1985: Dolphins Hand Bears Only Loss of Season

The December 2, 1985 showdown at Miami’s Orange Bowl between the Dolphins (8-4) and Chicago Bears (12-0) may have been a regular season contest, but had all the feel of a playoff game. The game was scheduled for a Monday night, thereby increasing the exposure and hype (it remains the highest rated telecast in the history of Monday Night Football).

Under Head Coach Mike Ditka, the Bears not only had a perfect record coming into the game, but had typically dominated opponents throughout the season. The offense was solid, but the defense was what made the team special; utilizing defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan’s attacking 46 Defense, the team rolled up scores of 45-10 over Washington and 26-10 over the defending champion 49ers. They had recorded dominating back-to-back shutouts of the Dallas Cowboys (44-0) and Atlanta Falcons (36-0) in the previous two games.

The Dolphins, reigning AFC champs, weren’t in the same class defensively but featured an excellent passing game guided by third-year QB Dan Marino, who was coming off a record-setting year in 1984. Miami also was the only NFL franchise to have a team go undefeated throughout a season and continue on to win a championship, in 1972, a fact of which Head Coach Don Shula made sure his players were well aware. The frenzied crowd of 75,000 in attendance certainly was.

The Bears hadn’t allowed a touchdown in 13 quarters going into the game, but Marino ended that streak four minutes into the first quarter by firing a 33-yard TD pass to WR Nat Moore. Bears QB Steve Fuller, making his fourth consecutive start in place of injured starter Jim McMahon, hit WR Willie Gault on a 69-yard pass play down to the Miami 11 yard line and then tied the game with a one-yard TD on a quarterback sneak that tied the score at 7-7. However, when Fuad Reveiz responded with a 47-yard field goal, the Dolphins took the lead and never relinquished it.

Miami effectively put the game away in the second quarter. RB Ron Davenport scored twice from a yard out, with a 30-yard Kevin Butler field goal for the Bears sandwiched in between. The second Davenport score had been set up when the Dolphins converted two third downs – first, a 52-yard gain on a pass from Marino to WR Mark Duper on third and 12, and then 26 yards from Marino to WR Mark Clayton to the one yard line on third and 7. Shortly after the second Davenport TD, CB William Judson blocked a Maury Buford punt to give the Dolphins the ball at the Chicago six yard line. This set up Marino’s second TD pass to Moore to make the score 31-10 at halftime. Miami had scored on each of its first five possessions.

The Bears scored twice in the third quarter, but any possible comeback was negated by a poor kickoff by Kevin Butler after the first TD, giving the Dolphins good field position at the Chicago 46. Three plays later, Clayton scored on a 42-yard pass play from Marino (the ball was actually tipped by DE Dan Hampton) for a 38-17 lead. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter, and in the end it was a stunning Miami victory at 38-24.

In the statistical battle, the Bears outgained the Dolphins with 343 total yards to 335 and accumulated more first downs as well (23-17). But Chicago turned the ball over four times, three on interceptions, and Miami capitalized on the opportunities. They also out-sacked the Bears, 6 to 3.

Dan Marino completed just 14 of 27 passes, but they were good for 270 yards with three touchdowns against one interception. All of the receptions were made by wide receivers – Mark Duper and Mark Clayton each caught five passes, with Duper leading in yards with 107 to Clayton’s 88, and Nat Moore contributed 4 receptions for 75 yards, including two TDs. Miami gained 90 rushing yards on the tough Bears defense, with RB Tony Nathan leading the way with 74 yards on 15 carries. Chicago’s great RB Walter Payton had a typically solid performance in a losing cause, gaining 121 yards on 23 attempts; it was his record-setting eighth consecutive hundred-yard rushing game.

For the season, Marino didn’t match his awe-inspiring statistics of 1984, but all the same led the NFL in pass completions (336), passing yards (4137), and TD passes (30). Clayton caught 70 passes for 996 yards and four TDs while Duper, injured for half the season, hauled in 35 passes for 650 yards and three scores. The 34-year-old Moore had 51 catches for 701 yards – his highest totals since 1977 – and led all Miami receivers with 7 touchdown catches.

The Bears went undefeated the rest of the way, finishing at 15-1 and winning the NFC Championship. Miami also won its remaining regular season games, closing out at 12-4 atop the AFC East, but the anticipated Super Bowl rematch between the teams was derailed when New England upset the Dolphins in the AFC Championship game. Chicago easily won the ensuing Super Bowl over the Patriots by a 46-10 margin.

