Scroll Thru to read all the fascinating Football History articles
Volume I-101-110 CLASSIC FOOTBALL HISTORY

LOUIS F. BLAKLEY PhD
classicollectables@sbcglobal.net

CLASSIC FOOTBALL HISTORY

Volume I-110

THE 1937 CHAMPIONSHIP

The Boston Redskins played their last game on Sunday December 13, 1936. They met the Green Bay Packers in the championship at the Polo Grounds in New York City. The Boston Redskins had made it to the championship on courage and strong determination, but the Packers won 21-6. The Redskins moved to Washington D.C. the following year in 1937.

George Halas, head coach of the Chicago Bears, had been telling his players the week before the championship that the difference between this year and last year was Sammy Baugh; to win you must stop him. For Halas to say the championship rests on Sammy Baugh said a lot about his greatness, Halas was a pioneer of pro football and knew great talent when he saw it. Sammy had a great rookie year in 1937. He was one of the most talented football players in the history of the game.

Washington Redskin owner George Preston Marshall was a pioneer himself, who had a big influence on the improvements of the game. He formed, developed and shaped pro football by changing the rules that made the game into the greatest and most popular sport in the world. Marshall wanted the game to be fun, exciting and entertaining.

The first thing Marshall did was to move his team from Boston to Washington D.C. Second he made the best move of all, he drafted Sammy Baugh to play quarterback for his team. Unhappy with pro baseball Baugh signed a 1year contract with the Redskins for 8,000. Next Marshall dressed Sammy in western outfits with a cowboy hat and turned Baugh into a cowboy (even though he was not). George Marshall did this by using the media, he was a master showman and he knew how to use the press.

The Washington Redskin players were Sammy Baugh QB, Cliff Battles HB, Turk Edwards T, Wayne Millner E; all are members of the Pro Football Hall Fame in Canton, Ohio. Also Ed Justice WB, Eddie Kahn G. These were the Redskins best of 1937.

The Chicago Bears players were Bronco Nagurski FB, Danny Fortmann G, George Musso G, and Joe Stydahar T, all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Carl Brumbaugh B, Beattie Feathers HB, Ray Nolting HB, Bill Karr E, Bernie Materson QB, Gene Ronzani B, Dick Plasman E, and Jack Manders K, who helped the Bears, defeat the New York Giants in the 1933 championship.

Professional football was a brutal game in the 1930s the linemen were big, strong, tough, and mean. They were bone crushing, jaw breaking, nose busters, who had as many knock outs as pro boxing. In 1937 the one rule about hitting was, there were no rules, one had to be real tough to survive in pro football. If a player played six seasons it was equivalent to twelve.

The Chicago Bears had a savage front line, Halas taught his players to play the game as tough as possible, he further taught his team to beat their opponent’s black and blue. Pain was the name of the game, he expected his teams to beat the other teams bloody, no one liked playing the Chicago Bears, they were named after a strong ferocious animal that mauls its victims to death, and it was no accident Halas gave his team this name, he knew that the team that played the most physical wins. This is what Halas expected of his players or they did not play for the Hala’s Bears. (This should have been the teams name because he was the Bears). He was a winner and hated to lose.

The 1937 championship was played on Sunday December 12th, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Ill. The Chicago Bears were to host the Washington Redskins. The game was played on a very cold and windy day; this game could have been called the frost bowl and the hard hitting made it worse.

During the championship game In the heat of battle there was a brawl when Sammy Baugh the Redskin rocket hitter hit bears end Dick Plasman hard and knocked him out of bounds, Plasman slugged Baugh in the face, by the Washington bench, the Bears rushed over and the battle was on, a huge fight broke out. Players were in a pile with metal cleats in their faces, their leather helmets provided no face protection, the hitting in this game was brutal and led to retaliation.

At first it looked like the Redskins would scalp the Bears but Chicago reverted back to the smash mouth football that they were famous for. The Chicago line came right at Sammy Baugh and put terrific pressure on him. He was hurt on the frozen ground at Wrigley Field after 4 Bear players piled up on him, Baugh suffered a hip pointer and somehow the palm of his throwing hand was cut open, but he never told the trainer about the injury, Sammy still came right back at his Bear tormentors in full force.

By half time Washington was behind 14-7. The Bears had brought a ferocious charge against the Redskins quarterback and tried to take him out of the game. At the start of the second half Sammy Baugh threw a 55 yard pass to Wayne Millner for a touch down to tie up the game 14-14.

