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A Deep Dive into Every NFL Franchise History

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A Deep Dive into Every NFL Franchise History

Huddle up, football fans! We're embarking on a monumental gridiron odyssey, a deep dive into the rich and storied histories of all 32 National Football League franchises. From the hallowed halls of Canton to the electrifying neon of Las Vegas, we'll unearth the triumphs, tragedies, and unforgettable moments that have woven the tapestry of America's favorite sport.

Imagine a map, not of parchment and ink, but of stitched pigskin and goalpost shadows. Each city, a franchise, its coordinates marked by iconic stadiums, legendary players, and the echoes of cheers that have reverberated through decades. Green Bay, where the ghosts of Lombardi still roam the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Dallas, where echoes of Aikman's laser throws and Staubach's daring scrambles dance in the Texas air. New England, where Brady's dynasty cast a long shadow, a testament to relentless excellence. But this isn't just a stroll down memory lane. We'll delve deeper, unearthing the birth pangs of each franchise, the rivalries that forged their identities, and the social tides that shaped their destinies. We'll meet the trailblazers who shattered racial barriers, the innovators who redefined the game, and the mavericks who dared to defy convention.

This is a journey for every fan, regardless of your team allegiance. It's about understanding the DNA of the NFL, appreciating the intricate web that binds us all together. From the X's and O's to the Jimmies and Joes here are the 32 NFL teams we love.


Results 61 thru 70 of 95 for "NFL Teams"
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The Legacy of the Providence Steam Roller

Greg Tranter’s insights into the Providence Steamroller reveal a rich tapestry of sports history intertwined with the growth of the NFL. The episode explores... — www.youtube.com

Join us for a compelling exploration of the Providence Steam Roller with author Greg Tranter. Greg's latest book is titled The Providence Steam Roller: New England's First NFL Team presents a blend of sports history, personal stories, and socio-cultural commentary.

The podcast captures the essence of the team's legacy, particularly during their remarkable 1928 NFL championship run, which became a defining moment not just for the franchise but for the entire region.

Tranter shares poignant tales, such as the heartbreaking loss of Pierce Johnson’s mother just before the title game, which added a layer of emotional depth to the team's triumph. The discussion also touches on the impact of the Great Depression on the team's fortunes, illustrating how economic challenges led to their eventual withdrawal from the NFL.

Takeaways:

-The Providence Steamroller was New England's first NFL team, established in 1925.

-Greg Tranter's research uncovered unique insights into the team's financial records and player statistics.

-The Steamroller's name originated from a fan's comment during a concession line conversation.

-Their 1928 championship victory was marked by a tragic event just days prior.

-The team's defense was particularly strong, achieving multiple shutouts during their successful seasons.

-Their history reflects the evolution of professional football and its cultural significance in America.

Listeners are treated to a rich narrative that highlights the resilience of the Steamroller, the unwavering support of their community, and the lasting impression they left on American football history. This engaging episode not only celebrates a forgotten team but also underscores the importance of remembering the individuals and events that shaped the sport we know today.

New York Giants Early History Memorabilia with Jeff Payne NYG-100 Part 15

The celebration of the New York Football Giants’ 100th season rolls on. We are in for a special treat in this 15th part of our series. Collector and Historia... — www.youtube.com

The celebration of the New York Football Giants' 100th season rolls on. We are in for a special treat in this 15th part of our series. Collector and Historian Jeff Payne brings some of his favorite NYG pieces to share some awesome gridiron history.

Part 15 of our celebration of the Giant's 100th season is underway, and what an awesome way to appreciate the early G-Men than to actually see some of the history. We also have the audio only available with the Giants Collectibles with Jeff Payne Podcast.

Darin Hayes: Hello, my football friends! This is Darin Hayes of pigskindispatch.com. Welcome once again to the pig pen, your portal of positive football history, and welcome to another edition of a collector's corner of sorts. We have our friend Jeffrey Payne with us from the vintage football community, and Jeff has some great things to share with us for our celebration of the New York Giants. One-hundredth season is coming up in and Jeff, welcome back to the pig pen.

Jeff Payne: It's great to be here, Darin, thanks for having me.

Darin Hayes: Yeah, Jeff, you shared an email with me. You knew we were celebrating a lot of Giants’ items and be a kind of a popular event for us, and you really have some neat things in your collection that really fall right in with what we've been talking about here the last to episodes on our NYG—series.

Jeff Payne: Yeah, that's totally cool. Yeah, we can start as early as you want to go. You tell me where you want to begin.

Darin Hayes: Well, you take us back as far as you can, and let's go. Let's go. We'll go chronologically. How does that sound?

Jeff Payne: That sounds cool. Yeah, I don't know how much you've talked about it already. But obviously, the New York Giants, in was actually not the first professional team in New York City.

Jeff Payne: and they weren't even the Per. The first Nfl team in New York City which a lot of people don't know.

Jeff Payne: There was an NFL team that was earlier than them. They actually were formed before the NFL. In
they went by the name the New York Brickley Giants. For reasons. One is the New York baseball Giants funded the team, and Charles Brickley, who was a time all American at Harvard in the mid-teens, very well known in the northeast. He was kind of the, you know the the person who put it all together and back. Then, of course, it was very common for teams to put this name of their star in their in their name, like Never's, you know, was often mentioned, for the Duluth Eskimos, and Thorp's name worked its way in a few times, and some of the teams, so it wasn't uncommon, for, you know, teams to try to use their star's name to you know, attract.

Darin Hayes: Red Grange, Yankees, and.

Jeff Payne: Exactly. Yeah. And so, you know, they called themselves the New York Brickley Giants. And actually, in they ended up not playing any games, because, you know, at the time that was back when there were the Blue Laws where you couldn't play and do things on Sunday. Well, in New York City passed a law that you were allowed to play baseball on Sunday. So the New York baseball giants were like, Oh, that's cool. Well, maybe we should like, you know create a football team and play football on Sundays after the baseball season ends, and that's how they kind of hooked up with Charles Brickley.

Jeff Payne: But unfortunately, New York City was like, no, no, no, we just met baseball. We didn't mean football, and they apparently got their whole team organized and structured and everything, and they were just about to play their first game, and and they found out they weren't allowed to play on Sundays. And that's just like they just said, forget it. We're disbanding. We're disbanding the team.

Jeff Payne: If that's the case. Cause we we want to play on Sunday when nobody's working. So yeah, so that that transpired. And then then they went dormant for a couple of years, and then in pop back up. It wasn't the New York baseball giants this time. It was his name Billy
Gibson. He was a boxing promoter in New York City, and he heard about the NFL. He thought, hey, there ought to be a team in New York City, and he and Charles Brickley again got together, and Billy Gibson funded it, and Brickley was the coach and the you know, player coach, and I think you own part of it, too, and they, you know, entered the NFL that season. They have the distinction of being that team that played the second least games in Nfl history. They only played NFL games. They lost them both and then they fold it, or they they dropped out of the League. They were still around as an independent team. For a while

Darin Hayes: Well, real quick. Do you know the name of the team that played the least amount.

Jeff Payne: Oh, sure tuna wanda.

Darin Hayes: Yeah, okay. The lumberjacks or the Cardacks.

Jeff Payne: Kardash, or whoever they went for. Yeah, they played one game and dropped out, and the brick and giants played. Yeah, I actually have a postcard of one of the Taj Wanda players. Yeah, I've been. I've been out gun several times when they've come up on ebay. You know there's there's probably I don't know a handful of people in the world that would. They see those things? They know what they are, but there's always one other person that knows it, too, and always seems to outgun me, but I finally got my hands on one, probably.

Darin Hayes: I know or Buffalo, New York, Western New York collectors are probably appraising some of the people you're bidding against.

Jeff Payne: Yes, yeah, I know where many of them live. Which is fine, you know. I just happened to finally get one. So I was pretty happy about that, because that's a cool story, too, that.

Darin Hayes: Yeah, we'll have to talk about that sometime, too.

Jeff Payne: Yeah, no, that's awesome. I do have a couple of of nice images of Charles Brinkley. If you want me to.

Darin Hayes[b]: You. You have the share screen capability. Please do.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Let me do that. Let me see the easiest way to do that. I think I'll just share screen and just pop them up probably easiest here. Alright, should be coming up for for you.

Darin Hayes: I mean.

Darin Hayes: Hold on a second. Yep, there we go!

Jeff Payne: Yeah. So here's Charles Brickley. Yeah. And when he played for the Maslin Maslin tigers in Ohio, so after Harvard he played for Maslin for a few years.
and I. This is just a great shot of an early Nfl. Or sorry early professional player, who was very well known. This shows him obviously kicking, or maybe, you know, looks like maybe even a drop kick, because he's not lifting his leg very high. But Maslin tigers. Charlie.

Darin Hayes: Charles.

Jeff Payne: Correctly in action, right.

Darin Hayes: You can tell. He's a little older, and and these days.

Jeff Payne: Well, yeah, when you see him later, he's he gained some weight I was gonna like I had to like, look at. I was like is this even the same dude he looks like he bounced up and down to maybe lost his baby fat. He got a little little thinner, and then, now, later on, he kinda put some more weight on here.

Darin Hayes: Maybe he was on the some of the the diets that Oprah was how she was gaining weight and losing weight all the time. You know.

Jeff Payne: Now this you'll and you'll notice he's a little bit chunkier in this picture. This is from his high or his college days. So this is, when he was at Harvard.

Darin Hayes: Oh, yeah.

Jeff Payne: He looks bigger here to me spaces then, but you know. But.

Darin Hayes: Little thicker, maybe in the midsection. Yeah.

Jeff Payne: Yeah, that's his, his coach, Percy Houghton, who's a hall of Fame coach and coached at Harvard for many years. So this is a you know. great photo mid mid teams photo of him. And then I do have one actually, from when he was trying to get the the Giants off the ground. Unfortunately, since they didn't play, it's not of him with the Giants, but instead, it's with him. Showing Fordham University players how to how to kick.You'll notice that almost all of Brickley's photos are him kicking the ball. You know. That was, you know, obviously back then. Kicking was so important in the game of football, you know, particularly before passing was even allowed. But even in these days passing was not, you know, done frequently. It was more desperation, and the rules didn't really support it. So you know, teams were punting very frequently. You needed a good needed a good kicker. You need somebody who could PIN them down and make them go the distance, because that was almost impossible to do. And so, you know, players like Brickley. you know Thorpe was another one who were known for their kicking prowess. They also were both great. Drop kickers. You needed that kicker right? In fact, story about the team. You know, one of the Nfl teams that
the Brickley Giants did play was Thorpe's Cleveland team.
Sometimes they went by the Indian, sometimes they went by the tigers, sometimes they went by the thorps. I swear you know they used all

Darin Hayes: Was. Was it? Was it the the Oorang team, or was it the Cleveland.

Jeff Payne: Oorang was and This was.

Darin Hayes: Okay.

Jeff Payne: Cleveland Tigers, slash, Indian slash, whatever they seem to change their name E every so often. But they played one of the only Nfl games that the Bricklay giants played and they played the Polo Grounds. And the reason people know this game is because
Thorpe and Brickley put on a kicking exhibition.
And there's actually a photo out there. I don't own it. I know. There, if you Google it, it is out there you'll see it because it's posted a few places. It shows both of them kind of getting ready to punt. It was probably staged.
but they put on a kicking exhibition and apparently there's some controversy about who won that. Some accounts say, Brickley kicked. They were drop kicking and kicking field goals. Some say Brickley kicked the farthest one, and somebody else said, No, on this last try, for surpassed him and and won it.

You know, of course, back then it was anything to get a fan in the stadiums, and you know they were. They often did kicking exhibitions, and just a any kind of entertainment imaginable, right? Like, you know you mentioned that who rang Indians? They always used to bring their their dogs out from the kennel and have them do tricks and do other things. I even heard they like used to tree a bear. If there was a tree around they'd get a bear out there and sound kind of crazy to me. But
That's the kind of stuff they were they were doing back then for entertainment.

Darin Hayes: They had, to do something to compete against the the college game. So pulling out all the stops was one way to do it. So yeah, very interesting. Very cool pictures.

Jeff Payne: Yeah, fortunate. Unfortunately, they didn't make it. But as I'm sure you know, and people probably heard then, of course, in the actual New York giants came along that are not affiliated at all with the Brickley giants, so their their histories aren't aren't aligned.

Darin Hayes: There. There's a little bit of history, though, involved, cause we we've learned that, you know, from Alan March, who's the great grandson of Dr. Harry March, that and and it's also recorded in Dr. March's writings in his famous book on Early Football History, that Dr. March and Tim Mara, or before they approach Tim Mara.

Joe Carr and March went to Billy Gibson to try to get him to to fund the the New York team, and he didn't want. He had a bad taste in his mouse, I guess, from the previous experience, and stayed with boxing, and and Mara took the the chance on it, so.

Jeff Payne: Well, and I I feel kind of bad for Billy Gibson, because the reason he took the team in was because the NFL. Staged an exhibition game in late or, Sorry, wrong century in Between. I think it was the Canton Bulldogs, and oh, it was the Buffalo Americans, and so they were good teams in the League, and they had an exhibition game in New York City and they had people show up.

So you know, Joe Carr's like, Wow, you know, New York City. Biggest city in America. Right? We did a team here, and he, you know, Billy Gibson's like, Wow, boy, people really like football. I'm all in, and, you know, paid the money and then sunk like a rock. So you know. I I think. The the promise was there right? I mean, that game showed that if you had the right teams or right audience or right situation.

You know, people would show up in New York.

But I think Billy Gibson was like, you got me once on this, you know. I'm not doing it again. But to your point, of course, he introduced Joe Carr to Mara, and you know, as I understand it, you know Dr. March's grandson. Right grandson, is that one.

Darin Hayes: Great great grandson, I believe.

Jeff Payne: Grandson would know better than than I do, certainly, but my understanding was, Mira said. I don't know anything about football at all. Sounds cool. I'm a sportsman and he, you know, reached out to find out who could help him put together a team, and and who knew something about football to help him out, and he, you know, pulled in Dr. March, and who really orchestrated everything and got everything and got the players
did all the heavy lifting, because Miro is like I I don't know anything about the sport, you know.

Darin Hayes: I think the rest of his quote was because there's a $entrance fee. The yeah. The car was charging to get in, he said. God, anything's worth a bet on $you know. So so something that affect so.

Jeff Payne: Yup!

Darin Hayes: But that had to be a good chunk of change back in, you know, s.

Jeff Payne: Yeah, I heard that was it equates to like.
I just read it

Jeff Payne: somewhere between and maybe in today's dollars. So it wasn't huge amount of money. But still, you know, hey, you know, it's not something usually lying around. You're just like.

Darin Hayes: Right, right.

Jeff Payne: Thrown to the wind. But yeah, no merit merit did it. And here we are, right. A years later, and you know.

Darin Hayes: They've added quite a bit to football. That's for sure.

Jeff Payne: Yeah, no, the the giants are obviously an iconic franchise. It's so cool that we're starting to see year anniversaries for these teams. Now, right.

Darin Hayes: Easy.

