Quirky Research
CuriositiesHistory of NFL rescheduled, relocated, and canceled games

History of NFL rescheduled, relocated, and canceled games

The NFL maintains a fairly rigid schedule. A given year’s slate of matchups and locations are decided by preset rotations and formulas,1The current scheduling formulas and rotations date back to 2002, with a minor revision in 2021 to add a 17th game. Pre-1970 schedules were more ad hoc. sites and dates of those matchups are set by the league office in the spring,2The 2020 schedule was released on May 7 after being delayed several weeks by the pandemic. Typically, the schedule is released in mid-April. and 99% of the time, those games have taken place where and when they’ve been planned, although in recent years, a fair amount of same-day time shifting has occurred in-season to maximize television viewership.

The other 1% of the time,3More accurately, 1.79% as of the date this article was originally posted, boosted heavily by the 1982 players strike. something went wrong, causing games from that carefully planned schedule to be shifted. Sometimes it’s been something as innocuous as a pre-existing stadium conflict; other times as dark as a national tragedy.

And sometimes, games were moved because of … jazz.4Note that Chuck Mangione is billed before Ray Charles.

Stadium conflicts

For the first 100 years of NFL history, some NFL teams shared stadiums with their local Major League baseball franchise.5There are no current football/baseball co-tenants now that the Raiders have moved to Las Vegas. Generally speaking, the baseball team had priority over the stadium,6The Houston Astros were an exception, so the sites in the 1986 National League Championship Series were swapped to accommodate an Oilers home game. so if the baseball team made the playoffs, the football team was moved to alternate dates and/or sites, either due to a direct date conflict or to preserve the field. Outside of player strikes, this has led to the largest number of rescheduled NFL games.

Less commonly, the NFL simply forgot that a stadium had already been booked when they made the schedule. In these cases, the NFL typically tried to bigfoot the early booker out of the date, only to eventually back down and reschedule after many refusals.

Stadium issues

Sometimes, the planned stadium has not been ready for some football, whether because a previous event damaged the grass, construction was not finished, or the roof was falling. Usually, these games were shifted to other stadiums in the area.

Weather

Although football is noted for being played in all sorts of weather, this was not always the case. While championship games like the 1948 Philadelphia snowstorm and the 1967 Ice Bowl were played in the most adverse conditions, regular season contests in the pre-television era were occasionally postponed if the gate receipts might suffer. After 1950, games that were rescheduled due to weather were a result of a public emergency or damage to the stadium or area.

Labor issues

In 1982 and 1987, NFL players went on strike after the second week of the season, causing some games to be canceled and others to be rescheduled.

Old-time football reasons

In 1931, the NFL began centralizing the scheduling operations, which were previously left up to the individual teams. In the league’s first 13 seasons, games would routinely be added to the end of the schedule in order to pull out additional gate receipts which were the lifeblood of the era before television contracts. These games could be added on short notice, and impacted the standings and, more importantly, the league champion.

In 1952, 1934, and many times in the 1920s, NFL teams folded mid-season, causing its games to be rescheduled or canceled.

Lack of interest

Before the NFL was a juggernaut, teams would consider shifting games if ticket sales were low or if another event in the area might draw more attention. This sometimes led to moving a game to another city

Tragedy

Sometimes events are just bigger than the NFL. Commissioner Pete Rozelle often said his greatest mistake was to play games on the Sunday following the John F. Kennedy assassination (the rival American Football League did cancel games that weekend and shuffled the schedule for the next month). His successor, Paul Tagliabue, took note and canceled games the week following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

NFL rescheduled games, 1932-present 7Why 1932 and not 1920, the date of the NFL’s founding? The NFL schedule was not very stable prior to that date; adding pre-1932 games would double the size of the table without adding much interesting, though you would learn about the Mitchell Day holiday.

This list includes any game that shifted from its originally scheduled day and/or location.8Original schedules cited here are those from the Colts’ and Broncos’ media guides, supplemented by those from the NFL. Pre-1950 schedules are the earliest-available leaguewide schedules published in newspapers. This list includes any shifts outside of the standard established game windows, but not slight adjustments.9Examples of slight adjustments include early-afternoon kickoffs at times other than 1 p.m. Eastern due to local blue laws, the one-hour shift of the 1989 championship games due to two western home teams, or the shift of the NFL Championship games in 1960 and 1963 to noon due to the home stadiums’ lack of lights. There also have been delayed kickoffs for lightning storms, power outages, and, in 2014, a minor accident involving the Washington team bus.

