OTD: 100th Anniversary Red Grange-Chicago Bears Tour - New York Game

 LOOKING BACK
By Chris Willis, NFL Films

     From the start, when Red signed his contract to play pro football, the game in New York was going to be a big event in the Big Apple. The New York Giants announced early on they would not increase ticket prices for the “Red Grange game.” Regular prices ranged from 50 cents to $2.75. It was a smart move by Giants owner Tim Mara. On Sunday Nov. 29^th (just three days after Red played his first pro game on Thanksgiving) during their game against the Dayton Triangles, nine booths were opened at the Polo Grounds, as the Giants sold over 15,000 tickets to the Red Grange game. Later on during the week additional tickets were sold at the Giants ticket office and at the Polo Grounds. On December 4^th advance sales were reported to be over 45,000. 

On three separate occasions new tickets had to be printed up to meet the demand. Almost every mention of the contest was called the “Red Grange Game,” with a slight mention of the Chicago Bears.

   All week the New York newspapers wrote about Red Grange and his appearance in New York. Some articles included photographs of the redhead. It was an event worthy of the Big Apple. Ford Frick of the New York Evening Journal wrote:

    “Not since Mr. Babe Ruth went on his home run rampage a few seasons ago has any athlete attracted so much attention as Mr. Grange. Almost single handed he has filled stadium after stadium…Like Ruth, he is a hero whether he runs for a touchdown or is thrown for a loss.” 

    Tim Mara needed this type of game. He had been losing money all season, reports mentioned that he had a financial deficit of about $40,000. Mara had been rethinking his investment into a NFL franchise in New York, but the early sales of the Grange game picked his spirits up. Mara’s squad was preparing to stop the Galloping Ghost. Giants coach Bob Folwell (former college head coach at four different schools, including at Navy from 1920-1924, where he won over 100 games) had a plan for Grange.

    “It will be the duty of the Giants to stop Grange short of the scrimmage line. Two strong, aggressive tackles will consistently stop the greatest runner before he reaches the line, and we are confident that our team possesses two tackles of this type in (Century) Milstead and (Babe) Parnell.

    We are looking forward to a very spectacular and hard-fought battle with Grange, and his new teammates next Sunday, but not one member of our squad is worrying over the outcome.”

    On the morning of the game the rain had stopped on the east coast and the sky was clearing. Mara knew this could be a day that could save his team. “When I saw that crowd and knew half the cash in the house was mine, I said to myself, ‘Timothy, how long has this gravy train been running,” commented Mara about seeing the massive crowd arrive. The gates at the Polo Grounds opened at 11:30 a.m. with a 2:00 pm kickoff. At noon the Basile’s Regimental Band played a few tunes such as “Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here” and “The Sidewalks of New York.” At 1:15 p.m. the Bears jogged out onto the field. What they saw was another record crowd for a pro football game. Newspapers reported the crowd between 65,000-70,000, which matched the Army-Navy game held at the Polo Grounds a week earlier. “I don’t think there were too many rabid fans one way or the other,” recalled Wellington Mara, son of Giants owner Tim Mara. “We hadn’t had time to build up that much of a following. I think they were there to see Red Grange perform, without any questions.” Inside the stadium bunting decorated the stands and it was a perfect day for a football game, “bright and balmy” wrote the New York Times.

In the press box the ever-growing number of sportswriters was increasing. Over 100 newspaper writers crowded the box including some of the most influential sports scribes in the country. The group there to see Red were Westbrook Pegler (Chicago Tribune), Harry MacNamara (Chicago Herald-Examiner), Harry Neily (Chicago American), Richard Vidmer (New York Times), Allison Danzig (New York Times), W. O. McGeehan (New York Herald-Tribune), Marshall Hunt (New York Daily News), Frank O’Neil (New York Evening-Journal), Ford Frick (New York Evening-Journal), Bill Cunningham (Boston Post), Roger Batchelder (Boston Globe), Damon Runyon (Universal Service), and Lawrence Perry (AP). Also in the press box was Dudley Nichols of the New York World. Nichols would go on to become a successful screenwriter in Hollywood writing screenplays for films like Bringing Up Baby (1938), Stagecoach (1939), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) and winning an Academy Award for The Informer (1935). On this day he would watch the Galloping Ghost thrill the Big Apple.

    Red has now played four games with the Bears. He was plenty involved in the offense and had played very well on defense. But more importantly he proved to his new teammates that he was a team player. Joey Sternaman recalled the game plan in using Grange.
    “Well, we he [Red] came with the Bears, I was the play caller, and I said to him, ‘Are you interested in doing well for yourself or are you interested in winning ball games?’ After all, he’d been used to an offense down at Illinois that was built solely on opening a hole for him. Everything was geared to that. Well, we had a lot of different things, and we need them in the pros. We had quick opener that would work well with Red, but we also had a lot of deceptive plays that we used. We were not just going to blow open a hole for Red Grange.
    Well, Red was honestly interested in winning games, and, as I found out, he was one of the finest team players around. So, what I did a lot after Red came with us was use him as a decoy. I’d fake handing the ball off to him, and hell, I’d be bootlegging around the other end or off on the other side passing it to one of our ends. We used a lot of deception, and it worked well. And Red took a real beating, especially that first year, but he never complained, just played his best.”

