The 1932 NFL Playoff Game

Original title: “Bears History: The 1932 Playoff Game between the Bears and Portsmouth Spartans determined the year’s champion after the era’s standings system was unable to solve the teams’ tiebreaker. Played indoors at Chicago Stadium, the game would shape the NFL’s rules and future championships”

Subreddit: /r/CHIBears

Post date: January 30, 2018

Author notes

Since it’s the offseason and I have too much time on my hands, I thought it’d be fun to dive through the history books and produce some more writeups. People really seemed to like my two articles on the World War II Bears, but for this edition of Bears History, why not go back a few years?

By this point, every Bears fan should be familiar with Matt Nagy’s indoor football background. Along with Sean Payton and Jay Gruden, he is one of three current NFL head coaches who have played in the Arena Football League, with Nagy spending six seasons in the league.

While the AFL’s debut season was in 1987, the concept of playing football on a smaller, indoor field dates nearly a century prior. In 1896, the University of Chicago Maroons hosted the Michigan Wolverines at the Chicago Coliseum. Six years later, the World Series of Football featured games at the Madison Square Garden, though it lasted just two years due to poor attendance.

During the 1930s, the Bears participated in a certain indoor game that would set the standard for the NFL championship and revolutionize the league. This is the 1932 NFL Playoff Game.

The 1930 Exhibition Game

Until 1959, the Bears were the crosstown rivals of the Chicago Cardinals. Over the years, the two teams have enjoyed their moments against each other, such as Ernie Nevers’ six-touchdown game against the Bears in 1929 and a newly-unretired Bronko Nagurski’s breakout game against the Cardinals in 1943.

In December 1930, Halas and Cardinals owner David Jones decided to play a charity exhibition match at Chicago Stadium, a recently-opened arena that had been in use by the Black Hawks for about a season. Unlike the usual 100-yard football field, Chicago Stadium only allowed for 80 yards, while 10,000 fans filled into the 18,000-seat arena.

The Bears scored first on a touchdown run by Joe Lintzenich, completing a drive that was set up on a pass by Luke Johnsos to Carl Bumbraugh. During the third quarter, the Cardinals’ Clare Randolph threw a pass to Nevers, who fumbled the ball in the end zone; although he was able to recover, he was brought down by Johnsos for a safety. The Cardinals finally added points in the fourth quarter with a touchdown run by Bill Boyd, but they could not rally to take the lead as the Bears won 9–7.

Standings Shenanigans

For the NFL’s first 12 seasons, the champion had been decided by whoever had the highest winning percentage, while ties were excluded from the formula; by the conclusion of the 1932 season, this meant the 6–1–4 Portsmouth Spartans and 6–1–6 Bears ended the year with the same winning percentage of .857. Although the three-time reigning champion Packers won 10 games and finished 10–3–1, the record resulted in a .659 winning percentage. Entering December, the 10–1–1 Packers were on the path to clinch a fourth straight title until they lost to the Spartans 19–0 to place them in a bad position: if they lost to the Bears in the next game in Chicago, they would fall to third in the standings, while if they won, Portsmouth would become the new champions as the Packers’ 11–1–1 record and .846 winning percentage would not be enough to overtake the Spartans. It was basically a lose-lose situation for Green Bay, and in snowy conditions at Wrigley Field, the Bears defeated the Packers 9–0 to force a tie atop the leaderboard.

A sportswriter for The Portsmouth Sunday Times was especially unhappy with the result, and described the Packers as “a greatly overrated ball club and away from the protection of their home influence are just a toothless, straw-stuffed gridiron scare-crow and not the man-eating, one-eyed ogre conjured by the fans.”

Since the Bears and Spartans have the same winning percentage, how would they figure out a champion? The easiest (and only) tiebreaker would be head-to-head, but there was a problem: the two teams had already played each other twice, with both games ending in ties of 7–7 and 13–13. Instead, the NFL declared the two would play each other a third time to determine who would finish first in the standings, while the loser would drop to 6–2 with a winning percentage of .650, meaning whoever lost this “playoff game” would finish behind the Packers, and we all know that is unacceptable.

