1942 NFL season

American football season November 2013 March 2026 1942-NFL-RecordAndRosterManual.jpg 1942 edition of the NFL's press manual 1942 Washington Redskins Washington Redskins Chicago Bears September 13 to December 13, 1942 The 1942 NFL season was the 23rd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, many players left for service in World War II, thus depleting the rosters of all the teams. The ten teams of the NFL each played a 11 game schedule during the 1942 regular season, for a league total of 55 contests. Continuing their Chicago Bears finished the regular season at 11–0, and faced the 10–1 Washington Redskins in the championship game. Washington, which had been embarrassed by a massive 73–0 shutout loss in the 1940 Championship Play-off, got a measure of revenge by spoiling the Bears' hope for a perfect season, winning the rematch 14–6. Draft The 1942 NFL draft was held on December 22, 1941, at Chicago's Palmer House Hotel. With the first pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected runningback Bill Dudley from the University of Virginia. Major changes for 1942 Rules changes The use of flags on flexible shafts to mark the intersections of goal lines and side lines (the predecessor to the pylon) becomes mandatory. A clarification to the offsides rule is added: The center or snapper is not offsides unless a portion of his body is ahead of the defensive team's line. A half cannot end on a double foul. Instead, the period will be extended by one untimed down. Detachable kicking toes are prohibited. When an encroachment or false start causes the other team to be offsides, only the initial foul is penalized. A forward pass that first touches an ineligible receiver may be intercepted. If the offensive team commits pass interference in their opponent's end zone, it is an automatic touchback. Coaching changes Brooklyn Dodgers: Jock Sutherland was replaced by Mike Getto. Chicago Bears: George Halas stepped down after five games in 1942 to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In his place, Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos served as co-coaches of the Bears. Detroit Lions: Bill Edwards was released after three games in 1942. John Karcis served for the final eight games. Stadium changes The Cleveland Rams moved from Cleveland Municipal Stadium to League Park The Philadelphia Eagles moved back from Philadelphia Municipal Stadium to Shibe Park, where they played in 1940 Final standings NFL Championship Game thumb|center|600px|The NFL Champions of 1942 — the Washington Redskins. Washington 14, Chi. Bears 6, at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., December 13, 1942 Team statistics These statistics include the 11 regularly scheduled games played by each team and exclude the Championship game. A new league record for passing was set by the Green Bay Packers, with 2,407 yards gained through the air.Strickler (ed.), 1943 NFL Roster and Record Manual, p. 74. The Packers also set new records for most passes completed in a season (172) and most touchdowns passing (28). The Washington Redskins, featuring the passing of Sammy Baugh, set a new NFL record for passing accuracy, completing 53.4% of their 257 pass attempts as a team. Also worthy of note is the point differential of the undefeated Chicago Bears, who amassed 376 points (34.1 points per game) while giving up just 84 (7.6 points per game) — both league bests. Rank Team Total yards (Rushing)Official NFL stats included yardage gained "by rushing" and "on laterals", which are combined here. (Passing) Penalized Yards allowed Takeaways Turnovers 1Chicago Bears 3,900 1,926 1,974 905 1,703 43 43 2Green Bay Packers 3,790 1,383 2,407 312 3,076 48 26 3Washington Redskins 3,121 1,521 1,600 610 1,950 26 30 4Pittsburgh Steelers 2,606 1,920 686 383 2,383 31 18 5Philadelphia Eagles 2,535 1,119 1,416 392 3,016 28 28 6Chicago Cardinals 2,453 1,021 1,432 400 2,972 33 40 7Cleveland Rams 2,413 876 1,537 315 3,544 33 35 8Brooklyn Dodgers 2,219 1,505 714 288 2,794 26 34 9Detroit Lions 2,206 1,321 885 364 3,083 28 56 10New York Giants 2,160 1,203 957 437 2,877 34 21 Source: Strickler (ed.), 1943 NFL Roster and Record Manual, pp. 74-75. Takeaways = (Interceptions + Fumble recoveries) Individual leaders Rushing The longest run of 1942 in the NFL was by Lloyd Cardwell of Detroit, 80 yards.Strickler (ed.), 1943 NFL Roster and Record Manual, pp. 82–83. Rank Name Team Yards rushing Attempts Per carry Long gain Rushing TDs 1"Bullet Bill" Dudley Pittsburgh Steelers 696 162 4.3 66 5 2Merl Condit Brooklyn Dodgers 647 129 5.0 63 3 3Gary Famiglietti Chicago Bears 503 118 4.2 21 8 4Andy Farkas Washington Redskins 468 125 3.7 22 4 5Dick Riffle Pittsburgh Steelers 467 115 4.0 44 4 6Marshall "Biggie" Goldberg Chicago Cardinals 369 116 3.1 29 2 7Merle Hapes New York Giants 363 95 3.8 52 3 8Dante Magnani Cleveland Rams 344 59 5.8 71 2 9Frank "Monk" Maznicki Chicago Bears 343 54 6.3 42 1 10Gaylon Smith Cleveland Rams 332 83 4.0 50 2 Source: Strickler (ed.), 1943 NFL Roster