22 “Material will be scarce …” (Layden): Philadelphia Inquirer, December 9, 1941.
22 Roosevelt’s Green Light Letter has been widely published, including in Bloomfield, Duty, Honor, Victory (p. 69), Gilbert, They Also Served (pp. 41–42), MacCambridge, America’s Game (p. 11), and Mead, Even the Browns (pp. 35–36). A copy of the original letter is posted on the website of the National Baseball Hall of Fame: http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/education/primary_sources/world_war_ii/letter_01.htm.
23 “But everything we decide …” (Layden): Peterson, Pigskin (p. 138).
23 I calculated the number of players lost to the armed forces based on contemporaneous newspaper accounts, as well as data contained in Neft, et al., The Football Encyclopedia and Peterson, Pigskin.
24 The Ted Doyle biography is based on interviews with him and his wife, Harriet Doyle.
25 Rooney’s signing of Whizzer White is described in Cope, The Game That Was (p. 129).
25 My description of Johnny Blood is based on Cope, The Game That Was, Peterson, Pigskin, and Whittingham, What a Game They Played. Blood explained the origin of his pseudonym in Whittingham, What a Game They Played (p. 32).
26 “He liked an unusual …” (Hinkle): Cope, The Game That Was (p. 99).
26 “I’ve always had …” (Blood): Whittingham, What a Game They Played (p. 38).
27 “I would not say …” (Blood): Cope, The Game That Was (p. 69).
27 Ted Doyle’s letter to Bert Bell was published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 15, 1943.
Four: Making Changes
29 My account of the April 1943 league meeting is based on contemporaneous newspaper reports, as well as the minutes of the meeting, which are on file at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
29 “I don’t believe …” (Layden): NFL meeting minutes, April 6, 1943.
30 “It’ll be a miracle …” (unnamed coach): Chicago Daily Times, April 6, 1943.
30 “We’re going to operate …” (Marshall): Chicago Daily Times, April 7, 1943.
30 “we can and will play football” (Layden): Philadelphia Inquirer, April 6, 1943.
30 The “war clause” in Layden’s contract and his salary were reported in the Pittsburgh Press, June 23, 1943.
32 “If a squad …” (Layden): Stars and Stripes, April 8, 1943.
32 “I don’t want …” (Neale): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, November 1, 1948.
34 “It’s just a matter …” (unnamed official): Chicago Daily Times, April 8, 1943.
35 “At no time …” (Thayer): Chicago Tribune, April 8, 1943.
35 “I believe we’ll …” (Layden): Chicago Daily Times, April 6, 1943.
35 For my account of African-Americans in professional football, I am deeply indebted to Levy, Tackling Jim Crow.
36 Judge Landis’ declaration that “any major league club is entirely free to employ Negroes” was reported on December 3, 1943, in newspapers nationwide, including the Pittsburgh Press.
38 Marshall’s racism is well documented in Levy, Tackling Jim Crow.
38 The minutes of the 1933 league meeting make no mention of race. However, as Levy writes, “it is abundantly clear that at the end of the 1933 season [the owners] chose to ban African-Americans from the league.” The fact that Joe Lillard, the Chicago Cardinals’ leading scorer in 1933, was not invited back to the team in 1934 is prima facie evidence that a ban had been implemented.
39 Myron Cope’s interview with Art Rooney is in Cope, The Game That Was (p. 7).
39 “We’ll start signing …” (Marshall): Levy, Tackling Jim Crow (p. 120).
Five: Hatching the Steagles
41 My account of the negotiations that led to the merger of the Steelers and the Eagles is based on contemporaneous newspaper reports, particularly in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Press, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, as well as the minutes of league meetings, which are on file at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
41 “The prospects …” (Rooney): Pittsburgh Press, May 27, 1943.
42 “contribute substantially” (Thompson): Philadelphia Inquirer, June 16, 1943.
