View source for 1932 NFL Playoff Game

{{Short description|American football game}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL single game
|name=1932 NFL Playoff Game
| image= 32 Program-Cover.jpg
| image_size = 300
|visitor=[[1932 Portsmouth Spartans season|Portsmouth Spartans]]
|visitor_abbr=POR
|visitor_coach=[[George Clark (American football coach)|George Clark]]
|visitor_record=6–1–4
|home=[[1932 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]]
|home_abbr=CHB
|home_coach=[[Ralph Jones]]
|home_record=6–1–6
|visitor_qtr1=0
|visitor_qtr2=0
|visitor_qtr3=0
|visitor_qtr4=0
|visitor_total=0
|home_qtr1=0
|home_qtr2=0
|home_qtr3=0
|home_qtr4=9
|home_total=9
|date=December 18, 1932
|stadium=[[Chicago Stadium]]
|city=[[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]
|HOFers='''Spartans:''' [[Dutch Clark]] <br> '''Bears:''' [[George Halas]] (owner), [[Red Grange]], [[Bill Hewitt (American football)|Bill Hewitt]], [[William R. Lyman]], [[Bronko Nagurski]], [[George Trafton]]
}}
{{Location map
|USA
|relief     = 1
|label      = <small>[[Chicago Stadium]]</small>
|lat        = 41.8817
|long       = -87.6728
|caption    = Location in the [[United States]]
|position   = bottom
|marksize   = 5
|float      = 
|background = 
|width      = 270
}}
The '''1932 NFL Playoff Game''' was an extra game held to break a tie in the {{nfly|1932}} season's final standings in the [[National Football League]] (NFL); it matched the host [[1932 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]] and the [[1932 Portsmouth Spartans season|Portsmouth Spartans]]. Because of snowfall and anticipated extremely cold temperatures in [[Chicago]], Illinois, it was moved indoors and played at the three-year-old [[Chicago Stadium]] on December 18 on a reduced-size field on Sunday night.

==Standings controversy==
Since the NFL's [[1920 NFL season|first season]] in 1920, the league title had been awarded to the team with the best [[regular season]] record based on [[winning percentage]] with ties excluded.

While four of the first six championships were disputed, only once (in {{NFL Year|1921}}) did two teams finish tied for first place in the standings: the Chicago Staleys, who became the Bears the following year, and the [[Buffalo (NFL)|Buffalo All-Americans]] finished with identical 9-1 records, and had split a two-game series with each other, but league officials used a [[tiebreaker]] to [[Staley Swindle|controversially give the Staleys the title over the All-Americans]].<ref name="Campbell">{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=Rich |title=The 1932 NFL championship. Indoors at Chicago Stadium. How one of the strangest — and most influential — games in Bears history changed the league. |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bears/ct-chicago-bears-george-halas-chicago-stadium-championship-20191209-mlu5tlymybcx5pbn7cja6o23ia-story.html |access-date=17 December 2020 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=9 December 2019}}</ref>

In 1932, the Spartans and the Bears tied for first place with 6–1 records.<ref name=prosttwl>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r09QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Xg0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3203%2C1923056 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |agency=Associated Press |title=Pro standings |date=December 12, 1932 |page=11 }}</ref>

Under the rules at the time, standings were based on winning percentage with ties excluded from the calculation: thus, the Spartans and Bears each finished the regular season with identical {{winning percentage|6|1}} winning percentages, ahead of the defending champion [[1932 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]]' {{winning percentage|10|3}} (10 wins, 3 losses) winning percentage.<ref name="Campbell"/>

Had pure win–loss differential or the current (post-1972) system of counting ties as half a win, half a loss been in place in 1932, the Packers' record of 10–3–1 ({{winning percentage|10|3|1}}, +7) would have won them a fourth consecutive championship, ahead of the Spartans' 6–1–4 ({{winning percentage|6|1|4}}, +5) and the Bears' 6–1–6 ({{winning percentage|6|1|6}}, +5).<ref name=flwcrotitt>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XahQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1iEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6663%2C5048770 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |last=Kuechle |first=Oliver E. |title=Pro football league will change system of rating teams in 1933 |date=December 13, 1932 |page=6, part 2}}</ref> The Packers controlled their own destiny at the end of the 1932 season, but lost their last two games to the Spartans and the Bears.<ref name=bwppckrs>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r09QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Xg0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6365%2C1923096|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |last=McGlynn |first=Stoney |title=Bears whip Packers, 9–0, tie for pro title |date=December 12, 1932 |page=11 }}</ref><ref name=pltcboscvfl>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XKhQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1iEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6468%2C4854959 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |last=Kuechle |first=Oliver E. |title=Packers lose to Chicago Bears on snow-covered field, 9–0 |date=December 12, 1932 |page=4, part 2}}</ref>

Further complicating matters, though the Spartans and Bears had played each other twice during the regular season and the league's head-to-head tiebreaker accounted for a split two-game series, this tiebreaker only applied if each team won one game: the winner of the second game would be awarded the tiebreaker and the championship. As the two Bears-Spartans games ended in 13–13 and 7–7 ties, this tiebreaker was of no effect.

