1941: Down by 17 at the Half, Packers Rally to Defeat Redskins

The Green Bay Packers were 9-1 and in a battle with the Chicago Bears in the NFL Western Division as they took on the Washington Redskins in their season finale on November 30, 1941. Head Coach Curly Lambeau’s team benefited from the passing of tailback Cecil Isbell and the pass receiving of superb end Don Hutson (Hutson, left, and Isbell pictured above). Isbell could run, too, and the stable of backs led by FB Clarke Hinkle was a good one.

Washington, coached by Ray Flaherty, had lost three straight games after starting the season at 5-1 and the Redskins were now 5-4 as they hosted the Packers. TB Sammy Baugh, who split time with Frank Filchock, was one of the NFL’s most productive passers and the team benefited from the addition of C/LB Ki Aldrich, who was obtained through a trade with the Cardinals.

It was a warm day at Griffith Stadium with 35,594 fans in attendance. The Redskins took the opening kickoff and drove 67 yards. Tailback Frank Filchock completed passes for first downs to back Roy Zimmerman and end Joe Aguirre. The series was capped by Filchock running for a 10-yard touchdown on a fake reverse. Aguirre kicked the extra point.

Green Bay managed one first down in response as Cecil Isbell threw to end Don Hutson for 15 yards, but the Packers had to punt. Washington again moved the ball on offense, with FB Bob Seymour (pictured at left) the standout, advancing 50 yards before Bob Masterson kicked a 28-yard field goal.

Heading into the second quarter, the Redskins expanded their lead. Sammy Baugh entered the game for Washington and made a big play on defense as he intercepted an Isbell pass and returned it to near midfield. Following a nine-yard run by FB Andy Farkas, Baugh threw long for Seymour and it was complete for a 41-yard TD. A bad snap from center nearly thwarted the extra point attempt, but Baugh grabbed the ball and Ki Aldrich was able to make the kick. The home team was up by a 17-0 score.

The Packers got two first downs before Isbell was twice tossed for losses and then Aldrich intercepted a pass and returned it 41 yards to the Green Bay 41. The Packers got the ball back when Farkas fumbled, gave it back up on another interception, and regained it once more on a fumble by Seymour. TB Hal Van Every threw to HB Andy Uram for a 30-yard gain with less than a minute remaining in the first half, but after TB Tony Canadeo picked up a first down, the clock ran out with the score unchanged.

Green Bay had been unable to sustain drives in the first half, but the result was very different in the third quarter. First, LB George Svendsen recovered a Farkas fumble at the Green Bay 28 and Isbell proceeded to pass the Packers down the field. Reaching the Washington 15, he then ran seven yards for a first down and the series concluded with his throw to Hutson for a touchdown from eight yards out. Hutson’s try for the extra point missed, but the visitors were on the board.

The Redskins responded by once again moving the ball effectively, but Filchock’s pass from his own 45 was intercepted by Svendsen, who returned it 45 yards to the Washington three. FB Clarke Hinkle hit the line twice without success before Isbell, facing third-and-goal, again connected with Hutson for a three-yard TD. This time Hutson successfully converted and the Packers were down by just 17-13 heading into the final period.

Following a short possession by the Redskins, Green Bay started the next series at its own 33. Isbell ran for five yards and then hit on short passes to Hutson and HB Herm Rohrig. He then went long for Hutson and the result was a 40-yard touchdown. Hutson again added the PAT and the visitors were up by 20-17.

On the ensuing kickoff, back Ray Hare fumbled at his three, recovered, and retreated into his end zone for a safety that increased the Green Bay lead to five points. Washington was unable to come back despite Baugh’s best efforts. In a series that started from the Washington 14, “Slingin’ Sammy” passed the team down the field with completions to end Al Krueger and McChesney. But after getting to the Green Bay 16, the Packers held and the Redskins turned the ball over on downs. Getting one last shot in the final minute, Baugh threw a desperation pass that Uram picked off to seal the 22-17 win for the Packers.

Green Bay led in total yards (388 to 331) while the Redskins had more first downs (18 to 14). Washington turned the ball over five times, to four suffered by the Packers, who gave up three interceptions in the first half, but none during the second half comeback. Don Hutson caught 9 passes for 135 yards and three touchdowns, all on throws from Cecil Isbell.

The Packers ended up tied with the Bears on top of the Western Division with a 10-1 record. They had split with Chicago during the regular season, but it was the Bears handily coming out on top in the playoff for the division title. Washington ended up at 6-5, placing third in the Eastern Division.

