1940 Philadelphia Eagles season

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1940 Philadelphia Eagles season
OwnerBert Bell
Head coachBert Bell
Home fieldShibe Park
Results
Record1–10
Division place5th NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1940 Philadelphia Eagles season was their eighth in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 1–9–1, losing ten games.[1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.

The Eagles 298 rushing yards in 1940 are the fewest in the history of the NFL. The team gained only 0.94 yards per carry.

Off season[edit]

After 4 years playing at larger Philadelphia Municipal Stadium the Eagles move to Shibe Park for the 1940 season

Eagles training camp was held at West Chester State Teachers College, West Chester, Pennsylvania.

NFL draft[edit]

The 1940 NFL Draft was held on December 9, 1939. This year again it was to have 22 rounds, with each team getting 20 picks. The weaker teams only picked in the 2nd and 4th rounds and were passed over in rounds 21 and 22.

The Eagles and Pittsburgh Pirates, before being called Steelers, both finished with 1–9–1, .100 records, but the 1939 Chicago Cardinals ended up at 1–10, .091 and would get the first pick in the draft. The Eagles and Pirates would alternate picking 2nd or 3rd in each round.

Player selections[edit]

The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.

= Pro Bowler [2] = Hall of Famer
Rd Pick Player Position School
1 2 George McAfee Quarterback Duke
2 13 John Schiechl Center Santa Clara
3 17 Dick Favor Back Oklahoma
4 28 Eberle Schultz Guard Oregon State
5 32 Frank Emmons Back Oregon
6 43 Saul Singer Tackle Arkansas
7 52 Hal Pegg Center Bucknell
8 63 Don Looney End Texas Christian
9 72 Don Jones Back Washington
10 83 Frank Maher Back Toledo
11 92 Elmer Hackney Back Kansas
12 103 Durward Horner End Texas Christian
13 112 Ted Hennis Back Purdue
14 123 Bill Bunsen Back Kansas
15 132 Don Crumbaker End Kansas State
16 143 J. R. Green Tackle Rice
17 152 Jim Molnar Back Bradley
18 163 Ernie Schwartzer Guard Boston College
19 172 Bill Schneller Back Mississippi
20 183 Bill Debord Tackle Kansas State

Schedule[edit]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 15 at Green Bay Packers L 20–27 0–1 11,657
2 September 22 at Cleveland Rams L 13–21 0–2 15,941
3 September 28 New York Giants L 14–20 0–3 26,431
4 October 4 at Brooklyn Dodgers L 17–30 0–4 24,008
5 October 13 at New York Giants L 7–17 0–5 30,317
6 October 20 Washington Redskins L 17–34 0–6 25,062
7 October 26 Brooklyn Dodgers L 7–21 0–7 6,500
8 November 10 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–7 0–8 9,556
9 November 17 Detroit Lions L 0–21 0–9 6,327
10 November 28 Pittsburgh Steelers W 7–0 1–9 4,200
11 December 1 at Washington Redskins L 6–13 1–10 25,838
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game recaps[edit]

A recap of the scoring plays and the game scores by quarters during the year. The record after the team's name reflects this games outcome also.[3]

WEEK 1[edit]

Sunday September 15, 1940

1 2 3 4 Final
Philadelphia Eagles (0–1) 0 6 0 14 20
Green Bay Packers (1–0) 21 0 6 0 27
SCORING PLAYS PHIL GB TIME
1st Packers Packers Cecil Isbell 39-yard rush (Don Hutson kick) 0 7
Packers Carl Mulleneaux 6-yard pass from Cecil Isbell (Don Hutson kick) 0 14
Packers Carl Mulleneaux 7 yard pass from Cecil Isbell (Tiny Engebretsen kick) 0 21
2nd Eagles Dick Riffle 8-yard pass from Davey O'Brien (kick failed) 6 21
3rd Packers Clarke Hinkle 45-yard field goal 6 24
Packers Clarke Hinkle 45-yard field goal 6 27
4th Eagles Don Looney 31-yard interception return (John Cole kick) 13 27
Eagles Don Looney 32 yard pass from Davey O'Brien (John Cole kick) 20 27

WEEK 2[edit]

Sunday September 22, 1940

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (0–2–0) 0 7 0 6 13
Cleveland Rams (1–0–0) 13 6 0 2 21

Scoring

1st Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Rams – Johnny Drake 2-yard rush (kick failed) 0-6
  • Rams – Johnny Drake unknown yard rush (Pete Gudauskas kick) 0-13

2nd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Eagles – Don Looney 10-yard pass from Davey O'Brien (John Cole kick) 7-13
  • Rams – Johnny Drake 8-yard rush (kick failed) 7-19

3rd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • None

4th Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Eagles – Don Looney 23-yard pass from Foster Watkins (kick failed) 13-19
  • Rams – Safety, OBrien tackled in end zone 13-21

WEEK 3[edit]

Saturday September 28, 1940

1 2 3 4 Total
New York Giants (1–1–1) 10 3 7 0 20
Philadelphia Eagles (0–3–0) 7 0 7 0 14