     Red the decoy would take center stage in the entertainment capital of the world. The Bears faced off against a good Giants football team who were on a roll, having won 7 straight NFL games, and outscored their opponents 84-15, with five shutouts. The Bears got off to fast start by establishing a tough running game. With Red being a decoy in the red zone, they scored twice with Joey Sternaman carry the ball over for both scores to take a 12-0 first quarter lead. The Giants cut the lead to 12-7 at the half. In the second half the two defenses played tough. When Red wasn’t in the game chants from the stands of “We Want Grange!” rang throughout the stadium. Finally, in the fourth quarter Red gave the massive crowd what they came to see, a thrill, when he returned an interception (30 yards) down the sidelines for a game clinching touchdown. The Bears left the Polo Grounds with a 19-7 victory. The game ended at 4:25 p.m. as the New York crowd left the stadium with a lasting highlight from the Galloping Ghost. Red played roughly 35 of the 60 minutes. He recalled the game:

    “Although we had won, it was one of the most bruising battles I had ever been in. I especially remember one play when Joe Alexander, the Giants’ center, almost twisted my head off in making a tackle…It was clear we were all beginning to show the wear and tear of our crowded schedule. After that encounter with the Giants, the Bears were no longer able to field a team free of injuries.”

Red Grange, ball carrier, against New York Giants, notice large crowd 
at Polo Grounds.

    Red always remembered the Giants game as one of the most physical games he played in on the barnstorming tour. He would leave the game with numerous bruises and was kicked in the arm by Giants linemen Tommy Tomlin. Whatever money he was able to walk away with he definitely earned it. As for the New York press, they wrote glowingly of pro football and the Galloping Ghost. Allison Danzig, one of the lead sportswriters for the New York Times wrote:

    “New York saw red yesterday; not the red that causes the eye to flame with anger, but the Red who inflames the imagination with the heroic proportions of his deeds on the football field and the glamour that surrounds the most celebrated figure the game has known. For three years New York has heard about Red Grange, read about him, talked about him. Yesterday it saw him.

    To call these 70,000 spectators football followers needs correction. There were thousands in that tremendous assemblage who probably never saw a game before, who did not have the slightest idea of what the proceedings were all about. They knew only that Grange was out there on the field among the twenty-two young warriors clad in moleskins and they wanted to see what were the things he did and how he did them to differentiate him from the twenty-one others and win him such renown.”

    George Trevor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (who went on to be one of the greatest college football writers for the New York Sun) simply wrote:

    “There is an indefinable something about Grange that stamps him as one among many. Babe Ruth has it. Man o’War had it, Jack Dempsey has it. Even while he was being effectively bottled up, Grange looked the part of a master player. Class sticks out all over him.”

    The New York Daily News had full coverage of the game (game recap written by Marshall Hunt) that included a photo spread of five images on the back page under the bold caption of “70,000 See Grange Star.” The great Ford Frick of the New York Evening Journal wrote:

    “Well, Mr. Red Grange has come and gone. So has some $30,000 of good money which was last seen being stuffed into the professional sock of the professional Red Head himself. But it was worth it. National hysteria always is, all the Red Grange hysteria is one of the noblest brand this writer has ever been privileged to witness.

    During the first part of the game the Red Head failed to distinguished himself unduly, and there was considerable jeering. This however turned to cheers as he snatched that final Giants pass out of the air and galloped to a touchdown- and everyone left the field happy and contented.” 

   Frick would be mesmerized by the Galloping Ghost, so much that he would follow the rest of the eastern barnstorming tour for the next week. He would travel with the Bears, writing every day about the going on’s of the tour and its superstar- Red Grange. No pro football or NFL game had ever been covered by the press like the Grange game in New York. Lastly, even the Giants players were impressed by Red. Giants right tackle “Babe” Parnell said, “He’s just about the best backfield man I’ve ever seen play.”  

     The Chicago Tribune reported that Grange earned roughly $30,000 from the gate (from a total gate of $120,000), while Pyle stated to the press that the amount was $36,000. (Grange told Westbrook Pegler amount was $36,000). This was one of the few games that Dutch Sternaman didn’t keep a gate statement. Whatever the total was, you can be sure it was the biggest gate ever for a professional football game.

    Later that night just after 10 p.m. Red agreed to give a speech on New York radio station WEAF to help raise money for the Near East Relief Fund. Transmitted to over a half dozen stations across the country, including St. Louis, Cincinnati, Washington, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, he spoke at length about football. “Football, I am convinced is the best game invented. It demands more than any other game from a player and the rewards of it are spiritual rather than material...I am sure that I am better man for having played this game. The big thing I have won from football, is not the fortunate break which has enabled me to earn certain monetary rewards, but rather the more permanent matter of training in courage, stamina and ability to use mind and muscle more effectively.”

    Yes, Red loved the game of football and everything about it, he always did and always would. But the money he collected in his first ten days as a professional football player would take center stage. His bank account was about to grew even bigger.

