1939 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1939 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 5–6, winning only one game.[1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. The October 22 game against Brooklyn was the first NFL game to be televised.

1939 Philadelphia Eagles season
OwnerBert Bell
Head coachBert Bell
Home fieldPhiladelphia Municipal Stadium
Local radioWCAU
Results
Record1–9–1
Division place4th (tied) NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

Off season

The Eagle moved their training camp to St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

NFL draft

The 1939 NFL Draft had 22 rounds and was held on December 9, 1938.

The Eagles drafted in the 4th spot in the 20 rounds they had picks. They chose a total 20 players, of which 9 made the team for the 1939 season.

The Chicago Cardinals choose Charles "Ki" Aldrich as a center that went to Texas Christian. The TCU Horned Frogs had 3 players in the top 7 picks in the first round

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.[2] 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.

= Pro Bowler [3] = Hall of Famer
Rd Pick # Player PositionCollege
14Davey O'Brien[4] BackTexas Christian
214Charles NewtonBackWashington
319Joe MihalTacklePurdue
429Billy DewellOffensive EndSouthern Methodist
534Fred CostonGuardTexas A&M
644Jake SchuehleBackRice
754Tony IppolitoBackPurdue
864George SomersTackleLa Salle
974Rankin BrittEndTexas A&M
1084Bill McKeeverTackleCornell
1194Paul HumphreyCenterPurdue
12104Jack KraynickBackNorth Carolina
13114Thomas "Allie" WhiteTackleTexas Christian
14124Joe AleskusTackleOhio State
15134Foster WatkinsBackWest Texas State Teachers
16144Irv HallBackBrown
17154Bob RiddellEndSouth Dakota State
18164Charlie GainorEndNorth Dakota
19174Morris WhiteBackTulsa
20184Dick GormleyCenterLouisiana State
21No Pick in this Round.
22No Pick in this Round.

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 17 Washington Redskins L 0–7 0–1 33,258
2 September 24 New York Giants L 3–13 0–2 30,600
3 October 1 Brooklyn Dodgers T 0–0 0–2–1 1,880
4 October 15 at New York Giants L 10–27 0–3–1 34,471
5 October 22 at Brooklyn Dodgers L 14–23 0–4–1 13,057
6 November 5 at Washington Redskins L 6–7 0–5–1 20,444
7 November 12 Green Bay Packers L 16–23 0–6–1 23,000
8 November 19 at Chicago Bears L 14–27 0–7–1 21,398
9 November 23 Pittsburgh Pirates W 17–14 1–7–1 20,000
10 November 26 at Pittsburgh Pirates L 12–24 1–8–1 8,788
11 December 3 at Cleveland Rams L 13–35 1–9–1 9,189

Standings

NFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
New York Giants 9 1 1 .900 7–0–1 168 85 W4
Washington Redskins 8 2 1 .800 6–1–1 242 94 L1
Brooklyn Dodgers 4 6 1 .400 3–4–1 108 219 L3
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 9 1 .100 1–7 114 216 W1
Philadelphia Eagles 1 9 1 .100 1–6–1 105 200 L2

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

Playoffs

The Eagles had a 1–9–1 record and failed to make it to the 1939 NFL Championship Game. The game was on December 10, 1939, at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This was the seventh NFL championship game played. The Green Bay Packers defeated the New York Giants to win their fifth title. The game attendance was 32,379.

The game matched the champions of the Eastern Division, New York Giants (9–1–1) against the Western Division champion Green Bay Packers (9–2–0). The Packers won 27–0 in a rematch of the 1938 NFL Championship Game that was won by the Giants.

Roster

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

= 1939 Pro All Star[5] = Hall of Famer

As was in 1937 roster and 1938 roster, this year team is mostly rookies and players with 1 or 2 years NFL experience.

NO. Player AGE POS GP GS WT HT YRS College
Bert Bell44Coach1939 record
1–9–1
NFL-Eagles
Lifetime

9–34–2
4thPennsylvania
Jay Arnold27HB-WB-DB
BB-KR-PR
1092106–12Texas
Rankin Britt26End102056–2RookieTexas A&M
Joe Bukant23Back1112166–01Washington (MO)
Tom Burnette24BB1131946–1RookieNorth Carolina
Joe Carter*29E11112016–16Austin College and
SMU
Zed Coston24C102226–2RookieTexas A&M
Bree Cuppoletti29G1082005–105Oregon
Woody Dow23BB-FB921956–01West Texas A&M
Drew Ellis25T1192156–11TCU
Maurice Harper29Cen1182276–43Austin
Bill Hewitt30E-DE1121905–97Michigan
Bill Hughes24G-C1162266–12Texas
Ray Keeling24T-G902426–31Texas
Elmer Kolberg23HB-E832016–4RookieOregon State
Emmett Kriel23G101996–2RookieBaylor
Emmett Mortell23B821816–12Notre Dame and
Wisconsin
Davey O'Brien*22QB-TB1181515–7RookieTCU
Bob Pylman26T1022146–41South Dakota State
Red Ramsey28E1161966–01Texas Tech
Hank Reese30C-G532145–116Temple
Dick Riffle24B1032006–11Albright
Theodore Schmitt23G1182195–111Pittsburgh
Jake Schuehle22HB201966–0RookieRice
Dave Smukler25FB-LB442266–12 Missouri and
Temple
George Somers24T932536–2RookieLa Salle
Allie White24G-T702125–11RookieTexas Christian
Clem Woltman24T1082146–11Purdue
28 Players
Team Average
25.111208.26–0.61.6

Awards and honors

  • Davey O'Brien finishes 2nd in pass attempts with 210
  • Davey O'Brien finishes 2nd in pass completions with 99
  • Davey O'Brien leads NFL in passing yards with 1324
  • Joe Carter named to Pro All_Star team.
  • Davey O'Brien named to Pro All-Star team.

References

  1. 1939 Philadelphia Eagles
  2. Pro Football Hall of Fame. "1938 NFL Draft sorted by team".
  3. Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  4. Davey O'Brien, 1938 Heisman Trophy winner "Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on February 2, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  5. Players are identified as a 1939 Pro All Star.
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