December 10, 1939: The NFL Championship Game is played. At the time, the site of the game was alternated between the home fields of the Eastern Division Champions and the Western Division Champions. It was an odd-numbered year, so the Western Champions were set to host. But that was the Green Bay Packers, and Green Bay City Stadium only seated 25,000 people.
So the NFL approved the Packers' request to move the game to the nearest big city, Milwaukee. Specifically, to a stadium built in the infield of an auto racing track at the Wisconsin State Fair Park, in West Allis, 8 miles west of downtown. The stadium was quickly nicknamed the Dairy Bowl.
A year earlier, the Packers had lost the NFL Championship Game to the New York Giants, 23-17 at the Polo Grounds in New York. This time, coach Early "Curly" Lambeau had the home-field advantage -- sort-of, and a full house of 32,379 attended.
The game kicked off at 1:30 PM, Central Time (2:30 Eastern). In the 1st quarter, Arnie Herber threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Milt Gantenbein. The game remained 7-0 into the 3rd quarter, before Engebretsen kicked a 29-yard field goal.
The Packers had 2 good quarterbacks, both throwing passes to the original great football receiver, Don Hutson. Oddly, Hutson didn't catch a single pass during the game. Later in the 3rd quarter, the other quarterback, Cecil Isbell, threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Joe Laws.
In the 4th quarter, Ernie Smith kicked a 42-yard field goal, and Eddie Jankowski ran the ball in from the 1-yard line for a touchdown. Final score: Packers 27, Giants 0.
Auto racing has been held at the State Fair Park since 1903. The Packers continued to play the occasional game there until 1951, and the Milwaukee Chiefs of the 1940 and '41 edition of the American Football League played there.
In 1954, the stadium was knocked down and the grounds renovated. An asphalt track replaced the dirt track, and a new grandstand was built. The stadium is now known as the Milwaukee Mile, and the finish line is roughly where the 50-yard line was.
The Green Bay Packers have the largest team Hall of Fame of any team in the "Big Four" North American sports: The NFL, MLB, the NBA and the NHL. From their 1939 NFL Championship, they have inducted co-founder, owner, general manager and head coach Earl "Curly" Lambeau; co-founder George Whitney Calhoun; executives Frank Jonet, Gerald F. Clifford, Fred Leicht, Emil Fischer and Lee Joannes; backs Arnie Herber, Hank Bruder, Clarke Hinkle, Joe Laws, Eddie Jankowski, Cecil Isbell, Andy Uram and Larry Craig; ends Milt Gantenbein and Don Hutson, Carl Mullenaux and Harry Jacunski; tackles Charles "Buckets" Goldenberg and Buford "Baby" Ray; guards Paul "Tiny" Engebretsen, Russ Letlow and Pete Tinsley; centers George and Bud Svendsen and Charley Brock; trainer Carl "Bud" Jorgensen and team doctor W. Webber Kelly; band director Wilner Burke; and the team's 1st broadcaster, Russ Winnie.
When the Packers won the NFL Championship again in 1944, these players were holdovers: Laws, Craig, Hutson, Mullenaux, Harry Jacunski; Goldenberg, Ray, Tinsley and Charley Brock. They were joined by backs Lou Brock, Tony Canadeo, Ted Fritsch and Irv Comp; journalist Art Daley; and the earliest Packer fan inducted, Al Schneider.
Lambeau, Herbert, Hutson, Hinkle and Canadeo have also been inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.
The Packers wouldn't win the title again until 1961. Playing for them in between, but not on either of, those 2 titles, and inducted into their Hall of Fame have been: Quarterback Tobin Rote; running backs Bob Forte, Fred Cone, Howie Ferguson and Al Carmichael; ends Bob Mann, John Martinkovic and Billy Howton; tackle Dick Wildung; linebacker Deral Teteak; and safety Bobby Dillon.
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December 10, 1939 was a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet.
There were 3 games in the NHL. The New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2 at the old Madison Square Garden. The New York Americans beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 at the Chicago Stadium. The Toronto Maple Leafs were not scheduled.
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