1941 NFL season
1941 NFL season
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1941 NFL season

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1941 NFL season

The 1941 NFL season was the 22nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The league's ten teams each played a regular season schedule of 11 games, for a total of 55 regular season contests. The total attendance for these games was 1,118,616 — an average of 20,338 fans per event. This represented an increase of 9% over the previous season's attendance.

The defending league champion Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers finished the regular season tied in the Western Division, forcing the first divisional playoff game in league history. The Bears won this contest 33–14 at Wrigley Field on December 14, before swamping the New York Giants 37–9 in the 1941 NFL Championship Game at Wrigley Field one week later.

The Bears, who averaged 36 points per game over the course of the 1941 season, became the first team since the institution of the East–West play-off in 1933 to repeat as champion.

Before the season, Elmer Layden was named the first Commissioner of the NFL, while Carl Storck resigned as league president. Layden also took on the duties of president and signed a five-year contract at $20,000 annually.

The 1941 NFL draft was held on December 10, 1940, at Washington, D.C.'s Willard Hotel. With the first pick, the Chicago Bears selected halfback Tom Harmon from The University of Michigan.

The league bylaws were changed to provide for playoffs in cases where division races are tied after the regular season, and rules for sudden-death overtimes in case a playoff game was tied after four quarters.

In addition to these rule changes, this season marked the first time that the league commissioner became involved in enforcement of player conduct standards. Commissioner Elmer Layden in August assessed $25 fines on Green Bay Packers quarterback Larry Craig and New York Giants halfback Hank Soar for fighting.

Wilson became the official game ball of the NFL.

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