1940: Davey O’Brien Sets Passing Records in Career Finale at Washington

Quarterback Davey O’Brien of the Philadelphia Eagles proved to be one of the most prolific passers in pro football during his brief NFL career. Chosen by the Eagles in the first round of the 1939 draft out of Texas Christian, where he had won the Heisman Trophy, the diminutive (5’7”, 150 pounds) O’Brien received a $10,000 contract. Eagles Owner/Head Coach Bert Bell also took out a $1500 per game insurance policy with Lloyd’s of London and many sportswriters questioned whether he would hold up as a pro player.

Playing for a bad team (the Eagles went 2-19-1 in his two seasons), O’Brien proved to be both durable and a record-setting thrower. He twice set the league record for pass completions in a game in ’39, and finished with an NFL-record 1324 passing yards. With few other offensive weapons, and little protection from the line, the Eagles with O’Brien were the most prolific passing team in the league.

While his TCU teammate, end Don Looney, was brought in to provide him with a familiar target for the 1940 season, overall the situation was the same. Prior to the season finale, on December 1 at Washington’s Griffith Stadium, the player known as Slingshot Davey announced that he would retire to become an FBI agent.

The matchup was an appropriate one, because O’Brien’s predecessor as a passing tailback at TCU had been Sammy Baugh, the star passer for the Redskins. Prior to the game, Bell presented O’Brien with a plaque that read “Davey O’Brien, the greatest player of all time; retiring from pro football to serve his country. Small in stature with the heart of a lion. A living inspiration to the youth of America”.

The matchup against Baugh and the plaque inscription were a lot to live up to, but O’Brien certainly gave it his best shot. Passing on almost every down, he set single-game NFL records for pass attempts (60), completions (33), and yards (316). Looney was the primary recipient of his throws, also setting a new standard with 14 receptions (still the Eagles team record, since tied by RB Brian Westbrook in 2007). None of O’Brien’s passes were intercepted, establishing a record for most throws in a game without a pickoff that lasted until 1991.

Meanwhile, Washington scored on a 23-yard run by wingback Wilbur Moore in the second quarter (the extra point failed) and another run, by HB Dick Todd, of 6 yards in the third quarter to take a 13-0 lead. O’Brien led the Eagles on a 98-yard drive in the fourth quarter that culminated in a 19-yard TD pass to FB Frank Emmons that made the score 13-6 (the PAT attempt by Fran Murray was blocked). That ended up being the final tally; the Eagles drove from their own 31 yard line to the Redskins 22 as time ran out.

For the year, the Eagles finished at the bottom of the Eastern Division with a 1-10 record. Washington finished on top of the division at 9-2, although they were routed in the NFL Championship game, 73-0, by the Chicago Bears.

Davey O’Brien ranked second in the league (behind Baugh) with 1290 yards passing. Don Looney set a record with 58 pass receptions and also led the NFL with 707 yards.

O’Brien’s records from the game against the Redskins eventually were surpassed – some earlier (passing yards in 1942, pass completions in 1948) than others (pass attempts by George Blanda of the AFL in 1964). Don Looney’s pass receiving record was tied by Green Bay’s Don Hutson the very next year, 1941, and broken by Hutson in ’42; he played two more seasons and caught a total of just 17 more passes.

1959: Joe Foss Named Commissioner of AFL

The last week of November 1959 was a tumultuous one for the fledgling American Football League as it prepared to take the field for the 1960 season. The first draft of college talent was held on the 23rd, in order to get a head start against the established NFL. However, as the AFL owners met in Minneapolis, newspapers reported that the ownership group of the franchise slated to play in that city had been successfully wooed by the older league to become an expansion franchise for 1961. While the defection of the Minnesota franchise to the NFL didn’t become official until January of 1960 (it was replaced by Oakland), it was hardly the type of publicity that the new league was looking for.

On November 30, it was announced that Joe Foss would be the AFL’s commissioner. There had been other names floated in the preceding months, most significantly Frank Leahy, the former Notre Dame coach, and Fritz Crisler, former coach and current athletic director at Michigan. Bert Bell, the NFL commissioner, had even been sounded out in the hopes that he would extend his reach over both leagues and thus avoid warfare between the two. Bell politely turned the AFL’s overture down, and it became a moot point when he died in October.