Red Grange, close-up, at Polo Grounds against
New York Giants, on Dec. 6, 1925.

NEXT: 

Dec. 8th - Red Grange-Chicago Bears at Washington All-Stars 

OTD: 100th Anniversary Red Grange-Chicago Bears Tour - Philadelphia Game

LOOKING BACK
By Chris Willis, NFL Films

Game Program for Chicago Bears at Frankford Yellow Jackets, Dec. 5, 1925

    After leaving St. Louis the Grange-Bears barnstorming tour arrived at the Broad Street Station in Philadelphia on Friday (Dec. 4^th) morning. After getting settled at the Robert Morris Hotel the team went out to Shibe Park for an hour walk-thru, as Halas wanted “to get the boys acquainted with the mud.” A steady rain would continue through the night and into Saturday. Later that evening Red was invited to attend a show at the Earle Theatre. He brought the entire Bears team with him. As he entered the theatre he was “given a rousing reception.”

    Because of the Sunday blue laws in Pennsylvania the Frankford Yellow Jackets played most of their home games on Saturdays, then would travel to play a road game on Sunday. Because of the potential of a large crowd the Frankford Athletic Association, who operated the team, moved the contest from their home field of Frankford Stadium to the larger Shibe Park- home of the American League’s Philadelphia A’s- with a capacity of nearly 35,000. Led by their player-coach Guy Chamberlin the Yellow Jackets were 11-5 and one of the best teams in the NFL. Tickets were sold at Gimbel’s Department Store, National Ticket Agency, Robin’s Cigar Store and the Capitol Theatre box office. Ads for the game appeared in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin:

 

FOOTBALL TICKETS
SEATS AT $2.50 and $3.50
Red Grange with Chicago Bears
Vs. Frankford Yellow Jackets
NATIONAL TICKET AGENCY
225 So. Broad St.  Xmas Card Store 

Bears-Yellow Jackets football ad in Philly newspaper 

Game Ticket, Dec. 5, 1925 

    Prices ranged from $5.00-$4.00 (field seats); $3.50 (reserved box); and $2.50 (general admission).) The press reported a crowd between 35-36,000, which more than doubled the Yellow Jackets previous high of 15,000 fans. Several hundred “outlaw” spectators sat on rooftops on the northside of Twentieth Street that went along the park. The sold-out crowd was nearly another record for a pro football game matching Red’s debut just nine days earlier. It was here on the east coast that several of the country’s greatest sportswriters joined the barnstorming tour. Chicago beat writers Pegler and MacNamara now sat in the Shibe Park press box with the likes of Richard Vidmer of the New York Times, Marshall Hunt of the New York Daily News, Damon Runyon of Universal Service, and local writers Perry Lewis of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Ross Kaufman of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. Lewis’s preview of the game in the Inquirer stated that “this is the morning of professional football’s greatest day in Philadelphia…In those crowded stands will be thousands who never saw a professional football game before, and they will judge the sport in its entirely by what they see today.”

    Before the game Red jogged out to midfield to greet Frankford captain Guy Chamberlin. The two shook hands. The duo then shook hands with Philadelphia mayor W. Freeland Kendrick as photographers and newsreel cameras shot the moment. Red was also presented a phonograph and a few records including one album that had songs of the University of Illinois (“Hail to the Orange” and “Illinois Loyalty”). “Grange, who is very fond of music, appeared delighted with the gift,” wrote the Daily Illini.

During pre-game Red Grange receives ball from Philly Mayor Kendrick, next to
him is Frankford player-coach Guy Chamberlin. 

     Just as the game started the rain came down throughout the contest making the field a “waterlogged gridiron.” Neither team got off to a fast start on the muddy gridiron. After nine punts the Bears finally mounted a drive. On the first play of the second quarter Red capped a 8-play, 47-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run. Joey Sternaman’s extra point gave the Bears a 7-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets would continue to struggle on offense throwing three interceptions in the first half as the game stayed 7-0 at halftime.

    In the second half the stadium lights were turned on so the wet crowd could get a better look at the action as the Yellow Jackets gave the hometown fans more to cheer than seeing the Galloping Ghost. Midway through the third quarter Hust Stockton completed a pass to Ben Jones who weaved for a 40-yard touchdown. The extra point tied the game up at 7-7. Red, who sat out the third quarter, returned to action in the fourth as the sold-out mob “stood up and bellowed,” for him. He would give the crowd more to cheer about. Late in the game Red completed a 17-yard pass to Johnny Mohardt to put the ball at the Yellow Jackets 36-yard line. Red sprinted for fourteen yards and Mohardt rushed for nineteen to put the ball at the three yard-line. Two plays later Red plowed over for the go ahead score. Leading 14-7 the Bears defense denied the Yellow Jackets on two straight drives forcing five consecutive incomplete passes. It was a hard-fought win for Red and his Bears.

    The local press praised Red. Perry Lewis of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote:

    “He proved it. The ‘He’ we refer to is that Galloping Ghost of the gridiron, Red Grange…Red was in that game just about thirty minutes of the sixty minutes of actual play. But while he was there he enveloped his entire team with an atmosphere of quiet confidence. Without him the Bears played magnificent football, football that appeared to be mechanically perfect, against a machine equally as good. With him in there they DID things. His mere presence appeared to spur them to deeds that otherwise would have been beyond them.”

