they finished 8–3 in 1941, and held a ceremony to honor the future hall of famer leemans in the final regular season game on december 7, 1941. leemans had been with the giants since 1936, when he led the league in rushing as a rookie with 830 yards. a versatile performer, he rushed for over 3,000 yards, and passed for over 2,300 in his career. during the course of the game the stadium announcer paged colonel william joseph donovan to answer a call from washington, d.c., and told all servicemen to return to their units, but it was only when the game concluded that players and spectators learned of the attack on the naval base at pearl harbor earlier that day. new york advanced to the championship game following the season, in which they lost to the bears 37–9. both the 1940 and 1941 championship games were close early before their respective opponents went on an offensive surge to break the games open late. in 1942 and 1943, the giants totalled an 11–8–2 record and failed to make the postseason.