The list does not include time flexing between the early and late day slots on Sunday, typically for maximizing network schedules.10Time flexes have happened for other reasons: a 2009 Jets-Buccaneers game scheduled for the late afternoon slot was moved to the early afternoon due to Yom Kippur beginning at sundown, and a 2020 scheduled Sunday Night Football between the Bucs and Raiders was flexed to the afternoon on short notice to insulate the cornerstone time slot from a potential coronavirus shutdown. It also does not include Sunday Night Football flexed games or Saturday-to-Sunday or Sunday-to-Monday flexes already built into the schedule.

The list is limited to regular-season and post-season games. Canceled or rescheduled exhibition games such as the 2016 Hall of Fame Game, the 1965 AFL All-Star Game, and the 2021 Pro Bowl are not included.

Anomalies from the typical scheduling slots that were part of the original schedule are not included.11Examples include the Wednesday Kickoff Game in 2008 (not planned for Thursday to avoid conflict with Barack Obama’s Democratic acceptance speech) and the non-home opener for the defending-champion Ravens in 2013 (due to a conflict with a pre-scheduled Orioles home game across the street). Before widespread television coverage, games were sometimes scheduled on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; those games are not included. Home games for teams that were intentionally temporarily relocated (2002 Bears, 1997-98 Oilers, 1972-75 Giants) as part of the original schedule are not listed, but the 2005 Saints and the 1982 “Oakland” Raiders are.

The list includes home-and-home series that swapped the host team dates; in those cases, only the game that created the swap is listed.

Relocated games: (N) neutral site, (A) played in the opponent’s stadium or territory, (H) neutral-site game reverted to a home game; all other relocations in the same city/region have no letter (note that travel times in 1930s vs. modern era are a consideration for what is local). The number of days a game was moved is indicated (+ for postponements, – for games moved up to an earlier date). -AFL game.

