The 1948 NFL season was the 29th

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. During the season, Halfback

Fred Gehrke Clarence Fred Gehrke ( ; April 24, 1918 – February 9, 2002) was an American football player and executive. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland / Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Cardinals from 19 ...

painted horns on the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football. The last regular season game played on Wednesday until the 2012 season happened on September 22, 1948, between Detroit and Los Angeles. The season ended when the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

defeated the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

in the

NFL Championship Game Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...

. The 1948 season featured the highest per-game, per-team scoring in NFL history, with the average team scoring 23.2 points per game. This record stood for 65 years until .

Draft

The

1948 NFL Draft The 1948 National Football League Draft was held on December 19, 1947, at the Fort Pitt Hotel in Pittsburgh. This was the second year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery, with the previous year's winner Chicago Bea ...

was held on December 19, 1947 at

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

's Fort Pitt Hotel. With the first pick, the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

selected halfback

Harry Gilmer Harry Vincent Gilmer Jr. (April 14, 1926 – August 20, 2016) was an American football halfback and quarterback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of F ...

from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

Major rule changes

*Plastic helmets are prohibited. This rule was enacted because critics argued that they were being used more as a weapon than protection. *A flexible artificial tee is permitted at the kickoff. *When the intended passer is tackled behind the line of scrimmage, the game clock will stop temporarily until any receivers who have gone down field have had a reasonable time to return. *When the offense is called for delay of game, the defense may decline the 5-yard distance penalty. *If a foul occurs behind the line during a backwards pass or fumble, the penalty is enforced from the spot of the pass or fumble. *It is illegal to bat or punch the ball while it is in a player's possession. *All officials are equipped with whistles, not horns.

Division races

In the Eastern race, the Eagles demolished

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

45–0 in ''Week Five'' to take a ½ game lead. When the 6–1–1 Eagles met the 6–2 Skins again in ''Week Ten'', they beat Washington 42–21, and won the Division and the right to host the Championship Game. The other race was all Chicago: the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

and

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...

both had records of 10–1 going into the final week: thus, there was a ''defacto'' playoff game for the Western Division for the second year in succession, with a tie forcing a second playoff game the following week. A record crowd of 51,283 attended

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 ...

on December 12 for the all-Chicago showdown, with the Bears taking a 21–10 lead on

George Gulyanics George Gulyanics (June 11, 1921 – January 19, 1990) was born in Mishawaka, Indiana and was a professional American football player who played running back and punter for six seasons for the Chicago Bears. Gulyanics won the South Bend, Indi ...

' touchdown as the fourth quarter began.

Charley Trippi Charles Louis Trippi (December 14, 1921 – October 19, 2022) was an American professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1947 to 1955. Although primarily a running back, his versatility al ...

's touchdown cut the margin to 21–17, but the Bears had the ball and time on their side. The turning point came when the Cards'

Vince Banonis Vincent Joseph Banonis (April 9, 1921 – October 23, 2010) was an American football player. He played college football at the University of Detroit Mercy where he was selected as a first-team All-American in 1940. He also played in the National ...

picked off a pass from

Johnny Lujack John Christopher Lujack (pronounced Lu' jack; born January 4, 1925) is a former American football quarterback and defensive back who won the 1947 Heisman Trophy; he is currently the oldest living recipient of the Heisman Trophy. Lujack played c ...

, and ran the ball back to the Bears' 19, and Elmer Angsman scored the winning touchdown three plays later for the Western Division title and the trip to the Championship Game."Cardinals' About Face Beats Bears, 24–21," ''Wisconsin State Journal'' (Madison), Dec 13, 1948, p13

Final standings

NFL Championship Game

Philadelphia Eagles 7, Chicago Cardinals 0 in a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...

Shibe Park Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, December 19, 1948

League leaders

Awards

UPI NFL Most Valuable Player United Press International gave an NFL Most Valuable Player Award from 1948 through 1969, excepting 1949–50, and 1952. When the NFL's merger with the American Football League formed the National Football Conference (NFC) and American Football Conf ...

–

Pat Harder Marlin Martin “Pat” Harder (May 6, 1922 – September 6, 1992) was an American football player, playing fullback and kicker. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993. University of Wisconsin After graduating from Wa ...

Coaching changes

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Gus Dorais Charles Emile "Gus" Dorais (July 2, 1891 – January 3, 1954) was an American football player, coach, and athletic administrator. Dorais played college football at the University of Notre Dame, where he was an All-American in 1913 at quarterback ...

was replaced by

Bo McMillin Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 – March 31, 1952) was an American football player and coach at the collegiate and professional level. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he was a three-tim ...

. *

: Bob Snyder was replaced by

Clark Shaughnessy Clark Daniel Shaughnessy (originally O'Shaughnessy) (March 6, 1892 – May 15, 1970) was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation" and the original founder of the forward pass, although that ...

. *

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Jock Sutherland John Bain Sutherland (March 21, 1889 – April 11, 1948) was an American football player and coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College (1919–1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924–1938) and professional football for the ...

was replaced by

John Michelosen John Michelosen (February 13, 1916 – October 17, 1982) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1948 to 1951, compiling a record of 20–26– ...

References

* * ''Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League'' () {{DEFAULTSORT:1948 Nfl Season National Football League seasons