Bronko Nagurski, Ray Nolting and Jack Manders were carring most of the load for the Bears both Nagurski (who was slowed down by injuries) and Nolting hammered and blasted their way through the Redskin line to the Washington 3 yard line, the wore out Redskin line was expecting an assault from the Bronk or Nolting through the Bears center, but Bernie Masterson the Chicago QB flipped the football to Bears end Ed Manske for a touchdown to give Chicago the lead 21-14.

Sammy Baugh came back and threw a 77-yard pass to Wayne Millner both Jack Manders and the Bronk tried to stop Millner but he ran into the end zone untouched for a Redskin touchdown. Seven minutes later Sammy saw end Charles Malone down field ready to release the ball, the Bears defense realized to late that they were headed in the wrong direction and to their horror Baugh threw the ball to halfback Ed Justice who ran it in for the game winning touchdown 28-21. The play covered 35 yards in the third quarter.
The only scoring came in the first and third quarters, there were no scores in the second and fourth periods. Sammy Baugh threw 3 passes in a 15 minute period in the second half. This would be the first time in history that a Quarterback would put on the most spectacular show that had been seen up to that time in history and dominate a professional football game. The Washington Redskins were the 1937 world champions. Bronco Nagurski would retire after the game but return in 1943 because of a player shortage due to WWII.

Volume I-109

PRO FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 1932-1946

1940 Championship Chicago Bears-73 Washington Redskins-0 Sun. December 8

1934 Championship New York Giants-30 Chicago Bears-13 Sun. December 9

1939 Championship Green Bay Packers-27 New York Giants-0 Sun. December 10

1938 Championship New York Giants-23 Green Bay Packers-17 Sun. December 11

1937 Championship Washington Redskins-28 Chicago Bears-21 Sun. December 12

1936 Championship Green Bay Packers- 21 Boston Redskins-6 Sun. December 13

1942 Championship Washington Redskins-14 Chicago Bears-6 Sun. December 13

1935 Championship Detroit Lions-26 New York Giants-7 Sun. December 15

1946 Championship Chicago Bears-24 New York Giants-14 Sun. December 15

1945 Championship Cleveland Rams-15 Washington Redskins-14 Sun. December 16

1933 Championship Chicago Bears-23 New York Giants-21 Sun. December 17

1944 Championship Green Bay Packers-14 New York Giants-7 Sun. December 17

1932 Championship Chicago Bears-9 Portsmouth Spartans-0 Sun. December 18

1941 Championship Chicago Bears-37 New York Giants-9 Sun December 21.

1943 Championship Chicago Bears-41 Washington Redskins-21 Sun. December 26

Volume I-108

THE 1929 CHICAGO CHAMPIONSHIP

On Thanksgiving Day Thursday November 28, 1929 a professional football game that would make NFL history, the Chicago Cardinals and their cross-town rivals the Chicago Bears would play in the annual city championship game. Since 1934, the Thanksgiving Day game that gets the most attention is the annual Detroit Lions game. Had the Chicago Cardinals not moved to St. Louis this could still be a great tradition as well.

Ernie Nevers custom was eating a steak as his pre-game meal then he took a taxi to Comiskey Park, the Chicago Cardinals home field. This was always an important game each year for these franchises, because of the rivalry in the city. This year was special, with the world championship unattainable for both teams, whose records were not the best that year (The Green Bay Packers would become the 1929 world champions at the end of the season). The Cardinals won 4, lost 5, and tied 1; this was their 11th game of the season. The Bears won 4, lost 7, this was their 12th game.

The Chicago Cardinals roster was Ernie Nevers FB, Walt Kiesling G, future Hall of Famers, and Gene Rose WB, Cobb Rooney WB, Mickey McDonald WB, and Duke Slater T. The Chicago Bears Players were Red Grange HB, George Trafton C, both became Hall of famers, Joey Sternaman QB, Gradie Grange E, (Reds brother), and Luke Johnsos E.

Ernie was paid $10,000 a year as a player/coach for the Cardinals. The other players were paid $100.00 a game; these men were the pioneers of professional football and paved the way for future players. The Chicago Bears normally won the city championship game each year but 1929 would be different, the reason Ernie Nevers.
In the locker room Ernie told his players in a calm firm voice “This one is for us.”
Outside was a very cold and icy November day, the field was frozen solid which made it very difficult to run on. The crowd was very cold less than 8,000 fans were in the stands at kick off.

