The 1939 NFL Championship Game was the seventh league championship game of the National Football League (NFL), held on December 10 inside the Milwaukee Mile, located at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, a suburb west of Milwaukee.
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| Date | December 10, 1939 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Milwaukee Mile (State Fair Park), West Allis, Wisconsin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Green Bay by 10 points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Bill Halloran | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 32,379 | ||||||||||||||||||
The New York Giants (9–1–1), the defending champions, played the Western Division champion Green Bay Packers (9–2).[2][3] The teams had met in the previous year's title game in New York City, which the Giants won by six points, but did not play each other in the 1939 regular season.[4] For the title game in Wisconsin, the Packers were favored by ten points.[1]
The host Packers scored a touchdown in the first quarter and led 7–0 at halftime.[5] They dominated in the second half to win 27–0 and secure their fifth title—two more than any other franchise.[6][7][8][9] At the time, it was the highest attended sporting event in the Milwaukee area.[10]
The "Dairy Bowl" football stadium was dedicated at halftime with the breaking of a bottle of milk. On hand were Governor Julian Heil and Mayor Daniel Hoan of Milwaukee.[11][12]
Scoring summary
Sunday, December 10, 1939
Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. CST[1]
| Scoring Play | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| First quarter | |||
| GB – Milt Gantenbein 7 pass from Arnie Herber (Paul Engebretsen kick) | GB 7–0 | ||
| Second quarter | |||
| no scoring | |||
| Third quarter | |||
| GB – Engebretsen 29 yard field goal | GB 10–0 | ||
| GB – Joe Laws 31 yard pass from Cecil Isbell (Engebretsen kick) | GB 17–0 | ||
| Fourth quarter | |||
| GB – Ernie Smith 42 yard field goal | GB 20–0 | ||
| GB – Eddie Jankowski 1 yard run (Smith kick) | GB 27–0 | ||
Statistics
| Category | New York Giants |
Green Bay Packers |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 7 | 10 |
| Yards gained rushing (net) | 56 | 131 |
| Forward passes attempted | 26 | 10 |
| Forward passes completed | 9 | 7 |
| Yards by forward passing | 98 | 99 |
| Yards lost, attempted forward passes | 12 | 8 |
| Yards gained, run back of intercepted passes | 27 | 39 |
| Punting average (from scrimmage) | 32 | 38 |
| Total yards all kicks returned | 98 | 35 |
| Opponents fumbles recovered | 0 | 0 |
| Yards lost by penalties | 20 | 50 |
Source:[13]
Officials
Attendance and receipts
The Packers moved the game from Green Bay to the larger metropolitan area of Milwaukee in hopes of increasing attendance; 32,379 paid to watch.[9] The gross gate receipts of $83,510.35 set a new record.[9]
The title game tickets went on sale at noon on Monday, six days before the game, in both Green Bay and Milwaukee and were nearly sold out in the first 24 hours.[14] Face value prices ranged from $1.10 to $4.40 per seat, the equivalent of $22 to $87 in 2021.[15]
Team shares
The gate was distributed as follows:
- The Packers took $23,231.06, with their 33 players each receiving $703.97.
- The Giants took $15,487.37, with their 34 players each receiving $455.57.
Team rosters
See also
References
External links
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