Last Team Standing

by Matthew Algeo

  116 Philadelphia’s wartime housing shortage is described in Miller, et al., Philadelphia Stories (p. 134).

  Nine: Chicago

  120 The matchstick story appeared in the Chicago Tribune, April 9, 1943. The stocking story appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, August 27, 1943. My account of wartime rationing is drawn from Bentley, Eating for Victory, Lingeman, Don’t You Know There’s a War On?, and Goodwin, No Ordinary Time.

  122 For more about homemakers on the home front, see Anderson, Wartime Women, Goodwin, No Ordinary Time, and Lingeman, Don’t You Know There’s a War On?

  122 Harriet Doyle reminisced about her wartime responsibilities in an interview with the author.

  123 “Equipment was very scarce …” (Rooney): Robinson, “Remembering When the Eagles and Steelers Were Teammates.”

  123 Al Wistert recounted his encounter with Fred Schubach in an interview with the author.

  124 “Democracy makes us …” (Conzelman): Peterson, Pigskin (p. 139).

  125 Attendance statistics come from Liu and Marini, 2005 NFL Record & Fact Book.

  125 “Fans had found …” (Halas): Halas, Halas by Halas (p. 216).

  125 “Look, this is a good line …” (Sears): Chicago Tribune, October 16, 1943.

  125 “Hell, I don’t even …” (Bell): Philadelphia Record, October 15, 1943.

  126 “Their spirit …” (Bell): Philadelphia Record, October 15, 1943.

  126 Greasy Neale’s fondness for rail travel and his rules for road trips are described in the booklet that was distributed to members of the Eagles during training camp in 1948 and is now on file at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

  128 My account of the WMC investigation of the Bears is based on contemporaneous newspaper accounts, specifically the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and the Pittsburgh Press, September 23, 1943, and the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Record, September 24, 1943.

  128 “If rules have …” (Spencer): Pittsburgh Press, September 23, 1943.

  129 “If there has been …” (Brizzolara): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, September 23, 1943.

  129 “The league clubs …” (Layden): Philadelphia Inquirer, September 24, 1943.

  129 “If the players …” (Spencer): Philadelphia Record, September 24, 1943.

  129 “We turned our practices …” (Thayer): Philadelphia Inquirer, September 24, 1943.

  130 “The division …” (Johnsos): Halas, Halas by Halas (p. 204).

  130 The story of Bronko Nagurski’s 1943 comeback is well told in Dent, Monster of the Midway.

  131 “He couldn’t throw …” (Turner): Cope, The Game That Was (p. 209).

  131 “They’ve got a tough ball club …” (Driscoll): Chicago Tribune, October 13, 1943.

  132 The opening of Chicago’s first subway was reported in the Chicago Tribune, October 17, 1943.

  132 The WMC ruling was reported in the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times, October 17, 1943.

  133 The Bears’ tenancy at Wrigley Field is discussed in Halas, Halas by Halas and Davis, Papa Bear.

  135 Al Wistert discussed his play in the Bears game and his relationship with Greasy Neale in an interview with the author.

  135 “You can’t win …” (Neale): Philadelphia Inquirer, October 20, 1943.

  136 “Boys, we lost …” (Zimmerman): Philadelphia Inquirer, October 20, 1943.

  136 “The Steagles have …” (Owen): New York Herald Tribune, October 22, 1943.

  137 The evacuation instructions for the Polo Ground were published in the Steagles-Giants game program, October 24, 1943.

  137 My descriptions of Neale and Kiesling on the sidelines are based on player interviews.

  139 “We would be better off …” (unnamed spokesman): Philadelphia Record, October 26, 1943.

  Ten: Strikes

  142 James W. Cururin’s letter was published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 26, 1943.

  142 For my account of Pittsburgh’s industrial development, I am indebted to Freese, Coal (from which the “Muskeetose” quote is taken).

  143 Edmund Bacon’s uncomplimentary comment about his hometown was published in his obituary in the Washington Post, October 16, 2005.

  143 The relationship between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia is discussed in Soskis, “Tale of Two Cities.”

  144 Havey Boyle’s Charley Case quip was published the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 30, 1943.

  144 Clint Wager’s self-inflicted skull fracture was reported in the Chicago Tribune, October 9, 1943. A more complete history of the Cardinals can be found in Carroll, et al., Total Football II (pp. 39–41) and Peterson, Pigskin. The report that Handler was reduced to recruiting personnel from the Great Lakes Naval Station appears in Dent, Monster of the Midway (p. 270).

