The 1937 Philadelphia Eagles season marked their fifth year in the National Football League (NFL). While the team improved on their previous output of 1–11, winning two games, it remained mired at the bottom of its division, missing the Championship Playoff for the fifth consecutive season.[1]
| 1937 Philadelphia Eagles season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bert Bell |
| Head coach | Bert Bell |
| Home field | Philadelphia Municipal Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 2–8–1 |
| Division place | 5th NFL Eastern |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Off season
editNFL draft
editThe 1937 NFL draft took place on December 12, 1936. It would be for 10 rounds, and teams would pick a total of 100 players.
The Eagles would have the 1st pick in the draft. They used this pick to choose, running up in the Heisman Trophy, Sam Francis, a back out of Nebraska. He never played a game for the Eagles but he played for the Chicago Bears.
Player selections
editThe table shows the Eagles selections, 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 Bowler [2] | = Hall of Famer |
| Rd | Pick # | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Sam Francis | Back | Nebraska |
| 2 | 11 | Franny Murray | Back | Pennsylvania |
| 3 | 21 | Drew Ellis | Tackle | TCU |
| 4 | 31 | Walt Gilbert | Back | Auburn |
| 5 | 41 | Alex Drobnitch | Back | Denver |
| 6 | 51 | Bill Guckeyson | Back | Maryland |
| 7 | 61 | Herb Barna | Guard | West Virginia |
| 8 | 71 | Nestor Hennon | Back | Carnegie-Mellon |
| 9 | 81 | Paul Fanning | Back | Kansas State |
| 10 | 91 | Ray Antil | Back | Minnesota |
Regular season
editThe Eagles 1937 NFL season started on September 5 and ended 11 weeks later on November 14. The Eagles would play 4 games at home and 7 games on the road.
Schedule
edit| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 5 | at Pittsburgh Pirates | L 14–27 | 0–1 | Forbes Field | 8,588 | Recap | |
| 2 | September 10 | Brooklyn Dodgers | L 7–13 | 0–2 | Municipal Stadium | 5,221 | Recap | |
| 3 | September 21 | Cleveland Rams | L 3–21 | 0–3 | Municipal Stadium | 3,107 | Recap | |
| 4 | September 26 | Chicago Cardinals | T 6–6 | 0–3–1 | Municipal Stadium | 3,912 | Recap | |
| 5 | October 3 | New York Giants | L 7–16 | 0–4–1 | Municipal Stadium | 12,127 [3] | Recap | [4] |
| 6 | October 10 | at Washington Redskins | W 14–0 | 1–4–1 | Griffith Stadium | 7,320 | Recap | |
| 7 | October 17 | at New York Giants | L 0–21 | 1–5–1 | Polo Grounds | 20,089 | Recap | |
| 8 | October 24 | Washington Redskins | L 7–10 | 1–6–1 | Municipal Stadium | 6,580 | Recap | |
| 9 | October 31 | at Pittsburgh Pirates | L 7–16 | 1–7–1 | Forbes Field | 2,772 | Recap | |
| 10 | November 7 | at Brooklyn Dodgers | W 14–10 | 2–7–1 | Ebbets Field | 8,373 | Recap | |
| 11 | November 14 | at Green Bay Packers | L 7–37 | 2–8–1 | Wisconsin State Fair Park | 13,340 | Recap |
Standings
edit| NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Washington Redskins | 8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | 6–2 | 195 | 120 | W2 | |
| New York Giants | 6 | 3 | 2 | .667 | 5–2–1 | 128 | 109 | L1 | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 | 4–4 | 122 | 145 | L1 | |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 3 | 7 | 1 | .300 | 2–5–1 | 82 | 174 | T1 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 8 | 1 | .200 | 2–6 | 86 | 177 | L1 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
| NFL Western Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 1 | 1 | .900 | 7–1 | 201 | 100 | W4 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 7 | 4 | 0 | .636 | 6–2 | 220 | 122 | L2 | |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 4 | 0 | .636 | 4–4 | 180 | 105 | L1 | |
| Chicago Cardinals | 5 | 5 | 1 | .500 | 3–5 | 135 | 165 | L2 | |
| Cleveland Rams | 1 | 10 | 0 | .091 | 0–8 | 75 | 207 | L9 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Playoffs
editWith a 2–8–1 record in 1937, the Eagles do not make the playoffs and play in the 1937 NFL Championship Game. The Washington Redskins defeated Chicago Bears in Chicago.
