1927 NFL season
Regular season | |
---|---|
Duration | September 19 – December 19, 1927 |
Champions | New York Giants |
The 1927 NFL season was the eighth
Although five
The
The axed teams were the
The New York Giants were named the NFL champions after finishing the season with the best record. The Giants performance was notable, particularly on defense. They allowed only 20 points in 13 games, including 10 shutout victories.
Teams
The league dropped from 22 teams in 1926 to 12 teams in 1927.
Rejoined the NFL † | Merged from 1926 AFL * |
Last active season ^ | Last season before hiatus, rejoined league later § |
Team | Head coach(es) | Stadium |
---|---|---|
Buffalo Bisons § |
Dim Batterson | Bison Stadium |
Chicago Bears | George Halas | Wrigley Field |
Chicago Cardinals | Guy Chamberlain |
Normal Park |
Cleveland Bulldogs † | Roy Andrews | Dunn Field |
Dayton Triangles | Lou Mahrt | Triangle Park |
Duluth Eskimos ^ | Ernie Nevers | Traveling team |
Frankford Yellow Jackets | (10 games) | Frankford Stadium |
Green Bay Packers | Curly Lambeau | City Stadium |
New York Giants | Earl Potteiger | Polo Grounds |
New York Yankees * | Ralph Scott | Yankee Stadium |
Pottsville Maroons | Dick Rauch | Minersville Park |
Providence Steam Roller |
Jimmy Conzelman | Cycledrome |
Major rule changes
The goal posts were moved to the end line. They were later moved to the goal line from 1933 to 1973, but since 1974, have remained on the end line.
Championship race
After seven weeks, the Chicago Bears were unbeaten at 5–0–1, followed by the once-beaten New York Giants (6–1–1) and Green Bay Packers (5–1–1). Two games played in New York City on Tuesday, November 8, changed the standings. The New York Yankees handed the Bears a 26–6 defeat, while the Giants beat Providence, 25–0. At 7–1–1, the Giants were in first place, while the Bears and Packers were tied for second (5–1–1). On November 20, the Bears beat the visiting Packers, 14–6, and, at 7–1–1, were within striking distance of the 8–1–1 Giants. Thanksgiving Day, however, saw the Bears lose at Wrigley Field to their crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cardinals.
With three games left, the most important game of the regular season took place on November 27, at the Polo Grounds, where 15,000 turned out to watch the Bears (7–2–1) face the Giants (8–1–1). A Bears' win would have tied the teams for first place, but the Giants won, 13–7. The New York Giants and New York Yankees closed their seasons with a two-game series. At home at the Polo Grounds, the Giants beat the Yankees 14–0 to clinch the title on December 4, and then beat them again at the old Yankee Stadium on December 11, to finish at 11–1–1.
Standings
NFL standings | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
New York Giants | 11 | 1 | 1 | .917 | 197 | 20 | W9 | ||
Green Bay Packers | 7 | 2 | 1 | .778 | 113 | 43 | W1 | ||
Chicago Bears | 9 | 3 | 2 | .750 | 149 | 98 | W2 | ||
Cleveland Bulldogs | 8 | 4 | 1 | .667 | 209 | 107 | W5 | ||
Providence Steam Roller | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 105 | 88 | W3 | ||
New York Yankees | 7 | 8 | 1 | .467 | 142 | 174 | L4 | ||
Frankford Yellow Jackets | 6 | 9 | 3 | .400 | 152 | 166 | L1 | ||
Pottsville Maroons | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 80 | 163 | L1 | ||
Chicago Cardinals | 3 | 7 | 1 | .300 | 69 | 134 | L1 | ||
Dayton Triangles | 1 | 6 | 1 | .143 | 15 | 57 | L4 | ||
Duluth Eskimos | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 68 | 134 | L7 | ||
Buffalo Bisons | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 8 | 123 | L5 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
References
- ^ a b Wilfrid Smith (January 1, 1928). "Pro Football Enjoys Season of Prosperity". Chicago Tribune. p. 16. Archived from the original on April 9, 2017.
- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1921–1930 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)