1941 Green Bay Packers season
| 1941 Green Bay Packers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Curly Lambeau |
| Home stadium | City Stadium Wisconsin State Fair Park |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–1 |
| Division place | 1st NFL Western |
| Playoffs | Lost Divisional Playoff (at Bears) 14–33 |
The 1941 Green Bay Packers season was their 23rd season overall and their 21st season in the National Football League. The team finished with a 10–1 record under founder and head coach Curly Lambeau, earning a tie for first place in the Western Conference with the defending league champion Chicago Bears. They split their season series, each winning on the road, and met in a playoff in Chicago to determine who would host the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game. But the Packers lost 33–14 in the first post-season game ever played between the archrivals; the next came over 69 years later, in the NFC Championship game on January 22, 2011.
Offseason
NFL draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | George Paskvan | Back | Wisconsin |
| 3 | 21 | Bob Paffrath | Back | Minnesota |
| 5 | 37 | Ed Frutig | End | Michigan |
| 6 | 46 | Herm Rohrig | Defensive back | Nebraska |
| 7 | 57 | Bill Telesmanic | End | San Francisco |
| 8 | 66 | Bill Kuusisto | Guard | Minnesota |
| 9 | 77 | Tony Canadeo | Halfback | Gonzaga |
| 10 | 86 | Mike Byelene | Back | Purdue |
| 11 | 97 | Paul Heimenz | Center | Northwestern |
| 12 | 106 | Mike Enich | Tackle | Iowa |
| 13 | 117 | Ed Heffernan | Back | St. Mary's (CA) |
| 14 | 126 | Del Lyman | Tackle | UCLA |
| 15 | 137 | Johnny Frieberger | End | Arkansas |
| 16 | 146 | Ernie Pannell | Tackle | Texas A&M |
| 17 | 157 | Bob Saggau | Back | Notre Dame |
| 18 | 166 | Helge Pukema | Guard | Minnesota |
| 19 | 177 | Bob Hayes | End | Toledo |
| 20 | 186 | Jimmy Strausbaugh | Back | Ohio State |
| 21 | 192 | Joe Bailey | Center | Kentucky |
| 22 | 196 | Bruno Malinowski | Back | Holy Cross |
- Green indicates a future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
Regular season
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 14 | Detroit Lions | W 23–0 | 1–0 | City Stadium | 16,734 | Recap | ||
| 2 | September 21 | Cleveland Rams | W 24–7 | 2–0 | Wisconsin State Fair Park | 18,463 | Recap | ||
| 3 | September 28 | Chicago Bears | L 17–25 | 2–1 | City Stadium | 24,876 | Recap | ||
| 4 | October 5 | Chicago Cardinals | W 14–13 | 3–1 | Wisconsin State Fair Park | ~10,000 | Recap | ||
| 5 | October 12 | Brooklyn Dodgers | W 30–7 | 4–1 | Wisconsin State Fair Park | 15,621 | Recap | ||
| 6 | October 19 | at Cleveland Rams | W 17–14 | 5–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 13,086 | Recap | ||
| 7 | October 26 | at Detroit Lions | W 24–7 | 6–1 | Briggs Stadium | 30,269 | Recap | ||
| 8 | November 2 | at Chicago Bears | W 16–14 | 7–1 | Wrigley Field | 46,484 | Recap | ||
| — | Bye | ||||||||
| 9 | November 16 | Chicago Cardinals | W 17–9 | 8–1 | City Stadium | 15,495 | Recap | ||
| 10 | November 23 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 54–7 | 9–1 | Forbes Field | 15,202 | Recap | ||
| 11 | November 30 | at Washington Redskins | W 22–17 | 10–1 | Griffith Stadium | 35,594 | Recap | ||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||||
Playoffs
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Division Playoff | December 14 | at Chicago Bears | L 14–33 | 0–1 | Wrigley Field | 43,425 | Recap |
Roster
| 1941 Green Bay Packers final roster | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Backs
|
Linemen/Linebackers
|
Ends/Receivers
Rookies in italics | ||||||
Standings
| NFL Western Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Chicago Bears | 10 | 1 | 0 | .909 | 7–1 | 396 | 147 | W5 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 1 | 0 | .909 | 7–1 | 258 | 120 | W8 | |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 6 | 1 | .400 | 3–4–1 | 121 | 195 | W1 | |
| Chicago Cardinals | 3 | 7 | 1 | .300 | 1–6–1 | 127 | 197 | L2 | |
| Cleveland Rams | 2 | 9 | 0 | .182 | 1–7 | 116 | 244 | L9 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Awards and records
- Don Hutson, NFL receiving leader, 74 receptions
- Cecil Isbell, NFL leader, passing yards (1,479)
Milestones
- Don Hutson, 1,000 yard receiving season (1,211 yards)
References
Further reading
- Cliff Christl, The Greatest Story in Sports: Green Bay Packers, 1919–2019. 4 volumes. Stevens Point, WI: KCI Sports Publishing, 2021.
- Larry D. Names, The History of the Green Bay Packers: The Lambeau Years, Part Two. Wautoma, WI: Angel Press of Wisconsin, 1989.
- Arch Ward, The Green Bay Packers. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1946.