The Evolution of NFL Championships: Insights into the 1927 Season

And it's all coming up in just a moment.

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You can learn more@sportshistorynetwork.com hello my football friends.

This is Darren Hayes of Pixcndispatch.com welcome once again to the Pig Pen, your portal to positive football history.

And welcome to another edition of championships.

Yes, we are talking about the championship games here in February.

These 12, 13 seasons were years where the team with the best record would be the champion, pretty much.

So we have some exceptions, but those are controversial.

We won't get into that right now.

And the NFL was on a mission to reduce its numbers.

It wanted to be more vibrant in large cities that were financially stable.

Now, several teams were eliminated, even some teams that were big names and part of the NFL, you know, from its very onset.

Now the NFL's owners got together in Cleveland's Statler Hotel to formalize these changes on April 23rd and April 24th for the weekend.

NFL Commissioner Joe F.

Carr, who was actually the president at that time, stood up and said, quote, gentlemen, as you were aware, this meeting is for the purpose of taking the final action on any plans that will be proposed for the reorganization of the league.

And we would suggest that you would come to discuss the proposition for every single angle, end quote.

Now, the league had been split, talked about being split into tiers initially envisioned following debate and closed door meetings that resolved the NFL would go to one single tier league and they would increase the amount of money it would cost for franchises to stay in the league from $1,500 to $2,500 per team.

And this was payable to the office by July.

Well, this ended up eliminating some of the teams right away.

Well, we have the rest of the story is all about the champions and we're going to talk about that in a second.

And it's actually something we talked about last year in our New York Giants 100 series, the very first championship.

It's a team that ended up coming in and taking the title.

But some other things that happened before this Bronco Nagurski joined the Chicago Bears.

He was further solidifying their roster and contributing to their strong season.

Well, they ended up the league ended up disbanding and the afl.

One team that survived was the New York Yankees of Red Grange and they ended up joining the National Football League.

And despite the addition of the star player Red Grange, the New York Yankees struggled, sort of finished in the middle of the pack and Grange was injured of the season, had a bad injury in his knee that hampered his performance for much of the year.

But this was the year of the Giants.

In their third season they became the dominant team that ended up winning the championship.

So here's what we got to say about the New York Giants.

Fresh off winning a topsy turvy first few seasons, the Giants, under the leadership of newly hired coach Edition Potter, embarked on a campaign of dominance that cemented their place as a rising power in professional football.

Red Grange and CC Piles are original American Football League had gone by the previous year's end and the death toll of the AFL was the group's champion, the Philadelphia Quakers, getting beaten fairly badly in an exhibition game by a somewhat pedestrian New York Giants team.

So you get rid of basically the entire AFL, those eight teams, you get rid of another 10 teams of the National Football League, and now it's really a big city place to play football.

National Football League absorbed many players and a defunct American Football League franchise.

And that team was the Grangers New York Yankees that C.C.

pyle owned.

The Brooklyn Horsemen, well, they folded, but Tim Mara, the Giants owner, strategically kept their charter active.

This charter became a valuable bargaining chip with another team.

The Brooklyn Horsemen, operated by Bill Carr, saw entry into the league.

League.

This time, Mara and P Ended up having the upper hand.

Amara offered a solution.

Lease the Brooklyn Horseman charter to Carr, allowing him to bring star player Red Grange back to the NFL under a new name, the New York Football Yankees.

However, to prevent competition with the Giants, the Yankees faced restrictions Mara only agreed to.

They would primarily play on the road with only a few home games strategically scheduled to avoid clashing with the Giants home schedule.

Now the season would culminate in a particular city championship series with the Giants and Yankees battling it out on a home and home format.

And CC Pyle had wanted this all along and Mara, deep down wanted it too.

The arrangement benefited all parties involved.

Mara eliminated a potential rival while ensuring a lucrative rivalry with the Yankees.

Carr got his team back in the NFL and his fans were treated to the return of Red Grange, the restricted schedule and ensured the Yankees wouldn't overshadow the Giants in a city championship series add a unique twist to the season's finale.

Now the resolution of Mara and Dr.

Harry March could now focus on building the Giants roster with talent that would compete with the rest of the NFL's best.

March's strategy was to solidify the trenches with veteran players to dominate the line of scrimmage.

Center Mickey Murtaugh was signed on to return to the lineup once again.

And stars like Al Nesser, the famous Columbus Panhandles football family, were added along with Heck Harvey and returning talent Doc Alexander, who served more as an adequate backup as his medical practice was thriving.

As we saw in an earlier portion of this New York Giants 100 celebration, Steve Owen was back for another year.

