1938 Philadelphia Eagles season
Encyclopedia
The 1938
Philadelphia Eagles
season was their sixth in the league
. The team improved on their previous output
of 2–8–1, winning five games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
was held on December 12, 1937. The draft consisting of 12 rounds. The Eagles got the 2nd pick in each round as the expansion Cleveland Rams got the 1st pick. With the pick they chose Corbett Davis
a Back
from Indiana University
.
Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.
. The game was on December 11, 1938, at Polo Grounds
in New York City. The game attendance was 48,120 a record crowd for a title game.
The game matched the champions of the Eastern Division, New York Giants (8–2–1) against the Western Division champion Green Bay Packers (8–3–0). The Giants won 23–17
As in the 1937 roster was, the this year team is mostly rookies and players with 1 or 2 years NFL experience.
1938 NFL season
The 1938 NFL season was the 19th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the New York Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship Game.-Major rule changes:...
Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
season was their sixth in the league
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. The team improved on their previous output
1937 Philadelphia Eagles season
The 1937 Philadelphia Eagles season was their fifth in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 1–11, winning two games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.-NFL Draft:...
of 2–8–1, winning five games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
NFL Draft
The 1938 NFL Draft1938 NFL Draft
The 1938 National Football League Draft was held on December 12, 1937. The draft consisting of 12 rounds and 110 player selections, began with the leagues newest expansion team the Cleveland Rams taking Corbett Davis and ended with the Mr...
was held on December 12, 1937. The draft consisting of 12 rounds. The Eagles got the 2nd pick in each round as the expansion Cleveland Rams got the 1st pick. With the pick they chose Corbett Davis
Corbett Davis
Richard Corbett "Corby" Davis was an American football fullback. He was the first overall pick in the 1938 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Rams....
a Back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
from Indiana University
Indiana Hoosiers
The Indiana Hoosiers are the athletic teams for the Bloomington campus of Indiana University . Athletic teams sponsored by IU Bloomington include cross country, track, baseball, golf, tennis, rowing, volleyball, soccer, football and basketball...
.
Player Selections
The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with.Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.
| = Pro Bowl Pro Bowl In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those... er |
= Hall of Fame Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees... r |
| Rd | Pick # | Player | Position | College | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Jim McDonald James Allen McDonald -External links:... |
Back | Ohio State Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States... |
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| 2 | 12 | Dick Riffle Dick Riffle Fred Richard "Dick" Riffle was a professional American football player who played running back for five seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers.... |
Back | Albright Albright College Albright College is a private, co-ed, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1856 and is located in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States.-Overview:... |
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| 3 | 17 | Joe Bukant | Back | Washington (St. Louis) Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations... |
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| 4 | 27 | John Meek | Back | California | |||
| 5 | 32 | Fred Shirey Fred Shirey Charles Frederick Shirey was a professional American football player for the Cleveland Rams and the Green Bay Packers. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 5th round of the 1938 NFL Draft. He attended Washington & Jefferson College and University of Nebraska. He was a native of... |
Tackle | Nebraska Nebraska Cornhuskers football The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A... |
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| 6 | 42 | Herschel Ramsey Herschel Ramsey Herschel Randolph "Red" Ramsey was a professional American football player who played end for four seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles. Ramsey was the first football player drafted from Texas Technological College in the 1938 NFL Draft.... |
End | Texas Tech Texas Tech University Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the... |
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| 7 | 52 | Bob Lannon | End | Iowa University of Iowa The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees... |
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| 8 | 62 | Clem Woltman | Guard | Purdue | |||
| 9 | 72 | Elmer Kolberg | Back | Oregon State | |||
| 10 | 82 | Emmett Kriel | Guard | Baylor Baylor University Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:... |
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| 11 | 92 | Carl Hinkle Carl Hinkle Carl C. Hinkle, Jr. was an American college football player who was a stand-out center for the Vanderbilt Commodores football team. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959.-External links:... |
Center | Vanderbilt | |||
| 12 | 102 | John Michelosen John Michelosen John Michelosen was a highly successful American football coach with both college and professional teams, and an inductee into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.-Biography:... |
Back | Pittsburgh | |||
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 11, 1938 | Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
L 26–23 |
| 2 | September 16, 1938 | at Pittsburgh Pirates | W 27–7 |
| 3 | September 25, 1938 | New York Giants New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 14–10 |
| 4 | October 2, 1938 | Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 28–6 |