Halas and Bears co-owner Ed “Dutch” Sternaman were reluctant to host the game in Wrigley Field for two reasons: for much of the month, Chicago was plagued by snowstorms, which would have likely resulted in dismal attendance, while the team had been plagued by financial problems in recent years, a victim of the ongoing Great Depression. In 1931, creditors attempted to repossess the Bears, but friend and future Cardinals owner Charles Bidwill was able to bail Halas out by buying a 16% stake in the team for $5,000. The Bears were not the only team suffering from the Depression, as multiple teams like the Frankford Yellow Jackets, Providence Steam Roller, and Cleveland Indians opted to shut down for the 1932 season. In Portsmouth, the Spartans were $27,000 in debt entering the season, and players were required to bring their own pants, socks, and shoes. Since he was unable to afford socks, Portsmouth end Father Lumpkin wrapped his feet in adhesive tape. Team practices also lived up to the dictionary definition of “spartan” as they practiced on roadside pastures and even in Central Park in New York City as a cost-saving measure.

Considering the success of the exhibition game two years earlier, Halas convinced NFL Commissioner Joe F. Carr and Spartans president Harry Snyder to have the playoff game in Chicago Stadium on December 18. The game would technically be counted in the regular season standings rather than a postseason match.

Storylines and Game Rules

For Bears head coach Ralph Jones, this was the final and perfect opportunity for him to deliver on his promise of a championship within three years of his hiring. Halas and Shaughnessy, both of whom played under Jones (then an assistant coach) at the University of Illinois, relinquished co-coaching duties to the former Lake Forest College head coach following a disappointing 4–9–2 season in 1929, with Jones turning the team around in his first season as the Bears went 9–4–1, followed by an 8–5 record in 1931. Despite the success, the Bears finished third in the standings both times.

Jones’ game plan went against the norms of football strategies at the time; during the 1920s and 1930s, the single-wing, double-wing, and Notre Dame Box were the primary choices of formations. In the single-wing and Notre Dame Box, the quarterback does not line up directly behind the center, but behind a guard or tackle. Instead of the popular offensive styles, Jones ran the T-formation, which placed the quarterback behind the center and three running backs behind him, and allowed for players to be shift before the snap. The formation would eventually, as “Bear Down, Chicago Bears” declares, thrill the nation.

The 1932 Bears featured a roster that was perfect for the T-formation, including the running back tandem of Nagurski and Grange; after being hampered by injuries for much of the 1931 season, the bruising fullback Nagurski was ready to compete for his first NFL title, while Grange remained one of the league’s best players although he dealt with knee problems. Up front, fellow future Pro Football Hall of Famers George Trafton (playing his final game) and Bill Hewitt (a helmetless rookie) led the way as blockers. Florida star Bumbraugh and Keith Molesworth, the latter of whom led the non-NFL Ironton Tanks to victories over the Bears and Giants in 1930 before joining the Bears a year later, headed the offense as the quarterbacks. Future Bears coach Johnsos was considered by NFL statisticians (1932 was the first season in which the league started keeping stats) as the league’s leading receiver that year with 24 receptions for 321 yards, and although later research revealed he caught only 19 passes, he was still a dangerous player for Chicago.

On the other sideline, the Spartans were without star quarterback and 1932 NFL leading scorer Ed “Dutch” Clark, who left the team after the season to serve as the basketball coach at Colorado College and was prohibited from playing by the school, but still featured rookie running back Leroy “Ace” Gutowsky, who led the league in interceptions that year, and speedy All-American RB Glenn Presnell. Now a Spartan, Randolph, along with linemen Ox Emerson, George Christensen, and Harry Ebding, provided support in the trenches.

The week before the game, a Salvation Army-sponsored circus was held at Chicago Stadium, leaving 400 tons of dirt over the concrete surface and creating a six-inch layer that eventually had turf placed atop. Due to the size of the arena, game rules – which were based on the rulebook used in college football at the time – were modified. Only one goal post was able to fit in the arena, and was placed on the goal line. Since the arena was built for ice hockey and its rounded corners, the end zones were not the usual rectangular shape. Field goals were banned entirely; although the roof was considered not high enough to not be hit by any balls, any punt that happened to hit it would be ruled a touchback. Halas even prohibited kicker Paul “Tiny” Engebretsen from practicing his extra points out of worry for the ball going into the stands. Kickoffs were conducted from the ten-yard line, while touchbacks also led to drives starting at the ten.

