The 1933 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's inaugural season in the National Football League (NFL). In a year with an unbalanced schedule, the Eagles saw the field a league-low total of 9 times in 1933, finishing the season with a 3–5–1 () record.1933 Philadelphia Eagles
Offseason When Pennsylvania eased some of the Blue laws and allowed Sunday sporting events, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh became available for NFL franchises as they could play home games on Sundays. The Frankford Yellow Jackets1924 to 1931 when Frankford was in the league, the yearly game results show that the home games were played on Friday or Saturday. baseball.com shows that the Philadelphia Phillies and Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates would not play on Sundays at home played their games on Saturday mostly when at home.
During the offseason, Bert Bell and Lud Wray were granted an expansion franchise in the NFL for the rights to Philadelphia. The previous team, the Frankford Yellow Jackets, were inactive for two years so their rights were pulled by the NFL. They joined the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds, for a $2,500 entrance fee. The Eagles got their name from the Blue Eagle, which was used by American companies to symbolize their compliance with the National Industrial Recovery Act, a program within Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. The NFL Eagles' original colors were a light blue and yellow matching the flag of the City of Philadelphia.
Preseason
The Eagles held their first training camp at Bader Field in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The team played its first ever game on Sunday, September 17, 1933 in a preseason matchup with the Wessington eleven in Clifton, New Jersey in front of 4,000 fans. Swede Hanson scored the loan touchdown for the Eagles; Oren Pape lead the team in rushing; and Les Maynard intercepted Wessington in the closing moments to secure the win.
They scheduled their home games to be played at the Philadelphia Phillies' National League Park in North Philadelphia. The Eagles played at the Phillies' ballpark for three seasons before moving to the newer Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in South Philadelphia at the current site of Philadelphia Sports Complex.
Regular season Schedule
Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 October 15 at New York Giants L 0–56 0–1 Polo Grounds 18,000 Recap 2 October 18 Portsmouth Spartans L 0–25 0–2 Baker Bowl 1,750 Recap — Bye 3 October 29 at Green Bay Packers L 9–35 0–3 City Stadium 3,007 Recap 4 November 5 at Cincinnati Reds W 6–0 1–3 Redland Field < 500 Recap "Touchdown Put Over by Eagles: Is Lone Marker in Redleg–Philadelphia Contest," Cincinnati Enquirer, Nov. 6, 1933, p. 11.Associated Press, "Eagles Beat Reds," Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, Nov. 6, 1933, p. 23. 5 November 12 Chicago Bears T 3–3 1–3–1 Baker Bowl 17,850 Recap 6 November 19 Pittsburgh Pirates W 25–6 2–3–1 Baker Bowl 6,000 Recap 7 November 26 Cincinnati Reds W 20–3 3–3–1 Baker Bowl 10,000 Recap 8 December 3 Green Bay Packers L 0–10 3–4–1 Baker Bowl 9,500 Recap 9 December 10 New York Giants L 14–20 3–5–1 Baker Bowl 8,000 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Roster
References