1940 NFL All-Star Game (January)
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| Date | January 14, 1940 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Gilmore Stadium, Los Angeles, CA | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | none selected | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Wilbur G. Crowell | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 18,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | not televised | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1940 National Football League (NFL) All-Star Game was the NFL's all-star game after the 1939 NFL season. The game was played between the Green Bay Packers, the league's champion that season, against a team of All-Stars made up of players from the remaining teams. The players on the All-Star team was selected by a national poll of fans.[1] The game, which was delayed a week due to rain, was played on Sunday, January 14, 1940, at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles, California in front of approximately 18,000 fans. The Packers defeated the all-stars by a score of 16–7 on three field goals and a 92-yard touchdown passes from Cecil Isbell to Don Hutson.[2][3] The all-star game format was continued for another three seasons before ending due to World War II. A new all-star format, called the Pro Bowl, began after the 1950 NFL season, with these all-star games retroactively considered the first Pro Bowls.
Background[edit]
Starting after the 1938 season, the NFL instituted an exhibition match-up between the league's champion and a group of all-stars compiled from the remaining teams. This first match-up, the 1939 NFL All-Star Game (called such because it was played in January 1939), pitted the New York Giants (the champions of the 1939 season) against the league's all-star team, which was selected based on fan voting. The next season, the Green Bay Packers finished the season with a record of 9–2, winning the Western Division. They played the New York Giants in the 1939 NFL Championship Game, winning 27–0 to become the league champion.
The second NFL All-Star Game was scheduled for January 7, 1940, with the NFL All-Stars again being selected by fan voting. The Packers' team included a number of future Pro Football Hall of Famers, although coach Curly Lambeau ultimately started a less experienced group with the goal of working out younger players in preparation for the next season.
A number of newspapers projected that the NFL all-Starts would beat the Packers. The game, which was to be played at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles, California, was ultimately rained out on January 7, forcing its rescheduling for the next Sunday, January 14. Lambeau called a player meeting in a leadup to the game to re-energize the team, noting the natural letdown that comes from a rescheduled game. Wilbur Crowell was the referee for the game.
Game summary[edit]
The Packers scored the first points of the game on a short drive down the field in the first quarter, highlighted by a 20-yard pass from Arnie Herber to Don Hutson. After a few short gains and a dropped pass by Larry Craig, Clarke Hinkle kicked a field goal from the 45-yard line to put the Packers up 3–0. In the second quarter, the Packers went up 6–0 on a short field goal by Ernie Smith. After the All-Stars' Parker Hall punted the ball, the Packers Joe Laws returned it to the All-Stars' 42-yard line. The Packers gained 35 yards, primarily on two completed passes, one for 15 yards by Laws and another for 16 yards by Isbell. The Packers were stopped at the 7-yard line, with Smith kicking the field goal for 3 points. Before halftime, the All-Stars threatened to score after Frank Filchock completed a 62-yard pass to Bill Smith to the 21-yard line. After getting to the 10-yard line, Filchock attempted a pass that was intercepted by Eddie Jankowski. On the second play after the turnover, Cecil Isbell threw a deep pass to Hutson; Hutson caught the pass, which was a little underthrown, and ran into the endzone for a 92-yard touchdown reception. After the Ernie Smith kicked the extra point, the Packers lead grew to 13–0 just before the break. On the ensuing kick-off, Filchock fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Ernie Smith. Paul Engebretsen attempted short field goal, but the kicked sailed wide of the goal posts. With the All-Stars taking possession of the ball before the break, Charles Goldenberg deflected a Filchock pass and then intercepted another attempt.[4][5]
In the third quarter, the All-Stars broke through with their first and only score. After Herber punted the ball to mid-field, the All-Stars' Davey O'Brien returned the kick 28 yards to the 17-yard line. A first-down brought the ball to inside the 10-yard line. On third down at the 5-yard line, O'Brien completed a 5 yard touchdown pass to Joe Carter, with Ward Cuff kicking the extra point. With the Packers leading 13–7, both teams traded possessions until later in the fourth quarter. The Packers had large gains by Hinkle (24 yards) and Andy Uram (21 yards) before another Herber to Hutson completion brought the ball to the 8-yard line. Ernie Smith kicked another field, his second of the game, to bring the score to 16–7. The Packers ultimately won by this score, but not before threatening to score again after getting the ball down to the 3-yard line. Smith tried to attempt another field goal, but Herber overruled him and attempted to pass the ball into the endzone, although his pass hit the upright for an incompletion.[4][5]
Box score[edit]
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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| Packers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| NFL All-Stars | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
at Gilmore Stadium, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.
- Date: Sunday, January 14, 1940
- Game time: 4:00 p.m. PST
- Game weather: High: 70 °F (21 °C) / Low: 47 °F (8 °C)
- Game attendance: 16,000 to 18,000
- Referee: Wilbur G. Crowell
- Box score and lineup references:
| Game information |
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First quarter
Second quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth quarter
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Rosters[edit]
The rosters for both teams included the following starters and reserves:[6]
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Roster Notes:
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Analysis[edit]
After the game, coach Lambeau noted that the game was a good exhibition to see how the younger players on the team would compete against the talent from around the league. Lambeau noted that the team's rookies player over half the game, with most of the team showing a willingness to compete. He continued by highlighting the play of Harry Jacunski, Charley Brock, Tom Greenfield, Larry Buhler, amng others, while also notng disappointment in Frank Balazs and Charles Schultz. The Green Bay Press-Gazette noted in their summary of the game that the Packers "put on a show for the customers" and that "writers and coaches agree after the game that it was a much better exhibition than the Chicago Bears put on in the first pro bowl game" the prior year.[4][5]
Legacy[edit]
The all-star game format, with the defending league champion playing against a team of all-stars from the remaining teams was continued for three more years: with a game after the 1940, 1941 and 1942 seasons. The Packers did not win any league championships during this period, although some of their players were included in the subsequent all-star rosters. World War II caused a large impact to the availability of players and travel restrictions, causing the league to end the all-star game after the 1942 NFL season. After the 1950 NFL season, the NFL instituted a new all-star game format, called the Pro Bowl. The new format saw two teams being constructed completely of all-stars, with each team having their rosters constructed from players from each conference. This format continued until the 2010s, when the NFL implemented a fantasy draft format for roster construction, removing the conference restrictions. In 2022, the Pro Bowl Games began, with the actual game being replaced by skills competitions and a flag football game.
References[edit]
- ^ McLemore, Henry (January 7, 1940). "Pro Football Players in Game Today". Sunday Morning Star. United Press International. p. 23. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^ "Packers Beat Stars, 16 to 7". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 15, 1940. p. 14. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^ McLemore, Henry (January 15, 1940). "Green Bay Packers Upset Stars, 16–7". St. Petersburg Times. United Press International. p. 11. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c Purser, Howard (January 15, 1940). "Same Old Story; Packers Wallop Pro Rivals, 16 to 7: Part 1". Green Bay Press-Gazette (clipping). p. 15. Retrieved June 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Purser, Howard (January 15, 1940). "Same Old Story; Packers Wallop Pro Rivals, 16 to 7: Part 2". Green Bay Press-Gazette (clipping). p. 16. Retrieved June 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1939 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^ "Stars Picked to Meet Bays in 'Pro Bowl'". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. December 19, 1939. p. L-6. Retrieved June 3, 2024.