The league was thus required to make a rule change, as championship-deciding postseason matches were banned in {{NFL Year|1924}},<ref>{{cite web|last=Horrigan|first=Joe|url=http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-08-037.pdf|title=CLEVELAND'S 1ST TITLE|work=The Coffin Corner|publisher=[[Professional Football Researchers Association]]|date=1980|access-date=January 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127052937/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-08-037.pdf|archive-date=November 27, 2010}}</ref> and for the first time, arranged for a single game (essentially a [[replay (sports)|replay]]) to determine the NFL champion.

Despite the winner of the game being declared champions, it was ruled the game would be counted in the final standings, meaning the loser would drop to 6–2 ({{winning percentage|6|2}}) and finish third behind runner-up Green Bay.<ref name="Campbell"/>

==Indoor field==
[[File:1932 NFL playoff game.jpg|thumb|180px|The game was played indoors at [[Chicago Stadium]]]]
The game was set to be played at [[Wrigley Field]], the Bears' home stadium, but due to severe [[blizzard]]s followed by extremely cold temperatures and [[wind chill]], the game was moved indoors to Chicago Stadium.<ref name=bbwsp>{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1932/12/16/page/25/article/bears-battle-with-spartans-moved-indoors |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |last=Smith |first=Wilfrid|title=Bears battle with Spartans moved indoors |date=December 16, 1932 |page=25}}</ref><ref name=bsptpin>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YKhQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1iEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1290%2C5655860 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=Associated Press |title=Bears, Spartans to play indoors |date=December 16, 1932 |page=7, part 2}}</ref><ref name=bvssp>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YqhQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1iEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4992%2C5995445 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=United Press |title=Bears vs. Spartans |date=December 18, 1932 |page=1B}}</ref><ref name=pgrdr>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RzVPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1U0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4379%2C2904093 |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times |title=Pro gridders meet tonight in Windy City |agency=Associated Press |date=December 18, 1932 |page=2, section 2}}</ref><ref name=winpro>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tE9QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Xg0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6403%2C2963595 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |last=Dunkley |first=Charles W. |agency=Associated Press |title=Bears beat Spartans, 9–0; win pro title |date=December 19, 1932 |page=13}}</ref><ref name=ntfir>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-r8cAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8UYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5228%2C2240009 |newspaper=Daily News |location=Bowling Green, Ohio |agency=(Dayton Daily News) |last=Williams |first=Marty |title=Today's game not first indoors |date=January 12, 1978 |page=12 }}</ref>

Two years earlier, the Bears and [[History of the Chicago Cardinals|Cardinals]] had played a charity exhibition game at the arena<ref name=bvssp/> after the [[1930 NFL season|1930]] season.<ref name=ptpigg>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=t5RSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5SEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1416%2C5360750|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel|agency=Associated Press|title=Pro teams play indoor grid game |date=December 15, 1930 |page=2, Final }}</ref> The game was moved indoors due to extreme weather, allowing for reasonable attendance and gate revenue.<ref name=bbsfttct>{{cite news|url= http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1932/12/18/page/19/article/bears-battle-spartans-for-title-tonight |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |last=Smith |first=Wilfrid |title=Bears battle Spartans for title tonight |date=December 18, 1932 |page=1, part 2}}</ref> The Bears won 9–7.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cards Lose to Chicago Bears|newspaper=St. Cloud Times|location=Saint Cloud, Minnesota|date=December 16, 1930|page=17|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/224038968/}}</ref> It wasn't an uncommon practice in the city, as local teams played in the [[Dexter Park (Chicago)|Dexter Park Pavilion]] as early as 1917, when the [[History of the Chicago Cardinals|Racine Cardinals]] and the Evanstons from [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]] played to a scoreless tie.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/1917chirc.html|title=1917 Chicago Racine Cardinals}}</ref>

