In , the
Portsmouth Spartans
The professional American football team now known as the Detroit Lions previously played in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans, from its founding in 1928 to its relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct indepe ...
appeared in the
league championship game, the first playoff game in NFL history, losing to the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
9–0. With a record of 6–1–4 in 1932, the Spartans finished in a tie for the NFL title with the Chicago Bears.
It was the first time in history that the season ended with two teams atop the league's standings. (Ties were omitted in calculating winning percentage.) Both games during the season between Portsmouth and Chicago had ended in ties; to determine a sole champion, the league office arranged for the first playoff game in NFL history.
The game was originally scheduled to be played at
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...
, the Bears' home stadium. Due to severe blizzards and sub-zero wind chill throughout the week, the game was moved indoors to
Chicago Stadium
Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls.
...
.
The arena allowed only an 80-yard field (end lines) that came right to the walls, and the goal posts were moved from the end lines to the goal.
The Bears won 9–0, scoring the winning touchdown on a two-yard pass from
Bronko Nagurski
Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-born professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL), renowned for his strength and size. Nagurski was also a successful professional w ...
to
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and the short-lived New York Yankees ...
in the fourth quarter.
Attendance for the game was 11,198.
[ ]
With the loss, Portsmouth dropped to third in the final league standings, behind the runner-up
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
(10–3–1).
Season
Schedule
Standings
Roster
Playoff Game
Chicago Bears 9, Portsmouth Spartans 0
Awards and records
References
External links
1932 Portsmouth Spartans at Pro Football Reference1932 Portsmouth Spartans at jt-sw.com1932 Portsmouth Spatans at The Football Database
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:1932 Portsmouth Spartans Season
Portsmouth Spartans
The professional American football team now known as the Detroit Lions previously played in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans, from its founding in 1928 to its relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct indepe ...
Portsmouth Spartans
The professional American football team now known as the Detroit Lions previously played in Portsmouth, Ohio, as the Portsmouth Spartans, from its founding in 1928 to its relocation to Detroit in 1934. Originally drawing players from defunct indepe ...
Detroit Lions seasons