Jeff Payne: You know. You know we're we got a some coming up in the early early thirties as well right.

Darin Hayes: Right, yeah.

Jeff Payne: Those are all coming up, and of course, this year is also the possible Maroons, one of my my loves, their hundredth year anniversary of their starting almost end in the Nfl.

Darin Hayes[b]: And I felt great. Yeah, very fearful.

[b]Jeff Payne
: To see teams that are that

Jeff Payne: old

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah. Who'd who would have thought?

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah, I know right? And and I love the story about the the grains game. Of course, that's pretty well published and and legendary of, you know, Grange coming into into New York City, and you know, playing against the Giants, and you know the numbers I saw, and you all might have covered. It was, I think, mirror was something like in the hole at the end of that first season, and they've had a good year. I think they lost their first games NFL games, and then they won like in a row. I mean they. They had a pretty stinking good year for their first year in the League, but they couldn't draw enough to break even and what I heard was, Mara was really on the fence about, how long am I gonna do this? You know, if it's gonna be a you know, year, you know investment every year. I can't do that very, very long you know, and you know everybody says that more or less range, and the bears coming into New York playing that infamous game they drew what close to fans they estimate.

Darin Hayes: Yeah, there's between and

Jeff Payne: Tender.

Darin Hayes: For reports, and you know the newspapers weren't super.

Jeff Payne: I think.

Darin Hayes: Yeah, hey? Sliding out of fingers.

Jeff Payne: Ooo! Ooo! Yeah, that kind of saved the save the year. Right? Save the franchise. Maybe it's possible that.

Darin Hayes: Save football in New York, you know. Sure.

Jeff Payne: Yeah, they would have had to gone back to Billy Gibson again, and.

Darin Hayes: See.

Jeff Payne: Yeah, he can wrestle up next right.

Darin Hayes: Yeah, exactly.

Jeff Payne: We do have a couple of of cool things from some of the players on that first team. Now, I don't have anything that shows Thorp on that team because he did play for them early on in the season. I think that was me's first attempted, hey? I'm gonna you know. I'm gonna bring in a name hopefully, a draw. And you know.
yeah, I don't remember what he was paying Thorp, but I'm sure it wasn't cheap, because Thorpe didn't play for cheap didn't matter how old he was. He wasn't play for cheap but he didn't play very much. He was just too old, just too injured, too broken down and I don't remember how many games he was involved. But Merra cut him loose at some point, and just they just agreed to part ways because he wasn't helping the team, and they were losing so much money that you know it just didn't make sense for him to stay engaged ironically. I have a photo of Dutch Hendrian, who is another player on the team. Old school pro I don't have it with me right now, but it's really skinny, tall and skinny, and I always wonder why it was cut like that. Well, it's actually a picture that has Thorpe in it, too. It's Henrieten and Thorpe, and, like one or other dudes in a row on the field, somebody cut it up sold it off. I'm sure they sold the thorp out from under it, so I can say I have part of a photo of Thorpe, but it doesn't show photo of Thorpe in it. You gotta like. Imagine he's next to him, you know, when you look at it.

Darin Hayes: And just have a make his hand or something.

Jeff Payne: Exactly just shows Dutch, Henry. But I've seen the full photo. I'm like, man. I wish I had that
that full photo, because that's that's pretty cool.
But players I'm sure you all have talked about which which I really admire, and they were definitely stars of that team were Hinky Hayes and Haynes, Hinky Haynes and Jack Mcbride.

Jeff Payne: Of course you and I be in Pennsylvania, boys. We love the fact. Both those boys grew up in Pennsylvania.

Jeff Payne: you know. So you know

Jeff Payne: Hanky Haynes was from, I think Red Lion's, where he grew up.

Darin Hayes[b]: I think so.

[b]Jeff Payne
: I think that's it. I actually wrestled a kid from Red Lion College

Jeff Payne: never wrestled anybody from there in high school, but I wrestled him in college. I think he went to Lockhaven or Bloomsburg or somewhere, so I knew Red Lion. They have good wrestling programs, and

Jeff Payne: and Jack Mcbride was from closer to Philly, down by conscien, which is like between like Valley Forge and Philly ish sorta. So they're about Pennsylvania, boys, which go PA right, PA.

Darin Hayes[b]: Surprise the the answer Site League didn't like snatch them up. You know they were going.

[b]Jeff Payne
: No? Right? Yeah. Well, well, I think like.

Jeff Payne: well, Haines played for one of the semi pro teams

Jeff Payne: earlier in the twenties, I'm gonna say, Philly team. Maybe, like the Quakers.

Jeff Payne: there was a there was a

Jeff Payne: independent team in Philly that was pretty big at that time.

Darin Hayes[b]: They had, like Union Club of Phoenixville.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Like that. Yeah.

Darin Hayes[b]: For the month.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Like that. Yeah.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, yeah.

[b]Jeff Payne
: He played there.

Jeff Payne: but I don't think either of them played in the the answers Anthrax League.

Jeff Payne: Of course you know I love trivia right like the what team played the

Jeff Payne: you know. Fewest Nfl games. Of course, you know, Hinky Haynes claimed the famous.

Jeff Payne: I believe he's the only player that won a World series and an Nfl championship.

Darin Hayes[b]: It's right.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Of course Dion Sanders made it to the World Series. He won several Nfl championships, you know. Super bowls didn't win the World Series, though, wasn't with the braves when they won, so he doesn't qualify. So yeah, Hanky Haynes is the only one great great trivia question for you all football

Jeff Payne: guys. And you know, there's not a lot of Hanky Hane stuff out there. I mean, I've seen some photos and stuff like that.

Jeff Payne: I have one thing from Hickie Haines, which is kind of cool. We

Jeff Payne: share my screen again real quick, and I'll bring it up.

Jeff Payne: And it's a baseball item. Actually, it's called mother's bread PIN

Jeff Payne: Haines with the Yankees in he only played one year in the major leagues, so he was fortunate enough to play with the Yanks and win the World Series.

Darin Hayes[b]: What? What does the F stand for like fielder or.

[b]Jeff Payne
: No

Jeff Payne: Well, he was. He was a center fielder.

Jeff Payne: But his first name is

Jeff Payne: Frank or Fred. I don't know if that's the position or his first initial.

Darin Hayes[b]: Okay.

[b]Jeff Payne
: No, because he was a center fielder. So I'm like, okay, does that mean they were designated? He was a fielder, or is that designated his first name was Whatever it is sorry with an FI know that.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, that it probably is.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Wasn't.

Darin Hayes[b]: Color is his last name. It's probably his first initial. Yeah, that's good.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah, I'd have to find another that they did a bunch of mother's bread. Did a bunch of pins that year

Jeff Payne: of players. So.

Jeff Payne: yeah, so you know, one of the things I collect is kind of a sub collection you and I may have talked about. It is, I call it footballers in other sports.

Jeff Payne: I have this huge checklist of every player that I've ever been able to find

Jeff Payne: that played professional football all the way back to the hundreds, but also has something from another sport. Lot of it's baseball, right? You know, you've got the, you know, Patty Driscoll's and the Ernie never's. And those guys who all played baseball, and they've got various cards. You know. But you know occasionally you find some kind of cool items like this as well. It's the only Hanky Haynes item that I've.

Darin Hayes[b]: How? How about one of my favorites, Jack Hayden, who'd have been turning the century, you know, played for the Franklin team I wrote about, and I think he played for Connie Mac and the Philadelphia Athletics and baseball.

[b]Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, yep.

[b]Jeff Payne
: So that's my hinky hands. I have a couple of Jack Mcbride. He's the other the other guy. Of course he didn't stay in States hanky hands once Penn state, by the way, so he's a nitty lion hashtag, we are but he and he was a you know, baseball and football player

Jeff Payne: at Penn State did really well on that. But Mcbride left the State. He left the Philly area, went to Syracuse

Jeff Payne: and had a good, you know. Good

Jeff Payne: good good career up there in Syracuse before he drifted back.

Jeff Payne: you know, over to New York. I have a couple of things

Jeff Payne: from him that I.

Darin Hayes[b]: This was like in in Haines and Mcbride, in those first few giants teams that was their their rushing special. That was their backfield mates, too.

[b]Jeff Payne
: They were. They were backfield mates, and also, you know, back in that day they both through a lot of passes, too, so you'll see them designated, as you know, you know.

Jeff Payne: quarterback, slash, halfback, or something, both of them. In fact, I think Hinky Haynes was designated as the Qb. The year they won the Nfl championship in

Jeff Payne: so he was considered their quarterback. But they both through the ball. This is the back of a giants program, and I always like this image of Jack Mcbride just looks so tough. There, you can tell. He was a brawler and a bruiser.

Jeff Payne: I always thought that was pretty cool.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, it looks like a hard asset, somebody you don't want to go outside with at the bar, and then.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah, he he might have spent some time town downtown, Philly, getting into some fist fights when.

Darin Hayes[b]: Right.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Young and spry, and then he has a

Jeff Payne: He! He has a matchbook as well from

Jeff Payne: which I think is cool.

Darin Hayes[b]: That's a Syracuse uniform. He is on.

[b]Jeff Payne
: You know.

Jeff Payne: I mean, it's But who knows when that photo was taken.

Darin Hayes[b]: The first thing if I'm reading upside down

[b]Darin Hayes[b]: product of series.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Product.

Darin Hayes[b]: University is. There's.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah.

Darin Hayes[b]: I would be, you know.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Form is.

Jeff Payne: It's kind of a funky uniform. It does have a lot of orange in it. So.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Giants had some.

Jeff Payne: you know. Orange, too, right? For a while. Yeah, I think they they might have.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, yeah, could have.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yup, so that.

Jeff Payne: His match book, which I think was cool.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, if I'm reading right, they're advertising. You know. Size, what? foot, pounds, you know

[b]Darin Hayes[b]: today, that would be the the water boy. I think I know.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Maybe ball boy. And then my big, my big piece from is the you know the program from the game.

Jeff Payne: So I've had a couple of these. Actually, they're not as hard to find as you might imagine, just because there were of them of them. Well, who knows how many people bought the program. But obviously there were a lot of these programs

Jeff Payne: purchased at that game. So you know, I I am working on a run of all of the barnstorming programs from the Red Grange barnstorming tour.

Jeff Payne: you know that started, you know, right after he graduated. Well, right after he finished his last college game up through

Jeff Payne: early you know,

Darin Hayes[b]: That's a lot of games. So we we had Chris Willis of Nfl. Films, wrote a good nice book on. We had him on and have his book, and you know great coverage of all those different stops in the Floridas and out West, and everywhere else, is pretty cool.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah, and like.

Darin Hayes[b]: And a buckling with some items.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah, no, that'd be a fun talk, too, is to talk that through that that thing I got I have quite a few things from that. I I don't have a massive amount of programs. I probably have or of them, and I think there was like or

Jeff Payne: or installing games, and I've missed on as well. You know, a long time, collector friend.

Jeff Payne: you know. I remember him telling a story about how he missed on something he really wanted, and he said, Oh, well, you know, I'll get it next time it rolls around. And then he he said it took years before he saw it again. And his his lesson was, if it's something that really really fits your collection you really really want. And you know, it's really really rare. You better freaking. Buy it.

Darin Hayes[b]: I gotta buy it when it's available.

[b]Jeff Payne
: You may never see it again, and I violated that rule twice.

Jeff Payne: and I am still kicking myself because I have never seen either of those programs again. This one, you will see. I've had copies of this program.

Jeff Payne: I traded one few years ago for some other very early Nfl programs.

Jeff Payne: but just a

Jeff Payne: great image of Grange on the front, you know.

Darin Hayes[b]: But, Jeff, just just curious. So being going to your collector side when you have a paper products, you know that we're not meant to survive and be a hundred years old, like they are. How how do you care for those, or display them? Or you know they like, locked in way in darkness? Or do you have them

[b]Darin Hayes[b]: like Madden and frame? How how do you display that.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah, I don't have any of my programs

Jeff Payne: matted and displayed.

Jeff Payne: I have some big cabinet photos matted and displayed. They're all

Jeff Payne: behind, you know, ultra UV

Jeff Payne: glass, you know, if if they're

Jeff Payne: I keep my programs and my other stuff for the most part in binders in the dark.

Jeff Payne: Never see the light of day other than if I pull it out and look at it.

Jeff Payne: But yeah, in in, you know, acid free, you know, holders and binder pages. You know you do need to be careful, because I mean right years old. This thing is years old.

Darin Hayes[b]: Alright!

[b]Jeff Payne
: You know.

Jeff Payne: and you know you can see it's gone through. The war. Looks like somebody crumpled it up and stuck it wanted it in their coat pocket.

Darin Hayes[b]: Cup of coffee on it on the corner.

[b]Jeff Payne
: No? Right? Yeah. Well, it's funny a lot of those old programs, you will see. And they will just have a crease right straight down the middle, because, of course, back. Then everybody dressed up to go out, and you can just envision somebody getting a program at the end of the game, fold it in half, stick it in their coat inside pocket. Right? I do that.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, really.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Stuff all the time. If I have a suitcode on.

Darin Hayes[b]: And it's just.

[b]Jeff Payne
: I I think it's kind of cool, right? You're like, oh, I know what happened to this program. I know exactly what this person did watch the game, and then folded it in half and stuck it in their coat pocket. And here it is today.

Jeff Payne: This one didn't do that, but it looks like they I don't know held it over their head to stop the rain, or I I don't know what they did with this thing, but it.

Jeff Payne: It got beat up.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, we'll have to look at. See what the weather report was. On December sixth, in New York.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Oh, well, you know I don't know if you heard the story about that, but my understanding was that up that of course this is early December, so early December in New York. You could get anything right. I mean, that's like playing in Chicago any in December, and my understanding, from what I read is that the weather up

Jeff Payne: coming up to the game was not very good. I don't know if they had a lot of snow, but I know it was cold, and they had some precipitation. They had some rain, and what I've heard is that Mera was just nervous is all heck, you know. I mean he was betting a lot on this game. Of course he went out there to the Midwest to try to convince Grange to play for the giants that didn't work out too late.

Jeff Payne: but kudos to him, he immediately pivoted around, and he said, Well, next best thing is, get him to come to New York for a game, and

Jeff Payne: he got that commitment. And now

Jeff Payne: it's all dependent on the weather right? And what I heard is it? Up until the day before it was. It was not good weather, and sometime that night.

Jeff Payne: you know, that didn't. The night before the game

Jeff Payne: skies cleared up, things got nicer out still cold, obviously in New York. But

Jeff Payne: nice day.

Jeff Payne: least partly sunny.

Jeff Payne: And he woke up, and he was just like, Thank you. God, I need this, and I read that that the Giants made like a hundred $off that game something like that. Now, I don't know if that was the grand total, and then they split it, you know, with with Grange and the bears, or that was their take.

Jeff Payne: but regardless it more than pulled them out of the hole, and.

Jeff Payne: you know, gave them a cushion that they could use going forward, which you know.

Darin Hayes[b]: Great sign sign in some of these players that helped them win a championship. But you're coming up.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Well, another another trivia. Another early trivia is at point Tim Mara owned at the same time Nfl franchises.

