1933 Philadelphia Eagles season
| 1933 Philadelphia Eagles season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Lud Wray |
| Owner | Bert Bell |
| Home field | Baker Bowl |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–5–1 |
| Division place | 4th NFL Eastern |
| Playoff finish | did not qualify |
The 1933 Philadelphia Eagles season was their inaugural in the league. The team went 3–5–1,[1] failing to qualify for the playoffs.
Off-season
When Pennsylvania eased some of the Blue laws and allowed Sunday sporting events, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh became available for NFL franchises as they could play home games on Sundays. The Frankford Yellow Jackets[2] played their games on Saturday mostly when at home.
During the off-season, Bert Bell and Lud Wray were granted an expansion franchise in the NFL for the rights to Philadelphia. The previous team, Frankford Yellow Jackets were inactive for two years so their rights were pulled by the NFL. They joined the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds, for a $2500 entrance fee. The Eagles got their name from the New Deal's program called the NRA, and the symbol of the eagle that they had.
The Eagles' original colors were a light blue and yellow.
The Eagles held their training camp in the New Jersey resort city of Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The Eagles scheduled their games to be played in Baker Bowl. The stadium was near a transportation hub in Philadelphia. A train tunnel was under the stadium's baseball outfield. A train station was across the street from Baker Bowl.
They would remain playing there for three years before moving games to the newer Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in the south Philadelphia area. The Eagles were 4–12–1, with one game canceled on account of bad weather, in the three years playing their home games at Baker Bowl.
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 15, 1933 | at New York Giants | L 56–0 | |
| 2 | October 18, 1933 | Portsmouth Spartans | L 25–0 | |
| 3 | October 29, 1933 | at Green Bay Packers | L 35–9 | |
| 4 | November 5, 1933 | at Cincinnati Reds | W 6–0 | |
| 5 | November 12, 1933 | Chicago Bears | T 3–3 | |
| 6 | November 19, 1933 | Pittsburgh Pirates | W 25–6 | |
| 7 | November 26, 1933 | Cincinnati Reds | W 20–3 | |
| 8 | December 3, 1933 | Green Bay Packers | L 10–0 | |
| 9 | December 10, 1933 | New York Giants | L 20–14 | |
Standings
| NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| New York Giants | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 7–1 | 244 | 101 | W7 | |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 5 | 4 | 1 | .556 | 2–2–1 | 93 | 54 | L2 | |
| Boston Redskins | 5 | 5 | 2 | .500 | 2–3 | 103 | 97 | T1 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 5 | 1 | .375 | 1–2 | 77 | 158 | L2 | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 3 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 1–5–1 | 67 | 208 | L3 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Playoffs
Before the 1933 season, new Boston Redskins owner George Preston Marshall suggested the league have a championship game yearly. The year before, the Chicago Bears played the Portsmouth Spartans in an extra game to break the tie between them at season's end. They both had 6 wins.
The 3–5–1 Eagles failed to make it to the 1933 NFL Playoffs. It was only between two teams: the winner of the Eastern Division, New York Giants, and the Western Division. Chicago Bears.
Roster
(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)
Being an expansion team, the Eagles were mostly stocked with rookies and cast-offs. This was before the NFL Draft was started. The college draft was an idea of Bert Bell.
