Lost NFL Championship

Vintage football collector, Jeff Payne joins us to share a few items from his collection that tell of the lost 1925 NFL Title by the Pottsville Maroons. Jeff shares the items, the stories behind them, and some fascinating Gridiron History.

Gridiron Collector ‣ Jeff Payne

Jeff Payne is a collector of football memorabilia, and he loves the history behind the items he gathers. A software executive with 30 years of experience by day, Jeff has the bug for vintage football items. An avid collector he even takes the time to write articles for Gridiron Greats Magazine and chat pigskin history with associates.

A few years back, Jeff founded the Vintage Football Community (VFC) which is a community of football card and memorabilia collectors who enjoy each others company and want to talk about the hobby in a relaxed, stress free environment. To learn more about the VFC contact Jeff at jefferyepayne@gmail.com if interested.

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Vintage Football Community ‣ Jeff Payne

Vintage Football Community - New Board - Net54baseball.com Forums

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We have discussed the Pottsville story before. In a nutshell, the Pottsville Maroons had the top record in the NFL in 1925. All signs pointed to them being crowned the NFL Champions for the season. Still, a lucrative pre-scheduled exhibition game against the Notre Dame All-Stars, an ill NFL President, and a phone call with his stand-in all went awry, leading to the title stripping of the Maroons. Here is more detail on the Pottsville Maroons. 

Pottsville Maroons and their Stolen Glory

Stolen Glory: The Pottsville Maroons | Pennsylvania Center for the Book

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Books ‣ Amazon.com ‣ 9781933060354 ‣ Fleming, David ‣ The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship ‣ Breaker Boys

Breaker Boys, David Fleming, Pottsville Maroons

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Football History, Early Pro Football Teams « Pottsville Maroons

Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship [Fleming, David] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship

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We are grateful that our guest Jeff Payne shares a few pieces from his collection, contributing to the Pottsville pro football story. Here are some images that Jeff has shared with a brief description. Jeff has more details in the podcast episode above.

One of the top arguments by pro-Pottsville people is that there was a phone call between the Maroons brass and the NFL offices to gain permission for the franchise to host the Notre Dame All-Stars (including the Four Horsemen and the Seven Mules) in an exhibition game in Philadelphia the weekend of December 13, 1925. Maroons owner, Dr. John Striegel, allegedly initiated the call to the Columbus, Ohio, NFL offices on December 9, 1925, to gain the blessing of NFL President Joe Carr from the Striegel family living room. Present while Striegel made the call was Dick Stahlman, a former Maroons player and another witness to the event. Unfortunately, Carr was not in the office that day due to illness. On the other end of the line was Carr's second in command, Bunny Corcoran, who, according to the following affidavit by Stahlman:

In April of 1967 the above avadavit and this note from Dick Stahlman were crafted and sent to Maroons supporter Joe Zacko Sr. who was championing the cause to NFL Championship reinstatement for the club in the 1960s:

The exhibition game at the center of the whole Pottsville lost NFL Title was played on Saturday, December 12, at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park, against a team known as the Notre Dame All-Stars. The Pottsville eleven was down by the score of 7-6 late in the contest, when the backfield tandem that included Tony Latone and Barney Wentz pushed the ball deep into the Irish territory for a drive that stalled at the twenty yard-line. That brought on Maroon's Field Goal formation with holder Jack Ernest laid on his stomach in the dirt to hold while kicker Charlie Berry led the Pottsville football team to a thrilling 9-7 victory with a last-minute field goal before a crowd of 10,000 fans. Here is what the local newspaper said:

Pottsville defeats ND 13 Dec 1925, Sun The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com

The kick had reportedly hit the crossbar before counting as good. Well, Jeff acquired this very ball, complete with the bruise mark on the leather from hitting the goalpost crosser

Here is closeup of writing/engraving and bruise that Jeff describes to commemorate the moment of victory of the then NFL Champs.

The providence of the ball has testament in multiple fashions, including this document in Jeff's collection.

The Pottsville Maroons have a great story as our guest has discussed. Here are more posts we have collected that tell the story of the franchise and its history.

Those people and teams in gridiron history that did something fantastic, innovated, or just shined as leaders that we need to remember for their contribution to the game we love.

Four Horsemen of Notre Dame bio

Notre Dame Football Preview Article: The Four Horsemen

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Four Horsemen of Notre Dame

The legendary 1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish backfield of Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden.

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Four Horsemen and Seven Mules

A great image of Notre Daes' fabled Four Horsemen and Seven Mules

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The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation members select historic players, coaches, and contributors that rose above their peers in collegiate gridiron history to their College Football Hall of Fame.

National Football Foundation bio on Charlie Berry ‣ Charlie Berry

Charlie Berry was inducted in 1980 to the College Football Hall of Fame by the National Football Foundation

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Little Known Baseball (and football) History ‣ Charlie Berry

(This piece was originally posted in December 2017.) *** If only there was more time to just research the lives of former baseball players. I consider myself a baseball historian of sorts. I read a lot about the game. I do a lot of research. I (obviously) write about the game. It’s rare that I come across a player that I never heard of or know nothing about. But that happened today, and the player I just learned about is one who should be more heralded today for he was truly one of sport^**

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C Berry a great player in multiple sports- NJSports.com ‣ Charlie Berry

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Highlighted Year 1925 ‣ Charlie Berry

End, Pottsville Maroons Age: 23 (Oct. 18) 1 st season in pro football College: Lafayette Height: 6’0”    Weight: 185 Prel...^**

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We want to thank Jeff Payne for sharing the stories and the items in his collection in order to help preserve the history of this fascinating team from NFL history. Each of the images above were taken by Jeff and shared with his permission, and we are all grateful for his genorosity in celebrating the gridiron history.