Darin Hayes[b]: Really.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Cause. I know.

Darin Hayes[b]: I know about one other one other than the giants, but.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yes, he.

Jeff Payne: my understanding is, you know. Obviously he made the decision to buy the Detroit team because he wanted Benny Friedman. That was the only way I could he could get them was they were flailing. They belonged to Detroit.

Jeff Payne: He was worried. Somebody else was gonna buy him. I think he bought it for like grand.

Jeff Payne: So he bought the Detroit team and took their players

Jeff Payne: and so now he had

Jeff Payne: and I don't remember what he did with that one. I don't remember if he turned it back in the League eventually, but he had to.

Jeff Payne: and then the other one was. My understanding is

Jeff Payne: because of his arrangement with Grange

Jeff Payne: and

Jeff Payne: CC. Pyle when he allowed them to come into the Nfl

Jeff Payne: with the other New York team, the Yankees

Jeff Payne: if I'm remembering that right. That was the third one that he ended up with when Ccp.

Jeff Payne: Decided he didn't want to carry forward with the Nfl. Version of that team after a few years.

Jeff Payne: and he ended up with that one, too, and I believe that became the Staten Island. Stapleton's like he sold that to somebody else

Jeff Payne: to form the staple tins, because he still.

Darin Hayes[b]: Oh, okay.

[b]Jeff Payne
: The rights in New York.

Jeff Payne: and he was only gonna sell it to somebody that you know. He kinda felt like he controlled or they weren't, you know, encroaching in territory, but he actually, I read. He had Nfl franchises at the same time.

Darin Hayes[b]: Taking a while. Guess I was thinking like, maybe the the horseman, the afl horseman team, because I know they merged with somebody, and I couldn't remember

[b]Darin Hayes[b]: if that was it. But so he had the the New York ranges. Ccp. Yankees in their Nfl year. Okay, after that.

[b]Jeff Payne
: I believe that is yeah. So he owned at once, which is kind of freaking crazy. You think about it.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, it is.

[b]Jeff Payne
: From not knowing anything about football to owning

Jeff Payne: basically franchises, of them defunct. Obviously they weren't playing.

Darin Hayes[b]: How many people can you can say that, you know, cause even like Burt Bell, only part of you know. He was ownership of different franchise. I can't think of anybody else that

[b]Jeff Payne
: Honestly at the same time. Right you could think of like you know, Ollie Osg Group, if that's how you pronounce his name, who own the Eskimos, and then negotiated with the Nfl. A smart man to have the right to be part owner in a future team in the area, and man. That was a pretty cool move on his part.

Jeff Payne: I can't think of many.

Darin Hayes[b]: Unless you count like, you know, or or say trading the the you know, with the rams Colts thing. Yeah. And the the other party on that I forget their name. But the yeah, very cool.

[b]Jeff Payne
: The other thing I thought you might like is, and you may have had somebody else show one of these. But

Jeff Payne: these were season passes.

Jeff Payne: They call them silver passes that the New York giants sold

Darin Hayes[b]: Never seen that before. That's cool.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Well, I think they stole it from some of the New York baseball teams, because I've seen baseball ones. They're obviously not shaped like this, but they're baseball ones from the mid twenties to from New York, and I can't remember if they were Yankees or giants.

Jeff Payne: But same idea right? You know, a silver pass, you know.

Jeff Payne: with the team on the front

Jeff Payne: and then on the back, which I think is really cool.

Jeff Payne: is, you know, the name of the person

Jeff Payne: and and the number of the past. This is for the season.

Jeff Payne: Now I've made it a little hobby every time one of these comes up I go on newspaperscom to see if I can figure out who the heck. This person was right. I did track down Mr. Trumbull. As you would imagine if you were buying a season pass. You probably had some cash in So it wasn't actually that hard to find the ones that I've seen.

Jeff Payne: because they tend to be people who are at least somewhat well known or affiliated with sports in the New York area. Mr. Trumbull was a newspaper columnist for one of the papers. I've read some of his articles from back in It's clearly him.

Jeff Payne: Which is kinda cool.

Jeff Payne: you know. I think he was in Brooklyn. Is that where he was at? Yeah, I think it was Brooklyn. I've seen one for John Mcgraw, manager for the New York, you know, baseball team.

Darin Hayes[b]: Baseball. Giants. Yeah.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Back in the day. I've seen one for him, so he was clearly a season ticket holder, and I've seen one for a judge.

Jeff Payne: So I tracked him down from some of the court cases. His name?

Jeff Payne: Yeah. So it's just a little kind of cool.

Darin Hayes[b]: Now, how how large is this? A, actually, is this like size of a coin? Or you know.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah, it there it's I have it blown up here so you can see. I'd say it's about.

Jeff Payne: Oh, it's hard to tell on the screen. But yeah, like, you know how you

Jeff Payne: you put those coins in a machine and stretch them out. It's not that small. They're bigger than that.

Jeff Payne: but

Jeff Payne: you know they're probably

Jeff Payne: to inches long, one inch.

Jeff Payne: aye, maybe a little bigger than that nice size.

Darin Hayes[b]: And they're like pure silver. So, or is it just silver.

[b]Jeff Payne
: I do not know what they're

Jeff Payne: well, there's a mark down there. I I don't know.

Jeff Payne: They call them silver passes. I do not know if they're actual silver or not

Jeff Payne: that yeah, that'd be hard.

Darin Hayes[b]: Pretty expensive token to be carrying to a football game. Say, okay, I'm here for my wanting to gate.

[b]Jeff Payne
: But pretty expensive tickets to be,

Jeff Payne: you know, producing for your fans, too, you know.

Jeff Payne: There, these are hard to get, and they're hard to get, because when they do show up they go for some cash. And people, probably giants, fans really like these, and they do not show up. I've only seen like I said, a handful of them through the years.

Jeff Payne: and they're hard to get. I took or runs at them before I finally was able to get one.

Jeff Payne: I just think they're cool. It's like.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, that's really neat. I've never seen or heard of those before. That's really that is neat.

[b]Darin Hayes[b]: Yep, yeah, thank you for sharing that.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah.

Jeff Payne: So I think that's that's my stuff from the giants, early giants.

Jeff Payne: memorabilia. Wise. I I have later stuff some freedmen things and other things, of course, into the

Jeff Payne: s. But in terms of the first couple of years of the giants.

Darin Hayes[b]: Very very cool.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Able to track down.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, those those are. I mean, that's great. I mean you. We've we've talked about some of these folks, but you you shared some different stories about them. Some, you know, we saw some different images of them from your collection. Learn some new things like the silver in the past that you had, and that's all great stuff in the match book. I've never seen seen that before. That's

[b]Darin Hayes[b]: that's some really neat stuff that they they used to make.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Absolutely. Yeah. I love. I love trying to find images of pro players, you know, from the early days, because there weren't a lot of cards back. Then, you know, there weren't many card sets, so

Jeff Payne: you know, there's no tops. There's no bowman there. There's not none of that stuff out there. So you gotta kind of really dig

Jeff Payne: to find things, whether it's photos or match books or pins or

Jeff Payne: backs of programs, fronts of programs. There's just not that many images for a lot of these players, you know

Jeff Payne: it does in that era.

Darin Hayes[b]: It seems like advertisers love to use those their images, though, you know, like you had the mother's bread, and what was the matchbook of probably a cigarette company or something.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah, I'm in diamond mash books. Yup.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, yeah.

[b]Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, real. Cool.

[b]Jeff Payne
: And and I do have some. You know, when Grange came to New York City I know the story is, you know, one of the ways that mayor enticed

Jeff Payne: him and the bears and whatnot to come. Play that game was.

Jeff Payne: you know, he's like, Hey, you know, New York city advertising capital of the world. You can sign endorsement deals there, and and my my understanding is Grange and Pyle either came a day early or stayed a day later, and just basically set up in the hotel.

Jeff Payne: And we're like, just bring it whatever you want grains to endorse. You. Come and pitch it. We'll take the

Jeff Payne: the best deals, and apparently they they signed up a lot of endorsement deals. Well, they were in New York City.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah. I've already had.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Hello! I heard.

Darin Hayes[b]: Andy bars. I think I've seen before.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Shotwell. Yeah. The Shotwell candy bars which the movie came out of that the movie you know came out of that as well associated with the shot. Wells. I think that was actually a Kennedy production, right? Wasn't Joe Kennedy. I think Joe Kennedy produced the movie min

Jeff Payne: to play.

Jeff Payne: which was the the Grange movie. And

Jeff Payne: Shotwell was the sponsor for that movie. Because, you know, then they produce those great card sets

Jeff Payne: of Grange, the addbacks and the blank backs from the movie.

Jeff Payne: Yeah. So I I think I don't remember what I heard. Grange ended up with endorsement deal wise out of that New York City trip, but it was a lot.

Jeff Payne: He he raked it up, including the meatloaf story. I love the meatloaf. I've never seen anything with Grange's picture on a meatloaf before, so I kind of wonder how that all went down. But apparently that was one of the endorsement deals that.

Darin Hayes[b]: And what was it like.

[b]Jeff Payne
: A meatloaf.

Darin Hayes[b]: And in the shape of his head, or.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Don't know. I've never seen.

Darin Hayes[b]: Your meat loaf in it. You want your meat loaf to look like a football player. Here we go.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah, I mean, the you know, Shotwell rappers are out there. The Shotwell cards are out there. There's movie placards. I have a big kind of broad board broad, you know, broadside advertisement for that movie hanging up in my my basement that I picked up somewhere. So you know a lot of those endorsement deals there's stuff out there to to grab. And I love. I love grabbing, you know, advertisement type stuff with football on it.

Jeff Payne: but I've never seen the meatloaf. I don't know what happened with that one, you know.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah, pro. Probably not any of them left. I'm probably got eaten or thrown away by now.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah, I know. Right, you're gonna keep a meat loaf camp.

Darin Hayes[b]: I don't want to smell a hundred year old.

[b]Jeff Payne
: That.

Darin Hayes[b]: I know.

[b]Jeff Payne
: No, I have a couple of the Shotwell boxes

Jeff Payne: that the candy bars came in.

Darin Hayes[b]: Okay.

[b]Jeff Payne
: As well. Yeah, those are floating around out there. You'll see them.

Darin Hayes[b]: They gotta be rare.

[b]Jeff Payne
: They're pretty rare.

Jeff Payne: They're pretty rare. But they yeah. Once in a while one will pop up

Jeff Payne: ebay or at auction, or whatever more so than the rappers do the wrappers you never see.

Jeff Payne: They're really hard to find.

Jeff Payne: and there's different varieties. There's I think it's or different versions of the wrapper that are out there. I think I have or of them

Jeff Payne: never found them all

Jeff Payne: they're impossible to find. Always on the prow. One came up. Actually, I think it was on

Jeff Payne: ebay sometime in the last couple of months, but it was one I already had so.

Darin Hayes[b]: Who? Who would have thought when some kids eating a candy bar, and you know, tossing it away, that someday somebody would want that and have it as a piece of collection and pay big money, for that's, you know, something

[b]Darin Hayes[b]: one man's treasures, another man's trash, or however it goes.

[b]Jeff Payne
: One cool thing that came out of that was, there's always been a debate about.

Jeff Payne: you know, which card is Red Grange's earliest card.

Jeff Payne: Is it the strip card that was produced? Is it the Shotwell sets that was produced? Is it the star player candy? Is it the Spalding Slash sports Company, America. All those were produced in the twenties at some point, obviously mid to late twenties.

Jeff Payne: but nobody knows for sure when those were actually produced.

Jeff Payne: and for a long time, you know, it was felt like

Jeff Payne: the star player candy which

Jeff Payne: one of the grading companies has. This One of them has this

Jeff Payne: it could be arranged, too, right? Nobody knows, because the problem is, the card says, you know, he's with Illinois on the card, so everybody's like, well, it ha! It can't be after

Jeff Payne:

Jeff Payne: but it wasn't uncommon, of course, back then, for

Jeff Payne: the makers of cards to put their college designations on players cards, because college was just so much more popular than the pros were.

Jeff Payne: And so I don't know if that necessarily means that cards from I know that some of the other players in the shot or in the star player candy set

Jeff Payne: a couple of the cards designate the player as captain, and that person wasn't captain until

Jeff Payne: for their team in college. So they at least went, they were at least produced until

Jeff Payne: And so, you know, one of the grading companies has is because of the Grange. Somebody else has a because some of the cards couldn't have been produced before then.

Jeff Payne: Who knows when? But there's always been this debate about when these cards were produced.

Jeff Payne: but one interesting thing is so. A lot of people say, well, the the star putter candy, because of the cards that are in there, you know. People tend to think maybe it was a little later, and they just put Grange is Illinois cause he was so well known for that.

Jeff Payne: But then you have the well, was it? When did the shot well, candy come out? Did it come out before the movie was produced because the movie came out in. I think it was the

Jeff Payne: fall of

Jeff Payne: was filmed during the summer.

Jeff Payne: If you heard that story like they need people in the stands, but it had to be cold. So they they paid people.

Jeff Payne: No, they even pay them. Ccp. I think, came up with the idea of. They told people they could come in and watch an exhibition of football if you wear a winter coat during the game, and it was in like La in the summer. And all these people showed up for free football, and they scrimmaged as part of this

Jeff Payne: this movie production. They got all these people to come for free and wear coats like it was cold out.

Darin Hayes[b]: In l-.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Really

Jeff Payne: great idea. Right? So a lot of people are like, well, when did this come out? And and you know, could the Shotwells be the earliest but long story short, one of the wrappers I bought was taken it was removed from a scrapbook.

Jeff Payne: and on the back of the wrapper still attached

Jeff Payne: to the

Jeff Payne: to the the wrapper.

Jeff Payne: From the back side of the scrapbook was a piece of a box score from a baseball game.

Jeff Payne: Alright, and I was like, Okay.

Jeff Payne: I'm gonna figure out when this game was played.

Jeff Payne: Is this a game.

Jeff Payne: just a game.

Jeff Payne: What month, and then I'll be able to know at least right.

Jeff Payne: When did this? When was this candy bar purchased at least.

Jeff Payne: and I did track it down

Jeff Payne: through a lot of heavy lifting. It's actually a world. It was a world series game in So it was played in October of

Jeff Payne: so I at least know the candy bars, you know. You know. At least we're being produced during that timeframe.

Jeff Payne: You know, around October of which was right around when the movie came out. So they probably coincided.

Jeff Payne: You know, the relief.

Darin Hayes[b]: And it coincided with the the Afl

[b]Darin Hayes[b]: Yankees, red, green Yankees.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Oh, yeah.

Darin Hayes[b]: Original, Afl.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yep.

Darin Hayes[b]: That's season.

[b]Jeff Payne
: So yeah, that was kind of cool. So I kinda know when those were produced.

Jeff Payne: subsequently learned that you can tell based on some nuances of the strip cards that were produced.

Jeff Payne: which year they were produced, and the Grange one definitely was produced in So I kind of lean toward the

Jeff Payne: the Grange strip card.

Jeff Payne: black and white strip card that's out there that you see occasionally as being probably his oldest card.

