1925 NFL Championship controversy
The 1925
Pottsville supporters argue that the suspension was illegitimate because the NFL did not grant exclusive territory rights at the time, and that in any event, they had oral league approval to play the game in Philadelphia. Further, they argue that the Maroons, who were reinstated the next year, would have had the best record had they not been suspended. Others claim that Chicago was the legitimate champion based on the rules of the time. In 1963, the NFL investigated and rejected Pottsville's case, refusing to reopen the case in 2003. Both the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame continue to list the Cardinals as the 1925 NFL champions.[2][3]
Background
Under the league rules during that time, the NFL title was automatically given to the team with the best record at the end of the season instead of having the winner be determined by a playoff tournament. There was an open-ended schedule during that season; although the final listed league games ended on December 6, teams could still schedule contests against each other through December 20 to make more money.[4]
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Date | December 6, 1925 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Stadium | Chicago, Illinois |
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Date | December 12, 1925 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Stadium | Referee Bill Hollenback | | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 10,000 |
On December 6, Pottsville defeated Chicago 21–7 to establish the best record in the league, and seemed to all but officially clinch the NFL championship.
The game against the Notre Dame All-Stars had been originally devised by Frankford. It was planned as non-league exhibition game between former Notre Dame stars and the top NFL team in the east; after defeating the Maroons 20–0, Frankford had believed they would indeed be the NFL's top eastern team. However, when they were later defeated by the Maroons in a second contest, they lost the right to play the game. Instead, Pottsville would host the All-Stars at Minersville Park, while Frankford scheduled another league game against the Cleveland Bulldogs.[4] Pottsville was excited to host Notre Dame, hoping it would be a huge financial windfall for the team. However, they felt that Minersville Park, a high school field with a low capacity, was too small for such a big event. Instead, they scheduled the game in Philadelphia, in the Yellow Jackets' territory. Frankford protested to commissioner Carr, who warned the Maroons in writing that they faced suspension if they played in Philadelphia. However, the Maroons claimed that the league office orally approved the game during a telephone call.[5]
As a result of the suspension, Pottsville was prohibited from playing a scheduled game against the
Aftermath
Cardinals owner Chris O'Brien was later offered but refused to accept the Championship title for his team. At the owners' meeting after the end of the season, he argued that his team did not deserve to take the title over a team that had beaten them fairly.[6] It appears that his reasons for scheduling the Milwaukee and Hammond games had been not to take the title, but rather to convince the Chicago Bears to play his team again; the Bears, with Red Grange on their roster, were a very lucrative draw.[4] The NFL said it would revisit the issue later, but never did. It was only after the Bidwill family purchased the team in 1933 that the Cardinals began claiming the championship title.[5]
It is sometimes stated that Pottsville played a fairly easy schedule prior to their suspension, often facing teams that were less than full strength from playing the day before in Frankford, making Pottsville's case less sympathetic.[4] However, the Maroons' final three games were against the Green Bay Packers, who finished the year at 8–5–1, the Yellow Jackets, who had beaten them earlier in the year and finished 13–7, and the Cardinals.[7] Pottsville won those games by scores of 31–0, 49-0 and 21–7, respectively, proving that they were a premier team.
By 1963, the NFL appointed a special commission to examine the case, but voted 12–2 in favor of continuing to recognize the Cardinals as champions. The lone dissenters were Art Rooney and George Halas, the then-owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Bears, respectively.[4] In 2003, the issue was brought up again during the league's October owners meeting. However, the NFL voted 30–2 not to reopen the case, with the lone supporters being the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, the league's two Pennsylvania teams.[8] Ironically, Philadelphia's franchise is the direct successor to and is the same franchise as (although, in league records, not the same team) the Frankford Yellow Jackets, the very team that filed the protest that resulted in the ruling in the first place; the Eagles replaced the Yellow Jackets after the latter went bankrupt and ceased operations.
One of the strongest opponents of a reversal has been the family of
The controversy involving territorial rights also led to the founding of the
See also
- 1920 season championship dispute
- Staley Swindle(discusses an earlier NFL championship controversy)
- 1925 NFL season
- 1925 Chicago Cardinals – Milwaukee Badgers scandal
- American Football League (1926)
- New York Yankees (NFL)
References
- ^ Selway, Tim. "Stolen Glory: The Pottsville Maroons". Pennsylvania Center for the Book. The Pennsylvania State University. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- ^ "Arizona Cardinals Team Facts". ProFootballHOF.com. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
NFL Championships: 1925, 1947
- ^ "Chronology of Professional Football" (PDF). 2019 Official National Football League Record and Fact Book. NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
Pottsville and the Chicago Cardinals were the top contenders for the league title, with Pottsville winning a late-season meeting 21-7. Pottsville scheduled a game against a team of former Notre Dame players for Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Frankford lodged a protest not only because the game was in Frankford's protected territory, but because it was being played the same day as a Yellow Jackets home game. Carr gave three different notices forbidding Pottsville to play the game, but Pottsville played anyway, December 12. That day, Carr fined the club, suspended it from all rights and privileges (including the right to play for the NFL championship), and re-turned its franchise to the league. The Cardinals, who ended the season with the best record in the league, were named the 1925 champions.
- ^ a b c d e f g "1925 Pottsville Maroons". Professional Football Researchers Association. Archived from the original on October 24, 2006. Retrieved October 4, 2006.
- ^ a b c "Ghosts of the Gridiron: The Pottsville Maroons". Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2006.
- ^ "Ghosts of the Gridiron: Cardinals Refuse Title Shared With Pottsville". Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2006.
- ^ "1925 Pottsville Maroons". Pro Football Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ Ditrani, Vinny (October 31, 2003). "Pottsville fails to get back title". The Record (Bergen County, New Jersey). p. S06.
- ^ a b Fleming, David. "The NFL's forgotten legend". ESPN. Archived from the original on October 27, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2007.
- ^ Nelson, Robert (January 11, 2007). "The Curse: Here's why the Cardinals have sucked forever, and why they might never suck again". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2007.
- ISBN 0-312-11435-4
Further reading
- Fleming, David (January 30, 2008). "Pottsville, Pa. and Cardinals each claim rights to 1925 NFL title". ESPN. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- Fleming, David (2007). Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship. ISBN 978-1-933060-35-4.