1944 NFL season

The 1944 NFL draft was held on April 19, 1944 at Philadelphia's Warwick Hotel. With the first pick, the Boston Yanks selected quarterback Angelo Bertelli from the University of Notre Dame.

• The free substitution rule is modified so that substitutes do not have to report to the officials before a play.
• Communication between the players and coaches on the field is permitted as long as the coaches are in the designated areas along the sidelines, and that they do not cause a delay in the game.
• If the offensive team commits pass interference in their opponent's end zone, it is just a distance penalty and no longer an automatic touchback.

Each team played ten games over thirteen weeks. The Brooklyn Tigers lost seven of their games by a touchdown or less. On October 29, they had 14–7 lead over Boston at halftime, before losing 14-17 in Week Seven. The same week, Card-Pitt's 20-42 loss at Washington eliminated it from playoff contention. Card-Pitt had actually taken a 28–23 lead over the Rams in its first game, played September 24 at Pittsburgh, before falling 30–28; its only other lead was a 7–0 in a game at Chicago against the Packers, which it eventually lost 20-35.

The Western Division race was no contest, as the Packers won their first six games and stayed ahead of all challengers. In the Eastern Division, Washington (5–0–1) and Philadelphia (4–0–2) were both unbeaten after nine weeks. The teams met in Washington in Week Ten (November 26), and the Eagles won 37–7, putting them at 5–0–2, with the Redskins and Giants a half game back at 5–1–1. The Eagles lost, while the Giants and Redskins won, in Week Eleven, putting New York and Washington in the lead at 6–1–1. In Week Twelve, a crowd of 47,457 turned out at New York's Polo Grounds to watch the Giants and Redskins. Washington had a 13–10 lead before falling 16–13. In Week Thirteen, the Eagles beat the Rams 26–13, giving them a 7–1–2 finish, then waited to see how the 7–1–1 Giants would fare in their rematch at Washington. The Giants beat the Skins 31–0, capturing the division and the right to host the championship.

Green Bay 14, N.Y. Giants 7, at Polo Grounds, New York City, December 17, 1944

• Brooklyn Tigers: Pete Cawthon, Ed Kubale, and Frank Bridges served as co-coaches throughout the 1944 season.
• Boston Yanks: Herb Kopf became the first head coach of the new team.
• Card-Pitt: Chicago Cardinals head coach Phil Handler and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Walt Kiesling served as co-head coaches of Card-Pitt.
• Cleveland Rams: The Rams resumed operations with a new head coach, Aldo Donelli.
• Philadelphia Eagles: Greasy Neale returned as sole head coach after the team resumed traditional operations.
• Washington Redskins: Dutch Bergman was replaced by Dudley DeGroot.

• The Boston Yanks began play at Fenway Park
• The merged Card-Pitt team split their games between Chicago's Comiskey Park and Pittsburgh's Forbes Field
• The Cleveland Rams resumed traditional operations at League Park
• The Philadelphia Eagles resumed traditional operations full time at Shibe Park

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1941–1950 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)