Jeff Payne: but nobody's

Jeff Payne: certain on that.

Darin Hayes[b]: That's the fun part of collecting and like in history, when you have those controversies. And there's not really any answer that's definitive, that it makes for great debate and stories and and great listening for for people like myself and the listener. So that's cool stuff. It probably drives you crazy. But we, we love it.

[b]Jeff Payne
: It's all. It's all good, you know. It's not life or death, right? I always say it's just. It's just collecting nothing to get worked up about. You know you have your opinion. I have mine. You have your facts. I have mine. We agree disagree, whatever. It's just a hobby. Just fun.

Jeff Payne: Yeah.

Darin Hayes[b]: So may maybe, with with that thought, let's segue in. You know you have run a a forum that has some some of the the best football minds and historians of our day. Because they mo many, most of them are collectors, and know, just like yourself, know a lot about the pieces they collect. So you know, when you're throwing down some some cash on some things, you want to have some back history on it. Once you share with folks that maybe they'd be interested in in joining, or, you know.

[b]Darin Hayes[b]: looking at some of the stuff, too, that's being shared on our collectors form.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah, sure. Yeah, thanks, Darren, yeah. So I run vintage football community.

Jeff Payne: It's a football only

Jeff Payne: community of I always say collectors and collectors, hobbyists, and researchers. Because

Jeff Payne: we have all sorts. You mentioned Chris Willis earlier, who's written a bunch of books. I love all his books on football

Jeff Payne: and he's a he's a member. He does some collecting, but he's more known for his research and his books and whatever. And

Jeff Payne: and if you're gonna

Jeff Payne: really understand some of these items and their context. You need people really know

Jeff Payne: football, you know Timothy Brown, who, you know, obviously, is another person that

Jeff Payne: sticks out to me as being somebody who just drills into subjects

Jeff Payne: and knows so much about so many things.

Jeff Payne: Then, having people like that around, you know. You know. I I the people on the on on our group always say not a week goes by that you don't see something in the hobby you've never seen before. It is so true true for me every week I'm like, Wow! I've never seen that before. I cannot believe that exists.

Jeff Payne: and you know it's great, because people will post something and say, Hey, I don't know what this is right. We have that one.

Jeff Payne: We've one thread that's the unsolved. We called unsolved mysteries.

Darin Hayes[b]: Has commented multiple times. That's his favourite thing.

[b]Jeff Payne
: A.

Darin Hayes[b]: Loves, that when those come up and.

[b]Jeff Payne
: And now gets.

Darin Hayes[b]: Digging. You know he loves that.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Yeah. And there's lots of people that do a lot of digging right? I mean, they'll see something they'll be like, I I think I know where to look for this, and

Jeff Payne: within a couple of days often not always like some stuff you just you just can't find.

Jeff Payne: But people will dig in and find stuff and pop up

Jeff Payne: contacts for it.

Jeff Payne: You know what like. I was just doing some research on early black players pro players, and it reminded me that I had this photo of a you know, an all black team.

Jeff Payne: and the it had a banner, but it was really hard to read it, and I could not figure out what this team was, and finally I gave up and I posted it to.

Jeff Payne: You know. Vfc.

Jeff Payne: in that.

Jeff Payne: you know, in that channel, and within a day or

Jeff Payne: somebody had it right. They're like, Oh, this, that's here's what it is. And what what struck me was they mentioned in the article I was reading, that the first game

Jeff Payne: between

Jeff Payne: black teams, college teams, historically, Black Universities, was played between Biddle and Livingston University.

Darin Hayes[b]: Yeah.

[b]Jeff Payne
: I think they were in North Carolina or somewhere in the South.

Jeff Payne: and

Jeff Payne: this is a photo not as old as that game.

Jeff Payne: Of Biddle.

Jeff Payne: they change their name so on the on the

Jeff Payne: the pennant that was really hard to read. It had their new, the new name of their college. But the ball

Jeff Payne: had Lc. For Livingston College, so they clearly had taken this after they'd beaten their arch rival, who they played the first game between historically black colleges.

Jeff Payne: you know. Here's a picture, you know. I think it was from the team. So.

Darin Hayes[b]: That's.

[b]Jeff Payne
: You know, or so years after

Jeff Payne: the first time they played, but you know I was. I never would have known what that was if it wasn't for for vm.

Darin Hayes[b]: And see, and.

[b]Jeff Payne
: We just, you know, it's also a place that collectors can share and

Jeff Payne: talk about stuff and enjoy each other people that appreciate your stuff right? You know I don't know about you, but most people I know they don't appreciate this stuff.

Darin Hayes[b]: No, yeah, right? It it.

[b]Jeff Payne
: They they close up.

Darin Hayes[b]: So as so.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Talking about. They start blazing over.

Darin Hayes[b]: Get in a group of football nerds like the Vfc. Is. That's that's our place, that with our safe place that we can all enjoy each other's company and collections, and the history so great. Great Forum, great place.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Always looking for new members. It's free.

Jeff Payne: You know. Just drop me a line and

Jeff Payne: send it through, Darren. If anybody's interested. We're always looking for more people, the more the merrier you know, the more contacts, the more people showing different things. It's just a great place to enjoy the hobby kind of so.

Jeff Payne: and and we always do something. Anyone's going to the National this year.

Jeff Payne: You know, which is Mecca for me. I I went when it came to Baltimore, and like right around whenever it was in Baltimore, that was my first national. I was just getting back into the hobby.

Jeff Payne: and it was local. So I was like, I'll run up and I'll check this thing out. I've heard about, and I just fell in love with it. I've been there every year since other than obviously Covid year when they didn't have it.

Jeff Payne: And I've already said I'm gonna go there until they can't wheel me there anymore.

Jeff Payne: I just love it. And it's not even the content. There, I mean, you see, so much great stuff, but

Jeff Payne: it's just catching up with people and

Jeff Payne: seeing so many people and talking about so much stuff. And you know, it's just it's almost like a reunion at this point.

Jeff Payne: Anybody that's going to Cleveland this year definitely. Yeah, look me up. And if you're interested in VFC, let Darin know. I'd love to have you.

Darin Hayes[b]: Very cool, Jeff. We real, I mean, we appreciate you sharing these stories, the information you have. You're hoping to preserve the football history and and helping us celebrate this New York giants season as well. And we can't thank you enough. And appreciate your time.

[b]Jeff Payne
: Thank you. Happy birthday giants. Fans.

Jeff Payne: It's a great, great accomplishment. A years.

Origin of the Dallas Cowboys & KC Chiefs in a Ten Gallon War by John Eisenberg

Read 34 reviews from the world’s largest community
for readers. In the 1960s, on the heels of the “Greatest Game Ever Played,” professional football began … — www.goodreads.com

Two of the more popular teams in the NFL based on jersey sales are undeniably the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys. Their active and passionate fanbases are mobilized and outspoken and the players are some of the best on the planet. But where did these teams arise from?

Journalist John Eisenberg wrote a book on the shared rise to power of the Chiefs and Cowboys in his book: Ten-Gallon War: The NFL's Cowboys, the AFL's Texans, and the Feud for Dallas's Pro Football Future

-Transcript of Ten Gallon Wars with John Eisenberg

Darin Hayes
Hello my football friends. This is Darin Hayes at pigskindispatch.com. We are here once again to talk about some great football, professional football level today, and a very interesting book that was written by the author, John Eisenberg, one of his multiple books on the game of football. It's called 10 Gallon War, the NFL's Cowboys and the AFL's Texans, and the feud for Dallas's pro football future. We'll bring him in right now. John Eisenberg, welcome to the Pigpen.

John Eisenberg
Well, thank you for having me; I'm looking forward to it.

Darin Hayes
I am, too, because this is a very interesting topic. But before we get into your book, maybe you could just tell the listening audience a little bit about yourself and what brought on your football fandom.

John Eisenberg
Well, I grew up and am a native Texan. I grew up in Dallas and was born and raised there as a Cowboy fan. You know, I always tell people, you know, don't don't throw stuff at me too hard. But you know, I came by naturally; I grew up in their family and had season tickets from literally when the Cowboys began in 1960. So I'm a real one. And after college, you know, I got into sports writing as a career. And I actually worked in Dallas for five years there at the afternoon paper there at Dallas time, Cheryl, I did not cover pro football. But, you know, I did cover a lot of cowboy games and all that stuff. And then, in 1984, I made a big move to Baltimore Sun, where I got a column; I've been a columnist at the Baltimore Sun for 25 years. So, I did a ton of pro football there. But I got there right when the Colts were leaving. And so there was over a decade without football in Baltimore, and did a lot of Super Bowls and other cities, teams, and all that stuff. And then, of course, the Ravens came to town. And I've been covering the Ravens ever since. As a matter of fact, since 2012, that's where I write; I left the newspaper business a little over a decade ago because I've written these other books; I had that sort of secondary career. But yet, the Ravens actually bought me lock, stock, and barrel, you know, my opinions. They want me to write an opinion on their digital platforms, good, bad, or indifferent, and it's been very interesting. But I've been doing that for a decade. So, you know, I've just been an opinion maker in the Baltimore market for many, many years and been around a million football teams and players and games. And, you know, aside from my daily stuff, I've done, as you mentioned, a bunch of books.

Darin Hayes
Uh, this is going to be a very interesting dynamic in our conversation. Cause I don't know if you know, I'm from Western Pennsylvania, a lifelong president, and a Steelers fan. So I'm talking to somebody from Dallas who was born a Cowboys fan, who was sort of, uh, I grew up with that, that nemesis of, you know, the three Super Bowls played against each other and, uh, and now the Ravens, uh, the arch enemies of the Steelers, this is going to be really interesting. So this is a get some great perspective here for me.

John Eisenberg
I would like to be your worst possible guest.

Darin Hayes
Oh, absolutely not. Absolutely not. It's great when you can agree or disagree on things. And that makes conversations more interesting, I think. So I think this will be extremely interesting. So we'll have to talk a little bit about Ravens-Steelers if we have some time at the end. Now, let's get into your book. The one book that we want to talk about today is from your hometown, the Dallas Cowboys in Pro Football. And maybe you could start off by explaining where the beginnings of pro football in Dallas were and what the climate was like for pro football in that city.

John Eisenberg
Well, what's amazing was in the late fifties, there were no teams there. Dallas, you know, is now such a huge football market, but it is not one of those original markets where there were NFL teams like Pittsburgh and other places going back to the Depression and whatnot. But by the late fifties, of course, pro football was taking off. And there were a lot of cities that wanted in. Most of them were on the south way, you know, the Sunbelt, where there was starting to be some money. And certainly, in Texas, there was a ton of money, oil money. These wanted to be into pro football, but the NFL was reluctant to expand George Halas and those guys, as well as Art Rooney and Pittsburgh. They'd spent a lot of years not making any money. They were finally making money. And they were hesitant to carve up the pie. Really is what it comes down to. They trusted each other, but they weren't sure who else they should trust. So they didn't want these cities to come in. So, you know, Lamar Hunt is a 26-year-old kid who is a native of Dallas. He's the son of probably the wealthiest man in America. His father was HL Hunt, an oil man. Lamar and HL actually assumed that Lamar would go into the oil business. But Lamar was a sports nut. And he was from the beginning. He was a football player. He was a third-string end at SMU in the 50s. And he didn't want to go into the oil business. He wanted to go into football and the NFL. But those guys basically patted him on the head, Halas, and said, you know, we like you; we like your money. But we're not going to bring a team to Dallas. And so he made the decision, you know, that's what led him to form the AFL, which was that the NFL wouldn't let him in. And so that's sort of where it all started. Honestly, the roots of the whole AFL and the changes in pro football and everything that came out of that started because Dallas had no teams, and Lamar Hunt wanted one and didn't get one. So that's really where it all began.

Darin Hayes
But I don't; I didn't realize that Lamar Hunt was so young when he started his endeavor, and that's really some, having some brass tax at 26 years old. I don't know if I'd be thinking that big when I was 26 years old. I don't know about you, but that's really quite an endeavor to go to the NFL, even though it was a little bit smaller than it is now, and then start your own league when they don't accept you; that's a tremendous drive that he had to do that.

John Eisenberg
I think he was kind of naive. To be honest with you, I think he was not super competitive about it. He originally thought, well, they won't let me in. He was a very kind-hearted guy. And he was like, they're not gonna let me in. So I'll just do my own league. We won't, and maybe we don't even have to compete with them. He was really naive in that he was like, well, there's room for another league, we'll just have another league. And not realizing, of course, that the NFL people just freaked out when, you know, the possibility of another league. So, but I think when he started, he was like, oh, this will be fine. This will be great. We won't bother them. And they won't bother me. Honestly, incredibly naive.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, I guess so he probably didn't look back a decade earlier at the AFC when they competed and ended up getting absorbed pretty much and had franchises eliminated when they were merged in the NFL so not a great track record for rival leagues against the NFL.

John Eisenberg
The NFL cared a lot about who the rivals were. And, you know, very quickly, realized we're getting a little ahead of it. But the people that he brought in had some money; the AFL people, Lamar, of course, had more money than all the NFL people put together. And so did Bud Adams, who started the Houston Oilers. And, you know, they had a lot of people, not all of them, but they had a lot of people with money. And so right off the bat, the NFL said, who, this is a real challenge. And so that's where things got started.

Darin Hayes
Okay, now, you also say in your book that there was another franchise that was trying to be started in Dallas about the same time, maybe if you could talk about that group or owner and the team.

John Eisenberg
Which are you referring to? I mean, there was there was an NFL team in Dallas in the early 50s. You know, there was, you know, there was that team, the Dallas Texans, that, Yeah, not.

Darin Hayes
It's the original Dallas Texans, but it's the start of the Cowboys franchise.

John Eisenberg
Oh, that. Yes. Well, yeah, I did. I didn't want to.

Darin Hayes
spill the beans too early on.

John Eisenberg
Oh, that other team. Yes, well, yeah, Clint Murchison was the oil man that eventually started the Cowboys, and he had been in touch with the NFL as well in the late fifties before there was a team, and the NFL was reluctant to expand, but sort of talking about it. He had been in touch with Halas and Rooney, and those old guys all knew him, and those guys all loved him. He was also from the oil business. He was this little, wise-cracking, bespectacled guy who was on the cover of Time Magazine at one point, really, really rich. The NFL guys loved his money, and he was funny, and they liked him. And so they had not decided to give him a team yet, but when he'd been in touch with them, they all knew him. And when the AFL started, and Lamar said, we're starting this new league, and we're gonna put a team in Dallas, the NFL, they didn't wanna lose that market. They didn't wanna lose the Dallas market and just handed it over. So they said, okay, well, we're gonna put a team in there too. And they nominated, or they basically gave Clint Merckx in a phone call and said, hey, are you ready to go? That's really what it boiled down to. And he said, great. So they expanded. The NFL had not expanded in years, and they expanded with a team in Dallas in 1960, and then they paired it with the Minnesota Vikings started in 1961. So they paired it with two teams they brought in, but they started the Cowboys almost with the snap of a finger. They said it was 1959, and the AFL was getting ready to start. And they said, hey, well, can you get a team up and running next year? And Clint Merckx said, well, yeah, we can. And so it really was almost just a quickie. They asked if we could get this thing going. And they did. But Clint Merckx is the guy that got it going. And he was a good businessman, and he made a couple of key hires, I would say, given the history of what unfolded after that. He hired Tex Schramm as the general manager, who had been with the Rams and had been with CBS TV and was a real sort of forward-thinking guy. He hired Tom Landry as the coach, a Texans Texan from the University of Texas, and they flew bomber missions in World War II and were successful; he was the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants at the time, a very successful, smart coach, and an assistant coach. Vince Lombardi was the offensive coordinator, and the staff was decent. And so he hired Tom Landry. So Clint Merckx did some very smart things. He hired some really, really good people. And so that was how the Cowboys began.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, a very interesting couple of comments here. You know, I think when you're talking about Minnesota, I believe the NFL did a similar thing with Minnesota. The AFL was about ready to open up a franchise there, and they contacted some folks up there. The Vikings came in, and I think that's what led the Minnesota franchise to turn into Oakland. I believe that's how the story went.