    After the game Ross Kaufman of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin interviewed Bill Crowell, referee of the game:

    “Don’t think for a minute that those two teams were not in there fighting every minute. If anything, I think Frankford was keyed up higher than Grange’s team. They appeared to take the game more seriously in the pre-game drill, but once those two giant elevens swung into action you could tell they were both keen on winning…Whenever a play went wrong with Grange’s team, he did not hesitate in calling attention to it. ‘You should start quicker or do this, was impressed upon the Chicago Bears by the much discussed Grange.

    Just because Grange did not get loose for any runs of forty or fifty yards the same as when he appeared against Penn on Franklin Field, does not mean that he is not a great player.

I believe Grange might have made a long run in the third period when he started on his dash around right end, had the field been in better condition. As it was he got away for nine yards, his longest of the day. He ran beautifully then.”

    Kaufman finished his article writing, “Red is now in the class with Babe Ruth and the rest of the high salaried professionals. When he delivers, he is a hero and when he fails he is a ‘bust.’” Shortly after the game the team sprinted to the train station wearing their muddy uniforms for their 6 o’clock train to New York. On the ride to the Big Apple, Pyle told Halas, “This tour will make you so wealthy Halas, that next year you’ll be able to afford two sets of uniforms.”

    After a disappointing gate in St. Louis the trip to Philadelphia was much sweeter. The typed-up statement for the Frankford game revealed a paying crowd of 25,408 fans. The total gate was a remarkable $81,069. The breakdown was:

Total Gate Receipts =    $81,069.00

War Tax (possible) =     $7,424.10

20% Park Rental =         $16,213.80

Pyle share (27.5%) =      $17,835.18 (paid by check #3084)

Expenses of Bears =       $2,000

Expenses of Frankford= $2,000

    The Bears received nearly fifty percent of the gate (based on standard NFL Game Contract) while Red-Pyle took home $17,835.18. The pace was now picking up. Starting with the Frankford game the Grange-Bears squad would play five games over the next six days. Dr. Harry March, a front office executive for the New York Giants, was worried about Red’s schedule. “He played Wednesday in St. Louis; he plays Saturday in Philadelphia; he goes to a banquet Saturday night; he plays again Sunday in New York, Tuesday in Washington, and Wednesday in Boston. If he doesn’t slow up, he’ll blow up. This isn’t baseball.”

    The main organizers of the tour- Pyle, Coolley and Moore- were looking out for Red. Or more likely themselves. As the tour marched on Westbrook Pegler started to notice the trio. He called Pyle “the manager” and Coolley “the deputy manager,” but no mention of what he called Moore. Pegler wrote, “Mr. Pyle is concerned with the big affairs of getting the money and Doc Coolley with seeing that none of it gets away from them at the turnstiles.” “It’s not true that we are cutting our share down the middle,” said Pyle to Pegler. “Red gets more than I do.” Which was true, Red got more than Pyle.

    The Bears’ train arrived in New York on Saturday night just in time for Red to attend the All-American Team Football Banquet sponsored by the New York Sun. Red was selected as one of the newspapers first team All-American backfield players along with Benny Friedman of Michigan, Eddie Tryon of Colgate and Andy Oberlander of Dartmouth. After a busy day of playing football in Philadelphia and seeing the night life of New York, Red finally went to sleep in his bed at the Astor Hotel. In a few hours he would have to play his best game in front of the biggest crowd to ever see a pro football game in the entertainment capital of the world. He had to be at his best.

NEXT: 

Dec. 6th - Red Grange-Chicago Bears at New York Giants (Polo Grounds) 

OTD 100th Anniversary Red Grange-Bears Tour - St. Louis Game

 LOOKING BACK
By Chris Willis, NFL Films

Red Grange at Cubs Park, Nov. 1925, Chicago Bears

     After playing two games in Chicago against the Cardinals (Thanksgiving Day) and the Columbus Tigers (Sun. Nov. 29^th) Red Grange and the Chicago Bears were ready to hit the road. The barnstorming tour was just getting started with a trip to St. Louis.

    The St. Louis team was organized by Art Donnelly, a local mortician and sports promoter, who helped fellow promoter Bud Yates with the $2,000 guarantee (some news reports say it was $5,000) to get Red and the Bears to come to St. Louis. Because of the hastily put together game the squad was mostly comprised of local talent who played at St. Louis University. Yates was able to attract former Cornell All-American halfback Eddie Kaw, former Michigan star center Ernie Vick and current Detroit Panthers player-coach Jimmy Conzelman (who had starred at S.L.U.) to play for St. Louis. They only had a week to get ready.

Bud Yates, St. Louis Sports Promoter

    The Bears arrived the evening before the game at Union Station in St. Louis just after 6:00 p.m. local time, greeted by several hundred fans and the press. Conzelman also showed up to greet his former teammates with the Staleys, Halas and Sternaman, as well as meet Red for the first time. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch took a photo of the Galloping Ghost and Conzelman smiling together.

