
and guided on the field by All-Pro Ace Parker, dealt their first loss of the season over at Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
. Then after an upset by the cellar-dwelling Chicago Cardinals of the NFL West, The Giants got back on track.
By the last game of the season, the Giants had clinched the NFL East title with a record of 8–3. It mattered little that they lost that Sunday December 7, 1941, at the Polo Grounds to the Dodgers 21–7. It mattered much more, of course, that while they were playing that game Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
was under attack by the Japanese. For the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
had begun.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13, 1941 | at Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 24–0 |
| 2 | September 28, 1941 | at Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
W 17–10 |
| 3 | October 5, 1941 | at Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... |
W 37–10 |
| 4 | October 12, 1941 | Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 16–0 |
| 5 | October 19, 1941 | Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... |
W 28–7 |
| 6 | October 26, 1941 | at Brooklyn Dodgers Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field. In 1945, because of financial difficulties, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks... |
L 16–13 |
| 7 | November 2, 1941 | at Chicago Cardinals | L 10–7 |
| 8 | November 9, 1941 | Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
W 20–13 |
| 9 | November 16, 1941 | Cleveland Rams Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio.The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. The NFL considers the franchise as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the second American Football League... |
W 49–14 |
| 10 | November 23, 1941 | Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
W 20–13 |
| 11 | December 7, 1941 | Brooklyn Dodgers Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field. In 1945, because of financial difficulties, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks... |
L 21–7 |
Playoffs
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | December 21, 1941 | at Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 37–9 |
Standings
| NFL Eastern Eastern and Western Divisions (NFL) 1933-69 The Eastern and Western Divisions of the National Football League, renamed the American and National Conferences in 1950 and then the Eastern and Western Conferences in 1953, were organized as a result of the disputed NFL championship of 1932... |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| New York Giants | 8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | 238 | 114 | L-1 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) season The 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers season was their 12th in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 8-3, winning only seven games. They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season.-Schedule:-Standings:... |
7 | 4 | 0 | .636 | 158 | 127 | W-2 |
| Washington Redskins 1941 Washington Redskins season The 1941 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 9-2 record from 1940.-Schedule:-Standings:... |
6 | 5 | 0 | .545 | 176 | 174 | W-1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles 1941 Philadelphia Eagles season The 1941 Philadelphia Eagles season was their ninth in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 1–10, winning two games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.-Off Season:... |
2 | 8 | 1 | .200 | 119 | 218 | L-3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers 1941 Pittsburgh Steelers season The 1941 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the club's ninth as a member of the National Football League. In the off season, the team had been sold and then re-acquired in a bizarre series of transactions which has come to be referred to as the "Pennsylvania Polka"... |
1 | 9 | 1 | .100 | 103 | 276 | L-2 |
Scoring
- First Quarter
- CH – FG SnyderBob SnyderBob Snyder was a football player and coach who spent more than three decades in the sport, including his most prominent position as head coach of the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams.-College career:...
14 - NY – FranckGeorge FranckGeorge Henning "Sonny" Franck was an American football halfback in the National Football League for the New York Giants. He was born in Davenport, Iowa and lived in Rock Island, Illinois. He played college football at the University of Minnesota and was drafted in the first round of the 1941 NFL...
, 31 pass from Leemans (kick failed)
- CH – FG Snyder
- Second Quarter
- CH – FG Snyder 39
- CH – FG Snyder 37
- Third Quarter
- NY – FG CuffWard CuffWard Lloyd Cuff was an American football running back and place kicker in the National Football League for the New York Giants, Chicago Cardinals, and Green Bay Packers...
16 - CH – StandleeNorm StandleeNorman S. "Norm" Standlee was an American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. He was drafted out of Stanford University by the Chicago Bears in 1941...
, 2 run (Snyder kick) - CH – Standlee, 7 run (ManiaciJoe ManiaciJoseph V. Maniaci was an American football player and coach in the United States. He played college football at Fordham University and then in the National Football League with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Bears...
kick)
- NY – FG Cuff
- Fourth Quarter
- CH – McAfeeGeorge McAfeeGeorge Anderson McAfee was a former American football player. McAfee is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played college football at Duke University. He is a former running back who played for the Chicago Bears...
, 5 run (ArtoeLee ArtoeLee Robert Reno Artoe was a professional American football player in the National Football League and All-America Football Conference for 7 seasons. An offensive tackle, Artoe played for the NFL's Chicago Bears...
kick) - CH – KavanaughKen KavanaughKen Kavanaugh was an American football player, coach and scout. He played college football at LSU, where he was named Most Valuable Player of the Southeastern Conference in 1939. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.After college, Kavanaugh played in the National Football...
, 42 fumble return (McLean drop kickDrop kickA drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it when it bounces off the ground. It contrasts to a punt, wherein the player kicks the ball without letting it hit the ground first....
)
- CH – McAfee
See also
- List of New York Giants seasons