John Eisenberg
Yeah, yeah, that is correct. That is exactly what happened. And yeah, they were forcing hands. If the NFL said, you know, we're not going to give these markets up, it was contentious pretty quickly.

Darin Hayes
Now, in your opinion, they had Lamar hunt, and you know, they turned Lamar hunt down. He decides, okay, I'm going to start my own league, gets, gets some, uh, some of the other wealthy, uh, owners together to start this. Do you think if he hadn't done that and Murchison comes to them and says, Hey, I want to Dallas Cowboys, that they would have sort of blown him off like they did the hunt at the first time?

John Eisenberg
Very debatable. It's a great question that we'll never know the answer to. As I said, they're in no hurry to expand. They had 12 teams through the whole 50s. They were very happy with that. And the money was rolling in, as I said, from TV for the first time. And so they were making some money, and they were excited about that because they hadn't made it for 30 years. And so they may not have, but Congress was sniffing around. The pressure was coming in terms of being forced to expand. And I think they probably would have eventually. The expansion committee in the NFL was George Halas. He was on the expansion committee. They claimed to have one. It was George Halas. He was running things. And so he really had no interest, but I think he could see, and Burt Bell, who was the commissioner, that it was probably going to have to happen pretty soon. There were just so many cities that were on the outside looking in that it was almost a trust that needed to be busted.

Darin Hayes
Okay, so now we're at the point where Hunt has his team, which she ended up calling the Dallas Texans. The second carnation of the Dallas Texans, as we alluded to earlier, was an earlier team in the NFL, the Dallas Texans. And you have, you know, the Tech Tram hire and the Landry hire of the Dallas Cowboys, which are going with the other crew that had the NFL franchise. So, how did those competing teams and leagues compete in the same market? How did they deal with each other?

John Eisenberg
It was pretty crazy. Just such an unprecedented situation. There was one stadium, the Cotton Bowl, the big stadium, which was a real sort of college football shrine. They had a New Year's Bowl game there. It was a big stadium, a big concrete sort of terrain that had been the site of many, many great games. Texas and Oklahoma played there every year. I mean, Dallas was a Texas was a college football haven. That's why they wanted it. I mean, it was very popular there, especially in high school and college football. The pros were that's what they were trying to tap into a really passionate football area, which it was then and still is. But then, once they got going, they fought over dates in the Cotton Bowl. Lamar Hunt had the right and had signed a lease. And so he got the Sunday afternoon window, a number of games that he could choose from, and a number of dates. So the Cowboys actually were sort of left out on that. And they started out playing on, they played, I think the first ever game was on a Saturday night, and they had a Friday night game. And, you know, the league wasn't telling teams what to do then. The national TV contracts hadn't started. So they were just winging it at the different times when they could play. So they fought over the stadium. Finally, when the other one played when one team played, the other one was on the road, and people would decide in Dallas, would decide which side are we going on here? Almost immediately, every football fan in Dallas had to decide if I would like both, but who's really my number one? And so certainly, for instance, my family and grandfather had the purse strings with the tickets, and, you know, he was sort of an establishment guy. So he's going with the NFL. That's for sure. The old established league, not the upstart, but, you know, I had a cousin who was a young sort of hip guy, and he didn't want any part of that. And so he went with the AFL; he went with the Texans. So the, I think, I think of the way it broke down a little bit. I'm really overgeneralizing here, but maybe the older people went with the Cowboys, and the young people sort of liked the new upstart team because, right off the bat, the caliber of football was interesting. The Texans are who they are: they hired Hank Strand, they also made a great hire for a coach, and they were playing good football from the get-go. And they were winning. They were pretty good. The Cowboys were an expansion team, and the NFL was getting their brains beat in every week. So it was more fun to watch a team that was winning. So, at that point, the sixties was a minor league town. And here come the Chicago bears for a visit. That was pretty exciting, as were the New York Giants. And so they did do a lot of business at the gate with the teams coming in. I don't think the AF, the fans really cared about seeing the Oakland Raiders or whoever were brand new, but then the Chicago Bears, now you're talking. And so they just sort of cut the city up in half and, you know, tried their best. They papered the gates. Both teams wanted to draw more than the other. They gave away thousands of tickets, in particular, to Lamar Hunt. He just wanted bigger crowds than the Cowboys and did everything he could to do that. And so free, you know, everybody gets in free practically. So there were just all sorts of shenanigans right from the very beginning.

Darin Hayes
Now, I think you allude to in your book, which I found to be very interesting in this dynamic, especially these first couple of years, that each franchise had its own marketing strategy and how-to team-building strategy. Maybe you could go into that a little bit to learn what Hunt's philosophy is. I know you're saying he gave away tickets and everything, but it seemed like you had a bit more fanfare with him.

John Eisenberg
with the AFL for sure, you know, and it really boils down to the AFL versus the NFL. The AFL played more wide-open football. They were certainly at that point, and there's a whole other story. You know, we're a little more racially open-minded than the NFL. That was definitely happening in the AFL. And they tried to bring in local guys to be on the, you know, to lead the team, people that the college football fans may know. And yes, as I said, I mean, Lamar Hunt was a marketer. And so they tried, they tried everything. I mean, they, you know, shot off cannons with a ticket, and they set off balloons over the city with the free tickets in them. And if, you know, it came down in your backyard, you got free tickets to the Texans game. If you went and got your car washed, they would give you a free ticket. They were just doing anything they could to get people to come. The Cowboys were more buttoned-down, a sort of traditional business. Pay your ticket, come in, and we'll take our lumps at the gate because we know we're just starting out. But you understand that because the AFL was a new product. And so, but Lamar was doing everything he could to get attention. You know, they brought in, you know, they had, they hired 30 attractive women. Talk about something, you know, in 2021 that would raise some eyes. They hired a team of attractive women to drive around in convertibles and give tickets away and attract attention, you know, the Texan girls or whatever they called them. I can't remember. And so, I don't know how successful they were, but the good news for Lamar is he married one of them. So, uh, so that worked out well for him. The Cowboys were more traditional.

Darin Hayes
Okay, so we know that today we don't have two teams in Dallas, you know, we know that the AFL and the NFL eventually merged. And there's only one team in the Dallas, Fort Worth area that play a major pro football. So what happened after that, that one of the teams left, we obviously the Cowboys are the team still there. What happened to the Texans?

John Eisenberg
Well, the Texans played three seasons there. They had winning teams. They drew some decent crowds. And in their third season, they had a really good team in 1962. They had Lynn Dawson as a quarterback. They had Abner Haynes, who is one of these guys that is just lost in the mists of history; he was a great player in the early years of the AFL running back and could catch the ball out of a lot of nice players on their team. And they wound up getting into the championship game, the Dallas Texans, in 1962. And they played the Houston Oilers. So it was an all-Texas game, and this epic game unfolded. They were down in Houston. And, you know, they had a big lead, and then the Oilers came back on them. And this is a nationally televised game. And they wind up going into overtime. And it was tremendous, and the viewing audience was tremendous. In some respects, it was the day the AFL really was legitimized. You know, people talk about the Colts Giants championship game in 1958 as sort of legitimizing the NFL. Well, the Texans-Oilers game in 1962 sort of legitimized AFL going into overtime. And this unbelievable scene unfolds where the Texans blow the coin flip to overtime. And the Oilers wind up with the ball and the wind. Nonetheless, they survived that and wound up winning the game in overtime. So the Dallas Texans are AFL champions, and they fly home. The only bad news is Lamar Hunt knows he's already decided to move the team. He had decided this wasn't going to work. This isn't going to work for me. I mean, we're sort of building things a little bit. And we're growing a little bit. But for the sake of this league, we need success stories. And we're in for a fight here. He realized, and what's interesting, that Lamar and Clint Ferguson were friends. They were in the oil business families, and they knew each other. Clint Ferguson was going nowhere. The Cowboys were from the established league, and they had Tom Landry and Tex Schram. And they might be losing right now. But they were building something, and they were going nowhere. They were not a fly-by-night operation. And Clint was loaded. So he could afford to lose money a little bit. So Lamar just made the decision, you know, and he founded AFL; he said we have to find somewhere where we can be successful. So he looked long and hard in New Orleans. It was really funny. He had friends in the oil business in New Orleans. And they told him you can't do it here. There's too much money under the table in New Orleans. You can't you can't go there. You the way they do business there, you won't do well. So we wound up going to Kansas City. And you know, they gave him a sweet deal, a bunch of season tickets, a promise. And he was the only game in town. So he went there. He went there. So it broke his heart. I mean, that was his hometown. He never got over it. And the Chiefs, you know, they changed the name to the camp. I mean, some friends told him he was so heartbroken that you could call him the Kansas City Texans. And, you know, Lamar was a Texan and was halfway like, yeah, I just my just do that. But, you know, they want a cooler head prevailed, as they say. So, they moved, you know, within weeks of winning the championship, the defending champions in the AFL in 1963 kicked off in a new city. And so three years and gone, and broke the hearts of their fans in Dallas. And to this day, there is an older group now, but you will find a small group of football fans, pro football fans in Dallas who hate the Cowboys. They hate them. Really? Yes. The reason is that they were Texans fans. They loved the Dallas Texans. They love the AFL. And they never got over it. They didn't get over it. It was well, you know, our team left town, you moved my team out of town, and I'll never forget it before. So it's a very small group, I might add, but they say

Darin Hayes
My mother lives in the Dallas area, and I just visited there this summer and got to go see AT&T Stadium. I got my picture outside the Cotton Bowl, you know, did all the touristy football things, and I don't know everything. When I looked there, I saw that silver stars were everywhere.

John Eisenberg
,

Darin Hayes
that the souvenir store inside AT&T Stadium; a couple of days later, I was at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The souvenir at the stadium for just Cowboys paraphernalia is much larger than the Pro Football Hall of Fame by far. They have many more items in there, in my opinion, in their sort of back-to-back days. Now, you've said before the Lamar Hunt left and went to conversations in some backroom somewhere over some adult beverages to sort of work things out.

John Eisenberg
Yeah, they may have. I'm sure they did have conversations. I think the possibility of them working things out was slim. You know, this was sort of an elite class of guys, I mean, financially, and they're sort of used to wheeling and dealing. And they have a lot of conversations about a lot of things, I think. So yeah, they probably did talk about that. And, you know, I'm sure the NFL guys told Clint, Listen, you know, if you could, especially before the AFL started, when it was clear, there are going to be two teams, it's like, Listen, can you bring Lamar in? Can you do this? Can you get him to, you know, call off the dogs? Can you do something with Lamar? We know you know him. And Clint said, Well, yeah, I'm sure they probably had conversations then. But once the, you know, Lamar was a traditionalist and, and, and once he decided that we're going forward with this, and he had partners, you know, he had these guys in these other cities, then there was no going back. I mean, he was, he was down the road with, you know, Bud Adams, and Ralph Wilson, and Buffalo, and, you know, Harry Wismar, and those guys with New York Jets, and, and, you know, Baron Hilton in San Diego, or what wound up being San Diego, the first year was the charge of LA. But now, ironically, they're back after all these years, but you know, he had some partners. And so he was there. Clint might have talked to him about it, but he wasn't going to change his mind.

Darin Hayes
Now, I guess, I mean, it's a happy ending win-win for both franchises because things look pretty good for them. You're just less than a decade later, you know, Kansas City much earlier in the AFL, but even when they were both in the NFL, both had some championship runs. So it worked out very well. And I think Kansas City is very happy to have the Chiefs, especially nowadays.

John Eisenberg
Well, they got a great, yes, and they got a great owner. I mean, Lamar Hunt is one of the great owners in sports, you know, and now his son's running it. But, you know, Lamar was very fan-friendly. He cared a lot about, you know, let's make it good for the fans. I mean, he, you know, they built those two stadiums in Kansas City that were not the 1970 football, baseball sort of all of which had been blown up, you know, which didn't really work. He had sports-specific stadiums. That was Lamar wanting that. And yeah, I mean, so they got it. He would walk the parking lot before games in Kansas City and talk to the fans. Are you okay? How are your seats? Are you happy? You know, he was just, you know, a humble guy that cared about the fans. And, of course, he loved other sports. I mean, I covered him at the beginning of my newspaper career in Dallas. He had owned a soccer team. It was a team in Dallas, and I covered it. And that's when I dealt with Lamar a lot. And if you had a question, you just called him. I mean, his phone was listed. You just called Lamar Hunt, and his phone was listed. Yeah, he'd just call him. He'd answer the phone.

Darin Hayes
I assume Jerry Jones isn't the same way. He just has his number public. No, I don't think so. So he'd probably never get off the phone.

John Eisenberg
So, they had a great owner in Kansas City. They were very happy with the way it worked out. And, of course, what was really great and what I enjoyed writing about was the Chiefs won when they were gonna start the Super Bowl that first year after the 66th season, the Chiefs won the AFL title, and the Cowboys hosted Green Bay in the NFL Championship game at the Cotton Bowl. And we're one play away from forcing overtime the Lombardi Packers and Super Bowl one. And I am really kind of an old Cowboy fan. I really kind of blew the game. I mean, they're all in the one-yard line, and there was a moving penalty, and they were going in for the tying score. And it probably would have been overtime. That would have been interesting to see Lombardi in overtime. But anyway, the Cowboys were almost there. It was almost the two franchises in the first Super Bowl. So, as it turned out, Super Bowl four, then three years later, the Chiefs were back in it, and they won. And then that is the last AFL, the last game between the AFL and NFL before the merger. In the last game, the Kansas City Chiefs kicked the Minnesota Vikings up one side and down the other. You know, one of you talk to these old AFL fans, one of the great days in history. And so Lamar, in some respects, got a last laugh with that. I mean, he lost his hometown, and he never forgot it, but he had a lot of success in his life.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, very, very interesting book. Maybe if you could let our listeners know where your book this book and your other books would be available for purchase so they can get some more of the details that you have in there. So it's a truly a great book.