Scoring

1st Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Eagles – Joe Bukant 1-yard rush (Fran Murray kick)
  • Giants – Ward Cuff 37-yard field goal
  • Giants – Ward Cuff 42-yard rush (Ward Cuff kick)

2nd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Giants – Ward Cuff 30-yard field goal

3rd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Giants – Jim Poole 38-yard pass from Eddie Miller (Ward Cuff kick)
  • Eagles – Dick Riffle 2-yard rush (Fran Murray kick)

4th Quarter Scoring Plays NONE

WEEK 4[edit]

Friday, October 4, 1940

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (0–4–0) 7 7 0 7 21
Brooklyn Dodgers (2–1–0) 17 0 13 0 30

Scoring 1st Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Eagles – John Cole 45-yard field goal

2nd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Dodgers – Perry Schwartz unknown yard pass from Ace Parker (Ace Parker kick)
  • Dodgers Art Jocher 2-yard pass from Dick Cassiano (Ralph Kercheval kick)
  • Dodgers Ralph Kercheval 24-yard field goal

3rd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • NONE

Eagles Elmer Hackney 1-yard rush (Fran Murray kick) 4th Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Eagles Davey O'Brien 10-yard rush (Fran Murray kick)
  • Dodgers Pug Manders 1-yard rush (kick failed)
  • Dodgers Ace Parker 2-yard rush (Ace Parker kick)

WEEK 5[edit]

Sunday, October 13, 1940

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (0–5–0) 0 0 0 7 7
New York Giants (2–1–1) 0 0 10 7 17

Scoring 1st and 2nd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • NONE

3rd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Giants – Eddie Miller 25-yard rush (Ward Cuff kick)
  • Giants – Ward Cuff 35-yard field goal

4th Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Giants – Lee Shaffer 6-yard pass from Tuffy Leemans (Len Barnum kick)
  • Eagles – Frank Emmons 1-yard rush (Foster Watkins kick)

WEEK 6[edit]

Sunday, October 20, 1940

1 2 3 4 Total
Washington Redskins (5–0–0) 7 14 6 7 34
Philadelphia Eagles (0–6–0) 3 14 0 0 17

Scoring

1st Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Eagles George Somers 46-yard field goal
  • Redskins Wayne Millner 41-yard pass from Sammy Baugh (Bob Masterson kick)

2nd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Eagles Dick Riffle 1-yard rush (Fran Murray kick)
  • Eagles Don Looney 47-yard pass from Davey O'Brien (Fran Murray kick)
  • Redskins Bob Masterson 52-yard pass from Sammy Baugh (Bob Masterson kick)
  • Redskins Dick Todd 29-yard pass from Sammy Baugh (Bob Masterson kick)

3rd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Redskins Bob Seymour 5-yard rush (kick failed)

4th Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Redskins Dick Todd 2-yard rush (Bob Masterson kick)

WEEK 7[edit]

Saturday, October 26, 1940

1 2 3 4 Total
Brooklyn Dodgers (4–2–0) 7 0 7 7 21
Philadelphia Eagles (0–7–0) 0 0 0 7 7

Scoring

1st Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Dodgers – Banks McFadden 75-yard rush (Ace Parker kick) 7 0

2nd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • NONE

3rd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Dodgers – Pug Manders 2-yard rush (Ace Parker kick) 14 0

4th Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Eagles – Dick Riffle 4-yard rush (Foster Watkins kick) 14 7
  • Dodgers – Bill Leckonby 98-yard kickoff return (Ralph Kercheval kick) 21 7

WEEK 8[edit]

Sunday, November 10, 1940

This was the final game in NFL history as of 2013 in which neither team was penalized.[4]

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (0–8–0) 3 0 0 0 3
Pittsburgh Steelers (2–6–2) 0 0 7 0 7

Scoring

1st Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Eagles – George Somers 36-yard field goal 3 0

3rd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Steelers – Coley McDonough 1-yard rush (Armand Niccolai kick)

WEEK 9[edit]

Sunday, November 17, 1940

1 2 3 4 Total
Detroit Lions (5–4–1) 0 7 0 17 21
Philadelphia Eagles (0–9–0) 0 0 0 0 0

Scoring

1st Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Lions – Lloyd Cardwell 30-yard rush (Chuck Hanneman kick)

3rd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Lions – Whizzer White 7-yard rush (Chuck Hanneman kick)
  • Lions – Whizzer White 5-yard rush (Chuck Hanneman kick)

WEEK 10[edit]

Thursday November 28, 1940 – Thanksgiving Day

1 2 3 4 Final
Pittsburgh Steelers (2–7–2) 0 0 0 0 0
Philadelphia Eagles (1–9–0) 0 0 0 7 7
SCORING PLAYS PITT PHIL TIME
4th Eagles Eagles Dick Riffle 17-yard rush (George Somers kick) 0 7

WEEK 11[edit]

Sunday, December 1, 1940

This was the Eagles 2nd game in 3 days.

