NFL Championship Game, 1946
Encyclopedia
The 1946
National Football League
Championship Game was played at the Polo Grounds
in New York City
on December 15, 1946. The final score was Chicago Bears
24, New York Giants
14. It was the 14th annual NFL championship game. The attendance was 58,346.
The day before the game, two players for the Giants, Frank Filchock
and Merle Hapes
, had been accused of taking bribes to fix the game from Alvin Paris. Mayor William O'Dwyer
had Jack Mara
, Wellington Mara
and Bert Bell
informed of the police evidence against the two. Hours later, the four then met at Gracie Mansion and the mayor interviewed the players one at a time. Under questioning, Hapes admitted that he was offered a bribe and Filchock denied being offered it. Several hours later, Paris was arrested and confessed to bribing the players. Hapes was suspended by Bell, but Filchock was allowed to play. During Paris' trial weeks later, Filchock admitting taking the bribe under oath.
1946 NFL season
The 1946 NFL season was the 27th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Elmer Layden resigned as NFL Commissioner and Bert Bell, co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles, replaced him...
National Football 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...
Championship Game was played at the 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
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on December 15, 1946. The final score was 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...
24, 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...
14. It was the 14th annual NFL championship game. The attendance was 58,346.
The day before the game, two players for the Giants, Frank Filchock
Frank Filchock
Frank Joseph Filchock was an American and Canadian football tailback/quarterback and coach. As a consequence of a famous scandal regarding the 1946 NFL Championship game, he was suspended by the National Football League from 1947 to 1950 for associating with gamblers.-Early career:Born in 1916 in...
and Merle Hapes
Merle Hapes
Merle Alison Hapes was a professional American football fullback in the National Football League. He played two seasons for the New York Giants .-External links:...
, had been accused of taking bribes to fix the game from Alvin Paris. Mayor William O'Dwyer
William O'Dwyer
William O'Dwyer was the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950.-Biography:O'Dwyer was born in County Mayo, Ireland and migrated to the United States in 1910, after abandoning studies for the priesthood...
had Jack Mara
Jack Mara
John V. Mara was a co-owner of the New York Giants; an American football team which plays in the National Football League. Jack was the son of Tim Mara and brother of Wellington, and served as the team's president for 24 years...
, Wellington Mara
Wellington Mara
Wellington Timothy Mara was the co-owner of the NFL's New York Giants from 1959 until his death, and one of the most influential and iconic figures in the history of the National Football League. He was the younger son of Tim Mara, who founded the Giants in 1925...
and Bert Bell
Bert Bell
De Benneville "Bert" Bell was the National Football League commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he helped chart a path for the NFL to facilitate its rise in becoming the most popular sports attraction in the United States...
informed of the police evidence against the two. Hours later, the four then met at Gracie Mansion and the mayor interviewed the players one at a time. Under questioning, Hapes admitted that he was offered a bribe and Filchock denied being offered it. Several hours later, Paris was arrested and confessed to bribing the players. Hapes was suspended by Bell, but Filchock was allowed to play. During Paris' trial weeks later, Filchock admitting taking the bribe under oath.
Scoring summary
- CHI KavanaughKen KavanaughKen Kavanaugh was an American football player, coach and scout. He played college football at LSU, where he was named Most Valuable Player of the Southeastern Conference in 1939. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.After college, Kavanaugh played in the National Football...
21 pass from LuckmanSid LuckmanSidney Luckman, known as Sid Luckman, was an American football quarterback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League from 1939 to 1950...
(Maznicki kick) 7-0 CHI - CHI MagnaniDante MagnaniDante Alfred Magnani was an American football player who played nine seasons in the National Football League. Magnani, a running back, played college football for the St. Mary's College Galloping Gaels in Moraga, California.-External links:* The New York Times obit...
19 interception return (Maznicki kick) 14-0 CHI - NY Liebel 38 pass from FilchockFrank FilchockFrank Joseph Filchock was an American and Canadian football tailback/quarterback and coach. As a consequence of a famous scandal regarding the 1946 NFL Championship game, he was suspended by the National Football League from 1947 to 1950 for associating with gamblers.-Early career:Born in 1916 in...
(StrongKen StrongElmer Kenneth Strong, Jr. was a college and professional American football player. After a college career as multi-year All-American at New York University, he went on to play professional football. As a halfback with a 14-year career he played from 1929–1937, 1939, 1944-1947...
kick) 14-7 CHI - NY FilipowiczSteve FilipowiczStephen Charles "Flip" Filipowicz was a professional American football and baseball player.-Football:...
5 pass from Filchock (Strong kick) 14-14 TIE - CHI Luckman 19 run (Maznicki kick) 21-14 CHI
- CHI FG Maznicki 26 24-14 CHI
Sources
- Lyons, Robert S. (2010). On Any Given Sunday, A Life of Bert Bell. Philadelphia:Temple University Press. ISBNInternational Standard Book NumberThe International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering code created by Gordon Foster, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, for the booksellers and stationers W.H...
ISBN 978-1-59213-731-2