NFL Championship Game three-way ties
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Crazy Packers Fan
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NFL Championship Game three-way ties
What would have happened in the days of the NFL Championship Game if three teams had finished tied for the lead in the conference? We only had two-way ties and never a three-way tie. I wonder if they would have done the baseball thing - give one team a bye but force them to play the second tiebreaker game on the road against the winner of the other two teams. This would also necessitate an extra week being added on to the schedule, although there was no set-in-stone site for the championship game like there is today. Does anyone know the answer to this?
Re: NFL Championship Game three-way ties
Since they didn't have a plan for Sudden Death until shortly before it happened, I doubt they had a formal plan for this scenario.
Bert Bell's secretary would have picked one of the three teams from a hat. That team got the bye.
Whether that team would have gone on the road I have no clue. They probably would have coin flipped the location of both games.
Bert Bell's secretary would have picked one of the three teams from a hat. That team got the bye.
Whether that team would have gone on the road I have no clue. They probably would have coin flipped the location of both games.
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RichardBak
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Re: NFL Championship Game three-way ties
From what I understand, at least in the 1950s (when there were 5 division tie-breakers played), all potential pairings and playing sites were determined by coin flips in Bert Bell's office. A representative of each of the teams involved was on hand. This sounds incredibly simplistic and possibly unfair, but there it is.
I've always found it fascinating how the NFL Western Conference could have wound up in a 4-way tie in 1951 (Bears, Rams, Lions, 49ers). Prior to that final Sunday, Bell prepared for all contingencies through a series of coin flips, including 3-way and 2-way ties. There were probably a dozen different scenarios, but one was particularly favorable:
In the case of a 3-way tie among the Lions, Bears, and Rams, Detroit would host LA in the opener of the round-robin playoff while Chicago got a bye; if Detroit won, they would then host the Bears the following Sunday. If the Lions beat Chicago, they would then host the Browns in the 1951 title game (now pushed back 2 weeks to Jan. 6, 1952). At the time, home field for the title game alternated between conferences; there was no weight attached to which team had the better W-L record.
So, under such a scenario, the Lions could have played 3 straight postseason games at Briggs Stadium, an unprecedented stretch of postseason "home cooking" in an era before extended playoffs became the norm.
BTW--The players did not share in any of the gate revenue or radio/TV money in conference tiebreakers. They were paid at their regular game rate. Thus a guy making $6,000 would be paid 1/12 of his salary ($500). The title game represented the real loot.
I've always found it fascinating how the NFL Western Conference could have wound up in a 4-way tie in 1951 (Bears, Rams, Lions, 49ers). Prior to that final Sunday, Bell prepared for all contingencies through a series of coin flips, including 3-way and 2-way ties. There were probably a dozen different scenarios, but one was particularly favorable:
In the case of a 3-way tie among the Lions, Bears, and Rams, Detroit would host LA in the opener of the round-robin playoff while Chicago got a bye; if Detroit won, they would then host the Bears the following Sunday. If the Lions beat Chicago, they would then host the Browns in the 1951 title game (now pushed back 2 weeks to Jan. 6, 1952). At the time, home field for the title game alternated between conferences; there was no weight attached to which team had the better W-L record.
So, under such a scenario, the Lions could have played 3 straight postseason games at Briggs Stadium, an unprecedented stretch of postseason "home cooking" in an era before extended playoffs became the norm.
BTW--The players did not share in any of the gate revenue or radio/TV money in conference tiebreakers. They were paid at their regular game rate. Thus a guy making $6,000 would be paid 1/12 of his salary ($500). The title game represented the real loot.