He was only another returning lineman from the previous year to further anchor the stability and dominance up front.

He's got big guys now on the ends of the line.

The Giants were equally challenging that Chuck Corrigan and Owens, teammate and former Kansas City Cowboys traveling team was on one side.

And at the same time, a rookie sensation and future hall of Famer Cal Hubbard combated the opposition on the other flank.

Now, these terminals were as big as the interior men and they often bullied to the point of attack from the outside, opening gaping holes for the talented backfield.

Offensively, the team was independent of a single player.

The Giants boasted a diverse attack, keeping those opposing defenses guessing on the running and short pass plays that we're going to be commencing.

Fullback Jack Jack McBride emerges the offensive leader, showcasing his versatility and rushing touchdowns, field goals, passing and extra points.

Yeah, back in those days, the backs were the ones that threw more than a quarterback.

The amazing tailback Hinky Haynes was the lightning to McBride's thunder, creating a formidable tandem in the New York backfield.

Blocking in front of them was Mule Wilson, a former Texas A and M gridiron and track star signed from 27 after playing for the now disbanded Buffalo Rangers the prior year.

Wilson was a willing blocker and his speed and athleticism allowed him to get out ahead of his talented backfill mates to provide more than ample interference to any defenders that escaped the guys in the interior line.

Now, however, the Giants defense truly set them apart.

They led the league in both yards allowed and points conceded, showcasing a suffocating unit that shut down opposing offenses.

Their defensive prowess was a testament to the relentless pursuit and disciplined tackling.

Head coach Earl Pottinger played a pivotal role in the Giant success as he emphasized a team first mentality, fostering a strong work ethic and a dedication to execution.

Pottinger's innovative approach included the shift in pre snap formation that confused opposing defenses and created running lanes for his backs.

The strategic wrinkle kept opponents on their heels and contributed significantly to the Giants offensive efficiency.

Now the Giants thrived on the collective effort.

Running back Jack McBride emerges the actual offensive weapon.

He led the team in scoring, showcasing his power rushing and ability to catch passes out of the backfield.

McBride's versatility and consistent play were instrumental in the Giants offensive success.

He his leadership on the field presence solidified a place in critical building block for the burgeoning giants dynasty.

A few teams in the league had also increased in talent levels and their franchises in the previously watered down star quality rosters, so that influx of talent helping many different franchises.

Still, the Providence 11 would not give in easily as evidenced by a low scoring opportunity in the early part of the contest when the Giants had the ball on the one foot line but were denied entrance into the end zone.

The only touchdown in the game would come a period later in the second quarter on a McBride plunge over the goal line in the second quarter.

Now the New York squad would add a safety later in the period and then hold on to an eight to nothing victory over their hosts the following week.

On October 2, the Giants travel to Cleveland to face the Bulldogs and their new weapon Benny Friedman.

The defenses of both sides prevailed in what would end up being a scoreless draw and a route rematch two weeks later would have the Giants the Road warriors again, this time traveling to Pottsville where dismantled the Maroons 19 to nothing on great runs by Jack McBride and a scoop and score by reserve Doc Alexander.

The only loss and soul tie came in the next game against the Cleveland Bulldogs, a testament to their competitive nature in the young NFL.

As we said earlier, they tied Cleveland and Benny Friedman and after battling for two more periods of scoreless football, the drought was broken in the third quarter when Cleveland's Jinx Simmons found a gap in a New York front and took the leather over the goal line for the games only score and a six nothing Bulldogs victory.

This inability of the Giants to overcome Friedman and company would motivate Tim Mara to join that team in the off season and join them with the Giants after they morphed into the Detroit Wolverines.

These games included two blankings of the tough Frankfurt Yellow Jackets in a home and home series 130 and 27 0, a rematch with Pottsville which ended in a 160 victory for the G Men and blanking Ernie Nevers in the Duluth Eskimos 21 nothing at home Providence 25 to nothing at home and taking out both Chicago teams, the Cardinals 287 and a Bears 137 before closing out the season against the crosstown rivals of the Yankees in a two game series.

It showcased their potential as a powerhouse in the NFL and laid the groundwork for future success.

The team's dedication to balance, strategic innovation and the emergence of a star running back all contributed to their dominant season.

So that is our show for today.

And we get to preserve that football history which is all important to us.

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So till next time everybody have a great great Iron Day.

We're taking a peek over at the chains and the down marker.

It's fourth and long, we're have to punt the ball and get on out of here.

But we'll have another series tomorrow for your football history headlines, so be sure to tune in.

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