Date Teams Incident Action Days Resolution
1/14/2024 PIT-BUF
AFC WC
Lake-effect snow PPD + 1 Moved from Sunday 1 p.m. to Monday 4:30 p.m. (Martin Luther King Day)
1/2/2023 BUF-CIN Medical emergency CANCELED Game suspended 5:58/1Q after Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed. First NFL game to be suspended and not resumed the same day. Cancellation announced by league three days later, with adjustments made to possible AFC playoff venues as lack of game result affected top-3 seeding.
11/20/2022 CLE-BUF Lake-effect snow RELOC (N) Relocated to Ford Field in Detroit
12/19/2021 SEA-LAR Coronavirus PPD + 2 Moved from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday evening (7 p.m. ET)
12/19/2021 WAS-PHI Coronavirus PPD + 2 Moved from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday evening (7 p.m. ET)
12/18/2021 LV-CLE Coronavirus PPD + 2 Moved from Saturday afternoon to Monday (5 p.m. ET)
9/12/2021 GB-NO Hurricane damage (Ida) RELOC (N) Relocated to TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
1/3/2021 SEA-SF Public health order RELOC (N) Relocated to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., after Santa Clara County banned contact sports due to a spike in coronavirus cases
12/13/2020 WAS-SF
12/7/2020 BUF-SF
12/6/2020 WAS-PIT Schedule congestion PPD + 1 Due to BAL-PIT moved the previous week, postponed PIT from Sunday to Monday evening (5:30 p.m. ET), and BAL from Thursday night to Tuesday night (initially Monday evening)
12/3/2020 DAL-BAL PPD + 5
11/26/2020 BAL-PIT Coronavirus PPD + 6 Postponed from Thanksgiving night to Sunday afternoon, then to Tuesday night, then to Wednesday afternoon (3:40 p.m. ET, to avoid conflicting with NBC’s night time broadcast of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting)
11/22/2020 LAC-DEN Rescheduling accommodation (DEN-NE) EARLIER –21 Moved up to Nov. 1
11/15/2020 NYJ-MIA EARLIER –28 Moved up to Oct. 18; NYJ bye week 11→10
11/1/2020 JAX-LAC EARLIER – 7 Moved up to Oct. 25; JAX bye week 7→8
10/25/2020 LAC-MIA PPD +21 Postponed to Nov. 15; MIA bye week 11→7
10/18/2020 NYJ-LAC PPD +28 Postponed to Nov. 22; LAC bye week 10→6
10/18/2020 MIA-DEN PPD +28 Postponed to Nov. 22
10/25/2020 PIT-BAL Rescheduling accommodation PPD + 7 Postponed to Nov. 1 due to rescheduling of PIT-TEN, and BAL took originally scheduled PIT bye week
10/15/2020 KC-BUF Schedule congestion PPD + 4 Postponed from Thursday night to Monday evening (5 p.m. ET), due to rescheduled BUF-TEN game 2 days previous
10/11/2020 BUF-TEN Coronavirus PPD + 2 Postponed to Tuesday night
10/11/2020 DEN-NE Coronavirus PPD + 7 Postponed to Monday evening, then to Oct. 18 Sunday afternoon, DEN bye week 8→5, NE 6→5; triggered an additional 6-game revision to schedule
10/4/2020 NE-KC Coronavirus PPD + 1 Postponed to Monday night
10/4/2020 PIT-TEN Coronavirus PPD +21 Postponed to Oct. 25
11/19/2018 KC-LAR Stadium damage RELOC (H) Relocated from Azteca Stadium (Mexico City) as field was damaged by Nov. 8 concert; moved to Los Angeles as Rams were designated home team for neutral site game
9/10/2017 TB-MIA Incoming hurricane (Irma) PPD +70 Postponed to Nov. 19 (common scheduled bye)
1/15/2017 PIT-KC
AFC DIV
Forecasted ice storm PPD + 0 Postponed from 12:05 to 7:20 p.m. CT. Game was a test run for eventually moving a Sunday divisional playoff game into a primetime slot
11/23/2014 NYJ-BUF Lake-effect snow RELOC (N) + 1 Relocated to Ford Field in Detroit on Monday night, state of emergency declared in Buffalo
10/6/2013 SD-OAK Baseball playoffs PPD + 0 Postponed from 1:25 to 8:35 p.m. PT to allow for stadium reset
12/26/2010 MIN-PHI Incoming blizzard PPD + 2 Postponed from Sunday night to Tuesday night.
12/20/2010 CHI-MIN Stadium damage RELOC Relocated to TCF Stadium at the Univ. of Minnesota
12/13/2010 NYG-MIN RELOC (N) + 1 Relocated to Ford Field in Detroit on Monday night (dome collapsed overnight from snow)
11/9/2008 TEN-CIN Rescheduling accommodation EARLIER –14 Moved up to Oct. 26 due to rescheduling of BAL-HOU, and CIN took originally scheduled HOU bye week
9/14/2008 BAL-HOU Stadium damage (Hurricane Ike) PPD +56 Postponed to Nov. 9
10/23/2005 KC-MIA Incoming hurricane (Wilma) EARLIER – 2 Moved up to Friday night
12/24/2005 DET-NO Widespread hurricane damage (Katrina) RELOC (N) Relocated to Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
10/16/2005 ATL-NO
10/2/2005 BUF-NO
12/18/2005 CAR-NO RELOC Relocated to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
12/4/2005 TB-NO
11/6/2005 CHI-NO
10/30/2005 MIA-NO
9/18/2005 NYG-NO RELOC (A) + 1 Relocated to Giants Stadium as acting home team on Monday night
9/26/2004 PIT-MIA Incoming hurricane (Jeanne) PPD + 0 Postponed from 1 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET
9/12/2004 TEN-MIA Incoming hurricane (Ivan) EARLIER – 1 Moved up to Saturday
10/27/2003 MIA-SD Wildfires, evacuations RELOC (N) Relocated to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
1/4–27/2002 4 WC
4 DIV
2 CONF
SB XXXVI
Rescheduling accommodation PPD + 7 Due to Week 2 being moved, all playoff games shifted 1 week, Super Bowl XXXVI rescheduled (Oct. 4 announced, 122 days before game) for Feb. 3, first NFL game in February
