1938 New York Giants season

The 1938 New York Giants season was the franchise's 14th season in the National Football League.

This article is about the football team. For the baseball team of the same name in 1938, see 1938 New York Giants (MLB) season.

1938 New York Giants season
Head coach	Steve Owen
Home field	Polo Grounds
Results
Record	8–2–1
Division place	1st NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Won NFL Championship 23–17 (Green Bay)

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result
1	September 11, 1938	at Pittsburgh Pirates	W 27–14
2		Bye
3	September 25, 1938	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 14–10
4	October 3, 1938	Pittsburgh Pirates	L 13–10
5	October 9, 1938	at Washington Redskins	W 10–7
6	October 16, 1938	Philadelphia Eagles	W 17–7
7	October 23, 1938	Brooklyn Dodgers	W 28–14
8		Bye
9	November 6, 1938	Chicago Cardinals	W 6–0
10	November 13, 1938	Cleveland Rams	W 28–0
11	November 20, 1938	Green Bay Packers	W 15–3
12	November 24, 1938	at Brooklyn Dodgers	T 7–7
13	December 4, 1938	Washington Redskins	W 36–0

Game Summaries

Week 1: at Pittsburgh Pirates

Week One: New York Giants at Pittsburgh Pirates

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	6	14	0	7	27
Pirates	7	7	0	0	14

at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Date: September 11
• Game attendance: 17,340

Game information
First quarter PIT Whizzer White 4-yard run (Armand Niccolai kick) NYG Tuffy Leemans 1-yard run (kick blocked) Second quarter PIT Eggs Manske 23-yard pass from Frank Filchock (Niccolai kick) NYG Lee Shaffer 3-yard pass from Ed Danowski (Hank Soar kick) NYG Shaffer 11-yard pass from Danowski (Ward Cuff kick) Fourth quarter NYG Soar 1-yard run (Cuff kick)

Week 3: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week Three: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	7	3	0	10
Eagles	0	7	0	7	14

at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: September 25
• Game attendance: 23,877

Game information
Second quarter PHI Bob Pylman 88-yard fumble return (Henry Reese kick) NYG Jim Poole 28-yard pass from Danowski (Cuff kick) Third quarter NYG Cuff 23-yard FG Fourth quarter PHI Joe Carter 92-yard fumble return (Reese kick)

Week 4: vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Week Four: Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pirates	0	7	0	6	13
Giants	7	0	3	0	10

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: October 3
• Game time: Night
• Game attendance: 18,805

Game information
First quarter NYG Cuff 18-yard pass from Danowski (Cuff kick) Second quarter PIT Bill Sortet 24-yard pass from Filchock (Niccolai kick) Third quarter NYG Cuff 10-yard FG Fourth quarter PIT Sortet 13-yard pass from Filchock (kick failed)

Week 5: at Washington Redskins

Week Five: New York Giants at Washington Redskins

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	3	0	0	7	10
Redskins	0	7	0	0	7

at Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC

• Date: October 9
• Game attendance: 37,500

Game information
First quarter NYG Cuff 17-yard FG Second quarter WAS Bob Masterson pass from Sammy Baugh (Masterson kick) Fourth quarter NYG Jim Lee Howell 18-yard pass from Danowski (Cuff kick)

Week 6: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week Six: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	7	0	7
Giants	0	14	3	0	17

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: October 16
• Game attendance: 33,187

Game information
Second quarter NYG Bull Karcis 76-yard fumble return (Cuff kick) NYG Leemans 3-yard run (Cuff kick) Third quarter PHI Woody Dow 25-yard pass from Emmett Mortell (Reese kick) NYG Cuff 20-yard FG

Week 7: vs. Brooklyn Dodgers

Week Seven: Brooklyn Dodgers at New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dodgers	0	0	0	14	14
Giants	7	21	0	0	28

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: October 23
• Game attendance: 36,228

Game information
First quarter NYG Howell 31-yard pass from Danowski (Cuff kick) Second quarter NYG Karcis 1-yard run (Cuff kick) NYG Len Barnum 1-yard run (Cuff kick) NYG Ray Hanken 5-yard pass from Leemans (Kink Richards kick) Fourth quarter BRK Beattie Feathers 8-yard run (Ace Parker kick) BRK Scrapper Farrell 26-yard run (Parker kick)

