1949: Redskins Defeat Steelers with 3 TDs in Fourth Quarter

The Washington Redskins were struggling with a 2-3-1 record as they hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 6, 1949. John Whelchel, a former admiral and coach at Navy, had been hired as head coach to bring discipline to the team. QB Sammy Baugh (pictured at right) was still a highly-effective passer at age 35 and end Hugh Taylor an outstanding receiver, but the Redskins lost badly to the Cardinals, Giants, and Eagles.

Pittsburgh, coached by John Michelosen, was 4-2 and trying to remain in contention after a loss to the Eastern Division-leading Eagles the previous week. The Steelers were utilizing the NFL’s last single-wing offense and thus remained dependent on a conservative, ground-oriented attack. While coming into the game with the better record, the team had never won in Washington and lost to the Redskins in Pittsburgh earlier in the season.

There were 26,038 fans in attendance at Griffith Stadium. The Steelers dominated play in the first quarter, not allowing a first down on defense, although they came up empty on a scoring opportunity. DE Bob Davis partially blocked a punt by Dick Poillon in his end zone to give Pittsburgh the ball on the Washington 27. Three running plays got the ball to the eight, but after another three runs, HB Jerry Nuzum was stopped at the one on fourth down.

At 6:35 into the second quarter, the Redskins got on the board when QB Harry Gilmer eluded tacklers and threw a bomb to Hugh Taylor, who pulled it down from among three defenders for a 51-yard touchdown.

The Steelers responded by driving 80 yards in 12 plays. TB Jim Finks completed a pass to end Val Jansante for 34 yards and ran five yards around end for a touchdown to finish off the series. Joe Glamp’s conversion tied the score at 7-7, which remained the tally at halftime.

In the third quarter, Pittsburgh had the initial possession and advanced 66 yards, this time in 13 plays. Nuzum (pictured at right) ran for 13 yards and Finks for 14 before FB Jerry Shipkey powered up the middle for a TD from a foot out and Glamp’s extra point put the visitors in front by 14-7.

The Redskins, with Sammy Baugh in at quarterback, drove to the Pittsburgh 30, but LB Darrell Hogan picked off a pass. The Steelers reached the Washington 16 on their series, with the big play a 23-yard carry by Nuzum, but the drive stalled and Glamp was wide to the right on a 25-yard field goal attempt.

Late in the period, DB Howard Hartley intercepted another Baugh pass at the Pittsburgh 16. The Steelers had to punt to start the fourth quarter and the Redskins took possession at their 26. Rookie FB Pete Stout ran around end, eluded several tacklers as he headed down the sideline, and went the distance for a 74-yard touchdown. Poillon converted and, less than a minute into the final period, the score was again tied at 14-14.

Hartley intercepted another pass and then Poillon missed a 41-yard field goal attempt for Washington and a deadlock appeared likely. The Steelers came out passing, however, and Finks was picked off by DB Howie Livingston at the Pittsburgh 42. Baugh passed to Taylor for eight yards and then to HB Rob Goode for a 32-yard gain. Stout followed up with another touchdown, this time from one yard out. Poillon missed the extra point, but the home team was ahead by six points with two minutes remaining to play.

Pittsburgh again went to the air, the biggest a throw from Finks to end Elbie Nickel for 30 yards, and reached the Washington 39 before DHB Dan Sandifer intercepted a pass and returned it 58 yards to the Pittsburgh 16. HB Harry Dowda ran for a one-yard insurance TD. The PAT was successful and what had been a closely-fought contest for most of the way turned into a 27-14 win for the Redskins.

Thanks to the long scoring run, Pete Stout (pictured above) gained 107 yards on just seven carries that included two touchdowns. Sammy Baugh completed 8 of 15 passes for 101 yards and a TD and Harry Gilmer was four-of-12 for 107 yards and a score. For the Steelers, Jim Finks was successful on five of 15 throws for 86 yards with no touchdowns. He also ran for 68 yards on 18 carries.

Washington won only once more the rest of the way, ending up with a 4-7-1 record that placed fourth in the Eastern Division. Coach Whelchel was let go and assistant Herman Ball finished out the year in the interim. For the Steelers, the loss extinguished any faint title hopes and they went 6-5-1 for second place in the division, well behind the Eagles.

Sammy Baugh had a typically productive season, leading the NFL in passing for the sixth (and last) time while accumulating 1903 yards and 18 touchdowns. Pete Stout’s rushing total against the Steelers represented almost half of his 245 yards on 62 carries for the season in which he appeared in six games.