  147 My account of the 1943 coal strikes is based on contemporaneous newspaper reports, as well as Dubofsky and Van Tine, John L. Lewis, Freese, Coal, Goodwin, No Ordinary Time, and Wechsler, Labor Baron.

  147 “Our nation is at war …” (Lewis): Dubofsky and Van Tine, John L. Lewis (p. 302).

  148 “Two months ago …” (Kerlik): Wechsler, Labor Baron (p. 208).

  149 “Speaking for …” (Stars and Stripes): Dubofsky and Van Tine, John L. Lewis (p. 314).

  149 “a jailed miner” (Ickes): Dubofsky and Van Tine, John L. Lewis (p. 312).

  150 “Lewis bargained for eight months …” (unnamed commentator): Wechsler, Labor Baron (p. 250).

  150 An excellent history of the NFL’s labor relations can be found in MacCambridge, America’s Game.

  151 The Sammy Baugh “Which eye?” anecdote has been often told. This version comes from Boswell, et al., Redskins (p. 40).

  152 “rush the passer” (Kiesling and Neale): Philadelphia Inquirer, November 13, 1943.

  153 The true inventor of the point spread is a matter of much debate among sports historians. Several bookies have been credited, including Ed Curd, Billy Hecht, and Charles McNeil.

  154 “Give generously …” (Navy League): Steagles-Redskins game program, November 7, 1943.

  155 While it was not unusual for players to poke, bite, pinch, punch, or gouge one another in the heat of battle, they also adhered to unwritten rules that placed strictures on the violence. For example, if a player on the visiting team was headed out of bounds, it was perfectly acceptable for a player on the home team to annihilate him, to entertain the home crowd. However, if a player on the home team was headed out of bounds, the visitors were expected to administer nothing more than a polite shove. By this simple understanding, the players spared themselves a bit of brutality.

  158 “I presume he felt …” (Bell): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 10, 1943.

  158 Bill Hewitt discussed his departure from the Steagles in Hewitt, “Don’t Send My Boy to Halas.” His fatal car accident is described in the News-Herald (Perkasie, PA), January 15, 1947.

  159 “We didn’t even have …” (Leemans): Cope, The Game That Was (p. 154).

  159 For more about the history of sports medicine, see Berryman and Park, Sport and Exercise Science.

  160 “What with the injuries …” (Cawthon): New York Herald Tribune, October 21, 1943.

  161 “better prepared” (Cawthon): Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 13, 1943.

  162 My account of the first televised NFL game is based on Campbell, “Pro Football’s First TV Game—1939” and Whittingham, What a Game They Played (pp. 193–194).

  162 “It was …” (Waltz): Campbell, “Pro Football’s First TV Game—1939.”

  163 “Why, this Brooklyn team …” (Topping): New York Times, November 15, 1943.

  Eleven: Thanksgiving

  166 Bill Hartman recounted how he discovered Frank Sinkwich in Lancaster, “Legends: Frank Sinkwich.” Sinkwich’s early difficulties at boot camp were reported in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, July 20, 1943.

  167 The history of the Spartans, the Packers, and the NFL’s other “town teams” is recounted in Peterson, Pigskin and Carroll, et al., Total Foo
tball II.

  168 “Hell, we’d get …” (Clark): Peterson, Pigskin (p. 122).

  169 Sinkwich’s discharge from the Marines was reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 4, 1943.

  171 “I was hoping for …” (Rooney): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 10, 1943.

  172 “one of the wildest games” (Edgar): Detroit Free Press, November 22, 1943.

  172 “There was the kickoff …” (Carlson): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 30, 1943.

  172 Much of my history of kicking is drawn from Stephenson, The Kicks That Count. The kicking statistics are based on data in Carroll, et al., Total Football II, Neft, et al., The Football Encyclopedia, and Liu and Marini, 2005 NFL Record & Fact Book.

  175 “I guess I’ve seen …” (Friesell): Detroit News, November 22, 1943.

  175 “I’ve waited ten years …” (Rooney): Pittsburgh Press, November 27, 1943.

  176 Roosevelt and Churchill’s Thanksgiving in Cairo is described in Goodwin, No Ordinary Time (pp. 474–475).

  176 “Let us make it …” and “Large families …” (Roosevelt): Goodwin, No Ordinary Time (p. 474).

