1938 Philadelphia Eagles season
# 1938 Philadelphia Eagles season

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. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

## Off Season

### NFL draft

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.

### Player selections

The table shows the Eagles' selections, what picks they had that were traded away, and the team that ended up with that pick. 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 | = 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 |

## Regular season

### Schedule

| 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.

## Standings

NFL Eastern Division :

| viewtalkedit | 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.

## Playoffs

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.

## Roster

(All time List of Philadelphia Eagles players in franchise history)

* = 1938 Pro All Star

As in the 1937 roster, this year's team is mostly rookies and players with one or two years' NFL experience.

| Player | AGE | POS | GP | GS | WT | HT | YRS | College |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Bert Bell | 42 | Coach | $_{1938record}$ 5–6 | $_{NFL-EaglesLifetime}$ 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 | $_{AustinCollegeandSMU}$ |
| 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 | $_{MountStateMary'sandWestChester}$ |
| 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 | $_{NotreDameandWisconsin}$ |
| 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 | $_{MissouriandTemple}$ |
| 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 | |

## Awards and honors

* Dave Smukler finished 2nd in TD passes with 7.
* Joe Carter finished 2nd in receiving TDs with 7.
* Dave Smukler returned the only kickoff for a TD this year in the NFL.
* Jay Arnold was one of 10 players to return an interception for a TD.
* Joe Carter was named to Pro All-Star team.
* Bill Hewitt was named to Pro All-Star team as a starter.