10/21/2001 DAL-OAK Potential baseball playoffs PPD –14 Moved up to Oct. 7, when both teams had a bye, but Oakland A’s were subsequently eliminated
9/17–18/2001 15 games Terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 PPD +111 Week 2 games postponed to the end of the schedule
10/26/1997 CHI-MIA World Series PPD + 1 Postponed to Monday night (Game 7)
12/24/1995 DEN-OAK Franchise relocation RELOC All Raiders home games scheduled (April 26) for L.A. Memorial Coliseum, possibility to relocate to Anaheim Stadium, while waiting for a potential stadium on the Hollywood Park property (site of Sofi Stadium 25 years later). Raiders announced move to Oakland on June 25, and approved by Alameda County July 11
12/10/1995 PIT-OAK
12/3/1995 KC-OAK
11/19/1995 DAL-OAK
10/22/1995 IND-OAK
10/8/1995 SEA-OAK
9/24/1995 PHI-OAK
9/3/1995 SD-OAK
10/22/1995 SF-STLr Construction delay RELOC Relocated to Busch Stadium (site of first 3 St. Louis Rams games) due to delays in construction of new Trans World Dome
10/9/1994 DEN-SEA Stadium damage (roof) RELOC Relocated to Husky Stadium at Univ. of Washington after ceiling tiles fell at Kingdome on July 19
9/25/1994 PIT-SEA
9/18/1994 SD-SEA
9/6/1992 NE-MIA Hurricane damage (Andrew) PPD +42 Postponed to Oct. 18 when both teams were scheduled to have a bye week
10/14/1990 HOUo-CIN Baseball playoffs SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games
10/22/1989 NE-SF Stadium damage (earthquake) RELOC Relocated to Stanford Stadium at Stanford Univ. due to Loma Prieta earthquake
10/8/1989 NO-SF Baseball playoffs SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games
10/25/1987 DEN-MIN World Series PPD + 1 Postponed to Monday night (Game 7)
10/18/1987 TB-MIN SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games (original MIN home game was a strike game)
10/11/1987 ATL-SF Baseball playoffs SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games (original SF home game was a strike game)
9/27–28/1987 14 games NFL players’ strike CANCELED Canceled all Week 3 games
12/29/1985 NE-NYJ
AFC WC
Shared NFL stadium EARLIER – 1 Both wild card games in Giants Stadium, moved up AFC game to Saturday
10/13/1985 PHI-STLc Baseball playoffs SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games
12/23/1984 LArai-SEA
AFC WC
West Coast EARLIER – 1 Both wild card games in Pacific Time Zone, moved up AFC game to Saturday
9/2/1984 CLE-SEA Baseball game PPD + 1 Postponed to Monday afternoon 1 p.m. PT after trying for months to force the Mariners to move their game
10/16/1983 DAL-PHI World Series SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games
9/4/1983 PHI-SF Baseball game/event conflict EARLIER – 1 Moved up to Saturday to allow field to rest before Monday’s noon SF Giants game and postgame Chuck Mangione–Ray Charles concert
1/16/1983 CONF Modified playoff (strike) PPD + 6
+ 7
Championships shifted 1 week, but NFC game moved to Saturday due to a CBS schedule conflict. Bye week prior to Super Bowl eliminated
1/8-1/9/1983 DIV PPD + 7 Divisional playoffs shifted one week.
1/2/1983 WC ADDED + 6 Expanded 2-game Wild Card Sunday to 8-game first-round modified playoff weekend, postponed 1 week due to rescheduled Week 17. First regionalized telecasts in postseason.
12/26/1982 DEN-LArai Franchise relocated RELOC All Raiders home games scheduled for Oakland; NFL owners voted against move to Los Angeles; Raiders won antitrust lawsuit and injunction. All games not canceled by strike were played at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
12/18/1982 LAR-LArai RELOC
12/5/1982 SEA-LArai RELOC
11/22/1982 SD-LArai RELOC
9/26–11/14/1982 112 games
(Wk 3-10)
NFL players’ strike CANCELED 98 games cancelled
RESCHED 14 games from various weeks rescheduled as Week 17
10/7/1979 PHI-WAS Nearby event SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games due to Pope John Paul II holding mass on the National Mall
11/28/1976 CHI-GB Unbalanced schedule SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games (finalized on or around Apr. 27), as Packers were unhappy with ending the season with 3 road games
10/10/1976 STLc-PHI Baseball playoffs SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games
10/12/1975 KC-OAK Potential World Series SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games (announced Sept. 25)
10/13/1974 SD-OAK Potential World Series SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games (announced Sept. 30)
10/21/1973 PIT-NYJ World Series RELOC (A) Relocated to Three Rivers Stadium, Jets lease for Shea Stadium did not allow football games until Mets season concluded
10/14/1973 NE-NYJ SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games (announced Oct. 2)
10/7/1973 CLE-CIN Baseball playoffs SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games
10/7/1973 MIA-NYJ SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games
9/23/1973 MIA-OAK Baseball game RELOC Relocated to Memorial Stadium at Univ. of California after A’s owner Charlie Finley invoked clause on Aug. 23 that prohibited football game being played at Oakland Coliseum within 36 hours of a baseball game