and Record Manual, pp. 82–83. Receiving thumb|right|220px|Packers end Don Hutson led the league in receiving and was selected Most Valuable Player for the second straight year. Top receiver in the NFL in 1942 — for the fifth time in eight seasons — was Don Hutson of the Packers.Strickler (ed.), 1943 NFL Record & Roster Manual, p. 86. In this second of two back-to-back MVP years, Hutson set new NFL records for total receiving yards (1,211), receptions (74), and touchdowns receiving (17). He also led the league in scoring, setting a new league record with 138 points scored in just an 11 game season.Strickler (ed.), 1943 NFL Record & Roster Manual, p. 79. He also expanded his career records for touchdowns (72) and yards receiving (5,515). The league as a whole set a record for touchdown passes with 108, topping the matching 100 TD seasons of 1940 and 1941. Rank Name Team Receiving yards Receptions Per catch Long gain Touchdowns 1Don Hutson Green Bay Packers 1,211 74 16.4 73 17 2Ray "Scooter" McLean Chicago Bears 571 19 30.1 68 8 3Andy Uram Green Bay Packers 420 21 20.0 64 4 4"Big Jim" Benton Cleveland Rams 345 23 15.0 45 1 5Dick Todd Washington Redskins 328 23 14.3 53 4 6Fred Meyer Philadelphia Eagles 323 16 20.2 60 1 7Hamp Pool Chicago Bears 321 10 32.1 64 5 8Ben Hightower Cleveland Rams 317 19 16.7 59 3 9Johnny Martin Chicago Cardinals 312 22 14.2 69 0 10Bob Masterson Washington Redskins 308 22 14.0 33 2 Source: Strickler (ed.), 1943 NFL Roster and Record Manual, pp. 86-87. Passing Green Bay's Cecil Isbell became the NFL's first back-to-back passing champion in 1942.Strickler (ed.), 1943 NFL Record & Roster Manual, p. 84. He set new season records for passing yards (2,021), completions (146), and touchdown passes (24) — also tying a league record by throwing six touchdown passes in one game. Also delivering an MVP-caliber performance was Sammy Baugh of the Redskins, who also topped the old NFL records for passing yards, completions, and touchdown passes, while helping Washington set a new team record for completion percentage (53.3%). Rank Name Team Passing Yards Complete - Attempt Percentage TD : INT Longest 1Cecil Isbell Green Bay Packers 2,021 146-for-268 54.5% 24 : 14 73 2Sammy Baugh Washington Redskins 1,524 132-for-225 58.7% 16 : 11 53 3Tommy Thompson Philadelphia Eagles 1,410 95-for-203 46.8% 8 : 16 65 4Bud Schwenk Chicago Cardinals 1,350 126-for-295 42.7% 6 : 27 69 5Sid Luckman Chicago Bears 1,023 57-for-105 54.2% 10 : 13 52 6Charley O'Rourke Chicago Bears 951 37-for-88 42.0% 11 : 16 68 7Parker Hall Cleveland Rams 815 62-for-140 44.3% 7 : 19 59 8"Indian Jack" Jacobs Cleveland Rams 640 43-for-93 46.2% 6 : 6 67 9Tuffy Leemans New York Giants 555 35-for-69 50.7% 7 : 4 50 10Dean McAdams Brooklyn Dodgers 441 35-for-89 39.3% 2 : 15 56 Sources: Strickler (ed.), 1943 NFL Roster and Record Manual, pp. 84-85. Awards Joe F. Carr Trophy The Joe F. Carr Trophy was presented annually by the National League as its Most Valuable Player award. For the second year in a row, the award was won by Packer end Don Hutson. Don Hutson, End, Green Bay Packers All-National League Team Given the dominant performance of the 1942 Chicago Bears team, it is unsurprising that five of the players named to the First Team eleven were members of George Halas' club, with a sixth Bear player tabbed for the second team. In addition, four Washington Redskins were accorded All-League honors, with the Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Rams adding three players each. There were also 34 players included as part of an "Honorable Mention" list.Strickler (ed.), 1943 NFL Roster and Record Manual, p. 98. First Team — Second Team Name Team Position Name Team Don Hutson Green Bay Packers LE Perry Schwartz Brooklyn Dodgers Willie Wilkin Washington Redskins LT Chet Adams Cleveland Rams Dan Fortmann Chicago Bears LG Riley Matheson Cleveland Rams "Bulldog" Turner Chicago Bears C Chuck Cherundolo Pittsburgh Steelers "Monk" Edwards New York Giants RG Charles Goldenberg Green Bay Packers Lee Artoe Chicago Bears RT "Bruiser" Kinard Brooklyn Dodgers Bob Masterson Washington Redskins RE George Wilson Chicago Bears Sid Luckman Chicago Bears QB Sammy Baugh Washington Redskins Cecil Isbell Green Bay Packers LHB Merl Condit Brooklyn Dodgers Bill Dudley Pittsburgh Steelers RHB Dante Magnani Cleveland Rams Gary Famiglietti Chicago Bears FB Andy Farkas Washington Redskins References 35em Further reading Tom Bennett, et al. (eds.), The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football. Revised and expanded edition. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977. Bob Carroll, et al. (eds.), Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. NFL Communications Department and Santo Labombarda (eds.), Official National Football League 2024 Record and Fact Book. New York: National Football League, 2024. Joseph S. Page, Pro Football Championships Before the Super Bowl: A Year-by-Year History, 1926–1965. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2011. Category:NFL seasons