1938 New York Giants season

1938 New York Giants season
Head coachSteve Owen
Home fieldPolo Grounds
Results
Record8–2–1
Division place1st NFL Eastern
Playoff finishWon NFL Championship
(vs. Packers) 23–17

The 1938 New York Giants season was the franchise's 14th season in the National Football League.

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 11 at Pittsburgh Pirates W 27–14 1–0 Forbes Field Recap
2 Bye
3 September 25 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–14 1–1 Philadelphia Municipal Stadium Recap
4 October 3 Pittsburgh Pirates L 10–13 1–2 Polo Grounds Recap
5 October 9 at Washington Redskins W 10–7 2–2 Griffith Stadium Recap
6 October 16 Philadelphia Eagles W 17–7 3–2 Polo Grounds Recap
7 October 23 Brooklyn Dodgers W 28–14 4–2 Polo Grounds Recap
8 Bye
9 November 6 Chicago Cardinals W 6–0 5–2 Polo Grounds Recap
10 November 13 Cleveland Rams W 28–0 6–2 Polo Grounds Recap
11 November 20 Green Bay Packers W 15–3 7–2 Polo Grounds Recap
12 November 24 at Brooklyn Dodgers T 7–7 7–2–1 Ebbets Field Recap
13 December 4 Washington Redskins W 36–0 8–2–1 Polo Grounds Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1: at Pittsburgh Pirates

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Week One: New York Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 6 14 0727
Pirates 7 7 0014

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Date: September 11
  • Game attendance: 17,340
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Fourth quarter
  • NYG Soar 1-yard run (Cuff kick)

Week 3: at Philadelphia Eagles

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Week Three: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 7 3010
Eagles 0 7 0714

at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Date: September 25
  • Game attendance: 23,877
Game information
Second quarter
Third quarter
  • NYG Cuff 23-yard FG
Fourth quarter

Week 4: vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

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Week Four: Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Giants
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Pirates 0 7 0613
Giants 7 0 3010

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: October 3
  • Game time: Night
  • Game attendance: 18,805
Game information
First quarter
  • NYG Cuff 18-yard pass from Danowski (Cuff kick)
Second quarter
  • PIT Bill Sortet 24-yard pass from Filchock (Niccolai kick)
Third quarter
  • NYG Cuff 10-yard FG
Fourth quarter
  • PIT Sortet 13-yard pass from Filchock (kick failed)

Week 5: at Washington Redskins

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Week Five: New York Giants at Washington Redskins
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 3 0 0710
Redskins 0 7 007

at Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC

  • Date: October 9
  • Game attendance: 37,500
Game information
First quarter
  • NYG Cuff 17-yard FG
Second quarter
Fourth quarter

Week 6: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

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Week Six: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 0 707
Giants 0 14 3017

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: October 16
  • Game attendance: 33,187
Game information
Second quarter
  • NYG Bull Karcis 76-yard fumble return (Cuff kick)
  • NYG Leemans 3-yard run (Cuff kick)
Third quarter

Week 7: vs. Brooklyn Dodgers

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Week Seven: Brooklyn Dodgers at New York Giants
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dodgers 0 0 01414
Giants 7 21 0028

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: October 23
  • Game attendance: 36,228
Game information
First quarter
  • NYG Howell 31-yard pass from Danowski (Cuff kick)
Second quarter
Fourth quarter

Week 9: vs. Chicago Cardinals

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Week Nine: Chicago Cardinals at New York Giants
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 0 0 000
Giants 0 0 066

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: November 6
  • Game attendance: 19,648
Game information
Fourth quarter
  • NYG Leemans 5-yard run (kick failed)

Week 10: vs. Cleveland Rams

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Week Ten: Cleveland Rams at New York Giants
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rams 0 0 000
Giants 7 14 7028

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: November 13
  • Game attendance: 25,000
Game information
First quarter
  • NYG Karcis 1-yard run (Cuff kick)
Second quarter
  • NYG Karcis 1-yard run (Cuff kick)
  • NYG Hanken 27-yard pass from Leemans (Richards kick)
Third quarter
  • NYG Danowski 31-yard run (Cuff kick)

Week 11: vs. Green Bay Packers

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Week Eleven: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Packers 0 0 303
Giants 0 0 9615

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: November 20
  • Game attendance: 48,279
Game information
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
  • NYG Mel Hein 50-yard interception return (kick failed)

Week 12: at Brooklyn Dodgers

[edit]
Week Twelve: New York Giants at Brooklyn Dodgers
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 0 077
Dodgers 7 0 007

at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York

  • Date: November 24
  • Game attendance: 17,400
Game information
First quarter
Fourth quarter

Ed Danowski's pass to Dale Burnett was the last Giants touchdown on offense on Thanksgiving Day until 2022.

Week 13: vs. Washington Redskins

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Week Thirteen: Washington Redskins at New York Giants
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Redskins 0 0 000
Giants 14 0 101236

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: December 4
  • Game attendance: 57,461
Game information
First quarter
  • NYG Soar 43-yard run (Cuff kick)
  • NYG Karcis run (Cuff kick)
Third quarter
  • NYG Cuff 36-yard FG
  • NYG Cuff 96-yard interception return (Cuff kick)
Fourth quarter
  • NYG Chuck Galatka pass from Leemans (kick failed)
  • NYG Galatka 7-yard interception return (kick failed)

The Giants won the Eastern Division in a 36-0 romp of the defending champion Washington Redskins, and a right to play in the championship.

NFL Championship Game

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1938 NFL Championship: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Packers 0 14 3017
Giants 9 7 7023

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: December 11
  • Game attendance: 48,120
Game information

Standings

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NFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
New York Giants 8 2 1 .800 5–2–1 194 79 W1
Washington Redskins 6 3 2 .667 4–2–2 148 154 L1
Brooklyn Dodgers 4 4 3 .500 3–2–3 131 161 T1
Philadelphia Eagles 5 6 0 .455 3–5 154 164 W2
Pittsburgh Pirates 2 9 0 .182 2–6 79 169 L6

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

All-Star Game

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Five weeks after winning the championship, the Giants defeated the NFL All-Stars 13–10 in the first Pro Bowl on January 15, 1939. The game was played at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, California, where poor weather caused an attendance of just 15,000.[1][2][3][4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Giants beat Stars; Ward Cuff is hero". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. January 16, 1939. p. L-7. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "New York's Giants defeat All-Stars". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 16, 1939. p. 6.
  3. ^ McLemore, Henry (January 16, 1939). "'Super' pro grid game proves flop on Coast". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 19.
  4. ^ Guenther, Jack (January 16, 1939). "Giants down professional all-star grids in charity tilt". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). United Press. p. 9.