     The team was taken to the Coronado Hotel where they stayed the night. At the hotel Red gave an interview to the St. Louis Star and Times. The paper called Red “quiet and assuming,” while asking him about several topics that included his opinion of the pro game compared to the college game.

    “I like it…the professional game is different. Unhampered by the overwhelming college insensitive, the players concentrate on straight football, with the result that the player and spectator are much better pleased. Please understand, this is no disparagement of the college spirt or the very natural and healthy desire to win for his alma mater. It is a question of good football and the colleges certainly seem to inspire players to win at all and any cost.” 

      The one thing Red enjoyed about being a pro football player was that he could just concentrate on football, twenty-four hours a day- no classes, no teachers, no work, etc. The game was played on a Wednesday afternoon at Sportsman’s Park- home of the baseball’s Browns and Cardinals- on the city’s northside. Tickets were sold at the ballpark and Leacock’s, the city’s leading sporting goods stores for the past twenty-five years. Prices were set at: $4.40 (box seats); $3.20 (grandstands) and $2.20 (bleachers and pavilion) plus tax. Ads in the St. Louis Star and Times read:

“RED GRANGE

At Sportsman’s Park

Wednesday, Dec. 2

Tickets at Leacock’s (10^th and Locust); and Sportsman’s Park.”

Nov. 30, 1925: Football Game Ad St. Louis Star 

    No mention in the ad of the Chicago Bears or the Donnelly’s All-Stars, just the Galloping Ghost. “For those games left on the Chicago Bears schedule the posters read ‘See the Chicago Bears with Red Grange’” recalled Grange’s friend from Wheaton “Beans” DeWolf in a 1987 interview. “But when they began the barnstorming trip, the posters were changed to read ‘See Red Grange with the Chicago Bears.”

    Kickoff was set for 2:30 p.m. Local sportswriters John Alexander of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Ted Drewes of the St. Louis Star and Times joined the Chicago writers in the press box. The press reported 8,000 fans braved the 40-degree “cold” afternoon contest. Pyle was disappointed in the crowd.

   As for the game it was a lopsided affair. With only a few days of practice the Donnelly’s (St. Louis) All-Stars looked more like duds. Red gave the small crowd plenty to cheer for while playing a little more than a half of football. On the first two drives of the game the redhead scored touchdowns. Bears fullback Earl Britton would make his professional debut by replacing Dutch Sternaman in the second quarter. The scoring continued in that quarter with another score by Red, as the Bears took a 27-6 halftime lead. In the fourth quarter Red scored his fourth touchdown of the game as the Bears cruised to an easy 39-6 victory. The Chicago American wrote Red “was in great form and ran wild early in the game.” Alexander of the Post-Dispatch wrote:

   “It is hard to describe that action. Essentially, it seems to be the ability to make tacklers miss him completely without forcing him to lose headway and to shake them loose once they catch hold…One such run as yesterday’s is worth the price of admission. One does not often see a player who can run into an apparently muddle of enemies and shake them from his shoes like so much mud. Grange does that. His footwork is deft and artful and when he breaks loose in an open field, he resembles nothing so as Eliza skipping over the ice floes with the bloodhounds baying at her heels and a child tucked under one arm, changing pace and varying her course slightly each successive hop.”

Red was a success on the field this time, albeit against an inferior team, but it was the first time he was a failure at the box office. Shortly after the game the gate receipts “officially” came out. Promoter Yates announced the paid attendance at 5,032 with a total gate receipt of $13,657. Based on the report, the Grange-Pyle-Bears got $7,834 while the local team got $1,547. Irving Vaughn of the Chicago Tribune was more cynical, writing, “The highly polished Grange did his act to the extent of four touchdowns, and it was to see him in his traveling togs that 8,000 people paid in the neighborhood of $20,000, so nobody was gypped.”

      The Bears left St. Louis early Thursday morning (Dec. 3^rd) around 9 a.m. to head to Philadelphia to play the NFL’s Frankford Yellow Jackets. Dutch Sternaman paid $1,183.36 for 27 train fares that included 20 players plus Pyle, Coolley, Lotshaw, and Harry MacNamara of the Chicago Herald-Examiner. On the train headed east the Bears passed their time playing cards. Frank Hanny and Jim McMillian held court at the card table, while Johnny Mohardt “lectured Red and George Trafton in the observation car on the human anatomy.” After his football career ended Mohardt would go on to become a doctor and one of Chicago’s leading brain specialists.

     The tour was now headed east.

 

Chicago Bears Railroad Expense Sheet, St. Louis to
Philly (Pro Football Hall of Fame) 

NEXT:

Dec. 5^th Grange-Bears at Frankford Yellow Jackets (Philadelphia)

TUESDAY TIDBITS: "MY HUSBAND WAS A WARRIOR"

By TJ Troup 

Ralph Heywood (L) and Bobby Layne (R)

Today I'm going to take all of you back in time to the late 1940's; yeah, yeah, coach TJ every week takes us back in time. 