Don Hutson led the NFL in pass receiving (58), pass receiving yards (738), and TD receptions (10), as well as touchdowns overall (12, tied with George McAfee of the Bears) and scoring (95 points, a new NFL record). He was recipient of the Joe F. Carr Trophy as league MVP. Cecil Isbell topped the circuit in pass attempts (206), completions (117), yards (1479), and TD passes (15), among other categories. Both were consensus first-team All-NFL selections.

1940: Isbell-to-Hutson is Highlight as Packers Win Pro All-Star Game

Predecessor to the Pro Bowl, the NFL’s all-star contest that came into being after the 1950 NFL season, was the Pro All-Star Game, which followed the 1938 thru ’42 seasons. Unlike the Pro Bowl, the Pro All-Star Game format matched the winner of the NFL Championship game against a squad of All-Stars representing the rest of the league. The second game was played on January 14, 1940 and featured the Green Bay Packers, NFL Champions of 1939, against an All-Star team coached by Steve Owen of the Giants.

The Packers, coached by Curly Lambeau, had gone 9-2 in winning the Western Division for the second straight year and handily defeated the Giants by a score of 27-0 in a Championship game rematch. Tailbacks Arnie Herber and Cecil Isbell (pictured above) were fine passers and they had the league’s best receiver in end Don Hutson as primary target. Behind an outstanding line, FB Clarke Hinkle led the running attack.

Among the players in the starting lineup for the All-Stars were center Mel Hein and end Jim Poole of the Giants, HB Parker Hall (the league MVP) and FB Johnny Drake of the Rams, Brooklyn end Perry Schwartz and guard Bruiser Kinard, and tackle Joe Stydahar of the Bears.

The game, played in Los Angeles, had been postponed a week due to rain and there was a near-capacity crowd of 18,000 in attendance under sunny skies at Gilmore Stadium. The All-Stars had worked together for three weeks and lacked coordination, neither running nor passing the ball effectively. The Packers struck first in the opening quarter with Clarke Hinkle kicking a 45-yard field goal.

In the second quarter, Green Bay drove to the All-Star 11 and Ernie Smith booted an 18-yard field goal that made the score 6-0. The All-Stars threatened later in the period when Washington tailback Frank Filchock threw to end Bill Smith of the Cardinals for a 62-yard gain to the Green Bay 12, where he was knocked out of bounds by Cecil Isbell. The Packers held for three downs and a fourth down pass by Filchock was intercepted by LB Ed Jankowski to end the threat.

With the ball at their eight yard line and the clock down to 38 seconds in the first half, the Packers pulled off the most spectacular play of the game. The All-Stars were anticipating a punt, but Isbell instead faded back into his end zone and threw long for Don Hutson (pictured at left). The pass went over 60 yards in the air before being gathered in by the streaking Hutson, who went the distance for a 92-yard touchdown. Smith kicked the extra point and the NFL champs took a 13-0 lead into halftime.

Early in the third quarter, the All-Stars got moving on offense, under the direction of diminutive QB Davey O’Brien of the Eagles. First, O’Brien gave the All-Stars good field position as he returned a punt 28 yards to the Green Bay 17. Two runs by Johnny Drake gave the All-Stars a first down at the six, and two plays later O’Brien threw to end Joe Carter, an Eagles teammate, in the end zone for a touchdown. Ward Cuff of the Giants added the extra point and the All-Stars were back in the game at 13-7.

Later in the period, runs of 24 yards by Hinkle and 19 yards by HB Andy Uram helped the Packers to reach the All-Star 16. The drive stalled, but Smith added a seven-yard field goal to put Green Bay ahead by nine.

That was it for the scoring, although late in the contest the Packers reached the All-Star three yard line thanks to passes by Arnie Herber to Hutson and end Carl “Moose” Mulleneaux. On fourth down, and having lost a yard, Ernie Smith lined up for a field goal attempt, but with the crowd shouting for a touchdown, the Packers tried a pass instead that fell incomplete. It was of no consequence as Green Bay came away the winner by a final score of 16-7. The game ended with the ball near midfield after O’Brien fired a pass to Bill Smith for a 25-yard gain.

The Packers easily outgained the All-Stars (330 yards to 130) and had the edge in first downs (11 to 8). Each team gave up two interceptions apiece. Davey O’Brien (pictured at right), Johnny Drake, and Parker Hall were the best of the backs for the All-Stars.