1 2 3 4 Total
Philadelphia Eagles (1–10–0) 0 0 0 6 6
Washington Redskins (9–2–0) 0 6 7 0 13

Scoring 1st Quarter Scoring Plays

  • NONE

2nd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Redskins – Wilbur Moore 23-yard rush (kick failed)

3rd Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Redskins – Dick Todd 6-yard rush (Bob Masterson kick)

4th Quarter Scoring Plays

  • Eagles – Frank Emmons 19-yard pass from Davey O'Brien (kick failed)

Standings[edit]

NFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Washington Redskins 9 2 0 .818 6–2 245 142 W1
Brooklyn Dodgers 8 3 0 .727 6–2 186 120 W4
New York Giants 6 4 1 .600 5–2–1 131 133 L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 2 7 2 .222 1–6–1 60 178 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 1 10 0 .091 1–7 111 211 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Playoffs[edit]

The Eagles with a 1–10–1 record finished last in the NFL Eastern Division and fail to make it to the 1940 NFL Championship Game. The game was played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., on December 8, 1940. The Chicago Bears, with an 8–3 record, defeated the Washington Redskins, with a 9–2 record, 73–0, the most one-sided victory in NFL history. The Bears scored on 3 interception returns of Washington passes during the game. This was the first NFL title game that was broadcast nationwide on radio by Mutual Broadcasting System.

Roster[edit]

(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)

= 1940 Pro Bowl Pro All-Star[5] = Hall of Famer
NO. Player AGE POS GP GS WT HT YRS College
Bert Bell 45 Coach 1940 record
1–10
NFL-Eagles Lifetime
10–44–2
5th
last
Pennsylvania
Jay Arnold 28 HB-WB-DB
BB-KR-PR
9 3 210 6–1 3 Texas
Dick Bassi * 25 G 11 9 214 5–11 2 Santa Clara
Joe Bukant 25 B 11 4 216 6–0 2 Washington (MO)
Joe Carter 30 E 6 4 201 6–1 7 Austin College and
SMU
Chuck Cherundolo 24 C-LB 11 5 215 6–1 3 Penn State
John Cole ? FB 7 1 197 5–9 2 St. Joseph's (PA)
Woody Dow 24 BB-FB 11 0 195 6–0 2 West Texas A&M
Frank Emmons 22 B 11 5 213 6–1 Rookie Oregon
Ray George 22 T 2 2 229 6–0 1 USC
Jerry Ginney 24 G 1 0 217 5–11 Rookie Santa Clara
Elmer Hackney 24 FB 8 1 205 6–2 Rookie Kansas State
Maurice Harper 30 C 9 6 227 6–4 3 Austin
Bill Hughes 25 G-C 7 6 226 6–1 3 Texas
Elmer Kolberg 24 HB-E 10 5 201 6–4 1 Oregon State
Don Looney * 23 E 11 8 182 6–2 Rookie TCU
Les McDonald 26 E 9 0 200 6–4 3 Nebraska
Fran Murray 25 B 11 6 200 6–0 1 Pennsylvania
Charles Newton 24 FB-HB 3 2 204 6–0 1 Washington
Davey O'Brien 23 QB-TB 11 11 151 5–7 1 TCU
Phil Ragazzo 25 T-G 6 5 216 6–0 2 Case Western Reserve
Red Ramsey 29 E 11 8 196 6–0 2 Texas Tech
Dick Riffle 25 B 11 6 200 6–1 2 Albright
Theodore Schmitt 24 G 11 2 219 5–11 2 Pittsburgh
Elbie Schultz 23 T-G 11 3 252 6–4 Rookie Oregon State
George Somers 25 T 10 7 253 6–2 1 La Salle
Russ Thompson 28 T 11 5 249 6–5 4 Nebraska
Milt Trost 27 T-E 7 2 206 6–1 5 Marquette
Foster Watkins 23 QB-HB 9 0 163 5–9 Rookie West Texas A&M
Joe Wendlick 25 E 9 2 213 6–0 Rookie Oregon State
Clem Woltman 26 T 10 3 214 6–1 2 Purdue
30 Players
Team Average
24.3 11 209.5 6–0.7 1.8

Postseason[edit]

In the off season Davey O'Brien turned down a salary raise and retired from the NFL.

In December 1940, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney sold the Steelers to Alexis Thompson and used half of the proceeds to buy a half interest in the Philadelphia Eagles from his friend Bert Bell. Before the start of the 1941 season Rooney, Bell, and Thompson swapped city and NFL rights for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Steelers players of 1940 and before thereby became Philadelphia Eagles and the Philadelphia Eagles players of 1940 and before likewise became members of the Pittsburgh Steelers – with the exception of several players who were traded between the two teams.

Award and honors[edit]

  • Davey O'Brien leads league with 227 pass attempts
  • Davey O'Brien leads league with 124 pass completions
  • Davey O'Brien finishes 2nd in league with 1227 passing yards
  • Don Looney leads league in passes caught with 58
  • Don Looney leads league in passing yards with 707 yards
  • Dick Bassi makes Pro All-Star team as a left guard
  • Don Looney makes Pro All-Star team as an end

References[edit]

  1. ^ 1940 Philadelphia Eagles
  2. ^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  3. ^ "Pro Football Statistics and History".
  4. ^ "Fact or Fiction? There's never been a NFL game without any penalties". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  5. ^ Players are identified as a 1940 Pro All-Star.