The field was 145 feet wide instead of the usual 160, so the NFL declared if a play ended near the sidelines, the ball would be placed ten yards away from the sideline to prevent players from running out of bounds and crashing into the stands; at the time, if a player went out of bounds, the ball would be placed along the sideline. For this game, if a team wanted the ball placed closer to the center of the field, they would have to sacrifice a down. This rule change would eventually inspire the use of hash marks to spot the ball. As the field was only 80 yards long, whenever a team’s offense entered opposing territory, they would be “penalized” 20 yards to create a 100-yard environment.

“I remember it well,” Christensen commented. “Damdest [sic] thing you ever saw. Everything was strange. But at least it was warmer than the ballpark.”

In the event of another tie between the two teams by the end of regulation, Halas suggested playing a ten-minute overtime, though whether or not this was agreed upon by the league is unknown.

The 1932 Playoff Game

Entering the game, the Bears were 3–1 favorites, though this was increased to 7–1 before kickoff. Although the Bears did not win the most games in 1932, they led the league in total yards and second in points scored. The defense allowed just 44 points in 13 games (an average of 3.4 points allowed per game), while offenses struggled to average just 30 yards a game against Chicago. The Bears donned their white uniforms and the Spartans wore purple jerseys (colorized photo of this post’s opening picture in the introduction).

Before kickoff, fans and players detected a foul smell in the arena: elephant manure from the previous week’s circus. A Bears player threw up from the stench, while center Charles “Ookie” Miller commented he “could hardly get [his] head in [that] huddle” due to the scent. With 11,198 fans in attendance, the game produced $15,000 in ticket sales (about $269,916.79 in today’s money); among the spectators were Commissioner Carr and a nine-year-old Virginia McCaskey.

“I remember the odor,” McCaskey stated. “The field was not your ideal field. It was certainly a lot more comfortable than being at Wrigley Field that particular week.”

The game commenced at 8:15 PM, which was one of the first, if not the first, night games in league history. The Bears kicked off to start the championship-deciding match, with Trafton serving as the kickoff specialist. As part of the rules, Trafton kicked the ball at the ten-yard line… which sailed into the stands. It would not be the last time a ball flew off the field: many punts went into the stands, including one that smashed into the “BL” on a Black Hawks sign and another that landed in the organist’s booth, hitting him as he played “Cutting Down the Old Pine Tree”. By the end of the game, only one punt was returned.

Neither team made much progress in the first quarter. During the second, Brumbaugh was intercepted by John Cavoskie and turned into a 30-yard return to the Bears’ six-yard line. Despite being the best offensive opportunity for the Spartans, they were stopped on a bizarre goal line stand: Presnell and Gutowsky attempted to penetrate the Bears defensive line, but failed. On 4th-and-goal from the two, Presnell was in position to score when his cleats dug into the dirt, causing him to slip and fall short. I guess that’s one way to force a turnover?

Offensively, the strong-armed Bear John Doehling concluded passing would not be an effective strategy when his first throw nearly went into the stands. Instead, the Bears chipped away at the Spartans with the bruising running of Nagurski (Grange was unavailable for the first quarter after suffering an injury), but their possessions usually ended after just three downs as Jones opted to perform pooch punts on third down. In the third quarter, Chicago was within scoring range when Brumbaugh fumbled, while Portsmouth turned the ball in Chicago territory on two interceptions; Presnell would end the day with five picks. During the final quarter, Presnell’s pass was intercepted by Dick Nesbitt, who returned the pick to Portsmouth’s seven-yard line before going out of bounds. The Bears opted to spot the ball further from the sideline (giving up a down), from which Nagurski ran twice but could not score.

On fourth-and-two, Grange prepared to run to the left with the expectation of the linebackers following him to draw attention away from the main play, but none moved as the Spartans placed ten players along the line of scrimmage. Nagurski took the handoff as Grange took off; the former prepared to attempt to penetrate the line, but suddenly backpedaled, jumped, and floated a pass to a wide-open Grange in the end zone for the touchdown. Clark was livid at the play and argued the pass was illegal: in this era, a passer must be at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage before he could throw, and if he was not, the play would automatically result in a turnover even if the pass fell incomplete. The Portsmouth coach believed Nagurski had not reached that point before he threw the ball, but referee Bobby Cahn ruled the play stood. Engebretsen converted the PAT, which flew into the mezzanine. After the score, the organist played “Illinois Loyalty”, fitting as it is the fight song of Grange’s alma mater Illinois.