The win for the Packers gave the NFL champs a second win over the All-Stars in as many games. It would reach four straight before the All-Stars would win the fifth, and final, contest of the series. 

1948: Bills Rally Past Colts in AAFC East Division Playoff

The Baltimore Colts hosted the Buffalo Bills on December 12, 1948 in a playoff to determine the winner of the All-America Football Conference’s Eastern Division. The Colts had forced the playoff a week earlier by defeating the Bills soundly by a score of 35-15 in the regular season finale, with the clubs thus finishing in a dead heat at 7-7. The records were mediocre, to be sure, and they benefited from the collapse of the New York Yankees, who dominated the division in the AAFC’s first two seasons. But it still meant a chance to play in the league championship game – even if that meant facing off against the powerful, and undefeated, Cleveland Browns.

The Bills, coached by Red Dawson, actually had a better record in 1947, when they finished second to New York. QB George Ratterman (pictured above) was the key player on offense and had a productive receiver in end Al Baldwin, who caught 54 passes during the regular season. HB Chet Mutryn was an outstanding all-purpose back who led the AAFC with 2288 total yards and 96 points and FB Lou Tomasetti ran effectively between the tackles.

Baltimore, under Head Coach Cecil Isbell, was the more surprising participant in the contest. The Colts were coming off a 2-11-1 campaign in ’47. Added to holdover HB Billy Hillenbrand and end Lamar Davis were a fine rookie crop that included QB Y.A. Tittle, HB Bob Pfohl, DHB Jack Leight, and FB/PK Rex Grossman. The team had won three of its last four games, including the convincing win over Buffalo, and appeared to have the momentum heading into the playoff.

There were 27, 327 fans on hand at Babe Ruth Stadium. The Colts took the early lead on a 16-yard field goal by Rex Grossman in the first quarter. George Ratterman tossed a five-yard jump-pass to end Bill O’Connor to give Buffalo the lead at 7-3, which was the score at halftime as the defenses controlled the game.

The Colts appeared to take command in the third quarter. A 71-yard drive ended with FB Bus Mertes running for a touchdown from nine yards out. Baltimore then put together an 88-yard series that also ended with a Mertes TD, this from a yard. Both were followed by Grossman extra points and the home team was up by 17-7 heading into the final period.

Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Buffalo’s Ratterman passed to HB Bill Gompers, who was all alone for a 66-yard touchdown, and with Graham Armstrong’s PAT, that narrowed the score to 17-14.

A key play occurred with five minutes left on the clock when Chet Mutryn caught a short pass from Ratterman, but then dropped the ball. Tackle John Mellus recovered what he – and many of those present – thought was a fumble for the Colts, but sideline judge Tommy Whelan ruled it an incomplete pass. Six plays later, with the Baltimore defense reeling following the disputed incompletion, the Bills scored when Ratterman connected with Al Baldwin for a 25-yard touchdown. Armstrong tacked on the extra point.

Buffalo’s lead was padded when LB Ed “Buckets” Hirsch intercepted a Tittle pass and returned it 20 yards for a TD. The final score was 28-17 as the Bills won the Eastern Division title.

Police had to escort the officials to the locker room after the game due to the partisan crowd that was angered over the incomplete pass call. The AAFC’s deputy commissioner, O.O. Kessing, spoke with the official, Whelan, afterward and quoted him as saying of the disputed call, “That’s the way I saw it and I’d call it that way seven days a week.”

The Colts outgained Buffalo (393 yards to 297) and had far more first downs (24 to 11). Both teams were productive on the ground, with the Colts rushing for 176 yards to Buffalo’s 162. Each team turned the ball over three times – although a turnover-that-wasn’t was the most discussed play of the game.

George Ratterman completed 10 of 18 passes for 135 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, and was at his best with the game on the line in the late going. Lou Tomasetti led the Bills with 56 rushing yards on 12 attempts and Chet Mutryn was right behind with 54 yards on 11 carries. Bill Gompers had 52 yards on 14 rushes and, with his 66-yard scoring catch, led the club in pass receiving yards. Al Baldwin and Bill O’Connor each caught three passes, for 21 and 20 yards, respectively, and one TD apiece.

For the Colts, Y.A. Tittle was successful on 17 of 36 throws for 217 yards with no TDs and one intercepted. Bus Mertes, who scored the two third quarter touchdowns, ran for 73 yards on 15 attempts and Bob Pfohl contributed 63 yards on 16 carries. Billy Hillenbrand, who ran six times for five yards, was the top receiver with 7 catches for 75 yards. Lamar Davis had 73 yards on his 5 pass receptions.