During the first quarter Nevers made 2 touchdowns. He had a lot of help from a very strong powerful Cardinal front line. The first touchdown came from a 10-yard run, the extra point was missed when Nevers kicked it wide, and the second touchdown was from a 5 yard run over center. This time he made the extra point and the Chicago Cardinals led 13-0. Because of the condition of the football field having such an icy cold frozen surface it was decided by Ernie that the Cardinals would not run to the outside or pass. Ernie Nevers coach and fullback called all the plays. He also ran the football, punted and place kicked (kicked extra points).
In the second quarter Nevers scored another touchdown he ran for 6 yards over the middle and he place kicked the extra point the score 20-0, going into halftime.
The Chicago Bears were not able to get anything going. Red Grange was having a off day he just could not make the big plays, so the Bears went to the passing game.
In the third quarter the Chicago Bears quarterback Walt Holmer threw a 60-yard pass to Garland Grange for 6 points the score stood at 20-6. Holmer tried but missed the extra point. Then Nevers came back strong for a touchdown from the 1 yard line and he kicked the extra point, the score Cardinals 27, the Bears 6.

These red jersey Cardinals picked apart the mighty and powerful Bears. The crowd began shouting “give the ball to Nevers.” Ernie Nevers had scored all 27 points, he had carried the football 3 out of 4 times the ball was snapped, and this would be continued through out Thanksgiving Day. In the fourth quarter Ernie scored 2 more touchdowns. He missed the first extra point due to a bad snap from the Cardinal center, however he made the second one. Up to this time no one had ever scored points like this before, this was a NFL record. The final score on this cold day was Nevers 40 the Bears 6.

Ernie Nevers had given to the Chicago Cardinals a star, one that could match the greatness of Red Grange the Galloping Ghost, the great Chicago Bear, the man who had made the game of Pro Football into a great sport. The Chicago newspapers wrote that the great match up was between Red Grange and Ernie Nevers. As it turned out it was all Nevers the “Iron Man” and not the “Galloping Ghost”. George Halas had written in his autobiography “it turned out to be Nevers show.”

On a field that had been slick, frozen, and icy Ernie Nevers “The Iron Man” had scored all 40 points with 6 touchdowns (all less than 20 yards) and 4 extra points. He was one of the greatest athletes of all time, he was in the same league as the “Touchdown Chief “ Jim Thorpe.

In 1929 not only had there had been a fight in the gang wars for control of Chicago between Al Capone and Bugs Moran (which led to the St. Valentines Day Massacre) there was also a power struggle for the city between the Chicago Cardinals and the Chicago Bears.

Volume I-107

SAMMY BAUGH
MARCH 17, 1914 – DECEMBER 17, 2008

The year 1937 was a golden year for both rookie Sammy Baugh and the Washington Redskins. As the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins were preparing for the 1937 Championship, George Halas (head coach of the Bears) knew the only way to win was to knock Sammy Baugh out of the game. In 1937, there was no rule to protect quarterbacks; it was “open season.” Even when the QB released the football, a defensive player could hit him and lay him out.

Halas told his players that he wanted them to hit Baugh until blood was coming out of his ears. But Sammy Baugh was a tough football player. He was a sixty-minute man and he never backed down even when playing safety on defense. Sammy Baugh was known to slam into ball carriers and he led the league with six interceptions. Even with a bad knee he was resilient and a force to be reckoned with.

Sammy Baugh’s passing style allowed him to throw the ball from any posture. He was a master at throwing the football on the run. And because he played the position of tailback he was ask to run and block as well. Sammy Baugh was well aware of what was called the bootsie play; this was when the defense would gang up on the man with the ball. Sammy Baugh was known as “Slingin” Sam but his teammates called him “Fighting Legs” because he was no quitter. Sammy always fought until the end and was a master of the fourth quarter come back. Sammy Baugh was a pioneer the first quarterback in pro football history to pass the ball on any down.

In the championship game of Sunday December 12, 1937 the Washington Redskins and the Chicago Bears played in a very tough game. During the game Bronco Nagurski (his last game before retirement) ran the ball six straight times, then he tore right through a large hole made by George Musso; Sammy Baugh was right there on defense “The Bronk” lowered his right shoulder and rammed straight into Baugh and knocked him head over heels. The trainers came running onto the field with smelling salts concerned for their star player. Baugh said that the Bronk “had run plumb over me and he didn’t even need no blocker in front of him.” After this encounter Baugh said that he would try to slow down the Bronk while reinforcements came from his teammates.