44 My description of Lewis Hershey is based on Flynn, Lewis B. Hershey.
44 I based my account of the Father Draft debate on contemporaneous newspaper accounts, as well as Flynn, The Draft, 1940–1973, Flynn, Lewis B. Hershey, and United States Selective Service System, Selective Service as the Tide of War Turns.
44 Public opinion regarding the Father Draft is discussed in Flynn, Lewis B. Hershey (p. 117).
45 “the preservation of the family” (Kilday): Flynn, The Draft, 1940–1973 (p. 72).
45 The exchange between Senator Wheeler and General McNarney was reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, September 16, 1943. 45 “We certainly can’t …” (unnamed draft board chairman): Philadelphia Inquirer, October 1, 1943.
45 “one-half million fathers” (Hershey): United States Selective Service System, Selective Service as the Tide of War Turns (p. 20).
46 My account of the June 1943 league meeting is based on contemporaneous newspaper reports, as well as the minutes of the meeting, which are on file at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
46 “There is a more optimistic …” (Layden): Pittsburgh Press, June 15, 1943.
48 Arch Ward’s anti-merger column was published in the Chicago Tribune on June 18, 1943.
49 “To allow Pittsburgh and Philadelphia …” (Bell): NFL meeting minutes, June 19, 1943.
50 “When the Bears and Cardinals’ …” (Thayer): Pittsburgh Press, June 20, 1943.
50 “Without it …” (Bell): Pittsburgh Press, July 7, 1943.
52 “We believe football …” (Layden): Chicago Daily Times, June 21, 1943.
52 “I think that …” (Marshall): NFL meeting minutes, June 20, 1943.
53 The Bill Hewitt biographical information comes from Hewitt, “Don’t Send My Boy to Halas,” Davis, Papa Bear, and material contained in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin clip files. Unless otherwise noted, all Hewitt quotes are taken from Hewitt, “Don’t Send My Boy to Halas.”
54 “one of the great ends” and “flaming spirit” (Halas): Davis, Papa Bear (pp. 132–133).
54 My account of the 1932 championship game is based on Neft, et al., The Football Encyclopedia (pp. 92–93) and Peterson, Pigskin (pp. 107–108).
54 “I never saw …” (Grange): Roberts, The Chicago Bears (p. 139).
Six: Greasy and Walt
57 “Why, we wouldn’t see Thorpe …” (Neale): Holland, “Greasy Neale: Nothing To Prove, Nothing To Ask.”
58 The Neale biographical information comes from Holland, “Greasy Neale: Nothing To Prove, Nothing To Ask,” Neale and Meany, “Football Is My Life,” and material contained in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin clip files. Unless otherwise noted, all Neale quotes in this chapter come from Neale and Meany, “Football Is My Life.”
59 “Yale or no Yale …” (Neale): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, November 3, 1973.
62 The Kiesling biographical information comes from Pro Football Hall of Fame, “Hall of Fame Profile: Walt Kiesling,” Tucker, Steelers’ Victory After Forty (pp. 56–59), and his obituary published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 3, 1962.
63 My account of the Duluth Eskimos is based on Cope, The Game That Was (pp. 71–81) and Carroll, et al., Total Football II (pp. 103–104).
64 “I chased him …” (Haugsrud): Cope, The Game That Was (p. 78).
65 “I plan no …” (Kiesling): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 4, 1939.
66 The Steagles’ summer practices and training camp were covered extensively in the Philadelphia Inquirer, probably because the newspaper’s charitable arm sponsored the team’s September 16 exhibition game against the Bears at Shibe Park. After that game, the Inquirer’s coverage of the Steagles diminished.
67 Today River Field is part of a University of Pennsylvania athletic complex. None of the Steagles’ other homes for practices and games (Forbes Field, Parkside Field, Shibe Park, and
the field at 54th Street and City Line Avenue) is extant.
68 My description of football formations is based on Carroll, et al., Total Football II (pp. 474–490).
68 “Football became …” (Halas): Peterson, Pigskin (p. 134).