Week 9: vs. Chicago Cardinals

Week Nine: Chicago Cardinals at New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	0	0	0	0
Giants	0	0	0	6	6

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: November 6
• Game attendance: 19,648

Game information
Fourth quarter NYG Leemans 5-yard run (kick failed)

Week 10: vs. Cleveland Rams

Week Ten: Cleveland Rams at New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	0	0	0	0
Giants	7	14	7	0	28

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: November 13
• Game attendance: 25,000

Game information
First quarter NYG Karcis 1-yard run (Cuff kick) Second quarter NYG Karcis 1-yard run (Cuff kick) NYG Hanken 27-yard pass from Leemans (Richards kick) Third quarter NYG Danowski 31-yard run (Cuff kick)

Week 11: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week Eleven: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	0	3	0	3
Giants	0	0	9	6	15

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: November 20
• Game attendance: 48,279

Game information
Third quarter NYG Giants tackled Clarke Hinkle in end zone for a Safety GB Paul Engebretsen 22-yard FG NYG Leemans 75-yard run (Cuff kick) Fourth quarter NYG Mel Hein 50-yard interception return (kick failed)

Week 12: at Brooklyn Dodgers

Week Twelve: New York Giants at Brooklyn Dodgers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	0	0	7	7
Dodgers	7	0	0	0	7

at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York

• Date: November 24
• Game attendance: 17,400

Game information
First quarter BRK Parker 68-yard interception return (Ralph Kercheval kick) Fourth quarter NYG Dale Burnett 7-yard pass from Danowski (Cuff kick)

Week 13: vs. Washington Redskins

Week Thirteen: Washington Redskins at New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	0	0	0	0
Giants	14	0	10	12	36

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: December 4
• Game attendance: 57,461

Game information
First quarter NYG Soar 43-yard run (Cuff kick) NYG Karcis run (Cuff kick) Third quarter NYG Cuff 36-yard FG NYG Cuff 96-yard interception return (Cuff kick) Fourth quarter NYG Chuck Galatka pass from Leemans (kick failed) NYG Galatka 7-yard interception return (kick failed)

NFL Championship Game

Main article: 1938 NFL Championship Game

1938 NFL Championship: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants

	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	14	3	0	17
Giants	9	7	7	0	23

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

• Date: December 11
• Game attendance: 48,120

Game information
First quarter NYG Cuff 14-yard FG NYG Leemans 6-yard run (kick failed) Second quarter GB Carl Mulleneaux 40-yard pass from Arnie Herber (Engebretsen kick) NYG Charles Barnard 21-yard pass from Danowski (Cuff kick) GB Hinkle 1-yard run (Engebretsen kick) Third quarter GB Engebretsen 15-yard FG NYG Soar 23-yard pass from Danowski (Cuff kick)

Standings

NFL Eastern Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
New York Giants	8	2	1	.800	5–2–1	194	79	W1
Washington Redskins	6	3	2	.667	4–2–2	148	154	L1
Brooklyn Dodgers	4	4	3	.500	3–2–3	131	161	T1
Philadelphia Eagles	5	6	0	.455	3–5	154	164	W2
Pittsburgh Pirates	2	9	0	.182	2–6	79	169	L6

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

All-Star Game

Five weeks after winning the championship, the Giants defeated the NFL All-Stars 13–10 in the first Pro Bowl on January 15, 1939. The game was played at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, California, where poor weather caused an attendance of just 15,000.[1][2][3][4]

See also

• List of New York Giants seasons
• 1939 National Football League All-Star Game

References

1. "Giants beat Stars; Ward Cuff is hero". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. January 16, 1939. p. L-7.
2. "New York's Giants defeat All-Stars". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 16, 1939. p. 6.
3. McLemore, Henry (January 16, 1939). "'Super' pro grid game proves flop on Coast". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 19.
4. Guenther, Jack (January 16, 1939). "Giants down professional all-star grids in charity tilt". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). United Press. p. 9.