The Chicago Bears tried everything to stop Sammy Baugh and put him out of commission. He was in a lot of pain with a bad knee, hip, and he was limping, blood was coming from his nose all over his jersey, but Baugh was not going to stop, he was determined to win the Championship at all costs.

After Dick Plasman caught a pass for the Bears, Sammy Baugh hit him hard and knocked him out of bounds, Plasman was not wearing a leather helmet and landed on the top his head, he got up and hit Sammy in the face. Now this happened in front of the Washington bench and the Redskins jumped Plasman. The fans came out of the stands and it looked like a riot. The Redskins guard Eddie “Kink King” Khan ended up on the bottom of the pile with cleats in his face, this was before face guards were used and there were a lot of face injuries, tooth loss, broken teeth and noses. Bronco Nagurski ran to the pile and started pulling players off the stack. It took the Bronk, police and the Wigley field ushers to stop the fight between the Redskins and the Bears. Dick Plasman came away with a bloody nose, gashed eye and split lip.

The Washington Redskins went on to win The 1937 Championship 28-21. It was a hard fought contest; for the most part won by the toughness of the Redskins quarterback Sammy Baugh. He completed seventeen of thirty-four passes for 358 yards. It was one of the greatest performances in NFL history. However Sammy Baugh would never forget being run over by the Bronk.

At the end of the game the two powerhouse players left the field. The Bronk extended his hand to Sammy Baugh shook his hand and said, “you’re a fine fella and a great quarterback” Baugh said, “may I ask you a question?” “Sure” said the Bronk “why don’t they put a blocker in front of you?” said Baugh “I don’t need one, besides George told me to run over you…” Nagurski said, “You dang sure did that” Baugh responded. On the field these two future Hall of Famers played tough and hard but respected each other’s talents.

Sammy Baugh played for the Washington Redskins from 1937-1952. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 1963. Sammy Baugh passed away on Wednesday December 17, 2008 on the 75th Anniversary of the 1933 championship game, between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, the first official NFL title game. He will be greatly missed, as a true pioneer of professional football and one of the greatest football players of all time.

Volume I-106

THE 1932 CHAMPIONSHIP

The 1932 Championship Game was played at Chicago Stadium, a large gray palace, one week before Christmas Sunday evening December 18, 1932 between the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans. The city of Chicago had been buried in snow from a blizzard. The game was moved from Wrigley Field to indoors for the first time. Chicago Stadium was a fabulous concrete building that took up a city block; four stories high with an electric sign that stood sixty feet high ten feet wide, the marquee read “THE STADIUM.” Near the roof stood limestone sculptures of athletes in classic posses. The vertical windows were lit by colorful lights.

Inside it smelled from animal droppings still there on the floor from a circus. Players warming up felt it sticking to their cleats. Glen Presnell halfback of the Portsmouth Spartans tripped and fell in the elephant droppings, he got up with a stain on his white pants. The Bears wore white jerseys with dark blue numbers and dark blue pants.

Dutch Clark not knowing there would be a championship game and needing money had taken a job as a basketball coach at Colorado Schools of the Mines. So the star tailback of the Spartans that did all the passing and much of the running was forced to miss the biggest game in the history of the NFL, this put the Spartans at a great disadvantage. This was the first unofficial championship game ever played to determine a world champion; this game would change the NFL and football history.

The field was only eighty yards long and forty yards wide. Because the end zones were ten yards on both ends the playing field was only sixty yards long. Hash marks were used for the first time to keep the players in the center of the field. The greatest problem was the field itself with only six inches of dirt on the concrete floor and wood shavings that were certain to fly into the air from the players cleats, there was concern over injuries.

George Halas had turned the head-coaching job of the Chicago Bears over to Ralph Jones in 1930 so he could spend more time as a team owner. When George Halas was interviewing him Jones promised that he would win a championship within three years; Halas had an eye for talent and hired Jones, he delivered in 1932. Coach Jones was able to earn the respect of the players with his own brand of leadership. Ralph Jones created the quarterback position making him a ball handler and passer. The most important part of the position was the quarterback who called the signals, now he could see and read the defense. The pro football quarterback now would become a field general, this was a term that Jones used and encouraged.