Foss, ironically enough, had first been sounded out by one of the Minneapolis group whom he encountered while staying at the same hotel during a league organizational meeting. Unlike the other candidates for the job, he had no background in football. However, he was a well-known figure with an impressive personal history: a World War II fighter pilot who shot down 26 enemy aircraft in four months and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, and later a two-term Governor of South Dakota. A quintessential self-made man, he had a reputation for honesty, candor, and leadership that made up for his lack of previous involvement in the game.

Foss gave the AFL credibility, and proved to be an able administrator. He successfully concluded an all-important $36,000,000 television deal with NBC in 1964 and, when New York Titans owner Harry Wismer (a frequent Foss antagonist) was nearing bankruptcy, found a buyer for the team (a group headed by Sonny Werblin, who later also became a Foss antagonist).

While Foss was given a five-year contract extension following the 1961 season, he took his share of criticism and occasionally battled with each of the AFL’s owners. He invalidated a secret draft conducted in November of 1961, and on occasion fined owners and reviewed transactions (a deal with San Diego sending DE Earl Faison and DT Ernie Ladd to Houston was invalidated due to unspecified tampering by Oilers owner Bud Adams, who needless to say was infuriated). His frequent travels on behalf of the league often made him difficult to communicate with. And he took heat when an apparent deal to put an expansion team in Atlanta for the 1966 season was undercut by the NFL.

Foss resigned shortly before the merger agreement with the NFL was resolved in 1966 – he had advocated merging, but also didn’t want to see the league lose its identity.

In summing up, as well as explaining the timing of his resignation, Foss told Sports Illustrated, “Some owners became irritated because I would never be frightened or directed. I wouldn't call the owners and report to them all the time just to gain Brownie points…I guess I could have done a lot better job as commissioner as far as the owners and public are now concerned if I had stayed in my office and done public relations work. But that is not in my nature…It's time for me to take a rougher and bigger job. I was getting tired of looking at placid waters. Now that the league is prospering, I'm ready to move on. My mission is accomplished."

Al Davis, the head coach and general manager of the Oakland Raiders, succeeded Foss as commissioner. His reign was short – the merger was announced a few months later – and he returned to the Raiders as Managing General Partner.

Foss went on to host two syndicated television shows for outdoorsmen and was later president of the National Rifle Association. He didn’t return to the world of pro football, but his steady leadership in the AFL’s early days played a part in that league’s eventual success.

1987: Cunningham & Eagles Withstand Patriots Comeback to Win in Overtime

Quarterback Tom Ramsey didn’t have much of an NFL career, lasting just four seasons as a backup for the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts after coming over from the USFL. Injuries to Steve Grogan and Tony Eason put Ramsey in the starting lineup for three games in 1987, and in one, at Sullivan Stadium against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles on November 29, 1987, he passed for just over 400 yards and rallied the team to force overtime.

The Patriots stood at 5-5 while the Eagles were 4-6 coming into the contest. Philadelphia took a 17-7 lead in the first half, thanks to a Paul McFadden field goal, a 61-yard pass play from QB Randall Cunningham to WR Mike Quick, and a one-yard Cunningham bootleg.

While ex-Eagle Tony Franklin kicked a 21-yard field goal to narrow the score in the second quarter, the Eagles extended their lead to 24-10 in the third quarter with a one-yard run by FB Anthony Toney. Early in the fourth quarter it seemed as though Philadelphia would cruise to an easy win when Cunningham hit Quick for another score, this one covering 29 yards.

But Ramsey rallied the Patriots in the fourth quarter, completing 15 of 24 passes for 157 yards in the final period. He threw touchdown passes of 13 yards to WR Stanley Morgan and three yards to TE Willie Scott to narrow the margin to 31-24. With 1:05 remaining, Ramsey tied the game with a one-yard rush. New England got the ball back and nearly won the game in regulation, but a fumbled hold on an attempted field goal caused Franklin to miss from just 31 yards out to send the game into overtime.

Both teams missed field goals in the OT period, first the Patriots with Franklin’s 46-yard attempt falling short and then McFadden failed after the Eagles drove to the New England 22 yard line. The game finally turned on a forced fumble by Eagles FS Terry Hoage (who had an outstanding overall performance) on Patriots FB Mosi Tatupu that was recovered by LB Garry Cobb at the New England 39. Four plays later, McFadden redeemed himself by kicking the game-winning 38-yard field goal with 2:44 left to play.

