October 15, 1933: The Philadelphia Eagles Debut

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October 15, 1933: The Philadelphia Eagles play their 1st regular-season NFL game. It doesn't go so well: They lose to the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, 56-0.

Playing again 3 days later, which was probably not a good idea, they played their 1st home game, at Baker Bowl, home of baseball's Phillies. They lost to the Portsmouth Spartans, 25-0. The paid attendance was listed as 1,750 -- another reason why playing on a Wednesday afternoon was not a good idea. (Baker Bowl didn't have lights. Few American stadiums did in 1933.)

Wisely, they took 11 days off before playing again. At least they scored: They lost away to the Green Bay Packers, 35-9. Finally, on November 5, they beat the football version of the Cincinnati Reds, 6-0 at Redland Field. (That ballpark was renamed Crosley Field the next season, and the football Reds only played one more season.) The Eagles finished 3-5-1: 2-0 against the Reds, 1-5-1 against everybody else.

The birth of the Eagles was made possible by Pennsylvania finally dropping its law banning sporting events on Sunday. Due to their proximity, Eagles vs. Giants will, eventually, become one of the NFL's best rivalries.

The team chose the name "Eagles" to match the Blue Eagle, the symbol of the New Deal's NRA, the National Recovery Administration. (Not to be confused with the National Rifle Administration.) The Supreme Court ruled that unconstitutional in 1935, but the team's name has stayed to this day. Its blue and gold colors stayed through the 1940 season, after which they switched to green and white, which they still use, with some black and silver thrown in.

UPDATE: Through the 2025 season, from their founding era, from the 1st season of 1933 until the last pre-playoff season of 1946, the Eagles have elected founding owner Bert Bell and end Bill Hewitt to their team Hall of Fame. Bell has also been elected to the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.

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October 15, 1933 was a Sunday. Baseball season ended 8 days earlier, when the baseball version of the New York Giants beat the Washington Senators in the World Series. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. The NHL season didn't start until November 9.

These other NFL games were played that day:

* The NFL version of the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the NFL version of the Cincinnati Reds, 27-0 at Ebbets Field.

* The Portsmouth Spartans beat the Boston Redskins, 13-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. The Spartans became the Detroit Lions the next year, and the Redskins moved to Washington in 1937, becoming the Washington Commanders in 2022.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Chicago Cardinals, 12-9 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the NFL version of the Pittsburgh Pirates, 47-0 at City Stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Pirates became the Steelers in 1940.