December 20

In this edition of the Football History Headlines, we discuss the 1925 NFL Championship controversy and legendary Football Color Analyst Howard Cosell as well as many more Hall of Fame Legendary stories.

We're diving into the archives to revisit the headlines that rocked the NFL landscape. From legendary draft-day decisions that changed franchises to record-breaking performances that left fans in awe, get ready to relive the electrifying moments that shaped the game we love. So, lace up your cleats and join us as we explore the captivating stories from the gridiron's rich past!

December 20, 1925 - The NFL Title is Stripped from its top Team -

The Chicago Cardinals with an 11-2-1 record win an extremely controversial National Football League Championship Title. Boy does this story get deep in a hurry. On December 6, 1925 the Chicago Cardinals faced the other top tier team in the NFL that season, the Pottsville Maroons. Pottsville is a small town about 85 miles Northwest of Philadelphia. The first year in the League, Maroons were on fire in the NFL boasting a 9-2 record going into the Cardinal match up. The Pottsville eleven were a gritty bunch made up of mostly coal miners around the area who had dominated the regional coal football leagues referred to as the Anthracite League.  In 1924 a local Pottsville business owner, John Striegel,   sponsored the team. According to a Penn State Library story on the Maroons, just before the first game of the 1924 season in the Anthracite League, owner John Striegel decided the team needed new jerseys and quickly ordered 25 from a local sporting goods store. Striegel told the store owner that the color was not important. The team was sent 25 maroon colored jerseys, and they became known as the Pottsville Maroons immediately thereafter.  The Maroons applied to play in the NFL for 1925 and the community footed the entry fee as they raised money for the NFL franchise costs. 
The Maroons were in for some stiff competition on December 6, as the Chicago Cardinals themselves entered the December 6 game posting a respectable 9-1-1 record themselves. This game was billed as the NFL championship of sorts when the top two teams squared off so late in the season and remember there was no formal title game in the League then, it was the team with the best winning percentage who claimed the title. Pottsville soundly defeated the Cardinals in the game by the score of 21-7 and then won their final game to end the season with an 11-2 record. That should be the end of the story right? Pottsville wins the 1925 Championship. Unfortunately in the drama that was the early NFL that was not the case as controversy was brewing nearby. The Penn State site tells the story well;
"The Frankford Yellow Jackets were, in 1925, the top professional football attraction in Philadelphia. Frankford is about 7 miles Northeast of downtown Philly.  Earlier in the season, the Yellow Jackets had upset the Pottsville Maroons at home by a score of 20-0. Believing they were the inevitable 1925 champions, the Frankford team signed a contract with a Philadelphia promoter that allowed the best NFL team in Pennsylvania, whoever it might be, to play a non-league game against a team of former Notre Dame stars. The game would assuredly draw a large crowd and would generate plenty of ticket revenue for the NFL champion. After the Yellow Jackets were beaten by Pottsville later in the season, they lost the right to play the Notre Dame stars. When the Pottsville Maroons clinched the NFL title, they were eager to cash in on the exhibition game against the Notre Dame team. Instead of playing at the Maroons' tiny home of Minersville Park, the game was scheduled at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Pottsville expected a large turnout and wanted a full house in a large stadium. There, after a hard-fought and extremely tight game, Pottsville held on to beat the Notre Dame stars by a score of 9-7." 
The Frankford franchise was miffed and probably a bit embarrassed and jealous that they were not the ones to play the Irish stars and pocket the extra cash. Frankford protested to the NFL that the maroons had violated the territorial rights of the Yellow Jackets by playing the game so close and at the same time that Frankford was playing a game only a few minutes away. The Jackets claimed it took spectators away from their home game. NFL Commissioner  Joseph Carr agreed with Frankford and their protest. Allegedly Carr warned Pottsville 3 times prior to the game at Shibe Park with Notre Dame not to play the game. Since in Carr’s eyes they ignored his direction the Pottsville Maroons NFL rights were suspended, they were fined $500 and stripped of their title after playing the unsanctioned game. With Pottsville being eliminated in the standings the Cardinals end up having the highest winning percentage. Chicago, however, refused to accept the title stating that without winning it on the field they did not want it. The NFL however recognizes the Chicago Cardinals as the 1925 champs.

Please check out the Penn State article as it has an interesting modern post script to the legacy of this stripped title of the 1925 Pottsville Maroons.

