Today’s feature is from the December 18, 1939 issue of LIFE Magazine, which ran a small article on the little town who had a football team and regularly beat the teams from the big cities.
Though both the Giants and the Packers finished a game ahead of their closest division rivals that season, both clinched their divisions on December 3, the final day of the 11-game regular season. The New York Giants and Washington Redskins had played to a 0-0 tie earlier in the season, and both had 8-1-1 records when they met at New York's Polo Grounds before a crowd of 62,404. The Giants didn't reach the end zone, but three field goals were enough for a 9-7 win and the division title.
The Western Division race was between the Lions, Bears and Packers. Detroit was unbeaten after four games, but on October 22, Green Bay beat them 26-7 to give both teams records of 4-1-0. The same day, the 4-1 Bears lost 16-13 to the Giants to fall to 4-2. In Week Nine (November 5), the Lions beat the Giants 18-14, while the Bears beat the Packers 30-27, giving Detroit the lead at 6-1-0. The next week (November 12), the Bears beat the Lions 23-13, and the Packers beat the Eagles 23-16, tying Detroit and Green Bay at 6-2-0, half a game ahead of the 6-3-0 Bears. On November 19, the Lions lost to the Rams, 14-3, while the Packers and Bears both won. On November 26, the Bears closed their season at 8-3-0 after a 48-7 win over the Cardinals, while the Packers edged the Rams, 7-6 to reach 8-2-0. Green Bay was behind 7-3 at halftime in its season ender at Detroit, and a loss would have forced a playoff for the Western Division, but Clark Hinkle's touchdown in the final quarter gave the Packers a 12-7 win and the division title.
The 1939 National Football League Championship game was held on December 10, 1939. The Packers moved the game from Green Bay to the larger city of Milwaukee in hopes of increasting attendance; 32,279 would pay to watch. This was the seventh NFL championship game played.
The gross gate receipts of $83,510.35 set a new record. The gate was distributed as follows:
• The 33 players on the victorious Packers each received $703.97 ($23,231.01 total)
• The 34 Giants players each got $455.57 ($15,489.38)
• The Packers franchise took $23,231.06, and the Giants received $15,487.37
Source: Wikipedia