The come-from-behind win over the Colts did not translate into an upset in the AAFC Championship game for Buffalo. As expected, the Bills were routed by the Browns, 49-7, who won their third consecutive league title. Buffalo went 5-5-2 in 1949 and made the postseason again in the restructured league’s final season, again falling to the Browns in the first playoff round. Baltimore, however, dropped to the cellar with a 1-11 record. 

1938: Giants Defeat Packers for NFL Title

There was a record crowd of 48,120 on hand at the Polo Grounds on December 11, 1938 as the New York Giants hosted the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship game. The Giants, coached by Steve Owen for the eighth year, started slowly with two losses in their first three games before catching fire and going 7-0-1 the rest of the way to top the Eastern Division with an 8-2-1 record. The roster was deep with talent. Rugged C/LB Mel Hein was voted the league’s MVP and was joined as a consensus first-team All-Pro by tailback Ed Danowski. New York had beaten the Packers during the regular season and had not given up more than 14 points in any game.

Coach Curly Lambeau’s Packers had benefited from the arrival of rookie tailback Cecil Isbell, who alternated - and sometimes played halfback in the same backfield with - aging veteran tailback Arnie Herber. FB/LB Clarke Hinkle also handled much of the placekicking and was the league’s leading scorer. However, star end Don Hutson, the NFL’s most dangerous deep receiver who led the circuit in receiving yards (548) and touchdowns (9) while catching 32 passes, was out due to a knee injury – indeed, both clubs were heavily battered coming into the title game.

It was a 31-degree day in New York City and the big home crowd saw the Giants take the early lead. On Green Bay’s second possession, the Packers chose to punt in a third-and-11 situation at their own 11 yard line and Hinkle’s kick was blocked by end Jim Lee Howell and recovered by back Leland Shaffer at the 7. The Packers allowed only one yard in three plays and New York settled for a 14-yard field goal by Ward Cuff.

The next Green Bay series also ended with a punt, this time by Isbell, and again it was blocked. End Jim Poole accounted for the block and Howell recovered for the Giants at the Packers’ 28. Four plays later New York scored a touchdown on a 6-yard run by FB Tuffy Leemans. The extra point attempt by Johnny Gildea failed, but the Giants held a 9-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Packers got on the board in the second quarter following an interception by lineman Tiny Engebretsen. They capitalized with a 40-yard pass play from Herber to end Carl “Moose” Mulleneaux, filling in for Don Hutson, for a TD. Engebretsen successfully added the extra point and New York’s lead was cut to 9-7.

The Packers put together another promising drive on their next series but FB Ed Jankowski fumbled the ball away at midfield. In a possession highlighted by a Leemans pass to wingback Len Barnum for 19 yards the Giants came back with a touchdown pass play of their own, with Danowski connecting with end Hap Bernard from 21 yards out. Ward Cuff added the PAT.

Green Bay scored again before the half, going 80 yards in eight plays that included a 65-yard gain on a pass into the flat by Isbell to end Waylon Becker. Running down the sideline, Becker made it to the New York 17 before being hauled down by HB Hank Soar. Hinkle finished the drive by running for a one-yard TD. Again Engebretsen converted the extra point and the Giants held a slender 16-14 lead at halftime.

The Packers went in front early in the third quarter thanks to a long gain into Giants territory by tailback Bob Monnett. Engebretsen booted a 15-yard field goal to make the score 17-16 and the early missed extra point attempt was looming large.

The Giants, starting the next series at their 39, moved methodically down the field as Hank Soar (pictured at top) carried on five of the first six plays. Soar threw an incomplete pass but then hauled in a throw from Danowski for nine yards to the Green Bay 26. After Soar ran for another three yards, Danowski went long and Soar pulled the pass down for a 23-yard touchdown, dragging Hinkle across the goal line. Cuff added the extra point and the home team was back in front by six points.

There was still plenty of time and the Packers threatened repeatedly. Responding to the touchdown, they advanced to the New York 37 but turned the ball over on an interception. In the fourth quarter, Green Bay once again entered Giants territory thanks to Hinkle’s effective running, but was forced to punt. Later, in a key play, Herber completed a pass to end Milt Gantenbein for an apparent 16-yard gain to the New York 40, but the officials ruled that Gantenbein was an ineligible receiver and the Giants got possession at the Green Bay 45.