December 20, 1980 - NBC broadcasted a game with no announcers as they tried to be different. ESPN.com shares the story that in fact they only sounds that the TV audience would hear were the same sounds that were heard by fans in the stadium, the public address announcer, the cheers of the fans and maybe , just maybe a hotdog vendor or two. In the meaningless game the 4-12 New York Jets defeated the 8-8 Miami Dolphins, 24-17. https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=5906858

December 20, 1985 - Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires from television sports with ABC. On August 23, 1984 it was reported that Cosell had relinquished his job of broadcasting Monday Night Football. The New York Times article on the subject tells how Cosell would still be the host of an ABC Sports program called “SportsBeat.” Reports said that Howard was what he described as “disenchanted with the football mentality.” In an SI.com article it was reported that Howard Cosell fulfilled his contract with ABC to be a part of the MLB broadcasts, and he allegedly did so reluctantly. On December 20, 1985 Cosell formally retired with ABC, of whom he worked with for 20 years and relegated himself to radio only broadcasts the rest of his working days.

December 21, 1997 - Detroit Lions Running back Barry Sanders becomes just the player in NFL history to gain 200 yards or more in a season. Barry accomplished the milestone when he ran for 184 yards against the  New York Jets and the Lions used Barry's offense to spark a 13-10 Dtroit victory. Sanders finished the seasn with 2053 yards which was second only to Eric Dickerson's 1984 mark of 2105 yards.

December 20, 1867 - Minneapolis, Minnesota - William W. ''Pudge” Heffelfinger the legendary Yale Bulldogs guard was born. We have more on this legend below.

December 20, 1928 - Sublette, Kansas - The stalwart safety from Colorado State, Jack Christiansen was born. According to the profootballhof.com site, Jack had an awesome 8 year career in the pros with the Detroit Lions as not only a defensive back but also as a respected return man. Christiansen was voted as All-NFL in six straight seasons, played in five Pro Bowls and was even the top player in League  interceptions in two seasons. At the 1970 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony, Jack Christiansen was one of the players that received a Gold Jacket.

December 20, 1942 - Bob Hayes the talented speedster wide out from Florida A&M came into this world. The Dallas Cowboys used a futures pick in the 1964 NFL Draft to select Hayes but the Denver Broncos in the AFL did the same per the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website bio. Bob was given the title of the “World’s Fastest Human” when at the 1964 Olympics he took home two Gold Medals in track. Bob chose to play with the Cowboys and he was voted as an All-NFL performer on either the first or second teams in four of his eleven seasons in the League. For his career Hayes had 71 touchdowns scored with 7414 yards receiving. In 2009 Bullet Bob Hayes was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

December 20, 1965 - Seattle , Washington - Mike Utley the guard from Washington State University was born. Mike was a consensus First Team All-America selection in 1988 and according to footballfoundation.org is the most decorated player ever for the Cougars. Mike Utley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame by NFF voters in 2016.
 

Pudge Heffelfinger

December 20, 1867 - Minneapolis, Minnesota - William W. "Pudge" Heffelfinger, the legendary Yale Bulldogs guard, was born. The footballfoundation.org website bio describes Hefflefinger as being 6’-3" tall and weighing in at 195 pounds. Let's put that size into perspective because Cam Newton at quarterback is 6’-5" and weighed 240 pounds. Still, in 1890 when Pudge played, he was extremely athletic and a giant among his peers. His size allowed him to destroy the blocks and defenses of opposing lines where it was said he would typically take out two to three players at a time. With his outstanding athleticism and the genius of Walter Camp, he also is credited with introducing the "pulling guard" play. The All- America selections originated in 1889 by Walter Camp, and Pudge was on this initial team. He repeated in 1890-91, his last two seasons at Yale. Yale was a significant football power during that era, and Pudge helped lead the Bulldog team to undefeated seasons in 1888 and 1891 and one-loss seasons during the 1889 and 1890 campaigns. The 1888 team amazingly outscored their opponents 698-0 that season! The National Football Foundation welcomed the collegiate career of Pudge Heffelfinger into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951. As great of a collegiate player as Pudge was, that's not exactly what Pudge is best known for, though. After college Heffelfinger continued playing for independent teams, and on November 12, 1892, the Allegheny Athletic Association near Pittsburgh paid Pudge Heffelfinger the tidy sum of $500 to play just one game with them against their heated rivals, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. The AAA with Pudge did win the game that day by the score of 4-0, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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