Last Team Standing (40 page)

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 Football 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.