A list of the 1933 Philadelphia Eagles.[3] [4]
| NO. | Player | Age | Pos | GP | GS | WT | HT | YRS | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lud Wray | 39 | Coach | 1933 record 3–5–1 | As Eagles Coach 3–5–1 | NFL Lifetime 7–9–3 | 1st | Pennsylvania | ||
| Howie Auer | 25 | T | 2 | 1 | 205 | 6–1 | Rookie | Michigan | |
| Joe Carpe | 30 | T-E-C | 2 | 1 | 197 | 6–0 | 7 | Millikin | |
| Joe Carter | 23 | E | 9 | 8 | 201 | 6–1 | Rookie | Austin & SMU | |
| Paul Cuba | 25 | T | 9 | 8 | 212 | 6–0 | Rookie | Pittsburgh | |
| Red Davis | 26 | TB | 7 | 7 | 195 | 5–11 | Rookie | Geneva | |
| Nip Felber | 24 | E | 1 | 0 | 190 | 6–2 | 1 | North Dakota | |
| Dick Fencl | 24 | 5 | 1 | 160 | 5–11 | Rookie | Northwestern | ||
| Bob Gonya | 23 | T | 2 | 1 | 208 | 6–2 | Rookie | Northwestern | |
| Swede Hanson | 26 | B | 9 | 7 | 192 | 6–1 | 2 | Temple | |
| George Kenneally | 31 | E | 8 | 8 | 190 | 6–0 | 7 | St. Bonaventure | |
| Red Kirkman | 28 | B | 9 | 8 | 195 | 6–1 | Rookie | Washington & Jefferson | |
| Art Koeninger | 27 | C | 1 | 1 | 202 | 6–1 | 2 | Tennessee-Chattanooga | |
| Joe Kresky | 27 | G-T | 9 | 9 | 215 | 6–0 | 1 | Wisconsin | |
| Rick Lackman | 23 | HB | 4 | 0 | 186 | 5–11 | Rookie | none | |
| Porter Lainhart | 26 | QB | 1 | 0 | 180 | 6–0 | Rookie | Washington State | |
| Milton Leathers | 25 | G | 4 | 0 | 198 | 5–11 | Rookie | Georgia | |
| Roy Lechthaler | 25 | G | 4 | 1 | 198 | 5–10 | Rookie | Lebanon Valley | |
| Tex Leyendecker | 27 | T-C-LB | 2 | 0 | 235 | 6–1 | Rookie | Vanderbilt | |
| John Lipski | unknown | C | 8 | 6 | 200 | 5–11 | Rookie | Temple | |
| Harry O'Boyle | 29 | B | 2 | 0 | 178 | 5–9 | 5 | Notre Dame | |
| Henry Obst | 27 | G | 1 | 0 | 192 | 5–11 | 2 | Syracuse | |
| Nick Prisco | 24 | TB | 2 | 0 | 193 | 5–8 | Rookie | Rutgers | |
| Jack Roberts | 23 | B | 9 | 6 | 210 | 6–0 | 1 | Georgia | |
| Ev Rowan | 31 | E-B | 2 | 1 | 187 | 6–1 | 1 | Ohio State | |
| Reb Russell | 28 | B | 7 | 4 | 205 | 6–1 | Rookie | Nebraska and Northwestern | |
| Dick Smith | 21 | C | 3 | 2 | 225 | 6–2 | Rookie | Ohio State | |
| Ray Smith | unknown | C | 1 | 0 | 195 | 5–10 | 3 | Missouri,Tulsa | |
| Larry Steinbach | 33 | T-G | 3 | 0 | 214 | 6–0 | 3 | St. Thomas | |
| Dick Thornton | 25 | BB | 4 | 1 | 165 | 5–6 | Rookie | Michigan and Missouri-Rolla | |
| Guy Turnbow | 25 | T-E-DB | 9 | 7 | 217 | 6–2 | Rookie | Mississippi | |
| Jodie Whire | 23 | FB-LB | 2 | 1 | 185 | 6–1 | Rookie | Georgia | |
| Diddie Willson | 22 | G-E-DE | 7 | 1 | 196 | 5–10 | Rookie | Pennsylvania | |
| Lee Woodruff | unknown | B | 9 | 2 | 202 | 6–0 | 2 | Mississippi | |
| Jim Zyntell | 23 | G | 8 | 7 | 200 | 6–1 | Rookie | Holy Cross | |
| 34 Players Team Average | 23.5 | 9 | 197.7 | 5–11.8 | 1.1 |
References
- ↑ 1933 Philadelphia Eagles
- ↑ 1924 to 1931 when Frankford was in the league, the yearly game results show that the home games were played on Friday or Saturday. baseball.com shows that the Philadelphia Phillies and Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates would not play on Sundays at home
- ↑ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/1933.htm
- ↑ http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=PHI&lg=nfl&yr=1933
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