12/11/1971 BALc-MIA College football game SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games (announced Oct. 12); Orange Bowl in Miami had already been booked for Florida A&M Orange Blossom Classic when NFL schedule was made in April
10/11/1971 NYG-DAL Construction delays RELOC Relocated to Cotton Bowl due to delays in construction of new Texas Stadium
10/3/1971 WAS-DAL
10/10/1971 DEN-OAK Potential World Series SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games (announced Aug. 25)
10/4/1970 BOS-BALc Baseball playoff and venue conflicts SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games (announced July 25) because (1) Orioles likely to make playoffs, (2) Harvard Stadium could not accommodate 2 TV networks hosting games on consecutive days
11/9/1969 BOS-MIA Television scheduling SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games (announced June 1); AFL forgot to schedule a 4 p.m. doubleheader game for Nov. 30 and Harvard Stadium lacked lights, swapped game was a Dolphins home game in Tampa
10/12/1969 PHI-BALc World Series PPD + 1 Postponed to Monday (announced Oct. 6) to day after World Series Game 2
10/11/1969 CIN-NYJ SWAP + 1 Teams swapped dates of their home games; game moved from Sunday to Monday
10/6/1969 CHI-NYG Non-conflict with baseball playoffs EARLIER – 1 Game moved up one day to Sunday (announced Sept. 7) after Yankees missed the playoffs
10/5/1969 BOS-NYJ Baseball playoffs SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games
10/5/1969 GB-MIN RELOC Relocated to Memorial Stadium at Univ. of Minnesota (announced July 17)
10/5/1969 BALc-ATL RELOC Relocated to Grant Field at Georgia Tech (announced around Sept. 16)
10/6/1968 MIN-DET World Series SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games
9/22/1968 NYJ-BOS Baseball game RELOC (N) Relocated to Legion Field in Birmingham, AL (announced Apr. 25) due to lack of available alternate site in Boston
10/15/1967 MIA-BOS World Series RELOC Relocated to Boston College Alumni Stadium; not enough time to convert Fenway Park after World Series went 7 games
10/7/1967 SD-BOS RELOC (A) + 1 Relocated to San Diego on Sunday, Oct. 8 after Red Sox made World Series
12/24/1966 KC-BUF
AFL CG
Harmonized schedule PPD + 8 After merger agreement in June, both league championships were set for the same day, since it was a Super Bowl qualifying game. There was a built-in off week that would be used for a potential tiebreaker game, instead of floating the championship out a week as was done in the past.
10/10/1965 NYG-MIN Potential World Series EARLIER – 1 Game moved up one day to Saturday night (announced Sept. 15) to give field extra time to recover in case Games 6 & 7 of the World Series were necessary
9/25/1965 CHI-LAR Public safety PPD + 1 Game moved back one day to Sunday afternoon from Saturday night (announced late August) after Rams moved all scheduled night games to daytime in the aftermath of the Watts riots
10/12/1964 BALcSTLc World Series RELOC (A) Relocated to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore (announced Oct. 4) when Cardinals made World Series
12/22/1963 BOS-SD
AFL CG
Rescheduling accommodation (JFK) PPD +14 Postponed to Jan. 5, 1964, due to regular season being extended one week plus Eastern Division tiebreaker game (latest NFL or AFL championship to date)
12/14/1963 NYJ-KC PPD + 8 Postponed to Dec. 22
12/8/1963 BOS-KC PPD + 6 Postponed to Dec. 14
12/8/1963 DEN-SD PPD +14 Postponed to Dec. 22
12/8/1963 HOUo-OAK PPD +14 Postponed to Dec. 22
12/1/1963 BOS-HOUo PPD + 7 Postponed to Dec. 8
12/1/1963 SD-OAK PPD + 7 Postponed to Dec. 8
12/1/1963 BUF-NYJ PPD +13 Postponed to Dec. 14; final game ever at Polo Grounds
11/28/1963 DEN-KC PPD +10 Postponed to Dec. 8
11/24/1963 OAK-DEN JFK assassination PPD + 4 OAK-DEN postponed to Nov. 28, others to Dec. 1; much of remaining AFL schedule reconfigured; NFL played all scheduled games on Nov. 24, preempted on TV for continuous news coverage
11/24/1963 BUF-BOS PPD + 7
11/24/1963 HOUo-SD PPD + 7
11/24/1963 KC-NYJ PPD + 7
10/5/1962 BOS-NYt World Series competition PPD + 1 Postponed to Saturday, Oct. 6 to avoid lack of interest due to Yankees-Giants Game 2 (played in San Francisco)
9/14/1962 HOUo-BOS Public relations RELOC + 2 Relocated to Harvard Stadium from Boston Univ. Field and postponed two days to Sunday, Sept. 16 (announced June 6) as part of a program “to present Boston’s new face to the country”
10/20/1961 BUF-BOS Incoming tropical storm (Gerda) PPD + 2 Postponed to Sunday, Oct. 22; Patriots had to get approval from Boston City Council to play Sunday game at BU Field (Blue laws)
12/16/1960 DEN-OAK New stadium lease RELOC + 1 Relocated from Kezar Stadium to Candlestick Park after signing new lease. Last game postponed from Saturday night to Sunday, Dec. 17 during the day; night games at Candlestick untenable
12/11/1960 NYT-OAK
12/4/1960 LAC-OAK
10/9/1960 NYG-PIT World Series RELOC Relocated to Pitt Stadium at Univ. of Pittsburgh (announced Sept. 6)
