1944 New York Giants season

The 1944 New York Giants season was the franchise's 20th season in the National Football League.

This article is about the football team. For the baseball team of the same name in 1944, see 1944 New York Giants (MLB) season.
1944 New York Giants season
Head coachSteve Owen
Home fieldPolo Grounds
Results
Record8–1–1
Division place1st NFL Eastern
Playoff finishLost NFL Championship
(vs. Packers) 7–14

In an April 2013 article, football analytics website Cold Hard Football Facts named the 1944 Giants the "Stingiest Defense in NFL history,"[1] as the team only surrendered 75 points in ten games. "The manpower shortage on NFL fields created a variety of statistical anomalies on both sides of the field," said the article, "and the 1944 Giants are no exception. But even then, the 1944 Giants were a truly awesome unit: the average team scored 18.0 points per game in 1944, well above the 7.5 PPG average surrendered by the Giants. [...] But even the best defenses can’t get it done alone: Giants quarterback Arnie Herber threw four interceptions in New York's 14–7 NFL title game loss to Herber's former team, the Packers. The 1944 Giants were a mere No. 5 in scoring offense in the 10-team NFL."

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 Bye
2 Bye
3 Bye
4 October 8 at Boston Yanks W 22–10 1–0 Fenway Park Recap
5 October 15 at Brooklyn Tigers W 14–7 2–0 Ebbets Field Recap
6 October 22 Card-Pitt W 23–0 3–0 Polo Grounds Recap
7 October 29 Philadelphia Eagles L 17–24 3–1 Polo Grounds Recap
8 November 5 Boston Yanks W 31–0 4–1 Polo Grounds Recap
9 November 12 at Philadelphia Eagles T 21–21 4–1–1 Shibe Park Recap
10 November 19 Green Bay Packers W 24–0 5–1–1 Polo Grounds Recap
11 November 26 Brooklyn Tigers W 7–0 6–1–1 Polo Grounds Recap
12 December 3 Washington Redskins W 16–13 7–1–1 Polo Grounds Recap
13 December 10 at Washington Redskins W 31–0 8–1–1 Griffith Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week Four: at Boston Yanks
Week Four: New York Giants at Boston Yanks
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 10 12022
Yanks 3 0 7010

at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts

  • Date: October 8
  • Game attendance: 17,463
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter

Week Five: at Brooklyn Tigers
Week Five: New York Giants at Brooklyn Tigers
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 0 7 0714
Tigers 0 7 007

at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn, New York

  • Date: October 15
  • Game attendance: 24,854
Game information
Second quarter
Fourth quarter
  • NYG Neal Adams 35-yard pass from Soar (Strong kick)

Week Six: vs Cardinals-Pittsburgh Combine
Week Six: Cardinals-Pittsburgh at New York Giants
Period 1 2 34Total
Card-Pitt 0 0 000
Giants 0 9 7723

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: October 22
  • Game attendance: 40,734
Game information
Second quarter
Third quarter
  • NYG Paschal 3-yard run (Strong kick)
Fourth quarter

Week Seven: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week Seven: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
Period 1 2 34Total
Eagles 3 7 7724
Giants 7 10 0017

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: October 29
  • Game attendance: 42,639
Game information
First quarter
  • PHI Roy Zimmerman 22-yard FG
  • NYG Liebel 63-yard fumble return (Strong kick)
Second quarter
  • NYG Strong 26-yard FG
  • NYG Paschal 68-yard run (Cuff kick)
  • PHI Steve Van Buren 6-yard run (Zimmerman kick)
Third quarter
  • PHI Zimmerman 15-yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick)
Fourth quarter
  • PHI Zimmerman 1-yard run (Zimmerman kick)

Week Eight: vs. Boston Yanks
Week Eight: Boston Yanks at New York Giants
Period 1 2 34Total
Yanks 0 0 000
Giants 10 0 14731

