| NY GIANTS HISTORY 1940 - 1949 | |
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| 1940 | ●The Giants finished third in the East with a 6-4-1 record.
●Midway through the season, leading rusher Tuffy Leemans was lost for the year with a back injury.
●Center Mel Hein was the only Giant to win All-Pro honors, accomplishing the feat for the 10th year in a row.
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1941
| ●With just 50 seconds to go in the 1941 Eastern Division championship game, the Washington Redskins held a 13-10 lead, but the Giants scored a field goal and a touchdown to win, 20-13, and advance to the NFL title game.
●In the wake of Pearl Harbor, only 13,341 spectators turned out to see Chicago top the Giants in the title game, 37-9.
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1942
| ●After losing many players to the service, the Giants finished with a 5-5-1 record and in third place in the Eastern Division.
●The Giants recorded a memorable victory in the season opener, defeating the Washington Redskins, 14-7, although they didn’t have a first down, gained only one yard rushing and completed just one pass. That pass happened to go for a touchdown. The Giants also scored on an intercepted return and handed the Redskins their only defeat in their championship season.
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1943
| ●With the league down to just nine teams due to World War II, the Giants overcame a 2-2-1 start to finish with a 6-3-1 record.
●The Giants advanced to the Eastern Division championship game where they dropped a 28-0 decision to the Washington Redskins.
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1944
| ●Luring quarterback Arnie Herber and back Ken Strong out of retirement, the Giants scored five shutouts en route to the Eastern Division title, but lost the NFL championship game at the Polo Grounds in New York to the Green Bay Packers, 14-7.
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1945
| ●The War ended in 1945, but the Giants finished with their worst record to date. The Giants started the year off with a 34-6 win at Pittsburgh, but everything seemed to collapse after the opener. The Giants 3-6-1 record was only one game better than the last place Pittsburgh Steelers.
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| 1946 | ●Quarterback Frankie Filchock, an understudy to Sammy Baugh at Washington, signed with the Giants for a reported $35,000. Filchock and teammate, back Merle Hapes, were questioned about an attempt by a New York man to fix the championship game with the Chicago Bears. Hapes was suspended indefinitely for the alleged gambling involvement, but Filchock was allowed to continue playing. The Giants went on to lose the title game to Chicago, 24-14. |
| 1947 | ●The Giants went from the title game in 1946 to the cellar, finishing with a 2-8-2 record, including a seven-game losing streak.
●Halfback Frank Reagan tied for the league lead with ten interceptions for 203 yards. Reagan also tied for the league’s punting championship with 61 kicks for a 42.8 average.
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| 1948 | ●The Giants renovation was accelerated in 1948 when they acquired quarterback Charlie Conerly from the Washington Redskins.
●The franchise reached another milestone in its illustrious existence, but it had nothing to do with their 4-8 record. That season, the Giants signed their first black player, defensive back Emlen Tunnell.
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| 1949 | ●Giants head coach Steve Owen switched from the "A" formation to the "T," which helped the Giants improve to a 6-6 record.
●Allie Sherman was hired to work with quarterback Charlie Conerly.
●The Giants shared the Polo Grounds with another NFL team, the New York Bulldogs.
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Previous Decade: NY Giants 1930-1939 