9/16/1960 BOS-NYt Pennant race competition PPD + 1 Postponed to Saturday, Sept. 17 due to Orioles-Yankees game played on the other side of the Harlem River (announced Sept. 12). Boston’s WHDH-TV requested the game move from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. to air an hourlong primetime spectacular The 1960 TV Fashion Herald in color.
11/4/1956 WAS-BALc Venue conflict PPD +49 Postponed to Dec. 23 (week after regular season ended) due to already-scheduled Navy-Notre Dame game at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 3; Navy contract prohibited other games at stadium for 5 days before and 1 day after (announced Apr. 13)
9/25/1955 PIT-CHIc Baseball game SWAP +1 Teams swapped dates of their home games and pushed season opener back a day to Monday night (announced Mar. 31)
10/3/1954 DET-CLE Potential World Series PPD +77 Postponed to Dec. 19
12/13/1953 GB-LAR Television EARLIER – 1 Games moved to Saturday nights as part of new national DuMont network television package (package announced May 13, specific games to be moved announced later)
12/6/1953 BALc-LAR EARLIER – 1
11/22/1953 CHIc-PHI EARLIER – 1
11/8/1953 BALc-DET EARLIER – 1
11/1/1953 GB-BALc EARLIER – 1
10/25/1953 GB-PIT EARLIER – 1
10/18/1953 PIT-PHI EARLIER – 1
10/11/1953 PHI-CLE EARLIER – 1
10/5/1953 NYG-PIT EARLIER – 2
12/14/1952 DET-DALt Franchise folded RELOC (A) – 1 Relocated to Detroit on Dec. 13 after Dallas Texans franchise was taken over by league; game was moved up a day in an attempt to lure a network to televise the game unopposed. Lions GM stated the game could not be given away
11/30/1952 CHI-DALt RELOC (N) – 3 Relocated to Akron on Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving) after Dallas Texans franchise was taken over by league (only win in their only season)
10/7/1951 DET-NYy World Series RELOC (A) + 1 Relocated to Briggs Stadium in Detroit, postponed to Monday night; 2nd lost Yanks home game without a makeup (4th home game rescheduled in 2 years)
10/1/1951 LAR-NYy RELOC (A) – 4 Relocated to L.A. Memorial Coliseum from Monday night to Thursday night Sept. 29; All 3 NYC baseball stadiums in use, Yankee Stadium for upcoming World Series, Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field for Giants-Dodgers 3-game playoff (“shot heard round the world”)
10/8/1950 LAR-PHI World Series RELOC – 1 With Phillies in pennant race, game moved to Saturday and from Shibe Park to Municipal Stadium (original date would have been Game 5 in New York, but Yankees swept)
10/8/1950 GB-NYy SWAP Would have been Game 5 of World Series if Yankees hadn’t swept; teams swapped home weeks, Yanks new home date moved from Sunday to Thursday night Oct. 19; Packers home game was marketed as Ladies Day, where first 7,000 women received rose boutonnières “and other features of the game that day will be especially for the ladies’ benefit”
9/29/1950 DET-NYy RELOC Relocated from Yankee Stadium to Polo Grounds at the request of baseball Yankees president Daniel Topping and cooperation of baseball Giants president Horace Stoneham. Original game date was last day of baseball regular season, but baseball Yankees ended the season on a 3-game road trip and began the World Series with Games 1 and 2 on the road
12/8/1946 CHIc-PIT Non-conflict with baseball EARLIER –79 Moved up to Sept. 20 (announced July 7) after baseball’s AL and NL revoked a rule that prohibited football in baseball stadiums until baseball season was over
10/13/1946 BOSy-PIT World Series SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games (announced Sept. 30); Boston Yanks contract mandated that home games other than opener be played at Fenway Park
9/30/1946 NYG-BOSy Rain PPD + 1 Postponed one day to Oct. 1
9/23/1945 DET-CHIc Venue conflict RELOC (N) Relocated to Milwaukee after Comiskey Park unavailable
10/3/1943 NYG-WAS Baseball game PPD +70 Postponed to Dec. 12 (announced Sept. 11) after Redskins couldn’t find alternate site
9/27/1942 PIT-CHIc Rain PPD +56 Postponed to Nov. 22
11/23/1941 PHI-BKN Field preservation? EARLIER – 21 Moved up to Nov. 2, possibly to prevent late-season spike damage at Ebbets Field
9/14/1941 NYG-PHI Venue conflict RELOC – 1 Relocated to Philadelphia Municipal Stadium and pushed up one day to Sept. 13 due to Shibe Park being unavailable
9/7/1941 PIT-CLEr Venue conflict RELOC Relocated to Akron’s Rubber Bowl (announced July 11) after Cleveland’s League Park and Municipal Stadium unavailable
11/24/1940 PITp-PHI Rain PPD + 4 Postponed to Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28
10/6/1940 CHIc-DET World Series RELOC – 1 Relocated to University of Detroit Stadium and moved up to Saturday night, Oct. 5; Games 4 and 5 of the World Series were Saturday and Sunday afternoon
9/20/1940 PHI-CLEr ? PPD + 2 Postponed to Sept. 22 (determined well before start of season)
11/30/1939 GB-DET Thanksgiving date change PPD + 3 Postponed to Sunday, Dec. 3 (in mid-September) after FDR moved the date of Thanksgiving up one week.
11/30/1939 PHI-CLEr RELOC (N) + 3 Postponed to Sunday, Dec. 3 (in mid-September) after FDR moved the date of Thanksgiving up one week. Relocated to Will Rogers Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo. (announced Sept. 16); former Colorado College player Dutch Clark coaching the Rams. First NFL game west of the Rockies.