1949: Eagles Defeat Rams in Quagmire for NFL Championship

The Philadelphia Eagles had won the 1948 NFL title in a game played amidst blizzard conditions. On December 18, 1949 they were once again playing for the league championship while facing extreme weather. The Eagles, under Head Coach Earle “Greasy” Neale, were an even better club than in ’48. They repeated as Eastern Division champs with an 11-1 record, leading the NFL both in points scored (364) and fewest points surrendered (134). The key to the offense was star HB Steve Van Buren (pictured above), who won his fourth league rushing title in five years with a record 1146 yards. QB Tommy Thompson was a fine passer and had an able receiving corps in ends Pete Pihos, Jack Ferrante, and Neill Armstrong.  Neale’s innovative 5-2-4 defense was highly effective.

The winners of the Western Division were the Los Angeles Rams, who went 8-2-2. Head Coach Clark Shaughnessy was one of the architects of the T-formation and fashioned a high-scoring offense. Veteran QB Bob Waterfield was joined by rookie Norm Van Brocklin and HB Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch was moved out to flanker where he joined ends Tom Fears and Bob Shaw to create an exciting and productive passing attack. However, after winning their first six games they lost badly at Philadelphia and struggled through the remainder of the schedule.

Heavy rains struck Los Angeles the previous day and continued through the Sunday of the title game, dumping some three inches of rain on Los Angeles and making the field at the Memorial Coliseum a sea of mud. A record crowd was expected to attend the contest in the cavernous stadium, but the heavy downpour limited attendance to a disappointing 22,245 – a particular disappointment to the players, who were looking forward to a large gate with healthy shares going to the winning team.  Thus, there were players, and for that matter fans, who wanted to see the game postponed a week, but it went on as scheduled.

With conditions that essentially grounded the offenses, neither team scored in the opening period. In the second quarter, the Eagles put together a 63-yard drive. Tommy Thompson completed passes to Jack Ferrante that gained 11 and 16 yards, respectively, and then hit Pete Pihos from 31 yards out, who made a leaping grab at the 15 and proceeded unmolested into the end zone. Cliff Patton’s extra point attempt was successful and the defending champs held a 7-0 lead at the half.

Philadelphia added to its lead in the third quarter. With the Rams backed up to their 10 yard line, a punt by Bob Waterfield was blocked by DE Leo Skladany who then managed to gain possession of the ball that had rolled back to the two and cross the goal line for another TD. It was a career highlight for Skladany, a rookie who was playing semipro football until signed by the Eagles during the season when star DE Johnny Green went down with an injury. Once again Patton added the PAT.

The Rams only threatened twice, reaching the Philadelphia 25 and 37 yard lines, but came up empty. A field goal try by Waterfield from 45 yards sailed wide. Likewise, the Eagles had an opportunity to add to their margin but HB Jim Parmer fumbled the ball away at the LA 7. The key to the game was Philadelphia’s ability to run the ball effectively and thus control time of possession as well as being able to shut the Rams down defensively. The Eagles won their second consecutive title by a score of 14-0.

Philadelphia’s domination was complete. The Eagles ran far more plays (70 to 51), gained more total yards (342 to 109), and had more first downs (17 to 7). The Rams didn’t make a first down on a running play and set a team record for lowest rushing yardage in a title game (21 yards on 24 carries). Philadelphia, on the other hand, did the opposite (274 yards on 61 attempts).

Steve Van Buren was the game’s dominant player, gaining a postseason-record 196 yards on 31 carries (it remained the NFL standard until 1975). Tommy Thompson threw just 9 passes and completed 5 for 68 yards and a touchdown along with two interceptions. Jack Ferrante was the only Eagle to catch more than one pass, with two for 27 yards, although Pete Pihos was the receiving yardage leader with 31 on his lone reception for a TD.

For the Rams, Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin combined for 10 completions in 27 attempts for 98 yards and one interception. Four receivers caught two passes apiece, with tackle Dick Huffman the leader in yards with 26. The anemic ground game was led by HB Fred Gehrke who gained 13 yards on three attempts – FB Dick Hoerner had 7 carries, for just 10 yards.

“My boys did their best,” summed up Clark Shaughnessy. “I can’t think of a single change I would make if the game were played again.”

