1930: Nagurski’s 2 TDs Lead Bears to Win Against Giants

The Chicago Bears were a team in transition as they faced the New York Giants on November 16, 1930. Coming off of a disappointing 4-9-2 record in 1929, the Bears were in their first season under Head Coach Ralph Jones, with George Halas concentrating on front office duties. Jones revamped the offense and benefited from the arrival of two rookies in the backfield, QB Carl Brumbaugh and power-running FB Bronko Nagurski (pictured at right). Thus far the Bears were at 4-4-1 as they faced the Giants, a powerful club under Head Coach Roy Andrews that had a 10-1 record including five straight wins at home and an offense that featured tailback Benny Friedman, the best passer in pro football.

There were 5000 fans in attendance on a rainy day at the Polo Grounds and the field was muddy. The teams slogged through three scoreless quarters, with Chicago’s ground game dominating. Early in the first quarter, the Bears drove from their 27 to the New York 15, but the visitors came up empty when three runs and a pass came up short and they had to turn the ball over on downs.

In the third quarter, Chicago put together another promising drive fueled by the running of Bronko Nagurski  and halfbacks Red Grange and Joe Lintzenich. But after reaching the New York six, the Bears again failed to reach the end zone and had to turn the ball over on downs.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Bears took possession at their 41 and again moved the ball effectively. Nagurski ran for nine yards, Grange gained enough for a first down and followed up with a pass to end Luke Johnsos for 28 yards to the New York 22. Carries by Grange and Carl Brumbaugh got the ball down to the seven and Nagurski barreled over for a touchdown from there, but Garland Grange failed on the extra point attempt.

The Giants started out deep in their own territory following the kickoff.  Benny Friedman came out passing, but his third toss was intercepted by Lintzenich at the New York 20. He returned the ball to the 10 and, four plays later, Nagurski dove into the end zone from a yard out for a second touchdown. The try for point after was again unsuccessful, but it was of no consequence. Chicago won by a final score of 12-0.

The Bears led in first downs (13 to 5) and otherwise dominated the game. It was a precursor of good things to come as they won their remaining four contests to finish with a 9-4-1 record that placed third in the league standings. New York defeated Green Bay in a key battle the next week but lost two of four to finish second at 13-4.

For Bronko Nagurski, the two touchdowns against the Giants were part of five that he scored on the year. He received second-team All-NFL honors from Collyers Eye and the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

1926: Quakers Defeat Yankees to Win First AFL’s Title

There were some 15,000 fans present at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park on November 27, 1926 to witness the climactic showdown for the championship of the first entity to be called the American Football League in its first (and only) season.

The Philadelphia Quakers came into the contest at 6-2 and were ahead of the New York Yankees, who were 8-3. It was the third meeting of the two clubs, with the Yankees having whitewashed Philadelphia by a score of 23-0 in the first contest and the Quakers coming out on top by 13-10 in the second matchup just two days before on Thanksgiving at Yankee Stadium.

Philadelphia, coached by Bob Folwell (who had been the original head coach of the NFL New York Giants the previous year), had built a strong club around FB Al Kreuz, who was a star at Penn, and players lured away from the NFL such as tackles Century Milstead, previously of the Giants, and Bull Behman, who had played locally with the Frankford Yellow Jackets. Signed for the showdown with the Yankees was HB Doc Elliott, previously of Lafayette College and the Cleveland Panthers.

The Yankees were the centerpiece of the league, having been created (along with the AFL) by C.C. Pyle as a showcase for his client, the much-celebrated halfback Red Grange. The player known as “The Galloping Ghost” delivered, as did wingback Eddie Tryon, the league’s leading scorer. The team was coached by Ralph Scott.

Like the NFL at the time, the AFL did not have divisions and there was no postseason, so whichever team topped the regular season standings of the nine-club circuit would be the champion. The Quakers, who usually played their home games at Sesquicentennial Stadium (later Municipal Stadium and, still later, JFK Stadium), were one of the new league’s few good draws, as were the Yankees, who had use of Yankee Stadium as home venue. By contrast, several of the other clubs failed to last the season.

Both teams faced injury problems – New York was without its marquee player, Grange, for the entire contest due to a hip injury suffered in the previous encounter. Philadelphia lost Kreuz early in the game.

