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1948 NFL season
Regular season
Duration	September 17 – December 19, 1948
East Champions	Philadelphia Eagles
West Champions	Chicago Cardinals
Championship Game
Champions	Philadelphia Eagles
	← 1947; NFL seasons; 1949 →;

Giants

Cardinals ....

Eagles

Steelers ....

Redskins

Yanks

Bears

Packers

Rams

Lions

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NFL teams: West, East

The 1948 NFL season was the 29th regular season of the National Football League. During the season, Halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Los Angeles Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football.^[1] The last regular season game played on Wednesday until the 2012 season happened on September 22, 1948, between Detroit and Los Angeles. The season ended when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL Championship Game.

The 1948 season featured the highest per-game, per-team scoring in NFL history, with the average team scoring 23.2 points per game.^[2] This record stood for 65 years until 2013.^[3]

Draft

The 1948 NFL draft was held on December 19, 1947, at Pittsburgh's Fort Pitt Hotel. With the first pick, the Washington Redskins selected halfback Harry Gilmer from the University of Alabama.

Major rule changes

Plastic helmets are prohibited. This rule was enacted because critics argued that they were being used more as a weapon than protection.^[1]
A flexible artificial tee is permitted at the kickoff.^[1]
When the intended passer is tackled behind the line of scrimmage, the game clock will stop temporarily until any receivers who have gone down field have had a reasonable time to return.^{[citation needed]}
When the offense is called for delay of game, the defense may decline the 5-yard distance penalty.^{[citation needed]}
If a foul occurs behind the line during a backwards pass or fumble, the penalty is enforced from the spot of the pass or fumble.^{[citation needed]}
It is illegal to bat or punch the ball while it is in a player's possession.^{[citation needed]}
All officials are equipped with whistles, not horns.^[1]

Division races

In the Eastern race, the Eagles demolished Washington 45–0 in Week Five to take a ½ game lead. When the 6–1–1 Eagles met the 6–2 Skins again in Week Ten, they beat Washington 42–21, and won the Division and the right to host the Championship Game.

The other race was all Chicago, with the Cardinals and Bears both having records of 10–1 going into the final week: thus, there was a de facto playoff game for the Western Division for the second year in succession, with a tie forcing a second playoff game the following week.

A record crowd of 51,283 attended Wrigley Field on December 12 for the all-Chicago showdown, with the Bears taking a 21–10 lead on George Gulyanics' touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter.^[4] Charley Trippi's touchdown cut the margin to 21–17, but the Bears had the ball and time on their side. The turning point came when the Cards' Vince Banonis picked off a pass from Johnny Lujack and ran the ball back to the Bears' 19. Elmer Angsman scored a touchdown three plays later to win the game and the Western Division title for the Cards, as well as the right to face the Eagles for the Championship.^[5]

Final standings

NFL Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Philadelphia Eagles	9	2	1	.818	7–1	376	156	W1
Washington Redskins	7	5	0	.583	5–3	291	287	W1
New York Giants	4	8	0	.333	3–5	297	388	L2
Pittsburgh Steelers	4	8	0	.333	3–5	200	243	L1
Boston Yanks	3	9	0	.250	2–6	174	372	W1

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

NFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Cardinals	11	1	0	.917	7–1	395	226	W10
Chicago Bears	10	2	0	.833	7–1	375	151	L1
Los Angeles Rams	6	5	1	.545	3–5	327	269	W3
Green Bay Packers	3	9	0	.250	2–6	154	290	L7
Detroit Lions	2	10	0	.167	1–7	200	407	L3

NFL Championship Game

Philadelphia Eagles 7, Chicago Cardinals 0 in a blizzard at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 19, 1948

League leaders

Statistic	Name	Team	Yards
Passing	Sammy Baugh	Washington	2599
Rushing	Steve Van Buren	Philadelphia	945
Receiving	Mal Kutner	Chicago Cardinals	943

Awards

UPI NFL Most Valuable Player – Pat Harder, Chicago Cardinals

Coaching changes

Detroit Lions: Gus Dorais was replaced by Bo McMillin.
Los Angeles Rams: Bob Snyder was replaced by Clark Shaughnessy.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Jock Sutherland was replaced by John Michelosen.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "History (1941-1950)". NFL.com. National Football League. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
^ Byrne, Kerry (July 18, 2010). "The Spirit of '48: a mind-blowing statistical orgasm". Cold Hard Football Facts (website). Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
^ "Record Breaking 2013 Season Had It All" (PDF). NFL. December 30, 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
^ "Chicago Cardinals at Chicago Bears - December 12th, 1948 | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
^ "Cardinals' About Face Beats Bears, 24–21," Wisconsin State Journal (Madison), Dec 13, 1948, p13

Zimmer, John; Marini, Matt, eds. (2013). Official 2013 National Football League Record & Fact Book (PDF). New York: National Football League. ISBN 978-1-603-20980-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)