In 1931, the league decreased to 10 teams due to financial hardships caused by the Great Depression. While the Cleveland Indians joined as an expansion team, the league lost the Minneapolis Red Jackets and the Newark Tornadoes. Even the Frankford Yellow Jackets had to fold midway through the season. The two best teams in 1931, the Green Bay Packers and the Portsmouth Spartans, did not face each other that season. The Spartans would later become the Detroit Lions, and face the Packers regularly, but not in their 14 games in 1931. Green Bay and Portsmouth would be neck and neck for most of the season, until the Packers would prevail in the last few weeks to win the NFL Championship by one game. The club posted a 12–2 record under coach Curly Lambeau, earning them a first-place finish and the Packers
third consecutive National Football League Championship. The Packers became the first NFL team to win three consecutive NFL championships.