December 19

In this edition of the Football History Headlines, we discuss the Frankford Yellow Jackets team that won the 1926 NFL Title as well as many more Legendary Gridiron stories.

Football fans, delve into the past! Today's date is etched in NFL history. From legendary trades that shook the league to record-breaking performances on the gridiron, exciting moments unfolded on this very day. We'll explore game-changing events, iconic players who dominated the field, and pivotal decisions that altered the course of franchises. So, buckle up and get ready to revisit the fascinating stories that make NFL history so captivating!

The photograph in the banner above is from the US Library of Congress collection. It is titled "Football " and is apparently of a 1926  unknown gridiron team and was donated to the LOC as part of the Harris & Ewing photograph collection. We love the rich history of the Gridiron and the old photographs that were generously donated to the LOC so everyone could admire them!

December 19, 1926 - National Football League Championship Game of 1926: With an outstanding 14-1-2 record the Frankford Yellow Jackets claimed the title. The Best record at the end of the season determined the NFL Champs in the first dozen years of the fledgling League. The Frankford franchise dates back to 1899 where after a couple of decades the Jackets became one of the premier independent gridiron squads in the nation. Frankford officially joined the NFL in 1924 and went on to post a respectable 11-2-1 record that initial season according to a Penn State Research article. The 1926 season though was a tough one as Pennsylvania law prohibited games on Sundays so the Yellow Jackets would often play games on back to back days, home on Saturdays then away on Sunday. The signing of Guy Chamberlain, who was with the Canton Bulldogs, as the player coach in 1925 made a world of difference for the Jackets. Guy led the Frankford eleven to a 12-1-1 record heading into the most important game of the season versus the undefeated Chicago Bears and their star player Red Grange. Philadelphia’s press was calling this the game for the NFL Title even though each team would still have two other games remaining on their respective schedules. More than the first half of the game was a defensive stalemate. Chicago finally broke the scoreless tie with a touchdown in the third quarter, but Guy Chamberlain managed to block the Bear’s extra point. The Yellow Jackets drove the field with little time remaining but faced a critical fourth down and three deep in Bear territory.  There was only one choice and that was to go for it! On this vital play,  Houston Stockton completed a touchdown pass to "Two Bits" Homan to tie it up on the scoreboard. Frakford made the extra point kick andthe Jacket victory put them alone atop the NFL standings. Frankford would win their last two while the Bears tied the Packers and beat Pottsvilles for second place. Unbelievably Frankford’s 14 victories in that 1926 season remained an NFL record for 58 years when finally broken by the 1984 San Francisco 49ers who achieved a 15 win season.

December 19, 1927 - The New York Giants with a stellar 11-1-1 record earned the 1927 NFL Championship. It was the third year in the League for the Giants and was the franchise’s very first NFL Title. According to the Bleacher Report the Giants shut out 10 of their opponents and allowed only three touchdowns being scored against them in a scoring delta of 197-20 for the sum total of their games in the season.

December 19, 1947 - Fort Pitt Hotel, Pittsburgh, PA - The Washington Redskins chose Harry Gilmer from University of Alabama with the first pick of the 1948 NFL Draft. Gilmer had a nice 9 year career with the Redskins and later with the Detroit Lions. Players picked later in the draft though that arguably had more productive careers were Bobby Layne picked third and Y.A. Tittle at pick number 6 per the American Football Database. The Redskins also had the fourth pick in this draft where they grabbed Gilmer’s Crimson Tide backfield mate Lowell Tew.

December 19, 1948 - Cleveland Municipal Stadium - Cleveland Browns demolished the Buffalo Bills 49-7 in 1948 AAFC championship game according to the Pro-Football-Reference.

