1933 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1933 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's inaugural season in the National Football League (NFL). The team went 3–5–1,[1] failing to qualify for the playoffs under head coach Lud Wray.

1933 Philadelphia Eagles season
OwnerBert Bell
Head coachLud Wray
General managerBert Bell (de facto)
Home fieldBaker Bowl
Results
Record3–5–1
Division place4th Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

Offseason

When Pennsylvania eased some of the Blue laws and allowed Sunday sporting events, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh became available for NFL franchises as they could play home games on Sundays. The Frankford Yellow Jackets[2] played their games on Saturday mostly when at home.

During the offseason, Bert Bell and Lud Wray were granted an expansion franchise in the NFL for the rights to Philadelphia. The previous team, the Frankford Yellow Jackets, were inactive for two years so their rights were pulled by the NFL. They joined the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds, for a $2,500 entrance fee. The Eagles got their name from the Blue Eagle, which was used by American companies to symbolize their compliance with the National Industrial Recovery Act, a program within Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. The NFL Eagles' original colors were a light blue and yellow.

The Eagles held their first training camp in Atlantic City, New Jersey. They scheduled their home games to be played at the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, which was also the home of the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. The Eagles played at the Baker Bowl for three seasons before moving to the newer Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in the south Philadelphia area.

Personnel

1933 Philadelphia Eagles roster
Backs 

Quarterbacks 

Halfbacks

Fullbacks 

Ends

Guards 

Tackles

Centers

Head Coach 


Rookies in italics (21)
34 Active, 0 Inactive

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordGame siteAttendance
1 Bye
2 Bye
3 Bye
4 Bye
5 October 15 at New York Giants L 0–56 0–1–0 Polo Grounds 18,000
October 18 Portsmouth Spartans L 0–25 0–2–0 Baker Bowl 1,750
6 Bye
7 October 29 at Green Bay Packers L 9–35 0–3–0 City Stadium 3,007
8 November 5 at Cincinnati Reds W 6–0 1–3–0 Redland Field N/A
9 November 5 Chicago Bears T 3–3 1–3–1 Baker Bowl 17,850
10 November 19 Pittsburgh Pirates W 25–6 2–3–1 Baker Bowl 6,000
11 November 26 Cincinnati Reds W 20–3 3–3–1 Baker Bowl 10,000
12 December 3 Green Bay Packers L 0–10 3–4–1 Baker Bowl 9,500
13 December 10 New York Giants L 14–20 3–5–1 Baker Bowl 8,000

Standings

NFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
New York Giants 11 3 0 .786 7–1 244 101 W7
Brooklyn Dodgers 5 4 1 .556 2–2–1 93 54 L2
Boston Redskins 5 5 2 .500 2–3 103 97 T1
Philadelphia Eagles 3 5 1 .375 1–2 77 158 L2
Pittsburgh Pirates 3 6 2 .333 1–5–1 67 208 L3

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

Playoffs

Before the 1933 season, new Boston Redskins owner George Preston Marshall suggested the league have a championship game yearly. The year before, the Chicago Bears played the Portsmouth Spartans in an extra game to break the tie between them at season's end. They both had 6 wins.

The 3–5–1 Eagles failed to make it to the 1933 NFL Playoffs. It was only between two teams: the winner of the Eastern Division, the New York Giants, and the Western Division, the Chicago Bears.

References

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