Overall in defeat, Ramsey completed 34 of 53 passes for 402 yards and three touchdowns, against two interceptions. Considering that he threw for just 898 yards and 6 TDs for the season (and for that matter, 1285 yards and 7 scores in his NFL career), it was an amazing performance. He became just the fourth quarterback in team history to reach the 400-yard passing mark in a game.

RB Tony Collins caught 11 passes for 100 yards with a TD to lead the Patriots pass receivers, while the unfortunate Tatupu was the top ground gainer with 58 yards on 14 carries.

For the Eagles, Cunningham passed 31 times, completing 18, for 314 yards with the two scoring throws and one picked off. WR Quick, the recipient of the two TD passes, had 5 pass receptions for 121 yards. TE John Spagnola also caught 5 passes, for 58 yards. FB Toney, usually better known for his blocking than ball carrying, led all rushers with a career-high 123 yards on 24 carries with the one TD.

It was a breakout year for Randall Cunningham, who passed for 2786 yards and 23 touchdowns, and also ran for 505 yards. Mike Quick went to the Pro Bowl for the fifth consecutive season, catching 46 passes for 790 yards with 11 TDs.

The Eagles, a team on the rise under second-year Head Coach Buddy Ryan, ended the strike-shortened season with a 7-8 record (they were 7-5 in non-replacement player games), tied for third in the NFC East. New England, which used five quarterbacks during the season, concluded at 8-7 and tied for second in the AFC East.

1929: Ernie Nevers Scores 40 Points vs. Bears

Perhaps no player has ever so dominated a game as fullback Ernie Nevers did on November 28, 1929 when he scored all 40 points for the Chicago Cardinals in a Thanksgiving Day matchup at Comiskey Park against the usually more successful crosstown rivals, the Chicago Bears.

Nevers was an outstanding all-around athlete (he also played baseball and basketball professionally, although not nearly as successfully) who played his college football under legendary coach Pop Warner at Stanford and entered the NFL in 1926. After two years with the Duluth Eskimos, he was forced to sit out the 1928 season with an injury and then joined the Cardinals. In this era of smaller rosters and less specialization, the 210-pound, 26-year-old star was not only the starting fullback, but the placekicker, punter, and a linebacker as well.

The weather for the game against the Bears was bitterly cold, causing the field to be frozen and footing less than ideal. Six minutes into the first quarter, Nevers scored his first touchdown on a 20-yard run, but was wide on the PAT attempt. He plunged five yards for another before the opening quarter was done, and this time was successful on the extra point. Nevers scored another seven points with a six-yard TD and successful PAT in the second quarter to give the Cardinals a 20-0 lead.

The second half was more of the same: three Nevers touchdown runs followed by two successful Nevers extra points; another 20-point half. When it was over, the Cardinals had beaten the Bears soundly, 40-6. Nevers pulled himself out of the game with about five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and received a tremendous ovation from the crowd.

The six touchdowns remain the single-game record, since tied by Dub Jones of the Browns in 1951 and Gale Sayers of the Bears in 1965. However, Nevers remains the only player to score all six by rushing, and his 40 points are still the most ever accumulated by a player in a game; it is the oldest NFL record still unbroken.

Nevers had also scored all of the Cardinals’ points in the previous week’s game against the Dayton Triangles, a 19-0 win, so while it doesn’t show up in the record books, he actually scored 59 consecutive points for his team.

As it was, the Cardinals finished with a 6-6-1 record for fourth place in the twelve-team NFL. Ernie Nevers played a total of five years, taking a great physical toll – he was not an elusive outside dasher like his contemporary, Red Grange, but a straight-ahead inside runner who was also a rugged linebacker on defense. However, he was a first team All-NFL selection in all five seasons and, in 1963, became a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

1966: Redskins Defeat Giants 72-41 in Highest Scoring NFL Game

The New York Giants team that played the Washington Redskins at DC Stadium on November 27, 1966 was far below the caliber of the Giants teams that had won three consecutive Eastern Conference titles from 1961-63. For that matter, it was far less impressive than the squad that finished 7-7 in 1965.

The Giants, under Head Coach Allie Sherman, stood at 1-8-1 coming into the game, with the only win having come over the Redskins at Yankee Stadium five weeks earlier. Washington was 5-6 after having lost the last three contests under first year Head Coach Otto Graham, the Hall of Fame quarterback.