The only touchdown in the game came when Bronco Nagurski was to run and slam into the line between the guard and the tackle. But then all of a sudden he put down his head then lowered his shoulder and then stopped to everyone’s surprise, including Halas, then the Bronk took two steps back jumped up and threw a soft pass to the back of the end zone straight into the hands of Red Grange, who almost dropped it. This gave the Chicago Bears a 7-0 led. Spartan coach Potsy Clark was enraged and ran onto the field, chasing after the referee, he felt this was a violation of the rules. At that time passes were to be thrown no closer than five yards from the line of scrimmage, Nagurski had been two yards back, still it was counted as a touchdown.

Late in the game George Halas came up to the sideline during a kick off. As Ace Gutowsky ran with the football, Halas stuck out his foot and tripped the Spartan fullback. Potsy Clark saw this but not the officials and Halas got away with it. The Spartan coach was upset that no official had seen this second penalty. The Bears scored a safety and won the 1932 Championship 9-0. Ralph Jones now had a championship as an NFL head coach.

At the same time the Championship game was being played, Frank Nitti “The Enforcer” who was now in charge of the Capone Gang was shot three times that Sunday night. The Chicago Police raided Nitti’s office on the fifth floor at the LaSalle Walker building. The Police burst through the office door and ordered six of Nittis men to surrender. All six of the hoodlums surrendered except for Frank Nitti who stuffed a piece of paper into his mouth and tried to swallow it. Police Sergeant Harry Long jumped over the desk and tried to stop him, Nitti pulled out a gun and fired three times hitting police officer Long twice. Sergeant Harry Miller and Long wounded, both pulled out their guns and shot Nitti three times, (once in the neck). The other six hoods were arrested.

Nitti was taken to Bridgewell Hospital still conscious an hour later and asked for a priest and his father in law who was a well-known surgeon. When Nitti was placed on the operating table he cried “Oh God, Please save me this time.” Nitti did recover and lived until March 19, 1943 when he took a gun and walked to a local railroad yard and shot himself in the head to avoid a jail sentence.

“Machine Gun” Jack McGurn was at the championship game that night wearing a disguise, instead of Nitti’s office. He was the master mind behind the St.Valentines Day Massacre who helped gun down seven of Bugs Moran’s men on Thursday, February14, 1929 in a Chicago garage, Moran was not there and missed dying with his gang. He would be gunned down by two men with Machine guns in a bowling alley on Friday, February 14, 1936 seven years to the day of the St. Valentines Day massacre.

CAPTAIN GEORGE HALAS U.S.N.R.

Volume I-105

On Sunday December 7, 1941 the Chicago Bears were playing the Chicago Cardinals at Wrigley Field, at halftime an announcement came over the loud speaker “Ladies and gentlemen the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor.” George Halas said to himself “Looks like I’ll be going to war”. In 1918 he had wanted to fight for his country and had enlisted during World War I and asked for sea duty, but was assigned to the sports program at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. It was not George Halas nature to miss out on the fighting and at age 47 he reenlisted in the Navy. Lieutenant Commander George Halas, U.S.N.R. received orders to leave on Monday November 2, 1942 for The Naval Air Technical Training Center in Norman, Oklahoma his job was to train Air Craft Mechanics.

Right before game five of the 1942 season, George Halas turned over his team to his coaches Hunk Anderson, the hard nose who ran the defense, Luke Johnsos who ran the offense, and former pro football player, coach and future hall of famer Paddy Driscoll as an assistant coach. The Chicago Bears played the Philadelphia Eagles and won the game 45-14 on Sunday October 25, 1942.

On Sunday November 1, 1942 during the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions game at Wrigley Field, the “Father of Pro Football” Lt. Commander George Halas was in uniform and was presented his Naval Officer’s Sword at half time. The Bears beat The Lions 16-0. After the game Halas went to downtown Chicago to catch the train to Oklahoma City. The team was now in the Anderson-Johnsos era.