Five minutes into the first quarter, the Quakers took over at their 20 yard line following a punt into the end zone by New York’s Tryon. QB Johnny Scott ran for five yards and then Doc Elliott gained five more and a first down. Kreuz and Elliott had short carries that gained another five yards. Scott completed a pass and Philadelphia got a 25-yard boost thanks to a clipping penalty that put the ball on the New York 30. The Yankees stiffened, but the Quakers converted another third down thanks to some razzle-dazzle as wingback Adrian Ford lateraled to Scott who tossed the ball back and a forward pass to end George Tully gained 17 yards. Three plays later, Scott passed to Ford (pictured at top), who ran for a touchdown, knocking over Tryon along the way. Bob Dinsmore drop-kicked the extra point that put the Quakers ahead by 7-0.


Philadelphia was able to consistently stop the Yankees’ attack during the first three quarters and added to the lead when Dinsmore (pictured at left), filling in for Kreuz, booted a 15-yard field goal. Midway through the fourth quarter, however, New York began to throw the ball to good effect. The Yankees went 54 yards in just three plays, all passes, climaxed by blocking back George Pease scoring on a pass that he caught at the ten yard line. However, Art Coglizer missed the extra point attempt, leaving the score at 10-6.

With the late afternoon darkness settling in as the final period progressed, Dinsmore put the game away for the Quakers with another field goal, this time from 25 yards, that was set up by his own interception of a New York pass. The final score was 13-6 and Philadelphia clinched the league title.

The Quakers challenged their local NFL rivals, the Yellow Jackets, to a game that, when Frankford won that league’s championship, would have been an early version of the Super Bowl. While Philadelphia did get to play a NFL team, it wasn’t Frankford. Instead, they took on the New York Giants, who had finished seventh with an 8-4-1 record. In bad weather at New York’s Polo Grounds, the Giants soundly thrashed the Quakers by a score of 31-0.

It was the end for the Quakers. With most of the teams in bad financial condition (if they hadn’t thrown in the towel already), the league folded. However, the Yankees were taken into the NFL and lasted for another two years before going under.

Several of the players for Philadelphia and New York were recognized by All-Pro teams that were selected from both the NFL and AFL. Al Kreuz, George Tully, and Bull Behman were second-team choices by the Chicago Tribune. Red Grange was also a second-team selection, and Century Milstead a third-team honoree, by Collyer’s Eye magazine. Eddie Tryon was a first-team choice of both of those publications.

1926: First AFL Begins Play With Three Games

On September 26, 1926 the first organization to be known as the American Football League (AFL) commenced play with three games. The AFL came into being through the efforts of star halfback Red Grange’s agent, C.C. “Cash & Carry” Pyle. Pyle and Grange (pictured above) had created a sensation when the player known as The Galloping Ghost signed to play for the NFL’s Chicago Bears in 1925 following the conclusion of his last college season at Illinois.

The Bears had made the most of two barnstorming tours following the regular season that featured Grange. However, once the tours were over the contract was concluded. Pyle and Grange informed George Halas and Dutch Sternaman, co-owners of the Bears, that the star halfback would agree to come back for another year for a five-figure contract and part ownership in the franchise. Halas and Sternaman refused, and Pyle responded by leasing Yankee Stadium for five years with the idea of placing a team in the nation’s biggest market that would be built around Grange.

Pyle first sought to join the NFL with his new club, but when the owners finally rallied around New York Giants’ owner Tim Mara (who had purchased exclusive rights to the New York City area for his club that played at the Polo Grounds) and turned down Pyle’s request. Not to be deterred, Pyle proceeded to set up a rival league.

Eight franchises joined the AFL, in addition to Pyle’s New York Yankees. Bill Edwards, a politician and former star athlete at Princeton University, was hired as the new league’s president (at reportedly ten times the salary of his NFL counterpart, Joe Carr). In addition to the Yankees, other teams were located in Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Cleveland, Newark, Philadelphia, and Rock Island. There was also a club called the Los Angeles Wildcats that was actually a traveling road team based in Chicago (hence they aren’t credited with being the first Los Angeles-based pro football team).