What transpired was a thoroughly wild game, filled with turnovers and big plays. The final score was 72-41, the highest total in NFL history at 113 points. Redskins HB A.D. Whitfield had three touchdowns on the day, leading all players, including a 63-yard run in the first quarter plus a one-yard run and five-yard pass reception from QB Sonny Jurgensen that started the scoring onslaught. Rookie safety Brig Owens scored two TDs for Washington, on a 62-yard fumble recovery in the second quarter and 60-yard interception return in the fourth quarter. Split end Charley Taylor also added two TDs to the Redskins total, on passes covering 32 and 74 yards from Jurgensen. The special teams contributed a touchdown as DB Rickie Harris ran a punt back 52 yards in the fourth quarter.

31-year-old flanker Bobby Mitchell, who hadn’t played running back since leaving Cleveland for Washington after the 1961 season, got in on the action when Coach Graham told him to play halfback (against his wishes). The second time he carried the ball, he ran 45 yards for a score.

The team statistics were surprisingly even. In fact, the Giants outgained the Redskins (389 total yards to 341) and had more first downs (25-16). Washington led 34-14 at the half, and yet had -5 net passing yards (at that point Jurgensen had completed just four of nine passes for a mere five yards). But turnovers continually put the Giants in a hole. They turned the ball over six times, five of them by interceptions, with the fumble recovery and one of the interceptions by Owens (he had three) directly leading to scores and three of the pickoffs giving the offense good field position for short scoring drives.

All in all, Jurgensen recovered from the poor first half to put up respectable numbers, if rather ordinary (for him), completing 10 of 16 passes for 145 yards with three TDs and no interceptions (backup Dick Shiner had his lone pass picked off). Whitfield, not surprisingly, was the top rusher with 74 yards on just six carries. Mitchell was second with 54 yards on his two rushes. The eccentric HB Joe Don Looney had the most carries, 10, and gained 46 yards, including a nine-yard score. Charley Taylor accounted for most of the pass receiving offense, with six catches for 124 yards and the two TDs.

As for the Giants, Gary Wood and Tom Kennedy split the quarterback duties. Kennedy completed 13 of 21 passes for 165 yards with a TD and three interceptions, while Wood was successful on 7 of 12 passes for 146 yards with two touchdowns and two picked off. Wood’s two TD passes provided the big plays for New York; they covered 41 yards to HB Joe Morrison and 50 yards to the speedy split end, Homer Jones. Three Giants had over 80 yards receiving – Morrison, with 98 on four catches; Jones, who had 85 yards on a team-leading 6 receptions; and TE Aaron Thomas, who accumulated 82 yards on 4 catches including a touchdown.

Washington placekicker Charlie Gogolak (pictured) tied a record with nine extra points (he missed one), while his brother Pete, kicking for the Giants, added another five. He also topped off the scoring with a controversial 29-yard field goal with the Redskins leading 69-41 with seven seconds left in the game.

The Giants surrendered the ball on their own 23 yard line after QB Kennedy threw the ball away on a fourth down pass, having lost track of the downs (not that it mattered at that point). LB Sam Huff, the Redskins defensive captain, shouted for the field goal team to go in (guard Vince Promuto also claimed to have done likewise). Huff still harbored bad feelings toward the Giants for the trade that sent him to Washington after the 1963 season, while Promuto, a native New Yorker who had been with the Redskins since 1960, had endured too many games early in his career when the Giants, in their contending years, had run up big scores. It was payback time, and there were Washington players who wanted to exact every bit of revenge that they could. Regardless of who called for the coup-de-grace field goal, it allowed the Redskins to pass the 70 points scored by the Rams in a 1950 game and lay claim to the highest total in a regular season contest.

It was the ultimate humiliation for the Giants, who were on the way to the bottom of the Eastern Conference in ’66, finishing with a franchise-worst 1-12-1 record. Washington concluded the season at 7-7, putting them in fifth place in the East.

While this was not one of his better passing days, Sonny Jurgensen ended up leading the NFL in passing attempts (436) and completions (254) as well as yards (3209). Charley Taylor led the league in pass receptions for the first of two consecutive years with 72. Charlie Gogolak went over the 100-yard scoring mark, ranking third in the NFL with 105 points and 22 field goals. Homer Jones of the Giants had an outstanding season for a terrible team, catching 48 passes for 1044 yards (an average gain of 21.8) with 8 TDs.

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.