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1949 NFL Championship Game

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Field	Value
type	nflc
name	1949
image	[[File:1949NFLChampionshipProgram.jpg]]
visitor	[Philadelphia Eagles](1949-philadelphia-eagles-season)
home	[Los Angeles Rams](1949-los-angeles-rams-season)
visitor_coach	Greasy Neale
home_coach	Clark Shaughnessy
visitor_conf	Eastern
home_conf	Western
visitor_abbr	PHI
home_abbr	LA
visitor_record	11–1
home_record	8–2–2
visitor_qtr1	0
visitor_qtr2	7
visitor_qtr3	7
visitor_qtr4	0
visitor_total	14
home_qtr1	0
home_qtr2	0
home_qtr3	0
home_qtr4	0
home_total	0
date	December 18, 1949
stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
city	Los Angeles, California
attendance	27,980 (paid); 22,245 (actual)
network	ABC
announcers	Harry Wismer, Red Grange
HOFers	Eagles: Greasy Neale (coach), Chuck Bednarik, Pete Pihos, Steve Van Buren, Alex Wojciechowicz
Rams: Dan Reeves (owner), Tex Schramm (administrator), Tom Fears, Elroy Hirsch, Norm Van Brocklin, Bob Waterfield

Rams: Dan Reeves (owner), Tex Schramm (administrator), Tom Fears, Elroy Hirsch, Norm Van Brocklin, Bob Waterfield |USA The 1949 NFL Championship Game was the 17th title game for the National Football League (NFL), played on December 18 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. It is remembered for the driving rain that caused the field to become a mud pit. Its paid attendance was 27,980, with only 22,245 in the stadium, which was a low in attendance not reached until 2020, which drew 24,835 because of global pandemic restrictions.

The game featured the Eastern Division champion Philadelphia Eagles (11–1), the defending NFL champions, against the Los Angeles Rams (8–2–2), winners of the Western Division. This was the first NFL title game played in the western United States. The Rams had last appeared in a title game in 1945, a victory and the franchise's final game in Cleveland.

The Eagles were favored by a touchdown, and won 14–0 for their second consecutive shutout in the title game. Running back Steve Van Buren rushed for 196 yards on 31 carries for the Eagles and their defense held the Rams to just 21 yards on the ground.

Philadelphia head coach Earle "Greasy" Neale did not like to fly, so the Eagles traveled to the West Coast by train. On the way west, they stopped in Illinois for a workout at Stagg Field at the University of Chicago on Wednesday morning.

Scoring summary

First quarter
- no scoring
Second quarter
- PHI – Pete Pihos 31-yard pass from Tommy Thompson (Cliff Patton kick). Eagles 7–0
Third quarter
- PHI – Leo Skladany 2-yard block punt return (Patton kick). Eagles 14–0
Fourth quarter
- no scoring

Officials

Referee: Ron Gibbs
Umpire: Joseph Crowley
Head linesman: Charlie Berry
Back judge: Robert Austin
Field judge: William McHugh
Alternate: Rawson Bowen
Alternate: Cletus Gardner

The NFL added the fifth official, the back judge, in ; the line judge arrived in , and the side judge in .

Players' shares

The Eagles players earned $1,090 each and the Rams got $789, about one-third of what was expected with fair weather. Anticipating 70,000 or more in attendance and a large payoff from the gate, the players and owners wanted to postpone the game for a week, but were overridden by Commissioner Bert Bell, reached at home in Philadelphia.

Ticket prices were five dollars between the goal lines and $3.60 elsewhere.

Television

This was the first NFL game which was broadcast on television, although only on the West Coast, under the auspices of Bell. The traditional 60–40 player bonus for playing in a championship game was augmented by $14,000 (presently$, ) from the NFL. Although sources are unclear, a source writes the NFL received $20,000 (presently$, ) from the broadcasting rights.

Sources

Lyons, Robert S. (2010). On Any Given Sunday, A Life of Bert Bell. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. 978-1-59213-731-2
Coenen, Craig R. (2005). From Sandlots to the Super Bowl: The National Football League, 1920–1967. Knoxville, TN: The University of Tennessee Press.

References

Warren, Harry. (December 18, 1949). "Eagles play Rams today for N.F.L. title". Chicago Sunday Tribune.
Warren, Harry. (December 19, 1949). "Eagles keep title in Los Angeles rain". Chicago Daily Tribune.
(December 19, 1949). "Small payoff irks Eagles and Rams". Pittsburgh Press.
(December 19, 1949). "Eagles submerge Rams for title, 14-0". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
(December 18, 1949). "Eagles, Rams battle for NFL title today". Milwaukee Sentinel.
Warren, Harry. (December 16, 1949). "Eagles 7½ point choice for title". Chicago Daily Tribune.
(December 17, 1949). "Rams point for upset over Eagles". Reading Eagle.
(December 19, 1949). "Eagles retain title, beat Rams in rain". St. Petersburg Independent.
Forbes, Gordon. (August 28, 1980). "Steve Van Buren". St. Petersburg Independent.
Warren, Harry. (December 14, 1949). "Eagles pause in Chicago for drills today". Chicago Daily Tribune.
(December 19, 1949). "Eagles get $1,090 each for victory". Reading Eagle.
(December 18, 1949). "Los Angeles Rams seek pro grid crown today from Eagles". Reading Eagle.
(December 17, 1949). "Eagles on coast ready for championship". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Myers, Bob. (December 18, 1949). "Philadelphia, Los Angeles meet in NFL playoff today". Youngstown Vindicator.
Lyons: 156–157
Coenen: 155–156

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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