The Chicago Bears had won both the 1940 and 1941 Championships. The Washington Redskins, who wanted a rematch for two years with the Bears, had not forgotten the terrible beating they had taken (73-0), they lost the championship on Sunday December 8th, 1940. The rematch came on Sunday December 13, 1942. Lt. Commander George Halas received his orders to go on leave and took a military plane to Washington D.C. for the game at Griffith Stadium. Both teams wore their team colors the Bears in dark blue and the Redskins in burgundy. The Chicago Bears lost the 1942 Championship 14-6. There was one thing that Halas disliked most, it was to lose, and he wanted to win at all costs. The next year Anderson and Johnsos handed Halas another Championship. On Sunday December 26th, 1943 in Chicago, the day after Christmas, the Chicago Bears in their dark blue leather helmets and jerseys with orange numbers and white pants met Sammy Baugh and the Washington Redskins with their burgundy leather helmets and jerseys with white numbers and tan colored pants for a rematch from 1942. The Bears wanted to maul the Redskins for the defeat the year before, and that is what they did. The Bears went on to win another World Championship 41-21, their third in four seasons.

Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos had been running the Bears all of the 1943 championship season while Lt. Commander George Halas was half way around the world with the Navy in the South Pacific with no way to communicate with his teams coaches. After his tour in the South Pacific, Halas was stationed in Norman, Oklahoma training aviation mechanics. He then received orders to join Captain Dewitt Carr, a friend who helped him in Washington get on the staff of Admiral Thomas Kincaid, to serve as Welfare and Recreation Officer for the 7th Fleet. This was the large naval fleet that was in support of General Douglass MacArthur’s island campaign in the Pacific to stop the Japanese terror of the Philippines.

At the request of Gen. MacArthur, Lt. Commander George Halas escorted Bob Hope and his whole USO group while on tour for U.S. service men. Lt. Halas was with MacArthur all the way to Manila to secure the Philippines from the Empire of Japan. In 1945, after the seventh fleet and MacArthur had secured The Philippines, Admiral Chester Nimitz, the pacific commander, brought Lt. Halas aboard his ship and once again served as Welfare and Recreation Officer. Halas spent three years serving his country during WWII from 1942-1945. When George Halas U.S.N.R. left the service in 1945 he retired with the rank of captain. This had been an important part of his life and all professional football players that had put their lives on hold and dreams of championships back home to serve their country.

George Halas returned to the Bears at the end of the 1945 season. The following year he led his team to another championship. On Sunday December 15th, 1946 at the Polo Grounds in New York, the Chicago Bears met the New York Giants. This was their first meeting since the1941Championship (played Sunday December 21st; the Bears won 37-9). The Bears again beat the Giants 24-14 in the 1946 Championship. The same spirit that George Halas brought to the foundation of professional football followed this American patriot into military service.

HARDSHIPS OF EARLY PRO FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Volume I-104

The sacrifices that the early professional football players endured were great at times. The two major reasons were the Depression and World War II. The players and coaches were forced to hold full time jobs, for many during the season and after. At the 1932 Championship Game just before the opening kick off the Bears head coach George Halas had not yet informed Bronco Nagurski and Red Grange his star backs that he was short on their pay checks. For the second year in a row, the Chicago Bears would be paid with IOU’s. One of Bronco Nagurskis greatest frustrations was that he did not have money in the bank. Most of the promises that were made to Nagurski by George Halas in 1930 had been broken. The Bronk had signed the largest financial contract in football history at the time $5,000 a season. There were times when Nagurski would call Halas and ask for money and his coach would come through, however it was a difficult situation.

Not only had George Halas reduced the “Bronk’s” income each year even though he had really great pro seasons, the Bronk would go back home at the end of the season in December with only an IOU from his coach. Even though the Chicago Bears were one of the most popular and successful teams in the NFL, owner and head coach George Halas was having financial difficulties; these were the Depression years really hard times. In 1934 Bronco Nagurski income was cut to $3,500 and in 1936 his salary went down to $3,250 again this great fullback was paid with an IOU. The Bronk was fed up with having to hassle over money that was already owed to him; he had turned to pro wrestling in the off-season and after retirement. Bronco Nagurski retired after the 1937 season due to injuries as well. Clarke Hinkle FB/LB of the Green Bay Packers retired in 1941, he had enough dealing with head coach Curly Lambeau over money as well.

The Portsmouth Spartans were so financially strapped that their players had to supply their own pants, socks and shoes. One of the best ends in pro football, Father Lumpkin could not buy socks so he wrapped his feet with tape provided by the team. When the Spartans players were paid their checks on Monday mornings they would race to the bank, about half of them could not be cashed for lack of funds. The Spartan players lived in boarding houses for two dollars a week, most players doubled up to split costs. The Spartans did not have a stadium or place to practice so they played their games on the road, head coach Potsy Clark told his players to keep their shoes handy when the team was traveling by bus. If he saw open land along the roadside he would tell the driver to stop the bus for a quick practice.