December 19, 1948 - Shribe Park, Philadelphia - It is interesting that the AAFC decided to put their title game on the very same day as the NFL’s. Yes the 1948 NFL Championship Game also kicked off on this day as the Chicago Cardinals faced the Philadelphia Eagles.  According to the PFRA ‘s Ken Crippen who put together a really nice article on the game the temperature at kick off was a frigid 27 degrees. Field maintenance workers had to remove almost 5 inches of snow off of the tarp that covered the field surface but strong winds and heavy snow kept falling throughout the contest forcing the stadium light to remain on during the whole contest of the day game. The snow was so bad, Crippen wrote that members of the officiating crew were assigned to guess where the goal line was and two others to guess where the sidelines were. Trust me as an official who worked on a grass field during a snowstorm it is not a pleasant experience to find white lines in the white snow! The game itself was pretty much dominated by the defenses as the only scoring came in the third quarter when Cardinal Ray Moulof fumbled the ball at his own 17 yard line and the Eagles pounced on it. A few plays later Philly’s Steve Van Buren carried the ball over the goal line. At the end it was the Philadelphia Eagles blanking the Chicago Cardinals, 7-0 in “the Philly Blizzard.”

We invite you to learn more and even join the awesome organization of the Pro Football Researchers Association. To find out all about it and how you can get their periodical on pro football history, "The Coffin Corner" click this link, PFRA.

December 19, 1976  - A Piper Cherokee airplane crashed into the Baltimore Memorial Stadium upper deck of the stands just minutes after the Colts and the Steelers got done playing an NFL game there. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt although Baltimore police officer Joe Sacco was hit by the aircraft according to the statter911.com website. In the game that was just completed by the way the Colts lost 40-14 to the Steelers. 

December 19, 1909 - Seattle, Washington - Notre Dame guard Frank “Nordy” Hoffman was born. His bio on the NFF website states that in 1931 the Associated Press and Liberty Magazine named him to their All-America teams.  The National Football Foundation selected Nordy Hoffman to enter into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1978.

December 19, 1926 - Santa Anna, Texas - Bobby Layne the legendary University of Texas quarterback celebrated his birth.  Bobby Layne found his way along inside the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. Layne then went to the National Football League and continued a record- setting career with Detroit and Pittsburgh.  The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Bobby Layne in 1967.  

December 19, 1961 - Chattanooga, Tennessee - The awesome University of Tennessee Defensive End, Reggie White shined into this world. The footballfoundation.org website states that many  people called Reggie many things, “ The Minister of Defense” while some opponents called him “a nightmare.” As a member of the Vols defense he set records such as getting 4 sacks in one game, 15 on the season and 32 in his career. White was a unanimous All-America and held SEC Defensive MVP honors as well as being a finalist for the Lombardi Award. The National Football Foundation selected Reggie White to enter into their College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. After his collegiate career Reggie White signed with the USFL’s Memphis Showboats where he played for two seasons before joining the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL. During his 13-year career with the Eagles and Packers, he was NFL Rookie of the Year, an 11-time Pro Bowl performer, and a member of a Super Bowl winning team. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Reggie White in 2006.

December 19, 1964 - Phoenix, Arizona  - Arizona State’s great guard Randall McDaniel was born. Randall was a two time All-America on the Sun Devil’s offensive line and helped the team go to three bowl games while on the team including the school’s first appearance in the Rose Bowl in 1987. The NFF voted Randall McDaniel into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. McDaniel played for 15 seasons in the NFL both with the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Bucs and earned 12 trips to the Pro Bowl. In 1996 Randall received the honor of being named the NFL/True Value Man of the Year for his charity work. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Randall McDaniel in 2009.    

December 19,1972 - Orlando, Florida - Warren Sapp the University of Miami’s great Defensive Tackle. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers used the 12th pick in the 1995 NFL Draft to choose Warren to play for their team. Sapp was the 1999 Defensive Player of the Years, made All-Pro four times and played in 7 Pro Bowls. With the Bucs he won Super Bowl XXXVII against the Raiders where he registered a sack, two tackles and two passes defensed. Warren played 13 seasons in the NFL and registered 96.5 sacks in his career. He played the last four seasons of his brilliant career as a member of the Raiders. Warren Sapp was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

December 19, 1974 - Boise, Idaho - The quarterback from Arizona State University, Jake Plummer celebrates his birth. The NFF says Jake was a first Team All-American in 1996, and that “Jake the Snake” finished third for the Heisman Trophy after leading Arizona State to an 11-1 season. Jake Plummer found his entry into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019.  

December 19, 1978 - Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania - The great University of Miami Hurricane linebacker, Dan Morgan was born. The NFF voters inducted Dan Morgan into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021.