| 1938 Philadelphia Eagles season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bert Bell |
| Head coach | Bert Bell |
| Home field | Philadelphia Municipal Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–6 |
| Division place | 4th NFL Eastern |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
The 1938 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 6th season in the National Football League (NFL). The team improved on their previous output of 2–8–1, winning five games.[1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
The 1938 NFL Draft was held on December 12, 1937. The draft consisted of 12 rounds. The Eagles got the second pick in each round, as the expansion Cleveland Rams got the first pick. With the pick they chose Corbett Davis, a back from Indiana University.
The table shows the Eagles' selections, what picks they had that were traded away, and the team that ended up with that pick.[2] It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.
| = Pro Bowler [3] | = Hall of Famer |
| Rd | Pick # | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Jim McDonald | Back | Ohio State |
| 2 | 12 | Dick Riffle | Back | Albright |
| 3 | 17 | Joe Bukant | Back | Washington (St. Louis) |
| 4 | 27 | John Meek | Back | California |
| 5 | 32 | Fred Shirey | Tackle | Nebraska |
| 6 | 42 | Herschel Ramsey | End | Texas Tech |
| 7 | 52 | Bob Lannon | End | Iowa |
| 8 | 62 | Clem Woltman | Guard | Purdue |
| 9 | 72 | Elmer Kolberg | Back | Oregon State |
| 10 | 82 | Emmett Kriel | Guard | Baylor |
| 11 | 92 | Carl Hinkle | Center | Vanderbilt |
| 12 | 102 | John Michelosen | Back | Pittsburgh |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 11 | Washington Redskins | L 23–26 | 0–1 | 20,000 |
| 2 | September 16 | at Pittsburgh Pirates | W 27–7 | 1–1 | 19,749 |
| 3 | September 25 | New York Giants | W 14–10 | 2–1 | 20,000 |
| 4 | October 2 | Chicago Bears | L 6–28 | 2–2 | N/A |
| 5 | October 16 | at New York Giants | L 7–17 | 2–3 | 33,187 |
| 6 | October 23 | at Washington Redskins | L 14–20 | 2–4 | 3,000 |
| 7 | October 26 | Chicago Cardinals | W 7–0 | 3–4 | 15,000 |
| 8 | November 6 | Brooklyn Dodgers | L 7–10 | 3–5 | 12,000 |
| 9 | November 13 | at Brooklyn Dodgers | L 14–32 | 3–6 | 13,052 |
| 10 | November 20 | Pittsburgh Pirates | W 14–7 | 4–6 | 6,500 |
| 11 | December 4 | at Detroit Lions | W 21–7 | 5–6 | 19,000 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
| NFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| New York Giants | 8 | 2 | 1 | .800 | 5–2–1 | 194 | 79 | W1 | |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 3 | 2 | .667 | 4–2–2 | 148 | 154 | L1 | |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 4 | 4 | 3 | .500 | 3–2–3 | 131 | 161 | T1 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | 3–5 | 154 | 164 | W2 | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 2 | 9 | 0 | .182 | 2–6 | 79 | 169 | L6 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
The Eagles had a 5–6–0 record and failed to make it to the 1938 NFL Championship Game. The game was on December 11, 1938, at Polo Grounds in New York City. The game attendance was 48,120, a record crowd for a title game.
The game matched the champions of the Eastern Division, New York Giants (8–2–1) against the Western Division champion Green Bay Packers (8–3–0). The Giants won 23–17.
(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)
| = 1938 Pro All Star[4] |
As in the 1937 roster, this year's team is mostly rookies and players with one or two years' NFL experience.
| NO. | Player | AGE | POS | GP | GS | WT | HT | YRS | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bert Bell | 42 | Coach | 1938 record 5–6 |
NFL-Eagles Lifetime 8–25 |
3rd | Pennsylvania | |||
| Jay Arnold | 26 | HB-WB-DB-BB | 11 | 11 | 210 | 6–1 | 1 | Texas | |
| Joe Bukant | 23 | Back | 11 | 1 | 216 | 6–0 | Rookie | Washington (MO) | |
| Tom Burnette | 23 | BB | 8 | 0 | 194 | 6–1 | Rookie | North Carolina | |
| Joe Carter* | 28 | E | 11 | 11 | 201 | 6–1 | 5 | Austin College and SMU | |
| John Cole | 0 | FB | 11 | 0 | 197 | 5–9 | Rookie | St. Joseph's (PA) | |
| Woody Dow | 22 | BB-FB | 10 | 10 | 195 | 6–0 | Rookie | West Texas A&M | |
| Drew Ellis | 24 | T | 11 | 10 | 215 | 6–1 | Rookie | TCU | |
| Fritz Ferko | 26 | T | 2 | 0 | 242 | 6–1 | 1 | Mount State Mary's and West Chester | |
| Bill Fiedler | 24 | G | 1 | 0 | 200 | 5–9 | Rookie | Pennsylvania | |
| Wimpy Giddens | 24 | T | 9 | 0 | 220 | 6–2 | Rookie | Louisiana Tech | |
| Maurice Harper | 28 | Cen | 11 | 9 | 227 | 6–4 | 1 | Austin | |
| Bill Hewitt+ | 29 | E-DE | 11 | 11 | 190 | 5–9 | 6 | Michigan | |
| Bill Hughes | 23 | G-C | 11 | 6 | 226 | 6–1 | 1 | Texas | |
| Ray Keeling | 23 | T-G | 9 | 3 | 242 | 6–3 | Rookie | Texas | |
| Rabbit Keen | 24 | QB | 1 | 0 | 170 | 5–9 | 1 | Arkansas | |
| John Kusko | 24 | B | 1 | 0 | 194 | 5–11 | 2 | Temple | |
| Bernie Lee | 26 | QB | 1 | 0 | 190 | 5–11 | Rookie | Villanova | |
| Bob Masters | 27 | HB | 1 | 1 | 200 | 5–11 | 1 | Baylor | |
| Emmett Mortell | 22 | B | 11 | 7 | 181 | 6–1 | 1 | Notre Dame and Wisconsin | |
| Bob Pylman | 25 | T | 11 | 1 | 214 | 6–4 | Rookie | South Dakota State | |
| George Rado | 26 | G-DE | 10 | 6 | 194 | 5–9 | 3 | Duquesne | |
| Red Ramsey | 27 | E | 11 | 0 | 196 | 6–0 | Rookie | Texas Tech | |
| Hank Reese | 29 | C-G | 11 | 2 | 214 | 5–11 | 5 | Temple | |
| Dick Riffle | 23 | B | 11 | 4 | 200 | 6–1 | Rookie | Albright | |
| Theodore Schmitt | 22 | G | 11 | 2 | 219 | 5–11 | Rookie | Pittsburgh | |
| Dave Smukler | 24 | FB-LB | 11 | 10 | 226 | 6–1 | 2 | Missouri and Temple | |
| Mule Stockton | 25 | G | 11 | 8 | 214 | 6–1 | 1 | McMurry | |
| Billy Wilson | 27 | E | 1 | 0 | 184 | 5–10 | 3 | Gonzaga | |
| Clem Woltman | 24 | T | 10 | 8 | 214 | 6–1 | Rookie | Purdue | |
| 29 players Team average |
24.1 | 11 | 206.4 | 6–0.1 | 1.2 |