While playing football at USC in 1943, Ralph Heywood played so well he would receive acclaim as an All-American, though he did not finish the season since he served our country during World War II. Though drafted to play for the Lions in 1944 (19th overall pick), he first played for the Chicago Rockets of the AAFC in '46 and joined the Lions in 1947. 

After two games in '48 with Detroit, he was sent to the Boston Yanks. His first game as a Yank was memorable as he returned a Cifers fumble 14 yards for a touchdown. Late November against NYG, Conerly & Roberts fumble the exchange and the rangy end scoops up the ball and dashes 56 yards for a score. Thus, he has tied Frank Maznicki's record of returning two opponent fumbles for a touchdown in a season! 

The Boston Yanks became the New York Bulldogs in 1949 under the direction of former Philadelphia Eagle backfield coach Charley Ewart. There is no doubt after winning a title in Philadelphia in '48 with a very talented team that the season of '49 was going to be a long one for Ewart. 

The NFL will again attempt two-platoon football in '49, yet there were so many roster changes with the Bulldogs that many of their players went both ways. The running game was ineffective for the Bulldogs, yet as the season wore on Bobby Layne was seen pitching the pigskin all over the field. 

During one four-game stretch, Layne threw 129 passes, and the Bulldogs even won a game as they beat the Giants! A handful of men attempted to play right offensive end for New York, but late in the season Ralph Heywood took over. He caught 8 passes during the first nine games of the season with his best game against the 'Skins on October 16th, with four catches. Halfback Paul Shoults fumbled the ball on the Washington five-yard line, and in the mad scramble for the ball Ralph recovered the loose ball for a Bulldog touchdown. 

Thus, he is the first player in league history to score three touchdowns on recovered fumbles! Almost 76 years ago to the day the Lions are at home to take on the Bulldogs in one helluva battle on December 4th! Left end Bill Chipley has been the main target for Layne all year (ranked amongst the leaders all season), and against the Lions he latches onto 8 passes for 85 yards(seven in the first half). While Chipley has a strong game he pales in comparison to Heywood as he grabs 14 for 151 yards! 

Layne completes to Heywood for 19

Having the play-by-play and game film will allow me to take you, folks into the strategy and key plays of the game! Heywood is split end right some of the time, flexed some of the time, and of course tight end much of the time. Though he runs a variety of routes he was very successful running inside routes and tight end middle screens! 

After being sacked, Layne hits Heywood with a middle screen

Detroit leads at half-time 21-7. Third quarter and we see Layne zipping a pass to Chipley who laterals to Heywood. The Bulldogs are now on the Lion twenty-seven but cannot advance. 

Layne to Chipley to Heywood for 21 yards

Late in the 3rd quarter and New York begins to march starting at their own thirty-seven. The drive continues into the 4th quarter and with the ball on the Lion eight-yard line the Bulldogs call the old "sleeper" play. Heywood is right at the eastern sideline and though the Detroit fans see him, none of the Lion defenders do, thus an easy pitch and catch from Layne for the score. 

Layne to Heywood on the "sleeper"

Bill Dudley fumbles on first down for Detroit, and the Bulldogs will begin on the Lions sixteen-yard line. Heywood's smooth route, sure-handed catch and hard running put him in the end zone. 

Layne to Heywood for a touchdown

Detroit is behind 27-21 (Scollard of New York had a PAT blocked in the 3rd quarter). New York forces a punt. Could the Bulldogs win their second game of the season today? Excellent rookie safety Don Doll pilfers a Layne aerial and the Lions parlay excellent field position into the winning touchdown and extra point.

Final Detroit 28 New York 27. 

The final game of the season is a loss to Pittsburgh as the undermanned Bulldogs might have had only 19 players suit up. Heywood continues his late-season surge as he catches 9 passes for 98 yards. While I am not a Northwestern math major, can add up that Ralph Heywood caught 29 passes for 410 yards over those last three games! 

No player had ever caught this many passes the last three games of the season! Tom Fears established a new league record in '49 with 77 receptions (he had 25 over the last three games). Fears will break his own record in 1950 and also surpass Heywood's three-game achievement with 36 for 367! 

Since then until the merger, the league has had many receivers who were productive in a season, yet none of them caught as many as 29 in the last three games of a season. Not Howton in '52, Phillips in '61, Parks in '65, and over in the AFL, Taylor of the Broncos and Hennigan of the Oilers also catching everything in sight, could not equal Heywood (Hennigan got close in '64 with 27). 

 Ralph Heywood retires from Pro Football, but his life is just transitioning back to the military as he serves with distinction in the Korean conflict, and later in Vietnam as a Colonel. He is one of only two men to play pro football and serve our country in three wars! 

His story is very well written & documented by Bill Begley in his article on April 15th, 2007. His marriage and love story with Suzie should have been made into a movie. Am quoting her in the title of this saga. Ralph Heywood at the end of his life battled dementia & alzheimer's. Just one man's opinion; the NFL should have an award named in his honor! 

Quoting Bill Begley, "Ralph Heywood didn't want to be John Wayne, he WAS John Wayne!" To close out this week's column, RC Nazemi stated online that the last time Chicago Bear teammates both gained over 100 yards rushing was in 1985 with Payton & Suhey. Not sure why he did not also list Payton & Harper on November 26th, 1978 and Casares & Watkins against Green Bay on November 6th, 1955? 

