The 1936 NFL Championship Game was the fourth

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

played in 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 ...

(NFL). It took place on December 13 at

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

in New York City, making it the first NFL title game held on a neutral field. The Eastern Division champion

Boston Redskins The Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL), have also played as the Boston Braves, Boston Redskins, Washington Redskins, and Washington Football Team. Founded in 1932, the team has won five ...

(7–5) were the home team, but their owner

George Preston Marshall George Preston Marshall (October 11, 1896 – August 9, 1969) was an American businessman best known for founding the Washington Commanders, an American football franchise belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He founded the team as ...

, the Packers and the league mutually agreed to move the game from

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

to the Polo Grounds due to low ticket sales in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Several days after the game, Marshall announced he would move the team to his hometown of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

for the following season. This was the first championship game for both the Redskins and the Western Division champion

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 ...

(10–1–1), who were favored. The Packers won 21–6 for their fourth NFL title, all under longtime head coach

Curly Lambeau Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau (April 9, 1898 – June 1, 1965) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin native George Whitney Cal ...

, having previously won league championships awarded by league standing in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

, and

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

Scoring summary

''Sunday, December 13, 1936''
Kickoff: 2 p.m. EST ;First quarter: *GB –

Don Hutson Donald Montgomery Hutson (January 31, 1913 – June 26, 1997) was an American professional football player and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as an end and spent his entire 11-year professional career with the ...

48-yard pass from Arnie Herber ( Ernie Smith kick), 7–0 GB ;Second quarter: *BOS –

Pug Rentner Ernest John "Pug" Rentner (September 18, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American football halfback and quarterback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Boston Redskins and the Chicago Bears. He was inducted ...

2-yard run (kick failed), 7–6 GB ;Third quarter: *GB –

Milt Gantenbein Milton Edward Gantenbein (May 31, 1910 – December 18, 1988) was an American football player who played on three championship teams, as an end and as a defensive end for the Green Bay Packers from 1931 to 1940. The former University of Wisco ...

8-yard pass from Herber (Smith kick), 14–6 GB ;Fourth quarter: *GB –

Bob Monnett Robert C. Monnett (February 27, 1910 – August 2, 1978) was a professional American football player who played halfback for six seasons for the Green Bay Packers. He was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1973. Monnett ret ...

2-yard run ( Tiny Engebretsen kick), 21–6 GB

Officials

*Referee: W.G. Crowell *Umpire: Bobby Cahn *Head Linesman: Maurice Meyer *Field Judge: William Halloran The NFL had only four game officials in ; the back judge was added in , the line judge in , and the side judge in .

Players' shares

Each player on the winning Packer team received about $250, while Redskins received about $180 each.

References

{{NFL pre-sb

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 ...

Green Bay Packers postseason Boston Redskins postseason

Championship Game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

National Football League Championship games

Sports in Manhattan American football in New York City Sports competitions in New York City

1930s in Manhattan Washington Heights, Manhattan