1939: Dodgers Defeat Eagles in First Televised NFL Game

Today, pro football on television is big business and a very big draw. Bringing the game to the viewing public had a huge effect on its growth, especially from the 1960s on. It got its start at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York on October 22, 1939 in a game between the host Brooklyn Dodgers and visiting Philadelphia Eagles. While there were 13,051 fans in attendance at the stadium, there were also two cameras and a crew of eight for the first televised pro football game (as opposed to a minimum of six cameras and a crew of some 200 for a telecast today).

Station W2XBS, forerunner of the NBC network, televised the contest with Allen “Skip” Walz handling the broadcasting. The production was largely an experiment and followed up the first college football telecast, between Fordham and Waynesburg, three weeks earlier. There were only about 1000 television sets in New York City (the telecast could also be seen on monitors at the RCA Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair) and the resolution of the small black-and-white picture was grainy. When clouds rolled in and decreased the available light, the quality suffered accordingly – to the point that the crew had to revert to a radio broadcast when it became too dark.

The matchup of teams was nothing special. The Dodgers, under Head Coach George “Potsy” Clark, were 2-2-1, including 0-2-1 in their last three games (there was a scoreless tie at Philadelphia). The Eagles, with owner Bert Bell also acting as head coach, had yet to win a contest and were 0-3-1.

In the first quarter, HB Ralph Kercheval intercepted a pass and returned it to the Philadelphia 30 yard line. The Dodgers gained two first downs thanks to the running of FB Pug Manders and tailback Ace Parker. Parker threw to end Perry Schwartz, who reached the eight. Two plays later, Manders bulled in for a touchdown.

The Eagles came back to tie the score thanks to a 44-yard drive in the second quarter. Diminutive rookie tailback Davey O’Brien (5’7”, 150), newly inserted into the lineup following the opening period, threw three completions and was helped by two penalties on the Dodgers. Rookie HB Fran Murray ran around end for a one-yard touchdown and Hank Reese converted.

In the third quarter, Kercheval put the Dodgers back in front with a 44-yard field goal. Shortly thereafter, Parker connected with Schwartz again for a 47-yard touchdown. Kercheval kicked two more field goals in short order in the fourth quarter, from 38 and 44 yards.


O’Brien provided some excitement in the final period as he threw to end Bill Hewitt (pictured at left) for a 22-yard TD to close out the scoring, but the result was a 23-14 win for Brooklyn.

Three players (Parker, end Waddy Young, and tackle Bruiser Kinard) played a full 60 minutes for the Dodgers. Brooklyn outgained the Eagles, 268 yards to 170, while each team had 10 first downs. Ralph Kercheval kicked three field goals in five attempts and added two extra points for Brooklyn. Pug Manders, moving from blocking back to fullback for the Dodgers, ran for 113 yards on 29 carries. Ace Parker was successful on 8 of his 19 throws for 116 yards and a touchdown. For the Eagles, Davey O’Brien completed 11 of 25 passes for 140 yards with a TD and one intercepted.

All of this occurred with broadcaster Walz adding his commentary (and often correctly forecasting Coach Clark’s calls) while sitting in a mezzanine seat along the railing with an iconoscope camera over his shoulder (the other camera, placed at field-level at the 50 didn’t work well and was little-used in the telecast).

“I did my own spotting, and when the play moved up and down the field on punts and kickoffs, I’d point to tell the cameraman what I’d be talking about,” said Walz later. “We also used hand signals for communication. Producer Burke Crotty was in the mobile unit truck, and he’d tell me over the headphones which camera he was using.”

For the most part, the players were unaware that they were being televised (Brooklyn FB Sam Francis said he noticed “a big trailer thing” parked outside the stadium), and the newspaper accounts didn’t mention it at all. The significance would come in retrospect, once television became a far more important medium and its role in the development of the sport more apparent.

Brooklyn went on to finish third in the Eastern Division with a 4-6-1 record. The Eagles ended up tied with Pittsburgh at the bottom at 1-9-1. And from the modest beginning broadcasting in obscurity to some 1000 people, pro football on television was watched by nearly 208 million viewers in 2010, with an average of almost 18 million per game and some 162.9 million for Super Bowl XLV.

1935: Lions Beat Grounded Giants for NFL Championship

The weather in Detroit for the NFL Championship game on December 15, 1935 was gray, wet, and windy. The field at the University of Detroit’s Titan Stadium was sloppy – good news for the ground-oriented Lions, but inauspicious for the visiting New York Giants.

Detroit, under the direction of Head Coach George “Potsy” Clark, didn’t throw the ball much (a total of 142 passes all season, second fewest in the league). But two of the top four rushers in the NFL played for the Lions - second-ranked wingback Ernie Caddel (450 yards) and fourth-ranked tailback Dutch Clark (427 yards), who also led the NFL in scoring (55 points). Bill Shepherd had come to the Lions from the Boston Redskins during the season and, between the two teams, came in fifth in rushing, right behind Clark (425 yards). Clark (pictured above), along with tailback/wingback Glenn Presnell, directed the offense and was known for his shifty running style. Caddel and Shepherd provided the speed. FB Ace Gutowsky supplied the power. After a slow start, the Lions finished out at 3-0-1 to accumulate a 7-3-2 record, thus beating out the Packers for the Western Division title.

