The 1941 NFL season was the 22nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The league's ten teams each played a regular season schedule of 11 games, for a total of 55 regular season contests. The total attendance for these games was 1,118,616 â an average of 20,338 fans per event. This represented an increase of 9% over the previous season's attendance.
The defending league champion Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers finished the regular season tied in the Western Division, forcing the first divisional playoff game in league history. The Bears won this contest 33âÂÂ14 at Wrigley Field on December 14, before swamping the New York Giants 37âÂÂ9 in the 1941 NFL Championship Game at Wrigley Field one week later.
The Bears, who averaged 36 points per game over the course of the 1941 season, became the first team since the institution of the EastâÂÂWest play-off in to repeat as champion.
Before the season, Elmer Layden was named the first Commissioner of the NFL, while Carl Storck resigned as league president. Layden also took on the duties of president and signed a five-year contract at $20,000 annually.
The 1941 NFL draft was held on December 10, 1940, at Washington, D.C.'s Willard Hotel. With the first pick, the Chicago Bears selected halfback Tom Harmon from The University of Michigan.
The league bylaws were changed to provide for playoffs in cases where division races are tied after the regular season, and rules for sudden-death overtimes in case a playoff game was tied after four quarters.
In addition to these rule changes, this season marked the first time that the league commissioner became involved in enforcement of player conduct standards. Commissioner Elmer Layden in August assessed $25 fines on Green Bay Packers quarterback Larry Craig and New York Giants halfback Hank Soar for fighting.
Wilson became the official game ball of the NFL.
In the Eastern Division, the Redskins held a half-game after nine weeks of play: at 5âÂÂ1âÂÂ0, their only loss had been 17âÂÂ10 to the 5âÂÂ2-0 Giants, who had lost two games in a row. Washington, however, lost its next three games, while the Giants rebounded to win their next two games. On November 23, the 5âÂÂ3 Redskins met the 7âÂÂ2 Giants at the Polo Grounds, and the Giants' 20âÂÂ13 win clinched the Division championship.
The Western Division race was one between the Bears and Packers. By November 2, when the teams met at Wrigley Field, the Bears were 5âÂÂ0 and the Packers 6âÂÂ1, in part because of the Bears' earlier 25âÂÂ17 win at Green Bay. Green Bay's 16âÂÂ14 win put them in the lead, and they finished the regular season at 10âÂÂ1 on November 30 with a 22âÂÂ17 comeback win at Washington. On the afternoon of December 7, 1941, on the day Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, the Bears were losing to the Cardinals, 0âÂÂ14, and trailed 24âÂÂ20 in the fourth quarter before rallying for a 34âÂÂ24 win. With both the Bears & Packers finishing at 10âÂÂ1, a playoff was set to determine who would go to, and host, the Championship Game. They met at Wrigley Field on December 14, with Chicago winning 33âÂÂ14.
Western Division Playoff Game
NFL Championship Game
Home team in capitals
The following statistics cover the 11 regular season games only, exclusive of playoff games. The Chicago Bears, unleashing a juggernaut around their novel T-formation with motion offense, smashed numerous league records for the year, including total yards gained (4,265), passing yards (2,002), single-game total yards (613) and passing yards (376), first downs (181), touchdowns (56), rushing touchdowns (37) â as well as continuing to be the most flagged team in football, setting a new record in penalty yards (officially 676.5).
Although it was the brother of a Chicago Bear â Pug Manders of the Brooklyn Dodgers â that led the league in rushing, three of the top ten ball-carriers in 1941 hailed from George S. Halas' team. No runner in the league cracked the 500 yard mark for the year.
Packer end Don Hutson returned to his place of preeminence among NFL receivers, recording more than twice the yardage of the second most successful receiver in the league. He set a new NFL record for touchdowns (10) and tied the league mark for total receptions, with 58.
In this era still dominated by the single-wing formation, it was many times the left halfback ("tailback") that handled the bulk of passing duties, with the quarterback ("blocking back") primarily serving as an obstruction or a receiver. "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh was a single-wing halfback during the 1941 season and it was Green Bay halfback Cecil Isbell who lead the league in passing. Isbell, in fact, set new NFL single-season records for both passing yards (1,479) and touchdown passes (15).
The Joe F. Carr Trophy was presented annually by the National League as its Most Valuable Player award.
Six members of the Chicago Bears and five members of the Green Bay Packers were named to the All-National League Team for 1941. There were dozens of other players included as "honorable mentions".