The 1946 NFL Championship Game was the 14th annual championship game 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 majo ...

(NFL), played December 15 at the

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, with a record-breaking attendance of The game matched the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

(7–3–1), champions of the Eastern Division, against the Western Division champion

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 ...

(8–2–1). The Giants had won the regular season game at the Polo Grounds seven weeks earlier on October 27, but the Bears were seven to ten point This was the fifth and final NFL Championship game played at the Polo Grounds and the fourth of six meetings between the Bears and Giants in the title game. Tied after three quarters, Chicago won 24–14 for their seventh NFL title, their fifth victory in eight NFL championship game appearances. The attendance record stood for another nine years, until the 1955 title game in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Bribery scandal

The day before the game, two players for the Giants, Frank Filchock and

Merle Hapes Merle Alison Hapes (May 19, 1919July 18, 1994) was a professional American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played two seasons for the New York Giants (1942, 1946). He and quarterback Frank Filchock were involved in a ...

, had been accused of taking bribes to fix the game from Alvin Paris. Mayor

William O'Dwyer William O'Dwyer (July 11, 1890November 24, 1964) was an Irish-American politician and diplomat who served as the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950. Life and career O'Dwyer was born in Bohola, County Mayo, Ir ...

had

Jack Mara John V. Mara (March 21, 1908 – June 29, 1965) was a co-owner of the New York Giants, an American football team that plays in the National Football League. Jack was the son of Elizabeth "Lizette" (née Barclay) and Tim Mara and brother of Wel ...

Wellington Mara Wellington Timothy Mara (August 14, 1916 – October 25, 2005) was the co-owner of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1959 until his death. He was the younger son of Tim Mara, who founded the Giants in 1925. Wellingto ...

and

Bert Bell De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was the National Football League (NFL) commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's comm ...

informed of the police evidence against the two. Hours later, the four then met at

Gracie Mansion Archibald Gracie Mansion (commonly called Gracie Mansion) is the official residence of the Mayor of New York City. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and 88th Street in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. ...

and the mayor interviewed the players one at a time.Robert S. Lyons, ''On Any Given Sunday: A Life of Bert Bell.'' Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2010; pg. 201. Under questioning, Hapes admitted that he was offered a bribe and Filchock denied being offered it. Several hours later, Paris was arrested and confessed to bribing the players. Hapes was suspended by Bell, but Filchock was allowed to play.Lyons, ''On Any Given Sunday,'' pg. 202. During Paris' trial weeks later, Filchock admitting taking the bribe under

Scoring summary

''Sunday, December 15, 1946''
Kickoff: 2 p.m. EST *First quarter **CHI –

Ken Kavanaugh Kenneth William Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach, and scout. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears as an end from 1940 to 1950, except for ...

21 yard pass from

Sid Luckman Sidney Luckman (November 21, 1916 – July 5, 1998) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1939 through 1950. During his twelve seasons with the Bears, ...

( Frank Maznicki kick), 7–0 CHI **CHI – Dante Magnani 19 yard interception return (Maznicki kick), 14–0 CHI **NY – Liebel 38 yard pass from Frank Filchock (

Ken Strong Elmer Kenneth Strong (April 21, 1906 – October 5, 1979) was an American football halfback and fullback who also played minor league baseball. Considered one of the greatest all-around players in the early decades of the game, he was inducted ...

kick), 14–7 CHI *Second quarter **''No scoring'' *Third quarter **NY – Steve Filipowicz 5 yard pass from Filchock (Strong kick), 14–14 TIE *Fourth quarter **CHI – Luckman 19 yard run (Maznicki kick), 21–14 CHI **CHI – FG Maznicki 26 yard, 24–14 CHI

Officials

*Referee: Ronald Gibbs *Umpire: Carl Brubaker *Head Linesman:

Charlie Berry Charles Francis Berry (October 18, 1902 – September 6, 1972) was an American athlete and sports official who enjoyed careers as a catcher and umpire in Major League Baseball and as an end and official in the National Football League. His ...

*Field Judge: William Grimberg The NFL had only four game

officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...

in ; the back judge was added the following season in , the line judge in , and the side judge in .

Players' shares

The gross receipts for the game, including radio and picture rights, was just under $283,000. Each player on the winning Bear team received $1,975, while Giants players made $1,295 each.

References

{{NFL pre-sb Championship Game National Football League Championship games Chicago Bears postseason New York Giants postseason Sports in Manhattan American football in New York City

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 ...

Sports competitions in New York City

1940s in Manhattan Washington Heights, Manhattan