The Giants, coached by Steve Owen, were the defending league champions and had won the Eastern Division in each of the first two years of division play. They had the NFL’s best passer in tailback Ed Danowski, who led the league in attempts (113), completions (57), yards (794), and touchdowns (10). Rookie end Tod Goodwin led the NFL with 26 catches and was second in receiving yards with 432. FB Kink Richards was the top runner, with a third-ranked 449 yards. New York went 9-3 during the regular season to again top the division and earn a spot in the title contest, which they were heavily favored to win.

There were 15,000 hardy fans on hand to see if the Lions, like major league baseball’s Tigers back in October, could bring a championship to Detroit. The Lions took the opening kickoff and drove down field. They were helped by two long passing plays, including one from Gutowsky that hit Danowski, playing defense, in the chest and was caught by end Ed Klewicki. Gutowsky capped the 61-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run and Presnell kicked the extra point for the 7-0 lead.


The Giants came back with a drive of their own, but came up empty when FB Ken Strong (pictured at left) missed a 34-yard field goal attempt. Even more costly, Goodwin suffered broken ribs when hit after making a catch and was lost for the remainder of the game. As the team’s next-most-productive receiver throughout the year, wingback Dale Burnett, was already out with a hand infection, New York’s aerial attack was hindered all the more.

The Giants got a break by recovering a Detroit fumble on the next possession, but once again failed to capitalize when they were held on downs. The Lions scored again when Clark slithered through the Giants defense for a 40-yard touchdown. While the PAT attempt failed, Detroit held a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Lions came close to scoring again in the second quarter when end Harry Ebding blocked a Danowski punt but, after recovering and running to the Giants’ two yard line, fumbled the ball, which traveled through the end zone for a touchback.

Midway through the second quarter, New York finally got on the board. A Danowski pass was partially deflected by Gutowsky, but Strong managed to catch it with one hand and run for a 42-yard touchdown. Strong successfully kicked the extra point and the Lions’ lead was cut to 13-7 at halftime.


The third quarter was scoreless, but in the fourth quarter the Giants threatened, failing to get on the board in each instance. With three minutes remaining to play, Danowski attempted a quick kick that was too low and hit one of his blockers, and it was recovered by Detroit tackle George Christensen at the New York 26. The Lions ran five straight plays into the line and then, on the sixth, Clark faked a handoff to Gutowsky straight ahead and instead gave the ball to Caddel (pictured at right), who swept to the outside for a four-yard touchdown. With Clark’s kick, the Lions now held a commanding 20-7 lead.

Detroit scored once more when, after tailback Harry Newman returned the ensuing kickoff to the Giants’ 32, on first down Danowski went to the air and was intercepted by FB/LB Buddy Parker, the future head coach of the Lions, who returned it to the 10 yard line. Parker himself scored on a four-yard run on third down, although he missed the extra point. Detroit won by a final score of 26-7 for its first NFL Championship.

The Lions outgained the Giants with 303 yards to 194 and also had the edge in first downs, 16 to 9. 235 of Detroit’s yards came on the ground – the Lions threw only five passes and the two completions on the opening drive were it for the day. However, the Giants were able to complete just four of 13 passes for the one TD and gave up two interceptions.

1934: Bears Edge Lions in Thanksgiving Showdown

A Thanksgiving tradition began on November 29, 1934 when the Detroit Lions hosted the Chicago Bears at the University of Detroit’s Titan Stadium. The Lions, transplanted from Portsmouth, Ohio, where they played as the Spartans from 1930-33, were 10-1 entering the contest, having run off a record seven straight shutouts to start the season. They had lost to Green Bay for the first time the previous Sunday, by a score of 3-0, and had given up a total of 30 points in all.

Star tailback Dutch Clark had come out of a year’s retirement to lead a talented backfield for Head Coach George “Potsy” Clark’s club that included FB Ace Gutowsky, wingback Ernie Caddel, and tailback Glenn Presnell. End Buster Mitchell and guard Ox Emerson were All-Pro-calibre players.

The Bears were the defending NFL champions and came into the contest undefeated at 11-0. Under the direction of George Halas, the owner and head coach, Chicago typically dominated opponents and had only allowed two teams to score in double figures all season.

There was a sellout crowd of 25,000 fans in attendance for the Western Division showdown, and the game was broadcast nationally on radio (new Lions owner George Richards was a radio executive). Detroit got the first break of the day, with a defensive play that set up the first touchdown. With the Bears at their own 36, Mitchell intercepted a deflected pass by QB Carl Brumbaugh and returned it to the Chicago four yard line. Gutowsky ran for a touchdown from there and Clark drop-kicked the extra point.