Several NFL veterans jumped to the new league, including QB Joey Sternaman (pictured at right), brother of Dutch Sternaman, who left the Bears for the Chicago Bulls, where he was also owner and coach; Giants’ tackle Century Milstead, who joined his coach, Bob Folwell, with the Philadelphia Quakers; and lineman Al Nesser, former mainstay of the Akron Pros who went to the Cleveland Panthers. Significant rookie signings included backs Harry Stuhldreher, of Notre Dame’s “Four Horsemen”, by the Brooklyn Horsemen (no doubt influencing the choice of team nickname; he would eventually be joined by another member of that fabled backfield, FB Elmer Layden); Georgia Tech’s Doug Wycoff by the Newark Bears; and Penn’s Al Kreuz by the Quakers.

Not surprisingly, the largest crowd (22,000) of the first week turned out at Cleveland’s Luna Bowl where the Panthers faced Grange and the Yankees. If they came to root for the home team, they went home happy for the Panthers dominated the New York club and won 10-0; if they came to see Grange, they were largely disappointed. Other than a 21-yard punt return in the second quarter, The Galloping Ghost didn’t accomplish much. Most of Cleveland’s players had been with the NFL’s Cleveland Bulldogs in 1925, giving them an advantage. Tailback Al Michaels threw a touchdown pass to wingback Dave Noble in the second quarter and Doc Elliott contributed an extra point and 32-yard field goal for the Panthers. The best drive of the day for the Yankees came in the third quarter (with Grange on the bench) as they made it down to the Cleveland three yard line but came up empty.

There were far fewer fans on hand (2500) at Browning Field in Moline, Illinois where the Rock Island Independents (a charter NFL franchise that jumped to the AFL) hosted the league’s traveling club, the Wildcats. The Wildcats were so named because they featured George “Wildcat” Wilson (pictured below left), a star rookie tailback out of Washington, and he had a solid outing against the Independents. So did blocking back Jim Bradshaw. But untimely penalties and a dropped pass on the goal line kept the Wildcats from scoring any touchdowns; their only points came on an 18-yard field goal by Jim Lawson in the first quarter.


While Rock Island had difficulty moving the ball on the ground, they had success through the air in the second quarter as blocking back Johnny Armstrong threw a pass to tailback Wes Bradshaw that gave the Independents a first down on the Wildcat five yard line. Three plays later Armstrong ran around end for a touchdown, and that was all that was needed as Rock Island won, 7-3.

At Davids’ Stadium in Newark, NJ before 2000 fans, the host Bears took on Joey Sternaman’s highly favored Chicago Bulls. The Bulls started off quickly as Sternaman ran for 40 yards on the second play of the game and then followed up with a pass to end Eddie Anderson to the Newark five yard line. FB Buck White ran for a touchdown from there and, with the successful extra point, the Bulls had the early 7-0 lead. The Bears defense stiffened from that point on, however, and while the Bulls continued to move the ball, they were unable to score again.

The star rookie tailback Wycoff keyed a late third quarter drive in which he compiled 60 yards on the ground. The ball was inside the Chicago one yard line as the period came to an end, and Wycoff plunged over for the touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Wycoff kicked the extra point to tie the game, and that ended up being the final score, 7-7.

For the Newark Bears, the opening tie was the high point of the season. They went 0-3-2 and never scored another point the rest of the way to finish at the bottom of the league. The Bulls went 5-6-3 to come in fifth. Rock Island won only once more as they put together a 2-6-1 tally to end up tied for seventh with Brooklyn. The Los Angeles Wildcats were 6-6-2, good enough for fourth place. The Cleveland Panthers failed to last the season, going 3-2 to finish third. Grange’s New York Yankees ended up at 10-5 and second to the league-champion Philadelphia Quakers (who opened their season on October 2).

In fact, only four of the original nine teams managed to play the full season. Fan and financial support wasn’t strong enough outside of New York City as the franchises dropped away. Afterward, the champion Quakers took on the NFL’s Giants (who had finished seventh) in a challenge game and were badly beaten, 31-0. The league folded, with the Yankees being taken into the NFL where they lasted two seasons and never finished ahead of the Giants.

Red Grange eventually made his way back to the Bears, as did Joey Sternaman. “Wildcat” Wilson played three years with the NFL’s Providence Steam Roller. Doug Wycoff toiled for six seasons with the New York Giants, Staten Island Stapletons, and Boston Redskins.

