1948 NFL season
The 1948 NFL season was the 29th regular season of the National Football League. During the season, Halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Los Angeles Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football. The last regular season game played on Wednesday until the 2012 season happened on September 22, 1948, between Detroit and Los Angeles. The season ended when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL Championship Game. The 1948 season featured the highest per-game, per-team scoring in NFL history, with the average team scoring 23.2 points per  game. This record stood for 65 years until . Draft. The 1948 NFL Draft was held on December 19, 1947 at Pittsburgh's Fort Pitt Hotel. With the first pick, the Washington Redskins selected halfback Harry Gilmer from the University of Alabama. Division races. In the Eastern race, the Eagles demolished Washington 45–0 in "Week Five" to take a ½ game lead. When the 6–1–1 Eagles met the 6–2 Skins again in "Week Ten", they beat Washington 42–21, and won the Division and the right to host the Championship Game. The other race was all Chicago: the Cardinals and Bears both  had records of 10–1 going into the final week: thus, there was a "defacto" playoff game for the Western Division for the second year in succession, with a tie forcing a second playoff game the following week. A record crowd of 51,283 atttended Wrigley Field on December 12 for the all-Chicago showdown, with the Bears taking a 21–10 lead on George Gulyanics' touchdown as the fourth quarter began. Charley Trippi's touchdown cut the margin to 21–17, but the Bears had the ball and time on their side. The turning point came when the Cards' Vince Banonis picked off  a pass from Johnny Lujack, and ran the ball back to the Bears' 19, and Elmer Angsman scored the winning touchdown three plays later for the Western Division title and the trip to the Championship Game. NFL Championship Game. Philadelphia Eagles 7, Chicago Cardinals 0 in a blizzard at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 19, 1948