A week before the game, the concrete surface had [[tanbark]] placed atop for a [[Salvation Army]]-sponsored circus; elephant manure from the circus produced an odor that caused a Bears player to vomit on the field.{{sfn|Willis|2010|p=294}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Klein|first=Christopher|url=http://www.history.com/news/the-bizarre-history-of-the-nfls-first-title-game|title=The Bizarre History of the NFL's First Title Game|publisher=[[History (U.S. TV network)|History.com]]|date=January 29, 2015|access-date=January 30, 2018}}</ref>

Because of the limited dimensions of the indoor arena, special rules were adopted for the game:
* The tanbark-covered field itself was only 80 yards long (60 yards between the goal lines)<ref name=whatwas>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y6hQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1iEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6509%2C6344322 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |last=Kuechele |first=Oliver E. |title=The Bears won, 9–0, but what was it all about? |date=December 19, 1932 |page=6, part 2 }}</ref><ref name=bbfprlt>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tE9QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Xg0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=2941%2C2660377 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |agency=Associated Press |title=Bears battle for pro title |date=December 18, 1932 |page=2B }}</ref> and 45 yards wide, ten&nbsp;yards narrower than the regulation width at the time.<ref name=winpro/>
* The goal posts were moved from the endlines to the goal lines (the NFL moved the goalposts to the goal line in {{nfly|1933}}, then back to the endline in {{nfly|1974}}).<ref name = PFRA>{{cite journal |title=A CENTURY OF 'FIRSTS' IN PRO FOOTBALL, 1892-1992 |journal=The Coffin Corner |date=1992 |volume=14 |issue=5 |url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/14-05-481.pdf |access-date=17 December 2020}}</ref>
* Every time a team crossed the 10-yard line, the ball was moved back 20 yards to allow for the shortened field.<ref name=bvssp/> 
* For the first time, all plays started with the ball on or between the hash marks, which were ten yards from the sidelines.<ref name = PFRA/>

It was also decided that due to the smaller field and indoor stadium, [[drop kick]]s and [[field goal (American football)|field goals]] would not be used in the game.<ref name="Chicago Bears">{{cite web|last=Mayer|first=Larry|url=http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1/Bears-played-NFLs-first-indoor-game/1fb246a6-ad81-45f4-b88d-2c2eaee111d0|title=Bears played NFL's first indoor game|publisher=[[Chicago Bears]]|date=March 1, 2014|access-date=March 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113113518/http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1/Bears-played-NFLs-first-indoor-game/1fb246a6-ad81-45f4-b88d-2c2eaee111d0|archive-date=November 13, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Game summary==
{{Americanfootballbox
 |titlestyle= {{NFLPrimaryStyle|Chicago Bears|border=2}};text-align:center;
 |state=autocollapse
 |title=1932 NFL Playoff, Portsmouth Spartans at Chicago Bears
 |date=December 18
 |time=8:15 p.m. CST
 |road=Spartans
 |R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0
 |home='''Bears'''
 |H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=9
 |stadium=[[Chicago Stadium]], [[Chicago, Illinois]]
 |attendance=11,198
 |weather=Indoors
 |referee=[[Bobby Cahn]]
 |TV=
 |TVAnnouncers=
 |reference=[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/193212180chi.htm Boxscore]
 |scoring=
;Fourth quarter
*CHB [[Red Grange]] 2 yard pass from [[Bronko Nagurski]] ([[Paul Engebretsen]] kick)
*CHB Safety, [[Mule Wilson]] tackled in end zone
}}

The high temperature for that Sunday in Chicago was {{convert|20|F}},<ref name=thewx>{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1932/12/19/page/1/article/obituary-1-no-title |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |title=The Weather |date=December 19, 1932|page=1}}</ref> warmer than anticipated earlier in the week.

With terrible footing on the mulch and limited room for the offenses to work, the defenses dominated the game's first three quarters, with the game remaining scoreless. Bears quarterback John Doehling's first pass flew into the stands,<ref name=bwpfctr>{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1932/12/19/page/19/article/bears-win-9-0-pro-football-champions |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |last=Smith |first=Wilfrid |title=Bears win, 9–0; pro football champions |date=December 19, 1932 |page=19}}</ref> as did most punts and kickoffs: one collided with a [[Chicago Blackhawks|Chicago Black Hawks]] sign and another hit the organist as he played. By the end of the game, only one punt had been returned.{{sfn|Willis|2010|p=296}}

