Detroit News, December 12, 1938
LIONS WIN NFL CHAMPIONSHIP
Western Division Champions Triumph In Defensive Struggle, 7-6
NEW YORK--Two formidable defenses and a stiff, wintry wind combined to turn the 1938 NFL Championship game into a classic defensive struggle. How appropriate, then, that a player who did his best work on that side of the line of scrimmage would make the most important offensive play of the game--the play that gave the Detroit Lions a 7-6 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
In the first half, Mike O'Farrell, a third team All-Pro selection at safety, twice halted Dodger drives by intercepting passes. Both pickoffs occurred deep in Detroit territory, ensuring that the half would end in a scoreless tie. Neither team was able to advance the ball with regularity, as both defenses pursued ballcarriers with reckless abandon and slammed into enemy passers with frightening force.
Bill Reisig kicked a pair of field goals for the Dodgers to give the Eastern Division champions a 6-0 lead by the first minutes of the fourth quarter. It appeared the game might end that way, as the Dodgers halted both of the Lions' next drives.
Detroit forced the Dodgers to punt and, behind the efforts of fullback Ace Gutowsky and halfback Rip Ryan, the Lions marched to the Brooklyn 33-yard line. On third down and four, O'Farrell aimed a pass at Ryan, but it was intercepted by Boyd Brumbaugh. An official had dropped a penalty flag, however, citing Dodger tackle "Bruiser" Kinard for jumping offside and negating the turnover.
With a new lease on life, the Lions picked up a first down, and three plays later, O'Farrell zipped a short pass to end Maury Patt. He broke a tackle and raced for the corner of the end zone, arriving there an instant before Dodger Ace Parker cut his feet from under him. Monk Moscrip hammered the extra point through the uprights, giving the Lions the eventual winning margin.
O'Farrell was named the Most Valuable Player of the game, on the basis of his strong play on both sides of the ball. The Notre Dame alumnus completed exactly half of his fourteen pass attempts for 94 yards and the game's only touchdown, and he gained 20 more yards on seven runs from scrimmage. Defensively, O'Farrell added two tackles to his aforementioned interceptions.
His opposite number, Ace Parker--like O'Farrell a big league baseball player--suffered through a disappointing game. He completed almost as many passes to the Lions as he did to his own team, throwing four interceptions and five completions in seventeen attempts. Parker picked up only 24 yards on twelve carries...
Code:
* Championship * 12-11-1938 Ebbets Field Temp:39 Wind:20-30 MVP:O'Farrell
1938 Detroit (10-2) 0 0 0 7 7
1938 Brooklyn (8-4) 0 0 3 3 6
3 BRO FG Reisig 11 (6-25-4:51) 8:59 0-3
4 BRO FG Reisig 21 (6-24-4:39) 12:14 0-6
4 DET TD O'Farrell 23 pass to Patt (Moscrip) (3-33-1:58) 5:11 7-6
DET BRO
First Downs 10 11
Rushes 30-90 38-107
Passes 14-7-92 17-5-72
Sacked 2-13 1-8
Fumble 2 1
Penalties 4-20 1-15
Turnovers 2 5
Time 23:12 36:48
Third Down 1-10 10-15
Fourth Down 2-3 0-0
Net Offense 169 171
Injuries:none
1938 Detroit
Rushing Att Yds Ave 10 FD Lg TD Receiving Rec Dp Yds Ave 25 FD Lg TD
Shepherd 6 26 4.3 0 0 9 0 Cardwell 3 0 29 9.7 0 2 14 0
Gutowsky 12 24 2.0 0 0 4 0 Ryan 2 0 27 13.5 0 3 16 0
Ryan 2 20 10.0 1 1 11 0 Moscrip 1 0 13 13.0 0 0 13 0
O'Farrell 7 20 2.9 0 2 5 0 Patt 1 0 23 23.0 0 1 23 1
Cardwell 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 7 0 92 13.1 0 6 23 1
Klewicki 2 0 0.0 0 0 1 0
30 90 3.0 1 3 11 0
Passing Att Cmp C% Yds Ave Lg Bd 25 In I% Sk TD TD% Rate
O'Farrell 14 7 50.0 92 13.1 23 1 0 0 0.0 2 1 7.1 94.9
14 7 50.0 92 13.1 23 1 0 0 0.0 2 1 7.1 94.9
Kicking XPA XPM XP% FGA FGM FG% 40+ 50+ Lg Pts
Moscrip 1 1 100.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 1
Monahan 0 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0
Punting No Yards Lg TB BK 20 Ret Yds Net Gross
Clark 5 209 51 0 0 3 0 0 41.8 41.8
Kick Returns No Yards Ave Lg TD Punt Returns No FC Yards Ave Lg TD
Clark 2 42 21.0 24 0 Clark 1 1 -2 -2.0 0 0
Huffman 1 16 16.0 16 0 1 1 -2 -2.0 0 0
3 58 19.3 24 0
Fumbles
Gutowsky 1 Moscrip 1 Moscrip 1
Sacks Hurries Stuffs Deflections Forced Fmb Fumble Rec
Morse 1 Klewicki 2 Christen 3 O'Farrel 2 Wojciech 1 Moscrip 1
Morse 2 Johnson, 1 Huffman 1
Christen 1 Morse 1
Clark 1
Wojciech 1