Roster
edit(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)
A List of the 1937 Philadelphia Eagles.
| NO. | Player | AGE | POS | GP | GS | WT | HT | YRS | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bert Bell | 42 | Coach | 1937 record 2–8–1 |
NFL-Eagles Lifetime 3–19–1 |
2nd | Pennsylvania | |||
| Jay Arnold | 25 | HB-WB-DB-BB | 10 | 6 | 210 | 6–1 | Rookie | Texas | |
| Winnie Baze | 23 | B | 10 | 4 | 190 | 5–11 | Rookie | Missouri, Texas-El Paso | |
| Art Buss | 26 | T | 11 | 11 | 219 | 6–3 | 3 | Michigan State | |
| Joe Carter | 27 | E | 10 | 8 | 201 | 6–1 | 4 | Austin, SMU | |
| Jack Dempsey | 25 | T | 2 | 1 | 225 | 6–2 | 1 | Bucknell | |
| Fritz Ferko | 25 | T | 10 | 5 | 242 | 6–1 | Rookie | Mount St. Mary's University | |
| Glenn Frey | 25 | B | 6 | 5 | 193 | 5–11 | 1 | Temple | |
| Swede Hanson | 30 | B | 2 | 0 | 192 | 6–1 | 6 | Temple | |
| Maurice Harper | 27 | C | 9 | 3 | 227 | 6–4 | Rookie | Austin | |
| Bill Hewitt | 28 | E-DE | 11 | 11 | 190 | 5–9 | 5 | Michigan | |
| Tex Holcomb | 24 | T | 1 | 1 | 235 | 6–2 | Rookie | Texas Tech | |
| Bill Hughes | 22 | G-C | 11 | 8 | 226 | 6–1 | Rookie | Texas | |
| Rabbit Keen | 23 | QB | 8 | 0 | 170 | 5–9 | Rookie | Arkansas | |
| Charlie Knox | ? | B | 1 | 0 | 185 | 5–11 | Rookie | St. Edmonds | |
| John Kusko | 23 | B | 10 | 4 | 194 | 5–11 | 1 | Temple | |
| Jim Leonard | 27 | B | 2 | 0 | 204 | 6–0 | 3 | Notre Dame | |
| Jim MacMurdo | 28 | T-G | 3 | 0 | 209 | 6–1 | 5 | Pittsburgh | |
| Bob Masters | 26 | HB | 9 | 3 | 200 | 5–11 | Rookie | Baylor | |
| Forrest McPherson | 26 | G-C-T | 3 | 0 | 233 | 5–11 | 2 | Nebraska | |
| Emmett Mortell | 21 | B | 11 | 11 | 181 | 6–1 | Rookie | Notre Dame, Wisconsin | |
| Joe Pilconis | 26 | E | 11 | 3 | 189 | 6–1 | 3 | Temple | |
| George Rado | 25 | G-DE | 9 | 1 | 194 | 5–9 | 2 | Duquesne | |
| Hank Reese | 28 | C-G | 11 | 8 | 214 | 5–11 | 4 | Temple | |
| Herb Roton | 24 | E | 9 | 1 | 210 | 6–2 | Rookie | Auburn | |
| Jim Russell | 29 | G-T | 3 | 1 | 210 | 5–11 | 1 | Temple | |
| Dave Smukler | 23 | FB-LB | 11 | 11 | 226 | 6–1 | 1 | Missouri, Temple | |
| Ray Spillers | 25 | T | 10 | 3 | 218 | 6–3 | Rookie | Arkansas | |
| Mule Stockton | 24 | G | 11 | 11 | 214 | 6–1 | Rookie | McMurry | |
| Vince Zizak | 29 | G-T | 2 | 1 | 208 | 5–8 | 3 | ||
| 32 Players Team Average |
24.6 | 11 | 207.2 | 6–0.1 | 1.6 |
Postseason
editWith a record of 2–8–1 the Philadelphia Eagles failed to make it to the NFL Championship game
References
edit- ^ 1937 Philadelphia Eagles
- ^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
- ^ Pro Football Reference has the crowd at 4,878, which is contradicted by the New York Daily News report, which calls this the largest home crowd of the year.
- ^ "Eagles Lose: Giants Cop, 16–7," New York Daily News, Oct. 4, 1937, p. 41.