Pro football was hit hard during the Second World War. In 1943, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburg Steelers merged due to WWII. This was done mainly to save these great football teams from folding. The team was named Phil-Pitt, years later they were called the Steagles. On Monday July 21, 1943 the Phil-Pitt Steagles held their first practice, the first formal training camp would not start until August. Only seventeen players showed up for practice in Philadelphia, travel was limited due to the war so players in Pittsburg could not attend.

The practices were held near The University of Philadelphia campus in West Philadelphia; only the players that lived in Philadelphia were required to attend. Practices were held in the evening since most of the players worked in the defense plants during the day. The field known as the river field sat between railroad tracts and the Schuylkill River with passing trains and clouds of smoke hanging over it. The Steagle players wore white t-shirts, white shorts with black high top shoes and white socks. There were no lights so practice ended at night, with no locker room the players had to change clothes under a set of bleachers. Most of the players took the trolley car or walked to practice. Essential driving was only permitted during the war and the government did not consider pro football players getting to practice essential.

By 1943 The NFL had been depleted, men were needed to serve in the military. Many of pro footballs best were in the service. Some players would rejoin their teams and play in games when home on leave. After the war ended in 1945 these returning veterans, (former NFL players) felt that after serving in combat that the life of a pro football player was not as hard as military service. They understood the difference between serving their country in battle and playing a game. Having fought Germany and Japan in the war was an experience that these men would never forget. For some former NFL players they could never return to the game they loved because of war wounds others had been killed in action. These veterans of both war and professional football endured hardships that only these brave men understood.

THE 1941 CHICAGO BEARS AND GREEN BAY PACKERS

Volume I-103

On opening day of the 1941 NFL football season, the United States was only a few short months from the attack at Pearl Harbor by Japan on Sunday December 7, 1941. The Chicago Bears traveled to Green Bay to play the Packers at City Stadium, (the old stadium was built in 1925). The Bears stayed at the Northland Hotel; the Chicago players had to dress at the hotel because there was no dressing room at the Stadium. The Green Bay fans disliked the Chicago Bears so much that they had at one time stopped their bus and tried to tip it over. They would also shower the Bear players with name-calling, rocks and bottles.

On Sunday September 28, 1941 coach George Halas led his 1940 world champion Bears out on the field in their brand new uniforms (the uniform that would become the symbol of “The Monsters of The Midway”). Halas loved everything about Illinois so he adopted the school colors of the University of Illinois of bright blue and orange but darkening the color to navy blue to honor his military service (Halas had served in the Navy World War I and later in WW II). The Bears wore blue leather football helmets, blue jerseys with three orange stripes on the sleeves, white numbers and pants with a navy blue and orange stripe down the pant leg, navy blue socks trimmed with orange stripes and black shoes. Some of the 1941 Bears were Sid Luckman QB/DB, George McAfee RB/DB, Bill Osmanski FB/LB, Bulldog Turner C/LB and George Musso G/T.

The Green Bay Packers led by their coach Jerome “Curly” Lambeau wore their bright yellow leather helmets with deep blue jerseys trimmed in yellow on the shoulders and numbers with yellow pants. A few of the Packers of 1941 were Cecil Esbell QB/DB, Clarke Hinkle FG/LB, Don Huston E/DB and Tony Canadeo HB/DB. The Chicago Bears went on to beat the Green Bay Packers in this season opener 25-17. The Bears and Packers would meet later in the season on Sunday December 14, 1941 at Wrigley field in Chicago, for the Western Division Playoff one week after Pearl Harbor. The Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers again 33-14. The Bears won the Western Division title and went to the 1941 Championship and mauled the New York Giants, the Eastern Division title champions at Wrigley Field on Sunday December 21st 37-9.

This rivalry goes back to the foundation of both franchises and is still going on today, but not like it was back when owner and head coach George Halas who is called “The Father of Professional Football” and the founder of the Green Bay Packers Curly Lambeau were coaching these great teams. Halas and Lambeau made it a point to never shake hands after a game.
The Bears and Packers met on cold, wet, muddy and snow covered fields in a day when players played two way positions with team colored leather football helmets, no face protection, broken noses, teeth, bones and jaws, face hitting, little padding and old time uniforms. This was a very brutal game and only the toughest men played it. Even though these two pioneers are gone along with the players that played under them, their spirit still lives on in the teams that they founded.