1925: Red Grange Debuts With Bears

The degree to which halfback Harold “Red” Grange enhanced the stature of the young NFL can be debated, but there is no question that he had been a huge college talent at the University of Illinois, with his speed and outstanding open field running ability, and was a major drawing card when he went professional with the Chicago Bears. Pro football was still largely a Midwestern small-town phenomenon in the mid-20s and it was by no means assured that top college players would turn professional, nor was it encouraged – Grange’s coach at Illinois, Bob Zuppke, warned him away from it.

But through the efforts of his agent, C.C. “Cash & Carry” Pyle, and the Chicago Bears, who weren’t yet restrained by the need to wait for a draft of college talent, Grange went from college to pro player quite literally in the same weekend. On a Saturday, he played his final college game against Ohio State in Columbus, gaining 235 total yards and intercepting a pass on the final play to preserve a 14-9 Illinois win. The next day he was sitting on the Chicago Bears’ bench, having signed a contract that guaranteed him $3000 a game (a staggering amount for the time – per game salaries typically ranged from around $50 to $400) against a cut of the gate receipts.

Grange didn’t play in that first game, but he did play five days later at Wrigley Field on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1925 against the crosstown rival Chicago Cardinals. 36,000 fans were on hand for his debut, the largest crowd up to that time to witness a pro football game.

Grange didn’t do much in his first appearance; Paddy Driscoll, the halfback who also handled the punting for the Cardinals, did an admirable job of kicking away from the player known as the Galloping Ghost. He gained 36 yards rushing in all and failed to complete any of his six passes, although he did make an interception deep in his own territory, and the Bears and Cardinals deadlocked in a scoreless tie. As Driscoll put it afterward, “Kicking to Grange is like grooving one to Babe Ruth. It was a question which of us would look bad – Grange or Driscoll. I decided it would not be Paddy.”

The Bears played one more scheduled game, a 14-13 win over the Columbus Tigers in front of 28,000 on a snowy day, with Grange accumulating 140 total yards and throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to HB Laurie Walquist. They finished with a 9-5-3 record, in seventh place in the 20-team NFL. But they weren’t quite done yet.

Grange and the Bears headed out on the first of two grueling barnstorming tours in which they played eight games in 12 days, starting in St. Louis on December 3 against a team called the Donnelly Stars and ending back in Chicago on December 13 against the New York Giants. The schedule was brutal, especially since the squad numbered just 18 players and they (other than Grange) had already put in a full season. Turnout ranged from 5000 in St. Louis (Bears 39, Donnelly Stars 6), Washington (Bears 19, Washington All-Stars 0), and Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh All-Stars 24, Bears 0) to 65,000 at the Polo Grounds in New York (Bears 19, New York Giants 7).

The Galloping Ghost started strong, scoring four TDs and running for 86 yards against the Donnelly Stars and putting on a solid all-purpose performance before the large crowd in New York with 53 yards on 11 carries, 23 yards on a pass reception, and a 35-yard interception return for a score. However, wear and tear had an effect, especially a lingering arm injury suffered against the Giants. Grange was booed for subpar performance while playing hurt in the next three games and didn’t play at all in the final two (9000 tickets were turned in for refunds in Detroit as a result). While some of the games were mismatches, others were brutal affairs against teams gunning for the Bears in general and Grange in particular. The Bears staggered through with a 4-4 record.

A second tour ran from December 25 in Coral Gables, Florida (against the Coral Gables Collegians, who held the Bears to a 7-0 win) until January 31, 1926 in Seattle (an easy 34-0 victory for the Bears over the Washington All-Stars). The Bears went 8-1 and drew the largest crowd in Los Angeles (75,000) for a 17-7 win over the Los Angeles Tigers. The pace was more reasonable, Grange stayed healthy and, while not up to the standards of his spectacular college performances, played well.

The Bears certainly squeezed all the money and publicity they could get out of the star halfback, but Grange and Pyle sought to squeeze back for 1926 – they demanded a one-third ownership of the franchise. George Halas, the co-owner, head coach, and still an active player, refused, and Grange not only left the Bears but, with Pyle, started a rival league. It was the first to be called the American Football League, with Grange playing for the New York franchise, and it folded after a year. The Galloping Ghost would eventually return to the Bears in 1929, after a knee injury had robbed him of his elusiveness as a runner, and he stayed until 1934, more noted by this point for his play in the defensive backfield. But in 1925, he certainly kept pro football in the headlines and spurred interest across the country.