11/5/1939 BKN-PIT Lack of interest, rain RELOC (A) + 1 Relocated to Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field (announced on Oct. 25) due to poor ticket sales in Pittsburgh; postponed one day to Nov. 6 by rain
9/10/1939 PIT-PHI Rain PPD +22 Postponed to Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23 (announced 2 hours prior to 2:45 p.m. kickoff). Commissioner Bert Bell: “It is our policy not to play football games in the rain because we think spectators do not enjoy them.” FDR changed the date of Thanksgiving after schedule was made, so it was the only game that day.
10/30/1938 CHIc-PHI Night game EARLIER – 4 Moved up to Wednesday, Oct. 26 (announced July 24); game in Erie, Pa.
10/30/1938 PITp-NYG Schedule congestion EARLIER –27 Moved up to Oct. 3 (announced Sept. 24) because Pittsburgh had multiple exhibition games scheduled for end of the month; one of seven changes to the original 1938 Pittsburgh Pirates football schedule
10/16/1938 CLErPITp Injuries RELOC (N) +49 Postponed to Dec. 4 (announced Oct. 11) because Pittsburgh injury-stricken; relocated to Chattanooga, Tenn, then to New Orleans
10/2/1938 WAS-PITp Potential World Series PPD +35 Postponed to Nov. 6 (announced Aug. 11) because baseball Pirates might make the World Series (they didn’t, blowing a 7-game lead with a month to go)
9/18/1938 NYG-PITp EARLIER – 7 Moved up to Sept. 11 (announced Aug. 11)
9/11/1938 DET-PITp RELOC (A) – 2 Relocated to Detroit and moved up to Sept. 9 (announced Aug. 11)
9/25/1938 PITpBKN Public relations EARLIER – 2 Moved up to Sept. 23 (announced July 10) to take advantage of new lights at Ebbets Field
9/14/1938 PHI-PITp Rain PPD + 2 Postponed to Sept. 16; game originally scheduled in Buffalo
9/17/1937 NYG-WAS Public relations EARLIER – 1 Moved up one day to Sept. 16 (announced Aug. 29) to avoid conflict with FDR radio speech on 150th anniversary of Constitution; team was also hoping the president would attend opening day
9/17/1937 CLEr-PHI Rain PPD + 4 Postponed to Sept. 21
12/13/1936 GB-BOSr
NFL CG
Lack of interest RELOC (N) Relocated to New York’s Polo Grounds by Boston owner George Preston Marshall to boost ticket revenue; franchise would move to Washington following season
12/6/1936 PITp-PHI Location change, rain RELOC (N) –32 Relocated to Johnstown, Pa., as part of city promotional effort and moved to Nov. 4 (finalized around Oct. 15); postponed one day to Nov. 5 by rain in the Flood City
9/27/1936 CHIc-DET Rain PPD + 1 Postponed one day to Sept. 28
11/17/1935 BOSr-PHI Rain CANCELED Postponed and never played; game canceled Dec. 9 after regular season ended (teams finished 2-8-1 and 2-9)
11/17/1935 CHIcBKN PPD + 2 Postponed two days to Nov. 19
10/6/1935 BKN-DET World Series SWAP Teams swapped dates of their home games
10/6/1935 CHI-CHIc PPD + 2 Postponed to Dec. 8
12/2/1934 GB-CINr Franchise folded RESCHED Cincinnati Reds franchise sold to St. Louis Gunners, who took over their schedule
11/18/1934 CINr-DET RESCHED
11/11/1934 PITpCINr RESCHED
11/29/1934 GB-CHIc Game added ADDED Thanksgiving Day game added to schedule (finalized around Nov. 23). Created a swing of 3 Packers road games in 8 days (Detroit-Chicago-St. Louis)
11/18/1934 CHIc-GB Alternate home site RELOC Originally in Chicago, relocated to Milwaukee as a second Packers home game against the Cardinals; NFL added a Packers at Cardinals game
11/4/1934 CHI-BKN Rain PPD + 2 Postponed two days to Nov. 6
11/4/1934 CINr-PHI Rain RELOC + 2 Postponed two days to Nov. 6 and relocated to Temple Univ. Stadium
10/28/1934 DET-CINr Lack of interest RELOC (A) Relocated to Portsmouth, Ohio (announced on Oct. 19). Lions had moved to Detroit from Portsmouth in the summer. Technically a neutral-site game, a significant fanbase remained making this a decidedly hostile-territory game for the Cincinnati Reds.
10/21/1934 BKN-DET Rain PPD + 1 Postponed one days to Oct. 22
10/7/1934 CHIcCINr Night game RELOC Relocated to Corcoran Field, which was equipped with lights
9/23/1934 CINrCHIc Venue conflict RELOC (N) Relocated to Univ. of Dayton Stadium (announced on Sept. 5)
12/10/1933 PITpPOR Snow CANCELED Originally scheduled for Portsmouth, Ohio. NFL moved to Columbus, Ohio, as a benefit game for Charity Newsies, a local non-profit. Postponed due to heavy snow and attendance of 200, then canceled outright 3 days later. Would have been the final game as the Spartans, as the team moved to Detroit during the offseason.
10/1/1933 NYG-GB Alternate home site RELOC Relocated to Milwaukee (announced Sept. 9) due to “insistent public demand” in southern Wisconsin. First Packers game in Milwaukee, a tradition that would continue until 1994
9/13/1933 CINrPITp ? PPD +28 Postponed to Oct. 11
12/18/1932 POR-CHI
NFL TITLE
Game added ADDED Game added to decide NFL Championship after Portsmouth Spartans (Detroit Lions) and Chicago Bears both finished with 6 wins, 1 loss; tie games were disregarded in standings
11/6/1932 BOSbSIS Location change RELOC (A) Relocated to Boston
10/20/1932 PORSIS Game added ADDED Replay of tied game from Oct. 16; Portsmouth challenged Staten Island to a rematch