The Bears tied the game thanks to HB Gene Ronzani scoring on a 14-yard pass into the end zone from QB Keith Molesworth early in the second quarter, with Jack Manders (pictured at top) adding the extra point on a placekick. The play was set up on a long completion by the same combination of Molesworth to Ronzani that put Chicago in scoring position.


The Lions regained the lead when Presnell kicked a 42-yard field goal. Gutowsky (pictured at left) powered over again for another touchdown shortly thereafter, capping a drive that began at the Detroit 35, but Clark’s extra point attempt was blocked. The Lions were up by 16-7 at the half. In the third quarter, Manders kicked field goals of 21 and 42 yards, cutting Detroit’s lead to 16-13.

The key play of the game occurred in the fourth quarter when G Joe Zeller intercepted a Gutowsky pass at his own 46 and returned it to the Detroit four yard line, where Gutowsky himself finally pulled him down. Two plunges into the line gained two yards, but then FB Bronko Nagurski, faking another run, instead reared up and floated a pass to end Bill Hewitt in the end zone for what proved to be the winning touchdown. Nagurski’s PAT attempt was blocked.

The Lions drove from their own 20 to the Chicago 14 yard line but gave up the ball on downs with less than a minute to play, clinching the 19-16 win for the Bears.

Detroit outrushed the Bears with 201 yards to 116 and led in first downs, 14 to 6, but Chicago’s passing attack and the kicking of Manders made the difference.

The win clinched the Western Division title for the Bears, and they emphasized the point by beating the Lions again in the season finale the following week in Chicago. Thus, they ended the season with a perfect 13-0 record, but were upset by the Giants in the NFL Championship game. Detroit finished second at 10-3.

Bill Hewitt’s game-winning touchdown reception was one of a league-leading five TD catches, out of a total of 11 receptions (Hewitt pictured below, #56 without helmet).

Jack Manders led the NFL with 10 field goals (by comparison, the five runners-up, which included Glenn Presnell and Dutch Clark, had four apiece), 28 extra points, and 76 points (Clark was the runner-up in both categories with 13 PATs and 73 points), showing why he earned the nickname “Automatic Jack”.

The Thanksgiving Day game was considered a success and, except for a brief hiatus during World War II, the Lions have continued to host a game every Thanksgiving.

1934: Detroit’s Consecutive Game Shutout Streak Comes to an End After 7 Games

The November 3, 1934 game between the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Pirates at University of Detroit Stadium wasn’t a close contest; the Lions won convincingly, 40-7. However, when Pittsburgh tailback Harp Vaughan completed a 62-yard TD pass to end Muggsy Skladany on a fake punt (the only pass completion of the day for the Pirates), it was the first time the Lions had been scored upon all season after a total of seven consecutive shutouts.

The Lions were in their first season in Detroit after a group headed by a radio executive, George Richards, bought the Portsmouth Spartans (of Portsmouth, Ohio) and relocated the four-year-old franchise. Coached by the no-nonsense George “Potsy” Clark, the team featured a group of single-platoon players who were equally adept at playing defense as well as offense such as Dutch Clark (pictured; the biggest star and a charter Pro Football Hall of Famer) and Glenn Presnell at tailback; wingback Ernie Caddell; Ace Gutowsky, solid at fullback on offense and linebacker on defense; and Roy “Father” Lumpkin, an offensive blocking back and defensive linebacker. Linemen included George “Tarzan” Christensen, a tackle and, at 240 pounds, the biggest player on the team; guard Ox Emerson; tackle “Cowboy Jack” Jackson; center and linebacker Chuck Bernard; and ends “Wild Bill” McKalip and “Big John” Schneller. Harry Ebding was both a two-way end and wingback.

There was nothing unique about the Detroit defense – they played the standard 6-2-2-1 alignment of that era and the linemen were no bigger than average. They simply outplayed their opponents from week to week, starting with the New York Giants in the 9-0 season-opening win. From there, they won 6-0 over the Chicago Cardinals, 3-0 on the road over the Green Bay Packers (thanks to a then-league record 54-yard field goal by Presnell), 10-0 over the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-0 over the Boston Redskins (intercepting 4 passes and holding the Redskins to 112 total yards), 28-0 over the Brooklyn Dodgers (the first team to penetrate as close as the Detroit 20 yard line, thanks to a fumble recovery), and 38-0 over the hapless Cincinnati Reds (who never got beyond midfield; the franchise folded before the end of the season).

During the streak, the Lions allowed their opponents a total of 835 yards (119.3 per game) and intercepted at least 19 passes (statistics for interceptions in the 1930s are a bit inexact).

While the 1920-21 Akron Pros had recorded 13 straight shutouts and the 1926 Pottsville Maroons had also put together a seven-game streak, these came before the football had been slimmed down and passing rules relaxed. Detroit’s streak remains unique, and no team since has come close to duplicating the feat (or is likely to).

The Lions won two more games after the streak ended before losing the last three games of the season – including a 19-16 defeat in a Thanksgiving showdown with the Chicago Bears – to end up 10-3 and in second place behind the Bears in the Western Division. They outscored their opponents 238-59, allowing just seven touchdowns all season (two of them by rushing, another still-standing league record).