1941 Philadelphia Eagles season

Offseason

After a year sharing Shibe Park with the Philadelphia Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball teams in 1940, the Eagles returned to the larger Philadelphia Municipal Stadium they had used from 1936 to 1939.

In late 1940, Art Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers (then known as the Pittsburgh Pirates), bought a 70 percent stake in the Eagles after selling the Pirates to New York entrepreneur Alexis Thompson. Thompson wanted to move the Pittsburgh franchise to Boston, but before the start of the 1941 season Rooney and Thompson agreed that their franchises would switch places, with Rooney moving the Eagles to Pittsburgh, where they would be renamed the Steelers, and Thompson moving the Pittsburgh team (whom he had renamed the Iron Men) to Philadelphia, where they would take up the Eagles name. The switch meant the rosters of both teams were made up of players who had played in the other city the previous season, though many were traded back before the start of the season.

Coach Greasy Neale held training camp at the High School Bowl in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, about 50 mi southeast of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and 90 mi north of Milwaukee on Lake Michigan.

NFL draft

The 1941 NFL draft was held on December 10, 1940. As the team with the worst record from the previous season, the Eagles had the first pick in all but the last two of the draft's 22 rounds. Because these players were drafted before the Eagles and Steelers swapped cities, these players ended up playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1941. The Pittsburgh draft picks would come to Philadelphia, and vice versa, though five players originally picked by the original Eagles ended up being traded to the new Eagles franchise.

The Chicago Bears (From Philadelphia Eagles) had the number one pick in the draft. They choose Tom Harmon, the 1940 Heisman Trophy winner, a Halfback out of the University of Michigan

Player selections

The table shows the Eagles selections and 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. These picks were the players that the Pittsburgh Pirates made before the team swap between owners.

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

The Eagles played 11 games over an NFL season that was 14 weeks long. The season started on September 7 and ended on December 7.

Game 2: at Pittsburgh Steelers

First quarter

• No scoring plays. Second quarter
• PHI – Len Barnum 43-yard field goal. Eagles 3–0. Third quarter
• PIT – Boyd Brumbaugh 4-yard run (Jack Sanders kick). Steelers 7–3.
• PHI – Lou Tomasetti 40-yard pass from Dan DeSantis (Len Barnum kick). Eagles 10–7. Fourth quarter
• No scoring plays. The Eagles travel across the state of Pennsylvania to play the renamed Pittsburgh Steelers for the first time since the franchises swapped cities.

Game 5: vs Washington Redskins

First quarter

• PHI – Dick Humbert 4-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Nick Basca kick). Eagles 7–0.
• PHI – Bob Krieger 21-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Nick Basca kick). Eagles 14–0. Second quarter
• WAS – Andy Farkas 5-yard rush (Joe Aguirre kick). Eagles 14–7.
• WAS – Ed Justice 31-yard pass from Sammy Baugh (Joe Aguirre kick). Tied 14–14. Third quarter
• PHI – Nick Basca 15-yard field goal. Eagles 17–14. Fourth quarter
• WAS – Bob Masterson 22-yard pass from Sammy Baugh (Bob Masterson kick). Redskins 21–17. The defending 1940 NFL Eastern Division Champions, Washington Redskins make a visit to Philadelphia to play the Eagles. Washington lost the 1940 NFL Championship Game to the Chicago Bears 73–0. The Eagles will host the Bears in week 12 and travel to Washington, D.C. to re-play the Redskins in week 14 to close out the 1941 season.

Game 8: vs Pittsburgh Steelers

First quarter

• PHI – Jim Castiglia 47-yard rush (Nick Basca kick). Eagles 7–0. Second quarter
• No scoring plays. Third quarter
• PIT – Art Jones 25-yard rush (Jack Sanders kick). Tied 7–7. Fourth quarter
• No scoring plays. The Eagles' cross-state rivals returned to Philadelphia for a rematch of the week 3 game won by the Eagles. The Eagles entered the game with two wins, while the Steelers were winless.

Game 11: at Washington Redskins

First quarter

• PHI - Jack Banta 7-yd run (Nick Basca kick), 7-0 Eagles Second quarter
• WAS - Al Krueger 19-yd pass from Sammy Baugh (Joe Aguirre kick), Tied 7-7 Third quarter
• PHI - Hank Piro 6-yd pass from Tommy Thompson (Nick Basca kick), 14-7 Eagles Fourth quarter
• WAS - Joe Aguirre 9-yd pass from Sammy Baugh (kick failed), 14-13 Eagles
• WAS - Joe Aguirre 4-yd pass from Sammy Baugh (Joe Aguirre kick), 20-14 Redskins Approximately twelve minutes before the start of the game, the attack on Pearl Harbor began in Hawaii. It was announced by the White House Press Secretary approximately twenty minutes after the start of the game, and while no official announcement was made at Griffith Stadium, many military, government and diplomatic personnel were paged to return to their offices starting midway through the first quarter. Due to this, and sheer curiosity on the part of many others of the 27,000 spectators present, the game ended with nearly no press or spectators remaining. Washington won the game, 20-14, leaving the Eagles at 2-8-1 on the season.

Standings

Roster

(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)

The 1941 Philadelphia Eagles roster is made up of 39 players which 32 are rookies.

Honors and rewards

• Rookie end Dick Humbert finished second in receptions with 29 (league leader had 58), fourth in receiving yards with 332 (league leader had 738) and joint-fourth in receiving touchdowns with 3 (league leader had 10).
• Humbert was selected for the All-Star Game.

References

References

1. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/1941.htm 1941 Philadelphia Eagles]
2. Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
3. George Strickler, ''Official National Football League Roster and Record Manual, 1941.'' Chicago: National Football League, 1941; back cover.
4. "Flashback: A Forgotten Washington-Philly Game". Washington Commanders.
5. Players are identified as a 1940 Pro All-Star.