John Eisenberg
Well, this book, I wrote another one actually before it, about growing up in Dallas as a cowboy fan. It's really sort of an ode to being an early kid in the 1960s. And it's called Cotton Bowl Days. That's one. And then the 10 Gallon War. I also wrote a book about Vince Lombardi's first year with the Packers in 1959. The year that he took, I didn't write about the dynasty years, just all the changes that took place in that first year, which I found the story fascinating. And the most recent football book was called The League, which is a league-wide story. It's about the early years of the NFL and how they barely made it. And I'm talking about twenties, thirties, forties, and fifties, and it focuses on five owners, five owners who sort of just pick the league up by the collar and drag it through these years. And Art Rooney in Pittsburgh is one of them. Birdville in Philadelphia. George Preston Marshall in Washington. And then, of course, Hallis with the Bears and Tim Mara. The original Mara started the New York Giants in 1925 for $500. So those are my football books, and they're all available on Amazon. You know, these are with major publishers. I've written for over a period of years, and they're out there. You can get an audio version. You can get a paperback. You can certainly get a hardback on Amazon anywhere. Any major bookseller would be able to get these books for you.

Darin Hayes
I have a feeling my Prime account is going to be very active this weekend, so I am making some purchases. And I'm sure most of our listeners will, too, when this airs. So yeah, very interesting. I got to hear some about your book. You were on with one of my associates, Jeremy McFarland, I believe not too long ago, talking about the book The Late, the Late, yeah. So, so yeah,

John Eisenberg
early days, the NFL. I'm fascinated with it. It's people who just can't believe in this day and age. The NFL is so high, mighty, and rich. People can't believe that it was like a, you know, a little little, you know, fly-by-night operation. And then that's exactly what it was for many years. And so I really enjoyed researching that book.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, it's really a fascinating story, especially, you know, I have my Steelers connection; I've done a lot on Steelers history and read a lot on Steelers history. And I've got a guest coming on here soon in the next couple of days, Alan March, who is Dr. March's great-grandson, who helped with the work with Mara and developing the Giants and some of their stories. So that's history there with those five teams, which is fascinating. I look forward to reading that book. Now, okay, now, we got to get to the questions here. Now, you are your connection with the Ravens. Now, I know, less than a month from now, I believe it's going to be the first Steelers-Ravens game. And I know what it is like here in Western Pennsylvania and listening to the Pittsburgh media when it's Ravens week, everything is focused on Ravens week; I don't know, the Pirates could be winning, the Penguins could be winning, it doesn't matter. It's Ravens week, and the city is in a frenzy. And that's all everybody wants to talk about. Is that the same way it is in Baltimore?

John Eisenberg
Oh, very much so. It has been for many, many years. I will say I think it's waned a little bit, just because, you know, there are other teams out there and the, you know, Kansas City Chiefs and there's a lot going on. But for sure, I mean, the Steelers are the number one rivalry by far. And yeah, I mean, everybody still, they call it Steeler Week, you know, okay, so

Darin Hayes
So it's the same now, I know, living in the 70s. I live in Erie, Pennsylvania, So I'm a hundred miles from Buffalo, a hundred miles from Pittsburgh, and a hundred miles from Cleveland. Three NFL franchises have been doing pretty well here in the last couple of years, anyway. Before the Ravens became the Ravens, they were the Browns, of course, and I don't remember even as a kid when Browns week, as you know, it was a rivalry, and we had fun with it. Especially, you know, that's sort of a mixed bag here and here with, you know, fans split between the three teams. But I don't ever remember it being like it is for a Ravens rivalry. I mean, these two teams just seem to, you know, bring out the best in each other. They're probably the hardest hit you see in either team's highlight films. It was always where it's always a Steelers-Ravens game. It seems like, you know, you go back to the Heinz Ward block, you go with. You know, some of the linebacker hits on Roethlisberger, and you know where his nose is broken, his helmets are sideways. It's a Ravens game, and I think those are just some of the fantastic Games and probably one of the best rivalries in football going probably the last decade or so

John Eisenberg
Yeah, I mean, I think that's when the AFC North was formed. When did they go to that in 2002, I think? I believe so when they went to that. So, you know, before that, the Ravens were sort of battling with the Tennessee Titans in the old, but I can't remember what they called it. AFC Central was. AFC Central. So, you know, the Ravens, I think, have been in this. I mean, I know this for a fact: they were a new franchise when they moved to Baltimore, even though our model moved them. I mean, they started over with Ozzy Newsom and a lot of new people. And they really sort of modeled themselves after the Steelers because the Steelers, the way that they've operated with real staying the course with your personnel, hire the right people, keep with them, don't make changes all the time, you know, build through the draft, be patient. You know, I really think, especially when Steve Beshotti became the owner, it's almost like they took a thing, put it up on a bulletin board, and said, here's what we're shooting for right here. Okay, we're going to operate this way. And it was how the Steelers operated. And so the fact that they were in the same division was interesting. And so they sort of built themselves that way. And it helped organically. They had, you know, they drafted these great defensive players, Ray Lewis and all these guys. So they had a tough physical team. So they sort of modeled themselves after that. And then when they caught up to some degree, then you just had two really good teams just battling. And I think that's what fans, you could identify with that rivalry, you know, they were going to hit each other. And it was just football, it was classic football, you know, it's what fans want from football. And so that's what made it such a good rivalry. And a lot of the old Ravens that I talked to, and I'm sure the old Steelers are the same. That's the games they remember. That's the games they remember. So I was talking to Kelly Greg, an old, you know, an old line defensive lineman, the little squatty guy that I'm sure the Steeler fans are remembering as a great little nose tackle. And boy, he remembers battling Alan Panica, like, like nobody's business just down in the mud, you know, just, you know, and that these guys all have memories like that. So it's this just classic football. And I think that's what people like about

Darin Hayes
Yeah, it's just a tremendous rivalry, you know, maybe if you could tell folks where you can read your items that are on the Ravens, that you said you're doing that a couple times a week. Yeah, some things if you give that address out.

John Eisenberg
Pretty sure. Well, that's www.BaltimoreRavens.com. It's their website. I mean, my opinions on there. There's a column on Tuesday, there's a column on Saturday, and within two hours of the game being over, my opinions on whatever game is just taking place. So that's my gig these days. And, you know, just so it's there. And of course, it's, you know, they put it all stuff on social media. So it's all over the place, you know, on the NFL team website, and there's a lot of traffic. So, that's where I am these days.

Darin Hayes
But we really appreciate you taking the time from your busy schedule and appreciate your knowledge of football's past, going back into the beginnings of the NFL, right up and through the 50s and 60s, with your books and now writing about modern football on the Ravens website and of course the columns that you did back when you were still writing for the newspaper. I appreciate your well-rounded history and sharing information with us today, as well as the stories of these great Dallas teams and franchises in that history, and I appreciate you being on.

John Eisenberg
Well, it's my pleasure. Thanks. I enjoyed it. And yeah, I love it. I love writing about the history. It's, it's fun stuff. And, you know, I find that a lot of people can relate to it. I've heard from a lot of non-Dallas football fans about these Dallas books that I wrote. So they're just sort of eternal, right? I mean, it transfers if you're a fan of some team, you're an old football fan, you like this stuff. So it's my pleasure to do it, really. It's a labor of love.

Darin Hayes
I can testify to that because I'm not a big fan of either team, but I found the book extremely interesting because of the history, the great story that you had, and the stories within the story. Just fascinating, well done, and much appreciated. So, I appreciate you being on here today, too. So thank you, John.

John Eisenberg
Thank you.

Joe Ziemba Bears versus Cardinals

Bears vs. Cardinals: The NFL’s Oldest Rivalry [Ziemba, Joe] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Bears vs. Cardinals: The NFL’s Oldest Rivalry — www.amazon.com

Joe Ziemba, the author of numerous books, including the famous When Football was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL, gives a foreshadow of his upcoming novel Bears versus Cardinals: The NFLs Oldest Rivalry. Joe is the host of the When Football was Football Podcast and has an earlier written book of the same name, among various other works. Ziemba Written Book


-Transcript of Joe Ziemba on his Bears vs Cardinals book

Darin Hayes
Hello, my football friends. This is Darin Hayes of pigskindispatch.com. Welcome once again to the Pigpen, your portal to positive football history. And we have a great interview session tonight. We're gonna talk to our friend. It's the author of multiple books on football, especially Chicago area football. That's Joe Ziemba, and his latest book is out. Bears versus Cardinals, the NFL's oldest rivalry. It is a very interesting title and a very interesting topic. Very interesting author. We'll bring them in right now. Joe Ziemba, welcome back to the Pigpen.

Joe Ziemba
Oh, Darin, thanks so much for having me back again. It's been a while since I saw the pig pen has been remodeled. It looks nice and clean, and really ready and anxious to talk about the Bears and the Cardinals.

Darin Hayes
Hey, we kept your spot open at the trough here at the pig pen, so you're always welcome here. It's been much too long, and that's my fault. I need to have you on more. More Joe is always a good thing.

Joe Ziemba
And we appreciate that. Thanks so much for letting me babble on a few times. So it's it's all good. It's all about the history of pro football.

Darin Hayes
Well, it's probably hard to make an appointment with you because I'm seeing all over social media, and I live, you know, 800 miles away from you. And it seems like you're booked on something almost every evening talking about, you know, the Bears and the Cardinals and your wonderful book. You know, you're on quite the tour-a-lura.

Joe Ziemba
And, you know, people always say they're living the dream. And right now, it is great because the book has come out, and a lot of libraries and different organizations have asked me to talk about the book. And I don't really promote the book. Obviously, I'd like to market it, so that's part of it. But it gives me the opportunity to talk about the Bears and Cardinals. You meet so many interesting people. I gave a talk this week at a library, and an 89-year-old young lady came up and said she was a Bear season ticket holder on the 50-yard line and her cousin knew George Alice. And she knew exactly what I was talking about when we go back to the early fifties in these talks. And even the fact with old photos where the referees were kind of dressed up with a suit and tie and a hat. And she said I remember those guys. So it was, it's kind of neat. You meet different types of people. And I really enjoy that as much as giving the talks.

Darin Hayes
Well, you're definitely hitting a great nerve with the public. I'm sure they're going ecstatic about it up in Chicago. You know, people, the old Cardinals fans are remembering it. Of course, the Bears fans, uh, new and older, probably enjoying hearing this, uh, you know, relishment of, uh, history. And you have quite a bit of history. That's somewhat forgotten, and a lot of people didn't know about it. Um, maybe you could talk about that a little bit. Yeah.

Joe Ziemba
The history of both teams is quite unusual. Both teams had fires in their storage units, and I'm not sure exactly when, Darin, but I think it was in the fifties. And so a lot of the history was lost, which means that history that may have been written before was taken as being the truth. Now, we do have some documentation, for example, with the Bears. George Halas wrote his autobiography, which came out in the early seventies or late sixties, I believe. It first came out in the Chicago Tribune as a multi-day series. But George was writing this stuff many decades after it occurred. And it's not a big deal. It certainly doesn't matter, but there are a few errors in there. One of the bigger ones that I saw was that I questioned whether George Helles and the Decatur Staley's voluntarily left Decatur in 1921. Again, you say, who cares? But as you and I are historians, you kind of enjoy that stuff and that information. And I think it's kind of interesting in the book where we're able to track down why I don't think George Helles left voluntarily. We in Chicago are certainly glad that he did because the Bears are here right now. And there's something similar with the Cardinals. The Cardinal's history just did not make sense when I did my last book a few centuries ago called When Football Was Football because I was looking up as much as I could, and I really kind of went deep in research as much as possible and found out that the dates that the Cardinals continue to publicize are inaccurate. And there's nothing wrong with that. Who cares if we're off a little bit 125 years ago or whatever? It's been fun in this latest book on the rival; I was able to document where the history was stretched a little bit and who did it. And when all that stuff comes together, and you've got a pile of information, you want to make sense of it; I hope that readers will now make sense of the history of both teams and that maybe some of that stuff isn't quite accurate and that we've been led to believe. That includes the date when the Cardinals started and how the team got its name. There are a couple of old stories that, indeed, weren't true. One, for example, said in 1920 that the owner of the Cardinals challenged the Chicago Tigers for the right to represent Chicago, and whoever lost the game would hand over their franchise to the other team. And we found out there's absolutely no truth to that, but it made for a good story. Again, we try to provide the reasons why that was not accurate and what happened after that. So lots of fun. And as you mentioned, people are getting into it. We have a lot of nice discussions at these meetings. Again, last week, a lady in the audience who again had been a season ticket holder came up to me beforehand. This talks about the rivalry and how tough it was back then. She said I hope you're not talking about the Cardinals. I said, well, yeah, it's part of the book. So I have to do that. She said, well, I'm a Bears fan all the way through. And then we'll have older Cardinals fans who remember and say, did Hellas kick them out of Chicago? And I'll say, well, he certainly helped. And part of that reason was George Hellas authorized a half million dollars to the Cardinals in 1960 to leave town. Even though the real reason was the blackouts and the TV rights, which happens when you have a city with two NFL teams at the same time, the only city that had that. So, the Bears did have something to do with the Cardinals leaving the city of Chicago.

Darin Hayes
you bring up a lot of different topics there that are, like, I have interest peaks going all over the place. I'm sure the readers do, too. But maybe let's start at the beginning because, although we found out earlier, I don't read the acknowledgments in books very well. But I do like to read the preface of books. And you have a very interesting opening, and sort of a personal opening, where you talk about a period in your life and a person in your life that sort of helped propel this book.

Joe Ziemba
Exactly, Darren. And it was my dad who played college football. He went to Mount Carmel High School in Chicago and then went to a little place called St. Benedict's in Kansas. At that time, there were no real divisions, either at big schools or small schools. St. Benedict's, which is now Benedictine in Atchison, was considered a smaller school, although they played Creighton in New Mexico State and Wichita State. He was named first-team All-American. After that, he apparently received a lot of letters from places like George Ellis, the Bears, and the Detroit Lions. There was a draft in place. And he did get drafted by the Cardinals in the 12th round, I think of the 1940 draft. But he never talked about his football experience. He was a coach. And he's actually inspired all three of my books because of coaching and his experience. But I've always wanted to find out more about what happened. And ultimately, he got injured in training camp. I found a magazine where he made the final roster; I think it was 32 players at the time. But it would have been a simple arthroscopic surgery now. But then he figured, why go through the pain? And besides, Darren could make more money coaching high school football than he could as a professional football player in the National Football League back in the 40s. So here's my question, Darin: what do you think this contract called for in terms of payment?

Darin Hayes
Oh, let's see. We're talking, um, so be the Cardinals, and in 1940, you said, yes, yes. Pre World War II. I'm going to say, uh, a hundred bucks a game.

Joe Ziemba
right there. The rookie contract called for $110 a game. But they had to provide their own shoulder pads and cleats. So maybe it did come down to 100. And they didn't get paid if they missed a game because of injury. So, that is all the more reason for him to check out of the hospital and become a high school coach. But yeah, great guess, great guess

Darin Hayes
Oh, the other thing that piqued my interest was that you talked about these fires that both the Cardinals and the Bears had; you know, it was two separate fires, right? It wasn't; they didn't keep all their records in the same place, and there was a fire.