This coming Sunday, the Bears actually will play a meaningful game as they journey to Green Bay to take on the Fox River studs! 

See ya next week.

Fourth Down Spurs Packers Past Lions on Thanksgiving

 By Eric Goska

Matt LaFleur's Packers have converted 77 fourth downs since 2019.
(photos by Eric Goska)

Once considered a last resort, going for it on fourth down has gained widespread acceptance in the NFL.

That Green Bay thrice succeeded on that down while Detroit twice failed is one reason the Packers knocked off the Lions 31-24 on Thanksgiving Day. That two of those conversions yielded touchdowns meant the Green and Gold never trailed as they dispatched their longtime rival for a second time this season.

Some of the greatest names in Packers history surface when diving into fourth downs. Sure, some lesser-knowns appear as well thanks to the occasional trick play, but much of the heavy lifting over the years has been carried out by the best the team had to offer.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur’s resume on fourth down is in line with many of his predecessors. He owns the third highest conversion rate since 1954 and trails only Mike McCarthy in total conversations.

LaFleur and his team were certainly on the money in Detroit. Green Bay went three for three on fourth down for the third time on his watch, with the Packers having previously beaten the Bears 41-25 in 2020 and the Saints 34-0 in 2024 when doing so.

Dontayvion Wicks converted two
fourth downs with pass receptions.

For the record, here are the three times Green Bay went for it on fourth down at Ford Field, and the two times Detroit tried and failed.

1. Dontayvion Wicks accepts a 22-yard pass from Jordan Love on fourth-and-three from the Detroit 22-yard line early in the second quarter as the Packers go up 10-0.
2. Romeo Doubs snags a short throw from Love on fourth-and-one from the Detroit 2 late in the same quarter as Green Bay moves in front 17-7.
3. With just under two minutes remaining, Wicks clutches a 16-yard throw from Love on fourth-and-three from the Detroit 45, a catch that allows the Packers to run out the clock with a pair of kneel-downs.

1. Micah Parsons greets Jahmyr Gibbs in the backfield after shedding the block of Kayode Awosika on fourth-and-three from the Green Bay 47 early in the third quarter. Isaiah McDuffie joins Parsons as the two team up to tackle the Lions running back for minus-2.
2. Jameson Williams drops a short throw from Jared Goff on fourth-and-three from the Green Bay 21 early in the fourth quarter.

In honor of fourth downs, here are Packers fourth-down records going back to 1923.

Team Records

• Most TDs one season – 7 in 1926 (Verne Lewellen 2, Cully Lidberg 1, Eddie Kotal 1, Jack Harris 1, Dick Flaherty 1, Rex Enright 1)
• Most TDs one game – 3 on Oct. 20, 1963 (Jim Taylor 2, Tom Moore 1)

Individual Records

• Most TDs career – 13 Verne Lewellen, 1924-1932
• Most TDs season – 3 Verne Lewellen, 1928; 3 Don Hutson, 1937; 3 Ted Fritsch, 1946; 3 Jim Taylor, 1962
• Most TDs game – 2 Verne Lewellen vs. Bears, Sept. 30, 1928; 2 Jim Taylor vs. Cardinals, Oct. 20, 1963
• Most Rushing TDs career – 10 Jim Taylor, 1958-1967
• Most Receiving TDs career – 8 Don Hutson, 1935-1945
• Most TD passes career – 13 Aaron Rodgers, 2005-2022
• Most TD passes season – 3 Aaron Rodgers, 2022; Jordan Love, 2023
• Most TD passes game – 2 Bart Starr vs. Browns, Sept. 18, 1966; 2 Jordan Love vs. Lions, Nov. 26, 2025
• Longest TD – 68 yards on a pass from punter Ron Widby to wide receiver Dave Davis in a 23-10 win over the Oilers in 1972.

Go For It!
Since 1954, Packers head coaches and their conversion rates on fourth down (min. 8 atts.)

Rate       Made-Attempt      Coach                         Years
62.34              48 of 77               Vince Lombardi         1959-1967
53.52              38 of 71               Mike Sherman            2000-2005
53.10            77 of 145               Matt LeFleur               2019-2025
52.56              41 of 78               Mike Holmgren         1992-1998
51.85              28 of 54               Lindy Infante             1988-1991
48.41            61 of 126               Bart Starr                     1975-1983
47.40            91 of 192               Mike McCarthy          2006-2018
46.67              35 of 75               Lisle Blackbourn        1954-1957
43.18              19 of 44               Dan Devine                 1971-1974
43.10              25 of 58               Forrest Gregg            1984-1987
40.00              10 of 25              Phil Bengtson            1968-1970
35.71               5 of 14                 Scooter McLean        1958
22.22                2 of 9                 Ray Rhodes                1999

Keith Lincoln's Outstanding 1963 Season

 by Jeffrey J. Miller

Nineteen sixty-three was a pivotal year for the upstart American Football League. In its fourth year of existence, it was finally coming close to being on a competitive level with the senior NFL.  Don’t misunderstand me … I am not saying the leagues were on equal footing just yet, but I believe the best AFL teams could finally have competed well against the average NFL squads and maybe even eke out a victory or two if inter-league play existed at the time.  It was probably the first year in which the AFL champions—the San Diego Chargers—would not have embarrassed themselves in a matchup against the winners of the NFL crown—the Chicago Bears.