  176 The Associated Press report of Roosevelt’s “little ditty” was published in the Pittsburgh Press, December 3, 1943.

  176 “I had never seen …” (Churchill): Goodwin, No Ordinary Time (p. 474).

  177 “a pound of turkey” (Office of the Quartermaster General): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, November 2, 1943.

  177 “We even got …” (Paull): “Memories of War: Personal Histories.” Retrieved from http://micro-works.net/pacific/personal/bill_paull4.htm.

  178 “You ought to be …” (Patton): Goralski, World War II Almanac, 1931–1945 (p. 275).

  180 The publication of photographs of dead American soldiers is discussed in Jarvis, The Male Body at War.

  181 The most popular version of “Four-F Charlie” was recorded by Ted Courtney in 1941. In The Male Body at War, Christina S. Jarvis says the song equates the 4-F man with “failed masculinity and failed humanity.” The lyrics quoted here come from Jarvis’s book.

  182 “What’s the matter with …” (Wherry): Philadelphia Inquirer, October 5, 1943.

  182 “If a man is …” (Tunney): Milwaukee Journal, December 2, 1943.

  182 The Joe Williams column about 4-F athletes was published on December 27, 1943, in many papers, including the Pittsburgh Press.

  183 The Grantland Rice column was published on December 18, 1943, in many papers, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

  183 The results of the Esquire polls were published in the New York Herald Tribune, November 25, 1943.

  184 “the American way of life” (Mead): Philadelphia Inquirer, June 24, 1943.

  184 The Sammy Weiss biography is drawn mainly from his obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 2, 1977.

  185 “If the British …” (Weiss): Washington Times-Herald, November 11, 1943.

  185 “I’ve had letters …” (Weiss): Pittsburgh Press, July 30, 1943.

  Twelve: Survival

  187 “a good investment” (Marshall): Washington Times-Herald, November 28, 1943.

  187 Lex Thompson’s party the night before the Redskins game was described in the Washington Times-Herald, November 30, 1943.

  188 The story of Greasy Neale taking Jack Hinkle out of the game was told in the Philadelphia Inquirer, December 1, 1943.

  191 “I knew if I batted …” (Steele): Philadelphia Inquirer, December 1, 1943.

  191 “It was the happiest …” (Zimmerman): Washington Post, November 29, 1943.

  191 “What a ball game …” (Bell): Philadelphia Record, November 30, 1943.

  193 Ted Doyle recounted how he “celebrated a little too much” after the game in an interview with the author.

  Thirteen: Win and In

  196 My account of the Steagles locker room before the Packers game is based on player interviews.

  197 “in three different directions” (Neale): Whittingham, What a Game They Played (p. 118).

  199 “We better win …” (Neale): Kram, “Neale People.”

  199 “I even drive …” (Neale): Neale and Meany, “Football Is My Life.”

  199 My description of Shibe Park on the day of the Packers game is based on contemporaneous newspaper accounts, as well as photographs at the Urban Archives at Temple University.

  202 “We made mistakes.” (Neale): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, December 6, 1943.

  203 “the most successful season” (unnamed official): Philadelphia Inquirer, December 26, 1943.

  203 “We took in more …” (Bell): Philadelphia Record, December 10, 1943.

  205 My account of George Preston Marshall’s visit to the Bears bench during the 1943 championship game is based on contemporaneous newspaper reports, as well as Dent, Monster of the Midway (p. 285) and Davis, Papa Bear (pp. 188–189). Commissioner Elmer Layden fined both Marshall and Brizzolara $500 each for the altercation, a verdict that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jack Sell (among others) deemed “curious.”

  205 “You can say …” (Marshall): Philadelphia Inquirer, December 27, 1943.

  205 “I see post-war pro football …” (Rickey): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, December 31, 1943.

  Epilogue: V-J Day

  206 “Last fall …” (Bell): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, January 2, 1944.

  206 “keep faith with Philadelphia fans” (Thompson): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 14, 1944.

  207 “The best thing to do …” (Layden): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, January 2, 1944.

  207 “The League requests …” (Mandel): NFL meeting minutes, April 22, 1944.

  207 My account of the Steelers-Cardinals merger is based on Forr, “Card-Pitt: The Carpits,” as well as contemporaneous newspaper reports and my interview with Ted Doyle. The minutes of the league meeting at which the merger was consummated, now on file at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, were also helpful.

  208 “Since the close …” (Rooney): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 11, 1944.