Joe Ziemba
Yeah, they have different headquarters. And so, uh, someday it's one of those things we always say as researchers, I want to look into then see if I can define exactly when the dates were for those, but, uh, without a lot of the records and we're going by hearsay or things that have been published through the years that have just taken his truth and, and more so for the Cardinal side than the bears, uh, we found out that a lot of this information started in the forties or fifties about that game between the Cardinals and the Tigers, for example, and about how the team got its name, you know, one of the things that always has kind of bugged me was it said that crystal Brian, the owner of the Cardinals in 1899, when the team started, uh, bought used jerseys from the University of Chicago named a Solonzo stag, and stagged and not liked the idea of professionalism. He caused a big bruja in the early twenties by syndicating a national letter talking about how evil professional football was, but I wanted to see it for sure. And I was able to, uh, see if the jerseys match; first of all, Crystal Brian was 17 or 18 years old. He certainly didn't own the team, and Stagg was unlikely to sell jerseys, but I had a chance to go to the University of Chicago, which keeps extensive records of coach Stagg's, uh, all those financial dealings, and this correspondence, I could not find anything, which doesn't mean much, but they did have photos. I do have a photo of the Cardinals in 1900 when they were known as the Morgan athletic club, and the photos don't match, even though they're not in color. So that's the kind of research that has helped me to understand that there might be little errors here and there as we move through history. Again, it doesn't affect the team today, but we're not changing history, but kind of correcting it or adjusting it a little bit.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, I always thought that story was kind of odd, too, because, you know, the Chicago, of course, was the maroon. So, I'm assuming they probably had a maroon-colored Jersey. And you know, they've come up with a Cardinal red out of that out of the maroon. I just don't get that either. That doesn't make much sense either.

Joe Ziemba
Oh, that's why when the team started in 1901, it was called the Cardinal Social and Athletic Club, not named after a bird or a uniform and crystal Brian certainly didn't own the team, although he and his brother and one other gentleman started the first version of the Cardinals in 1899. But yeah, Maroons does not match Cardinal Red, at least in my opinion, Darren.

Darin Hayes
All right. Now, George Hallis is always an interesting subject. You know, I have sort of a love-hate relationship. I don't know if everybody else does, but I have a sort of love-hate relationship. I look through him through history. You know, there are some things that he did that were just spectacular, both as him as an athlete, and some of the great things that he did is starting the NFL and, you know, keeping Decatur and Chicago, those teams, going and what he did for the game, but other things, you know, I sit there, and I look at some of these sorts of sly little maneuvers he would make to put the Bears in title contention, you know, you know, back, you know, there's probably at least three or four stories where the Bears were in second place, and he sort of tried to swindle or did swindle another team into playing an extra game to try to gain an advantage for his team, which you can't blame a guy for doing. It just seems a little bit underhanded by today's standards.

Joe Ziemba
Yeah, and a good example would be Buffalo. I believe that was 1921 when the Bears invited Buffalo to come to Chicago. Um, supposedly for an exhibition game, and somehow the league counted the game, which the Bears won as a regular season game, even though there are two or three reasons why it shouldn't have been considered, but back then, there were no playoffs, the league champion was decided by a vote of the owners at the end of the season, factually the next year. And so in the book, what I've tried to do to present all sides is to have some of the authors who have written on that, like Jeff Miller, has written extensively on Buffalo, and get his opinion. He was helpful in providing some articles from the Buffalo newspapers. And we see that along the way, even with red grains, um, joining the Bears in 1925, the day after he finished his college career. And the rule was that the pros weren't going to touch the college players. And with the assumption that, yeah, he could sign them once their class graduated, of course, Hallis took it as well. Red Grange finished his college career on Saturday. On Sunday, he was with the Bears, although Chris Willis, I think you've talked to a few times, who wrote the exceptional, uh, biography of Red Grange, tells us that, yeah, the maneuvers were going on well before that Saturday after Grange's final game. Then, we also tell a story about Joseph Aldi in 1930, a rookie out of Notre Dame who committed a terrible, grievous crime. Can you guess what he did during your Notre Dame fan?

Darin Hayes
The name and the story sound familiar, but I can't put my finger on what he did.

Joe Ziemba
Well, what he did was terrible. He got married. You couldn't get married in Notre Dame. And remain it's, you know, they got kicked off the football team, but out of school. So Curly Lambeau was searching around for that to bring Joseph Aldi up to Green Bay, and Alice was there as well. And supposedly, there was some backroom talk that both would lay off Joseph Aldi, the same argument: his class didn't graduate. Alice interpreted that as well. He played his final game, and he can't play anymore anyway. So I'll sign them. He signed them to a $4,000 contract, second only to Bronko Nagurski's $5000 a year. And, of course, that brought up some hard feelings. The NFL did get involved. Halis and Savaldi, I guess, decided he was going to make more money as professional wrestlers. But Dallas, as you mentioned the questions, there are two or three examples of where he may have stretched the truth a little bit. But what a fantastic man, and what a great coach and player he was for many years till he retired in his late 20s. And all he did to keep football going, as he said once, he didn't know if he could take any money out of the team. He and Dutch Sternaman, who was his partner, wanted to give each other $100 a game back in the early 20s if they had $100 left. Of course, now the Bears are worth $ 5.2 billion. So Halis did something right.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, it's a good investment on his part. Now, that brings up another question, something that I've always had a little bit of. You know, Mr. A. E. Staley was the original sponsor of the team with his starch company, I believe you're in. Halas was a player and coach, I believe, in the very first year of the end of the APFA 1920. Right? Am I correct so far? You are. Yep. Okay. So when they came through the next year of the year after, when Staley sort of washed his hands off the team, he gave the team $5,000 to Hallis.

Joe Ziemba
Yeah, that is correct. And that was midway through 1921. Alice had toyed with playing games in Chicago in 1920, and then in 1921, others were scheduled to draw a bigger crowd. From my recollection, the home games in Decatur, Illinois, could only seat about 1500 people. And so for Staley, this was a great investment if you look at it as a pure marketing endeavor, where his team was mentioned in newspapers all over the country as the league started to get more publicity. But I think he was drowning and lost in expenses with sponsoring teams. He had a baseball team that traveled all over and, of course, football, and the players worked at the Staley company. Alice worked out a deal with Mr. Staley, where the football team could practice a couple hours a day on company time. So it was a great deal for them. But in that letter in 1921, way at the bottom of it, it says, and please be understood, as he's saying to Alice, once you leave Decatur, don't come back is essentially what Mr. Staley said. So, in the book, I've kind of worked on that and found some other quotes, and as you might see, as you read through it, I don't think George Hallis left Decatur voluntarily. In fact, I'm pretty certain of it, and I tried to lay out the reasons and the proof of why that might have happened. But yeah, it was a great deal for a while. And then, unfortunately, the Staley's dropped in January of 22, I believe, all their sports, and a lot of the townspeople and, of course, some of the employees who were working or playing on those teams were quite upset. A cartoon appeared, which is in the book as well, that showed the different products produced by the Staley company. They were kind of pushed aside because Mother Staley was holding the football and the new baby and giving preference over the other children from the company.

Darin Hayes
Now, why do you think that he, that Mr. Staley gave, given the teams, one thing that's, I mean, probably a decent expense right there? Maybe it was just to get rid of him having to spend money, but why give Alice, you know, the sum of $ 5,000, which was pretty good money back in the early 20th century?

Joe Ziemba
Absolutely. Yeah. 5,000 was a lot of money and got Hellas through the season. But I think that was to really encourage Hellas to take the team, and they defined it as being advertising money because the team would be known as the Chicago Staley's. Even though they completed the 1921 season in Chicago, they kept the name Staley's. It wasn't until 1922 that the Chicago Bears were incorporated, which was a whole different story. It was through the fiasco of Hellas trying to incorporate the team or even having a franchise in the league that the NFL finally recognized him. But yeah, the $5,000, I think, was to really encourage George Hellas and the football team to go away and not come back.

Darin Hayes
Oh, okay. So not only naming rights, but yeah, get out of Dodge, go to Chicago, or go elsewhere. Anyway. Okay. Interesting. Well, let's take a break. I mean, that's some great news. Those are some great things in the book. Let's take the opportunity to, once again, say the name of your book and where folks can get it, Joe.

Joe Ziemba
Yeah, the name of the book is Bears versus Cardinals, the NFL's oldest rivalry. It's from McFarland; you can order directly from the publisher or the usual online sources like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Target, which all carry the book. So it's pretty easy to get online.

Darin Hayes
Okay, now you have it called Bears versus Cardinals. So obviously, they played some games against each other, and there was a rivalry, I'm assuming when they both played in the same town. Maybe you could hit some of the highlights of some of the big games and rivalry-type things that happened between these two franchises.

Joe Ziemba
Yeah, I tried to go back because every time I do research and I'd see a Bears-Cardinals game, it still seems to end up in a fight or fight among the stands in the stands or fight on the field, or everybody combined and had a good time getting into a fight. So, I wanted to find out where the rivalry started. And actually, it centers around Paddy Driscoll, P A D D Y, who was a halfback out of Northwestern and actually played outfield one season for the Chicago Cubs. And, of course, since he was still in college, he lost his college eligibility. He played in the Great Lakes Naval Station team that won the 1919 Rose Bowl. He and George Halas later played for the Hammond Pros in 1919. So the reason I'm telling you this is that Halas and Driscoll had a nice relationship as players. Driscoll functions as a quarterback. Halas is the end. Halas was the MVP of the 1919 Rose Bowl. But when the pro league started in 1920, there was great excitement when Halas was recruiting all these players for the Staley's because he signed the legendary Patty Driscoll. And that was great news: a big name came to Decatur. And then, quietly, about a week later, the newspapers reported Patty Driscoll signed with the Chicago Cardinals, then known as the racing Cardinals. So Halas may have been a little upset with the Cardinals, but his pursuit of Driscoll never stopped. In the early part of 1922, we learned from the newspaper, from the paperwork that I found with the state of Illinois, that Hallis not only recruited Driscoll to play for him but made him an owner with Hallis and Dutch Sterneman of the newly incorporated Chicago Bears. Of course, Chris O 'Brien, who by then was the manager of the Cardinals, went nuts and went to the league because one of the reasons for starting the NFL was to prohibit or eliminate players jumping from team to team. And Hallis was given a slap on the wrist and told that now you couldn't touch Patty Driscoll; he was the property of the Cardinals, which he was. At the time, the highest-paid player in the league was $300 a game, while some of the players were still getting $25 or even $10. So the story didn't end there because in November, Thanksgiving day in 1922, I think you and I have talked about this before, Bears and the Cardinals played, and Halas and Joey Sterneman, the brother of Dutch Sterneman, not only tackled Driscoll but picked him up and head slammed him into the ground. And that led to quite a ride on the field. Fans got involved, and the police got involved. The story appeared in the newspapers about George Hallis being knocked down, and a fan was straddling him with a pistol pushed up against George Hallis' head. And so it just seemed like every time the teams played, there'd be some kind of fiasco. In fact, it was rare. And the other thing about the rivalry, and this is, we talked about Crystal Bryan going nuts. I go nuts when I watch television when the Bears and the Packers play. And it said the NFL's oldest rivalry. And that happened again, most recently, but it was the Bears and the Cardinals. When the Bears were the Stalies and the Cardinals were still the racing Cardinals, they played the year before the Packers even entered the league. But that's not the reason I wrote the book. I just found the stories on both sides so fascinating that it went from a competition. It was mostly the players who didn't like each other. You can even find Ernie Nevers talking about 1929, scoring 40 points against the Bears, which is still an NFL record for one game, and why he did it. And you go into the fifties with Ed Sprinkle, the Bears, and Charlie Trippi taking turns knocking each other out on the field. Fans are jumping. I think it was 1957 or 58, jumping on the field to join in a fight. And even when the Cardinals ended up in Chicago, they moved to March of 1960. But at the end of 58, they wanted to play at Dyke Stadium, Northwestern University, and Hallis invoked an old, old agreement that absolutely no one in Chicago would hear of called the Madison Street Agreement. And that simply stated the Cardinals could not play north of Madison Street, which ran east-west in Chicago, and the Bears could not play south. With this agreement, Erp Bell, who was a commissioner at the time, ruled that now they'd have to support the Bears, and the Cardinals could not move to Northwestern. And some great help on that one because Upton Bell, the son of Burt Bell, was just very gracious with his time and gave me some insight. And the Pro Football Hall of Fame had the minutes from the meeting. Just again, the rivalry started right then, in 1920 or so, and went to when the Cardinals left. So there's plenty of activity sandwiched in between.

Darin Hayes
That's tremendous. You said that the Cardinals left in 1959. Is that what you said?

Joe Ziemba
1960 marks of 60. Yeah.

Darin Hayes
Okay, and that you said to Halas, I think you just said at the beginning of this conversation that Halas gave money to them to encourage them to leave.

Joe Ziemba
Yes. And it's been in the newspapers that there are a couple of things they were concerned about. One was that the new American Football League was getting involved in Chicago or stealing the Cardinals and moving them somewhere, possibly St. Louis, where the Cardinals were not making money. That's pretty much accepted. And so at least the newspapers at the time said, and more than one resource said, that George Halas gave the Cardinals $500,000 to assist them with moving expenses. That gave him the rights to all the television showings in Chicago; games were blacked out if one team was playing at home and the other was away. A goofy role, but it lasted for years and years. And that was primarily why the Cardinals left town, although the Halas financial incentive certainly helped them.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, I mean, 1960, half a million dollars is a good chunk of change. That's probably very encouraging for a franchise to move. You know, it's peanuts today. That's probably what they pay the guy who launders the shirts nowadays in the NFL. But yeah, it's very interesting. So, Joe, you know, it is tremendous that you were able to come on here and talk about this, and I'm so glad that you were able to write this book and record this because your research is impeccable. And your storytelling is everybody loves it. Make sure folks listen to Joe's podcast. He's on a couple of times a month. You have a podcast.

Joe Ziemba
Right, yeah. Well, we're just talking a little bit about our network.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, what can you tell them about the podcast?

Joe Ziemba
Well, the podcast is called When Football Was Football. And what we talk about is any kind of old football in Chicago; it's the Bears and the Cardinals, but we've talked about a high school a couple of times and maybe a couple of college things. And some of the individuals you may not have heard about, we've talked about Shorty Ray a couple of weeks ago, who really revised the way officiating is done in the National Football League. This week's episode talks about Jack Glynn, who is one of the resources I had for this game. He was a 19-year-old general manager of the Cardinals back in 1919, a great story. His family had kept his documents for over a hundred years. In fact, his niece, I believe it would be, is a nun and a missionary in Bolivia. And she was the one who uncovered these documents after all these years. You know, and speaking of documents, before we go on, Darin, I wanna mention my personal thanks to John Kendall and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A lot of what we talk about is based on the Dutch Sterneman papers. In the Sterneman papers, Sterneman was George Halas's partner from the 1920s until the early 30s. The family kept all the Bears' financial records at that time. That's what Sternemann did. So we know what the salaries were. And I talked earlier about Bronco Nogersky and Joe Savaldi, the contracts for different games, and even how much a mechanic in the North side of Chicago who was paid $4 a game plus a pass to go scout for the Bears back then. And so I was able to use a ton of stuff. Thanks again to John Kendall and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which is probably, in my opinion, the greatest collection they have, which is the Sternemann papers.