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: November 5
  • Game attendance: 28,364
Game information
First quarter
Third quarter
  • NYG Cuff 40-yard pass from Joe Sulaitis (Strong kick)
  • NYG Paschal 18-yard run (Strong kick)
Fourth quarter
  • NYG Bill Petrilas 67-yard interception return (Strong kick)

Week Nine: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week Nine: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 7 0 01421
Eagles 7 7 7021

at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Date: November 12
  • Game attendance: 33,248
Game information
First quarter
  • NYG Paschal 1-yard run (Strong kick)
  • PHI Steve Van Buren 97-yard kickoff return (Zimmerman kick)
Second quarter
  • PHI Mel Bleeker 9-yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick)
Third quarter
  • PHI Bleeker 48-yard pass from Zimmerman (Zimmerman kick)
Fourth quarter
  • NYG Livingston 12-yard pass from Arnie Herber (Strong kick)
  • NYG Liebel 58-yard pass from Herber (Strong kick)

Week Ten: vs. Green Bay Packers
Week Ten: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants
Period 1 2 34Total
Packers 0 0 000
Giants 7 7 3724

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: November 19
  • Game attendance: 56,481
Game information
First quarter
  • NYG Livingston 34-yard interception return (Strong kick)
Second quarter
  • NYG Liebel 36-yard pass from Herber (Strong kick)
Third quarter
  • NYG Strong 8-yard FG
Fourth quarter
  • NYG Paschal 1-yard run (Strong kick)

Steve Owen won his 100th regular season game as Giants head coach. Tom Coughlin would be the next to accomplish the feat 61 years later.

Week Eleven: vs. Brooklyn Tigers
Week Eleven: Brooklyn Tigers at New York Giants
Period 1 2 34Total
Tigers 0 0 000
Giants 7 0 007

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: November 26
  • Game attendance: 29,387
Game information
First quarter
  • NYG Paschal 1-yard run (Strong kick)

Week Twelve: vs. Washington Redskins
Week Twelve: Washington Redskins at New York Giants
Period 1 2 34Total
Redskins 0 10 3013
Giants 10 0 0616

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: December 3
  • Game attendance: 47,457
Game information
First quarter
  • NYG Petrilas 24-yard interception return (Strong kick)
  • NYG Strong 17-yard FG
Second quarter
Third quarter
  • WAS Aguirre 7-yard FG
Fourth quarter
  • NYG Paschal 2-yard run (conversion failed)

Week Thirteen: at Washington Redskins
Week Thirteen: New York Giants at Washington Redskins
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 14 0 71031
Redskins 0 0 000

at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.

  • Date: December 10
  • Game attendance: 35,540
Game information
First quarter
  • NYG Cuff 22-yard pass from Herber (Strong kick)
  • NYG Liebel 11-yard pass from Herber (Strong kick)
Third quarter
  • NYG Liebel 44-yard pass from Herber (Strong kick)
Fourth quarter
  • NYG Cuff 32-yard FG
  • NYG Chuck Avedisian 48-yard interception return (Strong kick)

Playoffs
Round Date Opponent Result Venue Recap
Championship December 17 Green Bay Packers L 7–14 Polo Grounds Recap

1944 NFL Championship: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants
1944 NFL Championship: Green Bay Packers at New York Giants
Period 1 2 34Total
Packers 0 14 0014
Giants 0 0 077

at Polo Grounds, New York, New York

  • Date: December 17
  • Game attendance: 46,015
Game information

Standings
NFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
New York Giants 8 1 1 .889 6–1–1 206 75 W4
Philadelphia Eagles 7 1 2 .875 6–0–2 267 131 W2
Washington Redskins 6 3 1 .667 4–3–1 169 180 L2
Boston Yanks 2 8 0 .200 2–6 82 233 L2
Brooklyn Tigers 0 10 0 .000 0-8 69 166 L10

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

See also

References
  1. Cold Hard Football Facts, The 100 Stingiest Defenses In Football History Archived November 14, 2015, at the Wayback Machine April 1, 2013

1944 New York Giants season at Pro Football Reference

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