 

Footnotes

  • 1
    The current scheduling formulas and rotations date back to 2002, with a minor revision in 2021 to add a 17th game. Pre-1970 schedules were more ad hoc.
  • 2
    The 2020 schedule was released on May 7 after being delayed several weeks by the pandemic. Typically, the schedule is released in mid-April.
  • 3
    More accurately, 1.79% as of the date this article was originally posted, boosted heavily by the 1982 players strike.
  • 4
    Note that Chuck Mangione is billed before Ray Charles.
  • 5
    There are no current football/baseball co-tenants now that the Raiders have moved to Las Vegas.
  • 6
    The Houston Astros were an exception, so the sites in the 1986 National League Championship Series were swapped to accommodate an Oilers home game.
  • 7
    Why 1932 and not 1920, the date of the NFL’s founding? The NFL schedule was not very stable prior to that date; adding pre-1932 games would double the size of the table without adding much interesting, though you would learn about the Mitchell Day holiday.
  • 8
    Original schedules cited here are those from the Colts’ and Broncos’ media guides, supplemented by those from the NFL. Pre-1950 schedules are the earliest-available leaguewide schedules published in newspapers.
  • 9
    Examples of slight adjustments include early-afternoon kickoffs at times other than 1 p.m. Eastern due to local blue laws, the one-hour shift of the 1989 championship games due to two western home teams, or the shift of the NFL Championship games in 1960 and 1963 to noon due to the home stadiums’ lack of lights. There also have been delayed kickoffs for lightning storms, power outages, and, in 2014, a minor accident involving the Washington team bus.
  • 10
    Time flexes have happened for other reasons: a 2009 Jets-Buccaneers game scheduled for the late afternoon slot was moved to the early afternoon due to Yom Kippur beginning at sundown, and a 2020 scheduled Sunday Night Football between the Bucs and Raiders was flexed to the afternoon on short notice to insulate the cornerstone time slot from a potential coronavirus shutdown.
  • 11
    Examples include the Wednesday Kickoff Game in 2008 (not planned for Thursday to avoid conflict with Barack Obama’s Democratic acceptance speech) and the non-home opener for the defending-champion Ravens in 2013 (due to a conflict with a pre-scheduled Orioles home game across the street).
Ben Austro
Ben Austro is the editor-in-chief and founder of Football Zebras and the author of So You Think You Know Football?: The Armchair Ref's Guide to the Official Rules (on sale now)

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