Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Cleveland Rams suspended operations for the 1943 season due to World War II manpower shortages, and the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers merged into a single team called the Steagles. This reduced the active teams from ten to eight, tying the 1932 season for the fewest teams in NFL history.
The Steagles were a combined team formed by merging the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 1943 season. Greasy Neale and Walt Kiesling served as co-head coaches, and the team played four home games at Shibe Park in Philadelphia and two at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.
The Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 41-21 in the 1943 NFL Championship Game, played at Wrigley Field in Chicago on the 26th of December 1943. Sid Luckman threw five touchdown passes and was named the league's Most Valuable Player.
The NFL adopted the free substitution rule in 1943, allowing players to enter and exit the game without restriction whenever the ball was dead. The change was made in response to depleted wartime rosters and eventually gave rise to the modern two-platoon system of separate offensive and defensive units.
The last scoreless tie in NFL history was played on the 7th of November 1943, when the Detroit Lions and the New York Giants finished 0-0. As of the 2024 season, no scoreless tie has occurred in the 80 years since that game.
The Detroit Lions selected running back Frank Sinkwich from the University of Georgia with the first overall pick in the 1943 NFL draft, held on the 8th of April 1943, at Chicago's Palmer House Hotel. All ten franchises participated in the draft, selecting a total of 300 players.