The 1933 NFL season was the 14th

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 ...

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 ...

. Because of the success of the Playoff Game the year before, the league divided its teams into two divisions for the first time, with the winners of each division playing in a Championship Game to determine the NFL Champion. Three new teams joined the league: the Pittsburgh Pirates, 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 play ...

, and the Cincinnati Reds, while the Boston Braves changed their name to the

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 fi ...

and the

Staten Island Stapletons The Staten Island Stapletons also known as the Staten Island Stapes were a professional American football team founded in 1915 that played in the National Football League from 1929 to 1932. The team was based in the Stapleton section of Staten ...

, while still scheduling games against league teams, left the league. The season ended when the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants in the first ever

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 ...

Major rule changes

Due to the success of the

1932 NFL Playoff Game The 1932 NFL Playoff Game was an extra game held to break a tie in the season's final standings in the National Football League. It matched the host Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans. Because of snowfall and anticipated extremely cold te ...

, the league stopped using the exact rules of college football and started to develop its own revisions: #The forward pass is legal anywhere behind the

line of scrimmage In gridiron football, a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line (across the width of the field) beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun. Its location is based on the spot where the ball is placed after the end o ...

. Previously, the passer had to be at least five yards back from the scrimmage line. This change is referred to as the "

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 ...

Rule" after his controversial touchdown in the 1932 NFL Playoff Game. #Hashmarks or inbounds lines are added to the field 10 yards in from each sideline. All plays would start with the ball on or between the hashmarks. #To increase the number of field goals and decrease the number of tie games, the goal posts are moved from the end lines at the back of the end zones to the goal lines (reversing the change made before the season); the goal posts were moved back to the end line in , where it has remained. #It is a touchback when a punt hits the opponent's goal posts before being touched by a player of either team. #It is a safety if a ball that is kicked behind the goal line hits the goal posts, and rolls back out of the end zone or is recovered by the kicking team.

Final standings

NFL Championship Game

League leaders

Coaching changes

: Lud Wray was replaced by William Dietz. * Brooklyn Dodgers: Benny Friedman was replaced by

Cap McEwen John James "Cap" McEwan (February 18, 1893 – August 9, 1970) was an American football player and coach. He played from 1913 to 1916 as a center at the United States Military Academy, where he was a three-time All-American and captain of the ...

. * Chicago Bears: To save money, franchise owner George Halas laid off

Ralph Jones Ralph Robert "Curley" Jones (September 22, 1880 – July 26, 1951) was an American high school and college football and basketball coach. He also served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1930 ...

and took over the head coaching duties. * Cincinnati Reds: For the Reds' first season in the league, Al Jolley served three games and Mike Palm served seven. *

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 ...

Jack Chevigny John Edward Chevigny (August 14, 1906 – February 19, 1945) was an American football player, coach, lawyer, and United States Marine Corps officer who was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He is best ...

was replaced by Paul J. Schissler. * Pittsburgh Pirates: Forrest Douds became the first head coach of the new team. *

: Lud Wray became the first head coach of the new team.

Stadium changes

* The renamed

moved from Braves Field to

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 Bas ...

. * The Cincinnati Reds began play at Crosley Field. * The Pittsburgh Pirates began play at

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

* The

began play at the Baker Bowl. This was also the first season of selected Green Bay Packers home games in Milwaukee, with the Packers hosting one game in 1933 at

Borchert Field Borchert Field was a baseball park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The home field for several professional baseball clubs from 1888 through 1952, it became obsolete after the construction of County Stadium in 1953 and was demolished la ...

. The team would then regularly play two or three home games each year in Milwaukee from 1934 to 1994.

References

* ''NFL Record and Fact Book'' ()
NFL History 1931–1940
(Last accessed December 4, 2005) * ''Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League'' () {{DEFAULTSORT:1933 Nfl Season National Football League seasons