The First Arena/Indoor Football Game Took Place In 1932

Did you know that the 1932 NFL Playoff Game was not only the first ever playoff game held by the National Football League but was played in an arena. Due to extremely cold weather, the game was played indoors on December 18, 1932 at Chicago Stadium in Chicago. Because it was played indoors the field had to be shortened to 80 yards and the sidelines were right next to the stands. The final score was Chicago Bears 9, Portsmouth Spartans 0.
The game paved the way for a new era of professional American football. After following the rules of college football for its first 13 years of existence, the NFL began to develop its own rules. The popularity of the game also led the league to start holding annual playoff games. Thus, the 1932 NFL Playoff Game is sometimes unofficially called the 1932 NFL Championship Game.
Furthermore, the game is regarded as the first ever major indoor football game, although this is only true inasmuch as it was the first such game in the forward pass era. A series of matchups in 1902 and 1903, known as the World Series of Football, were held indoors in New York City in an effort to determine the nation's best professional team.