1932 NFL season The 1932 NFL season was the 13th regular season of the National Football League . Even though the Boston Braves joined the NFL before the season , with the loss of the Providence Steam Roller s , Cleveland Indians and Frankford Yellow Jackets , league membership dropped to eight teams , the lowest in NFL history . Although the Green Bay Packers had finished the season with 10 wins , the league title was determined by winning percentage , with ties omitted . The Portsmouth Spartans and the Chicago Bears finished the season tied for first place ( 6 - 1 ) . For the first time , the NFL arranged for a playoff game to determine the NFL champion . Extremely cold weather forced the game to be moved from Wrigley Field to the indoor Chicago Stadium . The make - shift football field in the stadium was only 80 yards long with undersized endzones . The planners were forced to move the goal posts to the goal line because there wasn ' t enough space to put them at the back of the endzone , as was standard in college and professional ball . Apparently this change was favored since keeping the goal posts at the goal line was one of the several changes the league made to the rules starting in 1933 . The Bears won the game 9 - 0 , which was scoreless until the fourth quarter . The game counted in the final standings , which moved the Spartans to third place . The Spartans became the Detroit Lions in 1934 . Championship race . Following the 1932 season , the NFL would be split into two divisions ( and later two conferences ) , the champions of whom would meet in a championship game . In 1932 , there was a tie in the standings at the end of regularly scheduled play . Tie games did not count at all , so the Spartans ' ( 6 - 1 - 4 ) and the Bears ' ( 6 - 1 - 6 ) records both qualified as 6 wins , 1 loss , for a . 857 percentage . Under the half - win , half - loss treatment used later for ties , Portsmouth would have finished at . 727 and Chicago at . 692 , respectively , while Green Bay ' s 10 - 3 - 1 would have won the championship at . 750 . The Green Bay Packers were unbeaten ( 8 - 0 - 1 ) after nine games , and after the Thanksgiving weekend , their 10 - 1 - 1 record was still well ahead of Portsmouth ( 5 - 1 - 4 ) and Chicago ( 4 - 1 - 6 ) . In Week Twelve ( December 4 ) , the Spartans handed the Packers a 19 - 0 defeat , while the Bears beat the Giants 6 - 0 . Portsmouth , at 6 - 1 - 4 ( . 857 ) took the lead , while the Packers ( 10 - 2 - 1 ) and the Bears ( 5 - 1 - 6 ) were tied for second ( . 833 ) . In Week Thirteen , the Bears hosted the Packers . Had Green Bay won , an 11 - 2 - 1 finish would still have kept it at second ( . 846 ) , but the Bears handed the Packers a 9 - 0 loss , giving them a 6 - 1 - 6 finish and a tie in the standings with Portsmouth . Though described as a " playoff " , the Bears 9 - 0 win over Portsmouth on December 18 counted in the regular season standings , with the Bears ( 7 - 1 - 6 and . 875 ) ahead of the Packers ( 10 - 3 - 1 and . 769 ) and the Spartans ( 6 - 2 - 4 and . 750 ) . Final standings . " Includes the result of the 1932 NFL Playoff Game " " W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , PCT = Winning Percentage " " Note : Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972 "