| 5 | October 16, 1938 | at New York Giants New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 17–7 |
| 6 | October 23, 1938 | at Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
L 20–14 |
| 7 | October 26, 1938 | Chicago Cardinals | W 7–0 |
| 8 | November 6, 1938 | Brooklyn Dodgers Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field. In 1945, because of financial difficulties, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks... |
L 10–7 |
| 9 | November 13, 1938 | at Brooklyn Dodgers Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field. In 1945, because of financial difficulties, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks... |
L 32–14 |
| 10 | November 20, 1938 | Pittsburgh Pirates | W 14–7 |
| 11 | December 4, 1938 | at Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
W 21–7 |
Standings
| NFL Eastern Eastern and Western Divisions (NFL) 1933-69 The Eastern and Western Divisions of the National Football League, renamed the American and National Conferences in 1950 and then the Eastern and Western Conferences in 1953, were organized as a result of the disputed NFL championship of 1932... |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| New York Giants 1938 New York Giants season The 1938 New York Giants season was the fourteenth season for the club in the National Football League.-Schedule:-Standings:-See also:*List of New York Giants seasons... |
8 | 2 | 1 | .800 | 194 | 79 | W-1 |
| Washington Redskins 1938 Washington Redskins season The 1938 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 8-3 record from 1937.Defending champs on eve of 1938 season-Schedule:-Standings:... |
6 | 3 | 2 | .667 | 148 | 154 | L-1 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers 1938 Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) season The 1938 Brooklyn Dodgers season was their ninth in the league. The team improved on their previous season's output of 3-7-1, winning four games. They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.-Schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
4 | 4 | 3 | .500 | 131 | 161 | T-1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | 154 | 164 | W-2 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates 1938 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) season - Week 1 : Detroit Lions :at Titan Stadium, Detroit, Michigan* Game time:* Game weather:* Game attendance: 17,000* Referee:Scoring Drives:* Detroit – FG Shepherd 27... |
2 | 9 | 0 | .182 | 79 | 169 | L-6 |
Playoffs
The Eagles had a 5–6–0 record and failed to make it to the 1938 NFL Championship Game1938 NFL Championship Game
The 1938 NFL Championship Game was the 6th championship game played in the history of the National Football League. The game was on December 11, 1938, at Polo Grounds in New York City...
. The game was on December 11, 1938, at Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
in New York City. The game attendance was 48,120 a record crowd for a title game.
The game matched the champions of the Eastern Division, New York Giants (8–2–1) against the Western Division champion Green Bay Packers (8–3–0). The Giants won 23–17
1938 Roster
(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)| = 1938 Pro All Star |
As in the 1937 roster was, the this year team is mostly rookies and players with 1 or 2 years NFL experience.
| NO. | Player | AGE | POS | GP | GS | WT | HT | YRS | College | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | Coach | 1938 record 5–6 |
NFL-Eagles Lifetime 8–25 |
3rd | ||||||||||||||
| 26 | HB-WB-DB-BB | 11 | 11 | 210 | 6–1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 23 | Back | 11 | 1 | 216 | 6–0 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 23 | BB | 8 | 0 | 194 | 6–1 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 28 | E | 11 | 11 | 201 | 6–1 | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 0 | FB | 11 | 0 | 197 | 5–9 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 22 | BB-FB | 10 | 10 | 195 | 6–0 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 24 | T | 11 | 10 | 215 | 6–1 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 26 | T | 2 | 0 | 242 | 6–1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 24 | G | 1 | 0 | 200 | 5–9 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 24 | T | 9 | 0 | 220 | 6–2 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 28 | Cen | 11 | 9 | 227 | 6–4 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 29 | E-DE | 11 | 11 | 190 | 5–9 | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 23 | G-C | 11 | 6 | 226 | 6–1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 23 | T-G | 9 | 3 | 242 | 6–3 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 24 | QB | 1 | 0 | 170 | 5–9 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 24 | B | 1 | 0 | 194 | 5–11 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 26 | QB | 1 | 0 | 190 | 5–11 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 27 | HB | 1 | 1 | 200 | 5–11 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 22 | B | 11 | 7 | 181 | 6–1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 25 | T | 11 | 1 | 214 | 6–4 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 26 | G-DE | 10 | 6 | 194 | 5–9 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 27 | E | 11 | 0 | 196 | 6–0 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 29 | C-G | 11 | 2 | 214 | 5–11 | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 23 | B | 11 | 4 | 200 | 6–1 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 22 | G | 11 | 2 | 219 | 5–11 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 24 | FB-LB | 11 | 10 | 226 | 6–1 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 25 | G | 11 | 8 | 214 | 6–1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 27 | E | 1 | 0 | 184 | 5–10 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 24 | T | 10 | 8 | 214 | 6–1 | Rookie | ||||||||||||
| 29 Players Team Average |
24.1 | 11 | 206.4 | 6–0.1 | 1.2 |
Awards and Honors
- Dave Smukler finished 2nd in TD Passes with 7
- Joe Carter finished 2nd in Receiving TD with 7
- Dave Smukler returned the only Kick off for a TD this years in the NFL
- Jay Arnold is one of 10 players to return an Interception for a TD
- Joe Carter named to Pro All-Star team
- Bill Hewitt named to Pro All-Star team as an starter