With four minutes remaining, the Spartans prepared to punt from their own end zone. Punter Mule Wilson received the snap, but dropped the ball, which rolled out of bounds for a safety. Neither team could score in the remaining time, making the final score 9–0 as the Bears won their first championship since 1921. Once again, The Portsmouth Times was displeased and described the game as the “Sham Battle on Tom Thumb Gridiron”, but admitted the fans enjoyed the concept of an outdoors game being played inside. Commissioner Carr saved a ticket stub from the game in his personal scrapbook.

“After eleven years the Bears were again champions! Ralph Jones had delivered. Everybody acclaimed him. The modern T-formation with man-in-motion had delivered,” Halas wrote in his autobiography.

Aftermath

A week after the game, on Christmas Day, the Bears and Spartans played a charity exhibition game in Cincinnati.Cincinnati Post writer Tom Swope decried the playoff game and declared the exhibition was in fact the true championship match.

In response to the game’s criticism from fans, pundits, and some players, Commissioner Carr released the following statement:

“You fellows decided to play for the championship in the Stadium. You knew in advance the field was small. You should have known that the smallness of the so-called Stadium gridiron would preclude real football and prevent both sides from executing many of the plays at your command. But since you announced that the championship would hinge on the indoor game, the Bears must be declared champions of our league. We have a standing in the eyes of the country which we must try and improve, not tear down. If we are to make the championship a box office ‘football’ and hippodrome it, we will never increase our appeal to the public in our league cities. You made your bed and now you must lie in it, so there can be no more games between the Bears and Spartans this year which will count in the league standing.”

Inspired by the events of the playoff game, the NFL introduced major rule changes for the 1933 season as it began a shift away from using the college football rulebook. Hash marks were formally added to the field to spot the ball. Perhaps the largest addition was the legalization of the forward pass from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage, a rule that was proposed by Redskins owner George Preston Marshall and supported by Halas and (ironically) Potsy Clark, the latter proclaiming, “Nagurski would do it anyway!”

Marshall and Halas also championed the eventually-approved idea to move the goal posts to the goal line instead of the back of the end zone to promote scoring on field goals, which was a logical decision since only six field goals were converted in the entire league in 1932 (half of which were by Dutch Clark); in fact, there were more safeties (eight) than field goals that year. Carr and Giants owner Tim Mara entertained the possibility of eliminating the extra point to encourage teams to score more and reduce ties in the process, though this was not implemented; sudden death overtime was introduced for postseason games in 1946, while it was added for the regular season in 1974.

“We think we have overcome the balance previously held by the defense,” Carr said after the owner’s meeting to dictate the new rules. “In fact, if we can give the offense a slight edge, it doubtless would improve the game for both players and spectators.”

Although scoring did not increase exponentially in 1933, it was much higher than the year before; after just three teams scored at least 100 total points in 1932, half the league broke triple digits the following season. With the legalization of the forward pass from anywhere behind the line, teams went from averaging just 55.2 passing yards per game in 1932 to 77.9 in 1933; five teams also recorded over 1,000 total passing yards in 1933 after no one was able to in 1932. Between the two seasons, the league’s leading passer went from Green Bay’s Arnie Herber with 639 yards in 1932 to the Giants’ Harry Newman with 973 in 1933.

Furthermore, the league capitalized on the popularity of the playoff to create a new standings system, which divided the teams into East and West Divisions. The Bears, Spartans, Packers, Cardinals, and Cincinnati Reds were placed in the West, while the Giants, Redskins, Eagles, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Pittsburgh Pirates were assigned to the East. The winners of both divisions would meet in a title-deciding Championship Game at the end of the season.

Having fulfilled his promise to Halas, Jones left the Bears to become the athletic director at Lake Forest; he concluded his three-year tenure in Chicago with a .706 winning percentage, the highest in team history. Halas took back his role as head coach for 1933. Under Halas once again, the Bears continued their success as they went 10–2–1 en route to an appearance in the Championship Game against the Giants. A late fourth quarter touchdown gave the Bears the 23–21 victory and their second straight title. Meanwhile, the Spartans finished 6–5 and third in the West. After the season, George Richards purchased the team and relocated to Detroit, where they became the Detroit Lions.

Today, the Super Bowl serves as the final step to becoming NFL champions, and the game’s lineage can be traced back to the 1932 NFL Playoff Game.

References

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