Darin Hayes
Wow. You get to actually go into the Hall of Fame and use the research facility when you're doing research.

Joe Ziemba
for your book, correct? Yes, yes. The Hall of Fame has always been very receptive. I don't know why they let me in, but they do. And the sternum and papers came out for a couple of years. They were kind of off base. The reason why was that the Hall of Fame was categorizing everything. And so now they've all been put in boxes. There's a nice index of what is where, and it made it really easy. I was also able to make copies of the documents that were specific to my research. So John Kendall has been there every step of the way as an archivist at the Hall of Fame. And I just can't thank him enough. And a lot of other people helped as well. Chris Willis from NFL Films. You've always been encouraging. I mentioned Jeff Miller, Upton Bell, and John Steffenhagen, who's an expert on the Rochester Jeffersons. A lot of great folks have been able to help out with this research. So, I thank them publicly.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, no, I guess maybe we'll put you mentioning all those names. Maybe we should put a little bit of a plug-in for the PFRA, the Professional Football Research Association. We are going to be having a meeting in 2023 in Pittsburgh, where pro football started. George Bizika and the gang are organizing this great venture to take that down there. So, if folks, if you're interested in real professional football history and some great things, we had a big meeting last year in Canton at the Hall of Fame and some places around our Maslin and the city of Canton. But, you know, this Pittsburgh trip seems to be very intriguing as well, and it is full of football history going back to the La Trobe Athletic Clubs and things like that. So, I know they have some great guests lined up and some great events. If you're interested in that, you can contact us here at Pigskin Dispatch, which is pigskindispatch@gmail.com, or go to the PFRA website. And I believe it's professional football researchers dot org. I think I might have that off, but it's something like that. But yeah, we'd like to see you, and you will meet folks. Usually, Joe's there. I'm there. You know, he talked about Jeff Miller and possibly Chris Willis might be there. There are a lot of people who usually show up, including football historians and experts in the field. And it's just some great camaraderie. And you get to rub elbows with some really knowledgeable people about football.

Joe Ziemba
It is a great time. And again, all you gotta do is for me because I can't remember all the letters. I go P F R A, and it usually shows up, and the website is open to nonmembers as well. So, if you want to look around there, there is a member section that you have to remember, obviously, to take a look at. But we're expecting a great, great meeting next year. George, as you mentioned, and Darin always do a wonderful job of putting it together. And he's also the mastermind behind the book series that the PFRA has been putting out for the last few years.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, absolutely. Great. A lot of great resources. And when it's saying a membership fee, it's very inexpensive. I believe it's like $35, $40 a year. And I think the whole weekend, the three-day weekend, is like $75 if you remember next, next summer. It is so very affordable. You know, of course, your room and meals are separate. I think they do include one or two meals in there, too, for $75, but it is well worth the money. The history you get to see, experience, and learn about is especially phenomenal.

Joe Ziemba
Yeah, it's something I've always enjoyed attending, and it's almost like Disneyland for football people who love their history. Every time you turn around and take breaks in the hallway, you are able to talk to folks who just have that passion and that love of pro football history. It's it's really exceptional.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, absolutely. Well, Joe, I really appreciate you coming on here. Why don't we give the folks one more time the name of your book and where they can get it? And if you want to share any social media that you have

Joe Ziemba
Oh, thanks so much, Darin. Yeah, the book is called Bears versus Cardinals, the NFL's oldest rivalry, available from McFarland books or Amazon pride to be the two easiest places. I also have a Twitter account, which is called Cards Chicago, and a Facebook account for Chicago Cards; if you want to just look up Chicago Cards, there are over 12,000 people now who follow the Chicago Cardinals Facebook. Again, we take great pleasure in uncovering those types of stories that you may not see very often. And so we'd invite you to join us and continue our investigation, our history, and our enjoyment of old-time professional football.

Darin Hayes
Well, Joe Ziemba, you know, is a historian, podcaster, and author. We thank you once again for sharing your great knowledge and your stories and your time with us again tonight.

Joe Ziemba
And thank you so much, Darin, for all you're doing to protect and preserve the history of football. In fact and, your podcasts are amazing. I don't know how you do it, but congratulations, keep up the good work. And thank you so much for having me here.

Darin Hayes
Sure. I think people call it an illness. At least, that's what my wife calls it. Thanks, Joe.

Joe Ziemba
Thank you.

Emlen Tunnell and His Football Legacy

Emlen Tunnell left his mark on the sport of football. As one of the first African-American players to break the color barrier in the National Football League, Tunnell excelled on the field and paved the way for countless Black athletes to follow in his footsteps.

Born just West of Philadelphia in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, in 1926, Tunnell's athletic prowess was evident from a young age. He was a great athlete as a youth and star of the Radnor High School eleven, where he played halfback in 1940 and 1941. Em went on to play college football for the Toledo Rockets in 1942, but WWII interrupted his playing career briefly as he honed his skills with the San Francisco Coast Guard Pilots in 1944.

Tunnell was a dedicated Coast Guard member and a hero. The youngster was decorated for bravery and camaraderie when he received the Silver Lifesaving Medal for rescuing a shipmate from a fire during an enemy torpedo attack in 1944 and rescuing another fellow crewman who fell into the ocean in 1946.

When his service to the country ended after the war, Tunnell resumed his studies and collegiate gridiron career with the Iowa Hawkeyes in 1946 and 1947. In '46, Emlen led the team in total offense and was second in rushing yards. The following season, he trumped that with a fantastic game in which the speedster registered an Iowa single-game record with 155 receiving yards and three touchdowns on six receptions.

Returning to the Garrett Hill neighborhood where his family lived after leaving school to earn money, Tunnell hitched a ride on a banana truck from his PA home to the Polo Grounds to try out for Jack Mara of the New York Football Giants.

On July 24, 1948, Emlen was signed by the New York Giants, becoming the first African-American to be on the franchise's roster.

Tunnell's rookie season with the Giants was a resounding success. In just three starts and ten appearances, he intercepted seven passes and returned one for a touchdown in ten games.

Throughout his career, Tunnell excelled on the field. He was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, named to the NFL's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, and ranked 79th on the NFL's top 100 players in 2010. In addition to his defensive prowess, Tunnell made significant contributions as a punt and kickoff returner.

Tunnell's exceptional performance in 1951 earned him recognition as a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP). His remarkable achievements that year included leading the NFL with a career-high 489 punt return yards and scoring four non-offensive touchdowns. One of those touchdowns came on a 100-yard kickoff return, showcasing his speed and agility.

Tunnell's total 716 kick and punt return yards ranked second-best in the NFL in 1951. His impressive average of 37.8 yards per kick return and three punt returns for touchdowns remain Giants franchise records. Additionally, his nine interceptions and an average of 14.4 yards per punt return ranked third in the NFL that season, further highlighting his defensive prowess.

In 1952, Number 45's exceptional performance earned him further recognition. He was again selected as a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP). His defensive prowess was displayed as he led the NFL with six fumble recoveries. Additionally, Tunnell showcased his versatility by leading the league in punt return yards with 411, averaging an impressive 13.7 yards per return. It was remarkable that he gained more yardage in his kick and interception returns than any Giants runningback rushing.

He played on the G-Men until 1958, when his defensive Coordinator, Vince Lombardi, left his position with the Giants to become the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. Tunnell went with him to Green Bay. After retiring from playing, Tunnell would become one of the first black men to be a full-time NFL assistant coach.

His accomplishments and accolades testify to his uncanny ability to excel on the field.

-His 79 career interceptions were an NFL record and remain the second most in NFL history, having been surpassed in 1979 by fellow Iowa Hawkeye Paul Krause.

-His 1,282 interception return yards were an NFL record for four decades and ranked fifth in NFL history as of 2017.

-His 258 punt returns were an NFL record but rank 19th in league history as of 2017.

-His 2,209 punt return yards were an NFL record but ranked 30th as of 2017.

-He played in 158 consecutive games, which was also an NFL record when he retired.

-During his 14-year NFL career, Tunnell also totaled 16 fumble recoveries, 8.6 yards per punt return, and 1,215 yards on 46 kickoff returns (26.4 yards per return).

Tunnell's achievements were honored on numerous occasions:

-1st African American inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the first strictly defensive player to be inducted.

-All-Decade Team: In 1969, he was selected as a safety to the NFL's 1950s All-Decade Team, solidifying his status as one of the best players of that era.

-All-Pro Team: The same year, the Pro Football Hall of Fame named him to the all-time All-Pro team, further cementing his legendary status.

-Iowa Sports Hall of Fame: In 1975, Tunnell was inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame, recognizing his outstanding contributions to the sport at the University of Iowa.

-The Sporting News: In 1999, he was ranked number 70 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, showcasing his enduring impact on the game.

-New York Giants Ring of Honor: In 2010, Tunnell was honored by the New York Giants by being included in the team's Ring of Honor at MetLife Stadium, a testament to his significant contributions to the franchise.

-NFL Network: That same year, the NFL Network ranked Tunnell 79th on its list of the 100 greatest players of all time, further highlighting his legacy.

-The 50 Greatest Players in New York Giants Football History: In 2014, he was ranked as the second most outstanding player in New York Giants history, a testament to his exceptional impact on the team.

-Statue: In 2018, a statue was erected in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, honoring Tunnell's legacy and commemorating his significant contributions to the sport.

One of the highest honors to his legacy occurred on October 15, 2021, when the US Coast Guard commissioned the USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145), Patrol Forces Southwest Asia's fourth 154-foot Sentinel-class cutter, into service at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia.



Special thanks to NFL Films in their The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players (2010), Wikipedia, and Pro-Football-Reference.com.

St. Louis All-Stars NFL Franchise

The St. Louis All-Stars represent a brief yet intriguing chapter in the annals of the National Football League. Emerging on July 28, 1923, the team’s formation was driven by the enterprising spirit of Ollie Kraehe, a local football hero who saw an opportunity in the burgeoning professional football landscape.

His aspiration was to capitalize on the larger St. Louis market, mirroring the success of smaller towns like Green Bay and Rock Island.  

Despite the ambitious name, the All-Stars faced significant challenges. Securing genuine All-American talent proved elusive, forcing Kraehe to rely heavily on local players from institutions such as St. Louis University and Washington University. The team's roster was further complicated by players using fictitious identities in hopes of securing a professional football career. This lack of established talent, coupled with the nascent state of the NFL itself, contributed to the team's struggles on the field.

The All-Stars’ on-field performance was underwhelming, with a record reflecting the challenges they faced. Their home games at Sportsman’s Park drew modest crowds, highlighting the uphill battle for fan support in a city with other sporting attractions. Financially, the venture was a burden, and Kraehe ultimately lost a substantial sum.

The St. Louis All-Stars’ existence was ephemeral, lasting only a single season. The franchise was dissolved by the NFL in 1924. While their impact on the league’s history is limited, the All-Stars serve as a fascinating microcosm of the early NFL. Their story underscores the challenges and risks associated with pioneering professional football in an era marked by uncertainty and experimentation.  

Though the All-Stars left no enduring legacy on the gridiron, their brief tenure in the NFL contributes to the rich tapestry of the league's formative years. 

Portsmouth Spartans NFL Franchise

The Portsmouth Spartans, a professional football team that played in the National Football League (NFL), holds a unique place in sports history. On July 12, 1930, the Spartans were officially granted their franchise, becoming a symbol of Portsmouth, Ohio’s enthusiasm for the sport. Established as a member of the NFL during a time when professional football was still in its infancy, the Spartans quickly gained a reputation for competitiveness and skill.

The team played its first game in 1930, and by the 1932 season, they had established themselves as a formidable opponent in the league. Under the leadership of coach Luf McCarty, the Spartans achieved notable success, finishing the 1932 season with a record of 6 wins, 1 loss, and 4 ties. Their tenacity on the field earned them respect among their peers and a loyal local fanbase.

However, despite their on-field success, the Spartans faced financial difficulties. In 1934, the franchise was sold to a group from Detroit, leading to its relocation and rebranding as the Detroit Lions. This transition marked the end of the Spartans' era but allowed the team to thrive in Detroit, ultimately becoming one of the NFL’s iconic franchises.

The legacy of the Portsmouth Spartans lives on, especially among historians and sports enthusiasts who recognize their contribution to the development of professional football. The Spartans’ brief existence is a reminder of the passion and commitment that helped lay the foundation for the NFL's growth into a national pastime.

Brooklyn Dodgers of NFL Football Lore

The Brooklyn Dodgers, an early professional football franchise, were established on July 12, 1930, during a pivotal era in the development of the National Football League (NFL). Originally a member of the NFL, the Dodgers were part of a broader movement to bring professional football to major urban centers across the United States.

Competing in a league still finding its footing, the Dodgers played their inaugural season in 1930, showcasing a roster filled with promising talent. Their games attracted local fans and contributed to the growing popularity of the sport in Brooklyn. However, despite their competitive spirit, the franchise struggled with financial challenges and inconsistent attendance, which were common issues for many teams during this period.

The Brooklyn Dodgers played for several seasons, making notable contributions to the NFL landscape before ultimately folding in 1944. Their legacy lives on as part of the rich history of professional football, highlighting the passion and dedication that fueled the sport's evolution in American culture. Today, the name "Dodgers" is remembered fondly by football historians as part of the NFL's early narrative.

Cleveland Indians of NFL Football

The Cleveland Indians, a professional football team that briefly existed in the early 1930s, were granted their NFL franchise on July 12, 1931. This team emerged during a transformative period for professional football as the league sought to expand its reach and solidify its popularity across the United States.

The Indians played their inaugural season in 1931, featuring a roster filled with talented players who showcased their skills in a growing league. Despite the team's competitive spirit, they faced challenges typical of early professional franchises, including financial instability and inconsistent attendance.

The Indians managed to compete for three seasons before the franchise was ultimately dissolved in 1933. Their existence, though short-lived, contributed to the rich tapestry of Cleveland's sports history and the evolution of professional football.

Today, the legacy of the Cleveland Indians is often remembered by football historians and fans, serving as a reminder of the early days of the NFL and the passionate pursuit of sports in American culture.

The Akron Pros Historic Anniversary

On September 20th, a pivotal moment in American football history unfolded in Akron, Ohio. It was on this day in 1920 that the Akron Pros, a founding member of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), took their first steps toward NFL glory.

The Pros were a powerhouse during the early years of professional football, capturing the APFA championship in 1920 and 1921. Their success helped to establish the league as a major force in American sports and paved the way for the NFL as we know it today.

In this post, we'll delve into the rich history of the Akron Pros and explore their impact on the development of professional football. From the team's early triumphs to their eventual demise, we'll uncover the stories of the players, coaches, and fans who helped shape their legacy.

Join us as we celebrate the anniversary of the Akron Pros' formation and honor their contribution to the rich tapestry of American football history.
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Bears versus Cardinals: The NFL's Oldest Rivalry
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