NFL TO PLAY LAST LABOR DAY OPENERS
People want to stretch those last, lazy days of summer.
Thats why the NFL has decided that this Sunday and Monday (September 3-4) will be the last time that it opens its season on Labor Day weekend.
Beginning with Labor Day, 2001, NFL fans will be able to enjoy the unofficial "end of summer" at the beach, in the country or at the barbecue, and then kick off fall with the opening of the NFL season on the weekend after Labor Day.
The first NFL Labor Day "weekend" came in 1937 when the host Pittsburgh Pirates opened the season by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 27-14 in front of 8,588 fans on September 5 Labor Day Sunday. That was the lone NFL game played that weekend. It was also the only NFL Labor Day weekend that did not actually include a game played on Labor Day Monday. Following is an NFL Labor Day weekend (Saturday through Monday) history:
NFL LABOR DAY WEEKENDSWeekend | Total Games |
Total Points Scored |
Attendance |
|||
September 4-6, 1937 * | 1 |
41 |
8,588 |
|||
September 2-4, 1978 | 14 |
506 |
822,141 |
|||
September 1-3, 1979 | 14 |
525 |
840,430 |
|||
September 5-7, 1981 | 14 |
551 |
866,788 |
|||
September 3-5, 1983 | 14 |
560 |
809.975 |
|||
September 1-3, 1984 | 14 |
658 |
831,288 |
|||
September 3-5, 1988 | 14 |
545 |
792,876 |
|||
August 31-September 2, 1991 | 14 |
547 |
905,247 |
|||
September 5-7, 1992 | ** 13 |
472 |
810,532 |
|||
September 4-6, 1993 | 14 |
587 |
862,271 |
|||
September 3-5, 1994 | 14 |
652 |
868,429 |
|||
September 2-4, 1995 | 15 |
556 |
929,407 |
|||
August 31-September 2, 1996 | 15 |
529 |
908,911 |
|||
August 30-September 1, 1997 | 15 |
646 |
933,587 |
|||
September 5-7, 1998 | 15 |
646 |
974,403 |
* No game on Monday. Only game played on weekend was on Sunday; ** Thirteen games played due to necessity of switching Miami Dolphins Sunday game vs. New England (9/6) in aftermath of Hurricane Andrew to 10/18 (bye weeks).
LABOR DAY GAMES |
LABOR DAY RECORDS |
(Home club in capitals) |
Date |
Score | Team | W |
L |
Pct. |
||
9/4/78 |
DALLAS 38, Baltimore 0 | Denver | 1 |
0 |
1.000 |
||
9/3/79 |
Pittsburgh 16, NEW ENGLAND 13 | Green Bay | 1 |
0 |
1.000 |
||
9/7/81 |
San Diego 44, CLEVELAND 14 | Pittsburgh | 1 |
0 |
1.000 |
||
9/5/83 |
Dallas 31, WASHINGTON 30 | San Diego | 1 |
0 |
1.000 |
||
** 9/3/84 |
SEATTLE 33, Cleveland 0 | Seattle | 1 |
0 |
1.000 |
||
Dallas 20, LA RAMS 13 | Dallas | 5 |
2 |
.714 |
|||
9/5/88 |
NY GIANTS 27, Washington 20 | NY Giants | 2 |
1 |
.667 |
||
9/2/91 |
NY GIANTS 16, San Francisco 14 | Chicago | 1 |
1 |
.500 |
||
9/7/92 |
DALLAS 23, Washington 10 | San Francisco | 1 |
1 |
.500 |
||
9/6/93 |
WASHINGTON 35, Dallas 16 | Washington | 1 |
3 |
.250 |
||
9/5/94 |
SAN FRANCISCO 44, LA Raiders 14 | Baltimore | 0 |
1 |
.000 |
||
9/4/95 |
Dallas 35, NY GIANTS 0 | LA Raiders | 0 |
1 |
.000 |
||
9/2/96 |
CHICAGO 22, Dallas 6 | LA Rams | 0 |
1 |
.000 |
||
9/1/97 |
GREEN BAY 37, Chicago 24 | Cleveland | 0 |
2 |
.000 |
||
9/7/98 |
DENVER 27, New England 21 | New England | 0 |
2 |
.000 |
** Two NFL games were played on the 1984 Labor Day Monday the regularly-scheduled Monday-night game in Los Angeles, and due to a stadium conflict with baseball -- an afternoon game in Seattle.
TOP LABOR DAY WEEKEND PERFORMANCESMOST YARDS RUSHING | Yds. | Att. | LG | TD |
Eddie George, Tennessee vs. Oakland, 8/31/97 | 216 | 35 | 29t | 1 |
George Rogers, New Orleans vs. St. Louis, 9/4/83 | 206 | 24 | 76t | 2 |
Gerald Riggs, Atlanta vs. New Orleans, 9/2/84 | 202 | 35 | 57 | 2 |
MOST YARDS PASSING | Yds. | Att. | Comp. | TD | INT |
Dan Marino, Miami vs. New England, 9/4/94 | 473 | 42 | 23 | 5 | 1 |
Drew Bledsoe, New England vs. Miami, 9/4/94 | 421 | 51 | 32 | 4 | 2 |
Glenn Foley, N.Y. Jets vs. San Francisco, 9/6/98 | 415 | 30 | 58 | 3 | 1 |
MOST YARDS RECEIVING | Yds. | No. | LG | TD |
Irving Fryar, Miami vs. New England, 9/4/94 | 211 | 5 | 54t | 3 |
Wes Chandler, New Orleans vs. Atlanta, 9/2/79 | 205 | 6 | 42 | 1 |
Tim Smith, Houston vs. Green Bay, 9/4/83 | 197 | 8 | 47 | 1 |