On one drive, the Spartans were in position to score when [[Glenn Presnell]] tripped on the field before he could reach the end zone.{{sfn|Willis|2010|p=295}} For the Bears, they employed a heavy run game with fullback [[Bronko Nagurski]], though possessions ended after just three downs as Ralph Jones frequently elected to [[quick kick|pooch kick]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dent|first=Jim|date=September 8, 2004|title=Monster of the Midway: Bronko Nagurski, the 1943 Chicago Bears, and the Greatest Comeback Ever|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]|isbn=031230868X|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/monsterofmidwayb0000dent}}</ref> In the fourth quarter, the Bears scored on a controversial touchdown: [[Carl Brumbaugh]] handed the ball off to Nagurski, who pulled up and threw to [[Red Grange]] in the end zone for the score.<ref name=chpc>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LrZRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Y2kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3265%2C2405018 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |title=Chicago Bears pro champions |agency=(Chicago Tribune) |date=December 19, 1932 |page=14}}</ref> Rules at the time mandated that a forward pass had to be thrown from at least five yards behind the [[line of scrimmage]]. The Spartans argued Nagurski did not drop back five yards before passing to Grange, but the touchdown stood. The Bears later scored a [[safety (gridiron football score)|safety]] after the Spartans fumbled the ball out of their end zone.<ref name=chpc/><ref name="Chicago Bears" />

==Officials==
*'''Referee:''' Bobby Cahn
*'''Umpire:''' G.A. Brown
*'''Head linesman:''' Meyer Morris<ref name=bwpfctr/>

==Legacy==
Because it proved so popular, the 1932 NFL Playoff Game started a new era for the National Football League and for American football in general. Through 1932, the league had used the same rules as [[college football]]. Beginning with the [[1933 NFL season|1933]] season, the NFL introduced its own set of rules. The goal posts were moved from the end line back to the goal line (reversed in {{NFL Year|1974}}), all plays started with the ball on or between the hash marks,<ref name="PF HOF">{{cite web|url=http://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/decades/1930s/first-playoff-game/|title=FIRST PLAYOFF GAME|work=[[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]|access-date=January 30, 2018}}</ref> and the [[forward pass]] became legal anywhere behind the line of scrimmage; ironically, the forward pass rule was supported by Spartans head coach [[George Clark (American football coach)|George Clark]], who quipped, "Nagurski would do it anyway!"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/2014/05/20/nfl-history-in-95-objects-1933-rule-book-forward-pass|title=The 1933 Rule Book|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=May 20, 2014|access-date=January 30, 2018}}</ref> Its biggest legacy, however, was the creation of the [[NFL Championship Game]] in 1933, the NFL's original championship game, a precursor to the Super Bowl.<ref>{{cite web |title=The First Playoff Game |url=https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/the-first-playoff-game/ |website=Pro Football Hall of Fame |access-date=17 December 2020}}</ref>

NFL Commissioner [[Joseph Carr]] described the rule changes as providing better scoring opportunities, which he believed "would improve the game for both players and spectators." Carr had attended the Playoff Game, and kept a ticket stub from the game in his personal scrapbook.{{sfn|Willis|2010|p=296–297}}

In {{nfly|1933}}, the NFL expanded to ten teams and divided into two divisions. The division winners met in a scheduled [[History of the National Football League championship|championship game]] to determine the [[List of NFL champions|NFL champion]].<ref name="PF HOF" />

This game was the first time in which the NFL used an 80-yard field: the next occasion was 87 years later, when in [[2019 NFL season|2019]], the Raiders and Packers met at [[IG Field]] in [[Winnipeg, Manitoba|Winnipeg]] for a preseason game. IG Field, home to the [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]] of the [[Canadian Football League]], normally has goal posts 110 yards apart. After the posts were moved for the NFL preseason game, the resulting divots in the field caused a safety hazard: to allow the game to go on, the game was played on a hastily shortened 80-yard field, with kickoffs eliminated and each team starting play at its own 15-yard line.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/football/nfl/winnipegs-nfl-pre-season-game-changed-80-yard-field-due-conditions/|title=Raiders beat Packers in Winnipeg on reconfigured 80-yard field|agency=Canadian Press|publisher=Sportsnet|date=August 23, 2019|access-date=August 23, 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bears–Lions rivalry]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Willis |first=Chris |date=August 19, 2010 |title = The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=978-0810876705 }}
{{refend}}

{{coord|41.8817|-87.6728|type:event|display=title}}
{{1932 Chicago Bears}}
{{Chicago Bears}}
{{Detroit Lions}}
{{NFL pre-sb}}
{{NFL playoffs}}

[[Category:1932 NFL season|Playoff game]]
[[Category:NFL Championship games|1932 NFL Playoff Game]]
[[Category:Chicago Bears postseason]]
[[Category:Detroit Lions postseason]]
[[Category:Indoor American football competitions]]
[[Category:1932 in sports in Illinois]]
[[Category:December 1932 sports events in the United States]]
[[Category:American football competitions in Chicago]]