FROM PORTSMOUTH TO DETROIT
Volume I-102

The Portsmouth Spartans played in the unofficial 1932 Championship losing to the Chicago bears 9-0. The Spartans left the State of Ohio after the 1933 season. The NFL had wanted pro football in the larger cities, which gave much more support to these professional franchises; in the end, the teams from smaller coal mining towns could no longer survive.

In the fall of 1934, Spartan owner George Richards along with coach George Potsy Clark, quarterback Earl Harry “Dutch” Clark (future Hall of Famer Class of 1963), and running back Glen Presnell and the best of the Portsmouth players, moved his team to Detroit, Michigan during the Great Depression. This would be another attempt to have a successful pro football team in the “Motor City.” The Detroit Heralds, Panthers, Wolverines and Tigers had all folded since the NFL formed in 1920.

Glen Presnell was asked by Owner George Richards to chose the colors for the team, Presnell was shown many colorful potential uniforms “ ‘pick out any one you like’ he showed us several jerseys on a table, my wife and I picked the Honolulu blue and silver that’s been the colors ever since.” George Richards changed the teams name to the Lions keeping the jungle theme started by the Detroit Tigers Pro Baseball Team.

The Detroit Lions (wearing their blue jerseys, silver leather helmets and pants) had a record of 10 wins 3 losses second only to the Chicago Bears in their first season in 1934. In the second season of the franchise, the Detroit Lions played in the third official NFL championship game. On Saturday, the night before the game, the worst major violent rainstorm of the year hit the city. Rivers of water poured over the field at the University of Detroit all night. The rain stopped in time for a snowstorm that hit just before noon on the day of the game. It was a raw and gloomy day.

The 1935 Championship was played on Sunday December 15. The Detroit Lions beat the New York Giants 26-7. Glen Presnell, a true Triple Crown threat, said that winning a championship was very important. It was vital for the Lions to win this championship; this huge victory gave the team staying power in Detroit. These 1935 world champions in blue and silver had established for themselves a strong foundation for their franchise and their fans. The Detroit Lions celebrated their seventy-fifth year in professional football 1934-2008 and have a great heritage and history of great players, coaches and ownership.

Volume I-101

“THE 1933 CHAMPIONSHIP”

On Sunday December 17 1933, for the first time, an official NFL Championship game was played between two of the NFL best, the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants. This game was a result of the unofficial 1932 Championship between the Chicago Bears-9 and the Portsmouth Spartans-0, on Sunday December 18th in Chicago. Because of the excitement of the fans it was decided the next year 1933 the NFL would be divided into two divisions the Eastern division and the Western division. And each year an official Championship would be played between the two best teams of both divisions. This idea came from Boston Redskins owner George Preston Marshall who moved his team to Washington D.C. in 1937.

The Chicago bears had a record of 10-wins, 2-losses, and 1-tie and The New York Giants a season record of 11-wins, 3-losses, and 0-ties. The Chicago Bears, the Western Division Champions came out on the field to do battle with New York, wearing orange leather helmets, white jerseys with blue numbers and piping and orange pants. Leather helmets provided no protection for the face and only the toughest men played pro football.

The New York Giants the Eastern Division Champions wore blue leather football helmets, blue jerseys with red trim, and white letters with red pants. Because the photos were taken in black and white of that era it is hard to tell what color the teams wore before color film; this is where research comes in.

The Chicago Bears had Carl Brumbaugh-QB, Red Grange-RB, Bronco Nagurski-FB and Head Coach George Halas. The New York Giants had, Harry Newman-QB, Ken Strong-FB, Mel Hein-C, and Head Coach Steve Owen. All players listed are in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame, except Brambaugh of the Bears and Newman of the Giants. What made these men exceptional was they played two-way positions for a full sixty minutes.

This Championship ended with a wild assortment of finishing plays that only a few were privileged to witness. The final score Chicago Bears-23 and The New York Giants-21. A gold 10k Gold Championship ring was awarded to each player. The ring was designed with the early Chicago Bears mascot on both sides of the ring. On the top was engraved Chicago Bears on one side and World Champions 1933 on the other. The initials of the player all three letters were on the top in a high relief in a square shaped top in the design of Wrigley Field the Bears home stadium. One of these rings just sold for $ 8,120.000 at auction. These Championship rings are very rare and hard to find.