New York had an opportunity to add to its lead but Cuff was wide on a 36-yard field goal attempt. In desperation, the Packers inserted Don Hutson, who had made a brief appearance in the second quarter, in the last minute of the game. Taking over at their 20 after Danowski punted into the end zone, time ran out for Green Bay as Herber’s last-ditch pass fell incomplete. The Giants were NFL Champions by a score of 23-17.

The Packers rolled up more total yards (378 to 212) and first downs (14 to 10), but the blocked punts and Green Bay’s inability to put more points on the board when in New York territory made the difference.

Hank Soar was the star on offense for the Giants with 65 yards on 21 rushing attempts and three catches for 41 more yards and a touchdown. Ed Danowski completed 7 of 11 passes for 77 yards and two TDs with none intercepted. 

For the Packers, Arnie Herber was successful on 5 of 14 throws for 123 yards and a touchdown with none intercepted while Cecil Isbell completed 3 of 5 passes for 91 yards and had one picked off. Clarke Hinkle (pictured at left) was the leading rusher with 63 yards on 8 carries that included a TD. Waylon Becker gained 79 yards on two pass receptions and Carl Mulleneaux also caught two for 54 yards and a touchdown.

It had been an extremely hard-fought and physical game, and both Ward Cuff and the durable Mel Hein had to be taken to the hospital afterward.

The two teams repeated as division champions in 1939 and there was a championship rematch in Milwaukee. The Packers came out on top this time with a 27-0 win.

1942: Don Hutson Has Second 200-Yard Receiving Game of Season

Packers end Don Hutson was one of the players who revolutionized pro football. He was the first true deep threat, making him the prototype of the modern wide receiver. In becoming the dominant pass receiving threat of his time, he was an innovator who used moves and methods that would become standard fare, but were unique in the NFL of the late 1930s and ‘40s (opposing defenses were forced to defend against him in new ways as well, such as double and triple coverage). At the time of his retirement after the 1945 season, he dominated the receiving records.

The game against the Chicago Cardinals at Green Bay’s City Stadium on November 1, 1942 was one of those record-setting occasions. Hutson caught five passes for 207 yards, three of them for touchdowns. The final score was 55-24 in favor of the Packers, although early in the second quarter the Cardinals were leading 17-7. That was before Hutson caught his first touchdown pass, covering 40 yards, from tailback Cecil Isbell. Isbell hit Hutson for a second score, covering 73 yards, before halftime. The third TD came in the fourth quarter, on a 65-yard pass play from Isbell that put Green Bay safely ahead 41-17.

It was typical in the single- and double-wing offenses of the time for the tailback to handle most of the passing, and Isbell was one of the best in the NFL in the early ‘40s. On this day, thanks to the long throws to Hutson, he set a new record for passing yards in a game with 333. In fact, several league records fell in this game. Overall, the Packers set a team record with 427 yards through the air. The combined total of 79 points established a new standard, as well as the combined 11 touchdowns scored. And Hutson, who also handled placekicking duties, set a new record by booting six extra points.

In surpassing the 200-yard mark in receiving yards, he almost broke the record that he had set two weeks prior against the Cleveland Rams (209 yards on 13 receptions). As it was, he was the first receiver to have two 200-yard games in a season, and when it was all over he became the first to reach the thousand yard mark in pass receiving yards (1211). His 74 receptions and 17 receiving touchdowns were also new records at the time, as was his total of 138 points scored (the record for receiving TDs wasn’t broken until 1984). No other receiver in the NFL in 1942 caught more than 27 passes (Pop Ivy of the Cardinals) or accumulated more than 571 yards (Ray McLean of the Bears).

To be sure, Hutson was fortunate to play for the Packers under Curly Lambeau, a head coach who was one of the first to make the passing game central to his offensive strategy. He also benefited from the loss of players to the military due to World War II.

However Hutson, who came into the NFL in 1935, had already established himself as the pre-eminent pass receiver in the game before ’42. He had led the league in pass receptions four times (it was his own record of 58, tied with Philadelphia’s Don Looney, that he broke in 1942), pass receiving yards four times as well, and pass receiving touchdowns six times. So, while he was able to enhance his statistics during the war years, his reputation had already been secured before that.

Hutson ended up winning his second consecutive Joe F. Carr Trophy as league MVP following the ’42 season. The Packers ended up with an 8-2-1 record, putting them in second place in the Western Division behind the undefeated Chicago Bears – the one team they (even with Hutson) couldn’t beat.