The 1932 NFL Playoff Game was the first ever playoff game held by the National Football League (NFL), the major professional American football sports league in the United States. The game was played on December 18, 1932 indoors at Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois. The final score was Chicago Bears 9, Portsmouth Spartans 0. Image File history File links 1932_NFL_playoff_game. ... The National Football League (NFL) is the largest professional American football league, consisting of thirty-two teams from American cities and regions. ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... Chicago Stadium was known as The Madhouse On Madison. The Chicago Stadium was a famed and historic indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois. ... ... Conference Template:NFL team/shit league Division North Year Founded 1919 Home Field Soldier Field City [[retard city colors = Navy Blue, Orange, and White retarded yellow]] Team Colors {{{colors}}} Head Coach Lovie Smith League Championships (9) NFL Champions: 1921, 1932, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1963 Super Bowl: 1985 (XX... Conference NFC Division North Year Founded 1930 Home Field Ford Field City Detroit, Michigan Team Colors Honolulu Blue, Silver, and Black Head Coach Dick Jauron interim League Championships (4) NFL Champions: 1935, 1952, 1953, 1957 Conference Championships (4) NFL National: 1952 NFL Western: 1953, 1954, 1957 Division Championships (4) NFL...

The game paved the way for a new era of professional American football. After following the rules of College football for its first 13 years of existence, the NFL began to develop its own rules after the season. The popularity of the game also led the league to start holding annual playoff games. Thus, the 1932 NFL Playoff Game is sometimes unofficially called the 1932 NFL Championship Game. United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... A college football game between Colorado State University and the Air Force Academy. ...

Furthermore, the game is regarded as the first ever major indoor football game and a precursor to Arena football. Indoor football in the sense contemplated here is a variation of American football with rules modified to make it suitable for play within basketball gymnasiums and, particularly, ice hockey arenas. ... Arena football is a sport invented by Jim Foster, a former executive of the United States Football League and the National Football League. ...

Background

Since the NFL's first season in 1920, every league championship title was awarded to the team with the best regular season record, with ties not counted. But after the 1932 NFL season, the Spartans and the Bears tied for first place, and thus for the first time the league arranged for a playoff game to determine the NFL champion. The 1920 NFL season was the 1st regular season of the National Football League. ... The regular season is a term used, primarily, in North American sports. ... The 1932 NFL season was the 13th regular season of the National Football League. ...

The game was originally scheduled to be played at Wrigley Field, the Bears' home stadium. But because of severe blizzards and sub-zero wind chill throughout the week, the game was forced to be moved indoors to Chicago Stadium. Wrigley Field is a sports stadium in Chicago, Illinois which was built in 1914 for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales and which became the home of the Chicago Cubs in 1916. ...

Because of the size of Chicago Stadium, several rules were adopted for the game. The field itself was only 80 yards long and 30 feet narrower. The sidelines were butted up against the stands. The goal posts were moved from the endlines to the goal lines. The ball was automatically moved back to the 20-yard line every time one team crossed midfield. And for the first time, all plays would start with the ball on or between the hash marks.

Game summary

Both teams' defenses dominated the first three quarters of the game. Then in the fourth quarter, the Bears scored on a controversial touchdown. On the play, Charles "Dutch" Brumbaugh handed the ball off to Bronko Nagurski, who then threw it to Red Grange in the end zone for the score. Rules at the time mandated that a forward pass had to be thrown from at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage. The Spartans argued that Nagurski did not drop back five yards before passing to Grange, but the touchdown stood. The Bears later scored a safety to clinch the victory. In American and Canadian football the line of scrimmage is the imaginary transverse line crossing the football field across its narrower dimension, which passes through the last position of the football, after the end of the most recent play and following the assessment of any penalty yards. ...

Scoring summary

• CHI - Grange 2 pass from Nagurski (Engebretsen kick)
• CHI - Safety, Wilson tackled in end zone

Effect on American football

Because it proved so popular, the 1932 NFL Playoff Game started a new era for the National Football League. After the season, the league stopped using the rules of College football and started to develop its own. The forward pass became legal anywhere behind the line of scrimmage. All plays would start with the ball on or between the hash marks. A college football game between Colorado State University and the Air Force Academy. ...

The NFL then divided its teams into two divisions for the first time, with the winners of each division playing in a championship game to determine the NFL champion.

The 1932 NFL Playoff Game is also regarded as the first major indoor football game, a variation of American football with rules modified to make it suitable for play inside arenas. While several attempts to develop a true indoor football game have been made since then, the only version to meet with anything resembling true success and acceptance has been Arena football. Indoor football in the sense contemplated here is a variation of American football with rules modified to make it suitable for play within basketball gymnasiums and, particularly, ice hockey arenas. ... Arena football is a sport invented by Jim Foster, a former executive of the United States Football League and the National Football League. ...

References

• Pro Football Hall of Fame: The First Playoff Game (Retrieved September 23, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0062701746)