 

One of the reasons for the AFL’s ascension was the fact that so many very good players were developing within that league, many of whom would never have been given an opportunity in the limited roster allowances of the NFL.  A case in point is San Diego fullback Keith Lincoln. 

 

Lincoln played his college ball at Washington State University.  Though he started out as a quarterback, he eventually moved to halfback and also handled the Cougars’ punting.  He earned second-team All-America honors in 1959 along with being chosen first-team All-PCC that year and second-team All-PCC in 1960, his senior year.  He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round (61st overall) of the 1961 NFL draft, but opted to sign with the AFL Chargers, who tapped him with their second-round pick (16th overall).

 

He enjoyed a decent rookie season, which included a 91-yard touchdown reception, the longest in the AFL that year.  An All-Star-Game berth followed in 1962, though the Chargers missed the post-season for the first time in the league's existence.  

But Lincoln really hit his stride in ‘63.  Though he was not a 1,000-yard rusher (only two AFL runners reached that level that year--Oakland’s Clem Daniels and Lincoln's San Diego runningmate Paul Lowe), when viewed in its totality this might be the finest individual single-season performance ever posted in the American Football League.  As part of a dynamic backfield tandem with Lowe, the Chargers led the league in total offense (eclipsing the next closest competitor by 350 yards!) and points scored, and were third in total rushing yardage.  Lincoln’s 76-yard touchdown run against the Chiefs on October 20 was the league’s longest that year.  He led the league in yards-per-carry with an eye-popping 6.5 (128 attempts for 826 yards) while also leading the league in yards-per-touch (rushing and reception yardage) with 7.6!

 

That high-powered offense vaulted the Chargers to the Western Division pennant and their third post-season berth in four years.  In the championship game, Lincoln ran wild as the Chargers routed the Western Division champion Boston Patriots, 51–10.  In the game, Lincoln lugged the leather 13 times for 206 yards (15.8 yards-per-lug!) and one touchdown and had seven receptions for 123 yards (17.6 yards-per-catch) and a score, amassing a total 329  yards from scrimmage that stood as the record for both the AFL and NFL until Kansas City running back Ed Podolak gained 350 yards in a double-overtime playoff game against the Miami Dolphins in 1971.  Lincoln’s 206 on the ground stood as the standard until 1985, when Los Angeles runner Eric Dickerson rushed for 248 yards against the Dallas Cowboys.  (By the way, Lincoln also passed for 20 yards in the championship game … just thought I’d mention that).   For his outstanding performance in leading the Chargers’ blowout victory, Lincoln was selected the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Lincoln scampering 67 yards for a touchdown 
against Boston in the 1963 AFL Title Game
at Balboa Stadium, San Diego, January 5, 1964. 

Lincoln’s regular-season performance also earned him a trip to that year’s AFL All-Star Game, played January 19, 1964, at the Chargers’ homefield of Balboa Stadium.  Once again, Lincoln was brilliant, rushing for 121 yards and tearing off a 64-yard touchdown run to spark a come-from-behind win for the Western squad.  For the second straight week, Lincoln was on the receiving end of a Most Valuable Player award, marking the first time a player from either league won the MVP of the championship game and Pro Bowl in the same year. 

Keith Lincoln being introduced before the
1963 AFL All-Star Game at Balboa Stadium,
 San Diego, January 19, 1964.

Highlights of Lincoln’s 1963 Season:

Led AFL in yards-per carry – 6.5

Led AFL in yards-per-touch – 7.6

Longest touchdown run in AFL regular season – 76 yards

Professional record for most rushing yards in post-season game – 206

Professional record for most yards from scrimmage in post-season game – 329

First-Team All-AFL

AFL Champion

Most Valuable Player – AFL Title Game

Most Valuable Player – AFL All-Star Game

Though 1963 was his greatest season, Lincoln enjoyed a fine eight-year career primarily with the Chargers and later with the Buffalo Bills.  His versatility drew comparisons to Green Bay Packer Hall-of-Famer Paul Hornung.  In addition to his offensive exploits, Lincoln filled in as the Bolts’ place kicker in 1964 and led the team in kick scoring, making good on 5 of 12 field goal attempts and 16 of 17 extra-point tries for 31 points.  He was adept at passing as well, throwing for 5 touchdowns during his tenure in San Diego.  Chargers’ coach Sid Gillman also used his star fullback to return kickoffs and punts, with Lincoln registering at least one of each for touchdowns.  

 

For his career, Lincoln was named first-team All-AFL twice (1963 and 1964) and appeared in five All-Star Games (1962, ’63, ’64, ’65 and ’67).  As an aside, I was shocked to see he has not been enshrined in the Professional Football Researchers Association’s Hall-of-Very-Good … what the heck?  He was inducted into the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1979, and the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.