  208 “carried the Racing Form” (Rooney): Forr, “Card-Pitt: The Carpits.”

  209 “The whole bunch …” (Rooney): Forr, “Card-Pitt: The Carpits.”

  209 “The season couldn’t have …” (Bell): Forr, “Card-Pitt: The Carpits.”

  209 Greasy Neale’s self-imposed pay cut was reported in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, September 8, 1944.

  210 The war’s effect on the 1944 Bears is described in Halas, Halas by Halas (pp. 214–215).

  210 “We tried to get replacements …” (Johnsos): Halas, Halas by Halas (p. 215).

  210 “It drove me nuts …” (Gallery): Lynch, Tender Tyrant (p. 133).

  210 “I kept announcing …” (Hutson): Whittingham, What a Game They Played (pp. 127–128).

  211 “It is difficult …” (Byrnes): Mead, Even the Browns (p. 219).

  211 The discrimination that professional athletes faced from Selective Service is described in Mead, Even the Browns. The Northey case in particular is discussed on page 220.

  212 “The example set …” (Johnson): New York Times, August 18, 1945.

  212 Elmer Layden’s visit to the White House was reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, August 23, 1945.

  213 “It is not necessary …” (Thayer): Philadelphia Inquirer, August 16, 1945.

  213 “George Halas made me play …” (Kavanaugh): Peterson, Pigskin (p. 141).

  213 Jack Sanders’ return to the gridiron was reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, August 20, 1945.

  213 Vic Sears explained how he helped his friend John Eibner in an interview with the author.

  214 My account of the war between the NFL and the upstart AAFC is based on MacCambridge, America’s Game and Peterson, Pigskin.

  214 “Let them get a football …” (Layden): Peterson, Pigskin (p. 148).

  215 My account of the postwar integration of professional football is based on Levy, Tackling Jim Crow.

  216 “If I have to …” (Strode): L
evy, Tackling Jim Crow (p. 95).

  217 “Salaries have gone crazy …” (Thompson): Stump, “Get Smart—or Go Bust?”

  217 “The team made …” (Clark): Didinger and Lyons, The Eagles Encyclopedia (p. 127).

  217 “I had a reputation …” (Neale): Didinger and Lyons, The Eagles Encyclopedia (p. 103).

  218 “Weak teams should play …” (Bell): MacCambridge, America’s Game (p. 40).

  219 “We don’t want kids …” (Bell): MacCambridge, America’s Game (p. 105).

  219 “Television creates interest …” (Bell): Pro Football Hall of Fame, “Bert Bell: The Commissioner.”

  220 “It was almost as though …” (Smith): MacCambridge, America’s Game (p. 127).

  Postscript: 2003

  221 The figures for the cost of building Heinz Field come from “Private Financing for a New Penguins Arena,” a report by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, July 2002.

  221 The account of the Steagles reunion is based on the observations of the author, who was present.

  222 “It was a time …” (Rooney): Beaver County Times (Beaver, PA), July 23, 2003.

  223 “One of the reasons …” (Cade): Kays and Phillips-Han, “Gatorade: The Idea that Launched an Industry.”

  224 “I used to go out …” (Kilroy): Leuthner, Iron Men (p. 150).

  225 “Take Allie Sherman …” (Neale): New York Times, December 26, 1961.

  Acknowledgments

  I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE to write this book without the support—moral, practical, and financial—of many people. Some I have known all my life, others I have come to know only recently through correspondence. To them all I am deeply grateful.

  For advice, answers, assistance, and accommodations: Jim Algeo, Jr., Tom Algeo, John Roy Anderson, Larry Cabrelli, Jr., Jill Cordes and Phil Johnston, Lynn Cottom, Harriet Doyle, Travis Fox, Jim Gallagher, Jo Hanshaw, Joane Hinkle, Jordy Hinkle, Elise and Rob Kauzlaric, Bruce Kuklick, James Lautenschlager, Paul May, Gigi and Frank McCollum, Dan O’Neil, Kristen and John Petersen, Gino Piroli, Rob Ruck, Grace Sears, Judy Shaubach, Alan Smith, Josephine Steele, Ray Supulski, William T. Supulski, Paula D. Sweeney of the Selective Service System, Martha Teagle and Scott Davis, Mitch Teich, Gary Waleik and the public radio program Only A Game, Scott Westcott, Joan and Jim Wilson, Dena Mary Zimmerman, Donald Zimmerman, and Rex Zimmerman.