The win over the Rams made the Eagles the first back-to-back NFL Champions since the 1940-41 Bears and crowned a run in which they topped the Eastern Division for three straight years. They dropped to 6-6 and third place in the revamped American Conference in 1950 primarily as the result of injuries (particularly to Van Buren) – and the arrival of the Cleveland Browns from the AAFC. Philadelphia would not win another title until 1960. The Rams, on the other hand, made it back to the Championship game in each of the next two seasons, winning in 1951 and tying for first place in the National Conference in ’52. 

1949: Conerly & Roberts Star as Giants Down Packers

The NFL game on November 13, 1949 at Green Bay’s City Stadium featured the Packers (2-5), in what would be their last season under head coach and founder Curly Lambeau, and New York Giants (4-3), a rebuilding club under long-time Head Coach Steve Owen.

The Giants featured second-year QB Charlie Conerly and HB Gene “Choo-Choo” Roberts (pictured above) on offense. Roberts, a good receiver out of the backfield as well as rusher, had a 200-yard receiving performance three weeks earlier (201 on four catches, three of them for TDs, against the Bears).

Green Bay came into the contest as the lowest-scoring team in pro football, averaging just 9.9 points per game. Beyond star HB Tony Canadeo, there wasn’t much talent. The passing game, with Jug Girard and rookie Stan Heath seeing most of the action at quarterback, was dreadful. It was a far cry from the days of Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell shredding defenses with throws to Don Hutson.

There were 20,151 in attendance at the small venue. Late in the first quarter, the Giants started off the scoring when Conerly threw a pass to Roberts that traveled 20 yards in the air and the third-year halfback ran the remaining 25 for a 45-yard touchdown. Shortly thereafter, LB Don Ettinger intercepted a pass by Heath at the Green Bay 20. The result was a 41-yard Ben Agajanian field goal.

Down 10-0 in the second quarter, the Packers got into the game with a 27-yard field goal by Ted Fritsch and the score remained 10-3 at halftime. However, the Giants took control of the contest with two touchdowns in the third quarter.

In their first possession of the second half, Conerly threw to Roberts for a 44-yard touchdown. The next was set up when tackle Bill Austin recovered a fumble at the Green Bay 32. Again it was Roberts scoring a TD on a Conerly pass, this time from ten yards out.

Visibility was poor late in the game and the lights were turned on. The Packers finally scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter when HB Ralph Earhart returned a punt 57 yards. But end Bill Swiacki added another TD for the Giants, pulling in Conerly’s pass over the heads of two defenders for a 24-yard score. The extra point attempt failed, but it didn’t matter. New York won handily by a final tally of 30-10.

While New York’s edge in first downs was only 19 to 17, the Giants significantly outgained the Packers by 451 yards to 288. Most of New York’s yardage came through the air (352 net passing yards to 99 rushing yards) while Green Bay’s was more evenly distributed (137 rushing, 151 passing). And while the Giants turned the ball over five times, the Packers suffered six turnovers.


Charlie Conerly completed 15 of 29 throws for 345 yards with four touchdown passes, although three were intercepted. Gene Roberts had another two hundred-yard receiving performance as he gained 212 on 7 catches with three TDs. For the Packers, Tony Canadeo ran for 71 yards on 14 carries.

The Giants lost three of their last four games to finish at 6-6 and in third place in the Eastern Division. Green Bay lost all of its remaining contests and ended up at the bottom of the Western Division with a 2-10 record. The team was suffering financially as well as organizationally, and it was a sad end to the Lambeau era for the Packers.

Gene Roberts had an extraordinary season. In addition to becoming the first running back to twice gain 200 receiving yards in a single season, he ranked fourth in rushing in the NFL with 634 yards on 152 carries and nine touchdowns and also placed fourth with his 711 yards on 35 pass receptions that included another eight TDs. His 17 touchdowns and 102 points led the league (the scoring total was tied by Pat Harder of the Cardinals). Roberts also led the NFL with 1345 yards from scrimmage. It was all part of a productive four-season career with the Giants that peaked in 1949 and ’50, and ended abruptly when Roberts jumped to Canada in 1951 and played with Montreal and Ottawa for another four years.

Charlie Conerly played for the Giants far longer (until 1961). In 1949, he ranked third in passing yards (2138) and touchdown passes (17, tied with Bob Waterfield of the Rams), although he also ranked third by tossing 20 interceptions.

Green Bay’s Tony Canadeo (pictured below) had an outstanding season with a bad team as he rushed for 1052 yards on 208 carries for a 5.1-yard average and four TDs. The 30-year-old, in his eighth year out of Gonzaga, ranked second in rushing to Philadelphia’s Steve Van Buren and thus became the first NFL player to rush for a thousand yards in a season without leading the league.