69 “If that wouldn’t …” (Neale): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, November 7, 1948.
69 Greasy Neale recounted his purchase of the 1940 championship game film in Holland, “Greasy Neale: Nothing To Prove, Nothing To Ask” and Daley, “High Flying Eagle.”
70 “I don’t think the T …” (Bierman): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 8, 1943.
70 “On the whole …” (Neale): Philadelphia Inquirer, August 8, 1943.
71 Elmer Layden’s decision to increase team rosters to 28 players was reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, August 26, 1943.
71 “We’re going to …” (Ennis): Pittsburgh Press, August 26, 1943.
71 “Pittsburgh gridders-workers …” (Bell): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 8, 1943.
72 “Why couldn’t our professional squads …” (Bell): Philadelphia Inquirer, January 8, 1942.
73 The “non-deferrable” and “essential” lists were published in the New York Times on August 15, 1943.
73 “The time has come …” (McNutt): New York Times, August 15, 1943.
73 McNutt and Hershey’s contentious relationship is discussed in Flynn, Lewis B. Hershey.
73 “I will not transmit …” (Hershey): Flynn, Lewis B. Hershey (p. 90).
74 “The usefulness of the sport …” (McNutt): Mead, Even the Browns (p. 90).
74 The wages of workers at the Budd factory were published in the Philadelphia Daily News, July 29, 1943.
75 The war production figures come from Dear and Foot, The Oxford Companion to World War II and Polmar and Allen, World War II: The Encyclopedia of the War Years, 1941–1945.
75 Executive Order 8802 is discussed in Goodwin, No Ordinary Time (pp. 252–253).
75 The African-American employment statistics are cited in Goodwin, No Ordinary Time (p. 540).
75 The Raymond Clapper column was published in the Pittsburgh Press, December 15, 1943.
75 For my account of women in the workplace during the war, I am deeply indebted to Anderson, Wartime Women and Erenberg and Hirsch, The War in American Culture.
76 “lacks the glamour” (female worker): Anderson, Wartime Women (p. 29).
76 Wartime day-care programs are discussed in Goodwin, No Ordinary Time (pp. 416–417).
76 The Dorothy Dix column about women wearing “tubular britches” was published in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 3, 1943.
76 “We’re here to work …” (Penczak): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 3, 1943.
77 “You’d think …” (male worker): Anderson, Wartime Women (p. 47).
77 The Pauline Rugh story was widely reported in Pennsylvania newspapers in August and September 1943. The Red Smith column appeared in the Philadelphia Record, September 9, 1943. The Havey Boyle column appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 1, 1943. Unfortunately, my attempts to locate Rugh and her former players were unsuccessful.
Seven: Unfit for Military Service
78 My description of the Steagles training camp is based on contemporaneous newspaper reports as well as player interviews. The conflict between Greasy Neale and Walt Kiesling is well documented. For example, see Dervarics, “When Steagles Walked the Earth” and Spadaro, “Remembering the ‘Steagles.’”
80 Greasy Neale’s favorite profane sayings were collected by the author in player interviews.
80 “I loved Greasy …” (Hinkle): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, February 8, 1968.
80 “It is to be doubted …” (Daley): New York Times, February 16, 1969.
80 The anecdote about Walt Kiesling sabotaging Art Rooney’s play appears in Cope, “Pro Football’s Gashouse Gang.”
81 “Seldom did Kiesling …” (Tucker): Tucker, Steelers’ Victory After Forty (p. 58).
81 “You can’t get into condition …” (Kiesling): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 30, 1943.
81 “He was a tremendous …” (Rooney): Cope, The Game That Was (pp. 136–137).
81 “The thing about Walt …” (Haugsrud): Pro Football Hall of Fame, “Hall of Fame Profile: Walt Kiesling.”
81 “Greasy had a sense …” (Kilroy): Infield, “When the Steagles Roamed the Gridiron.”
81 “Kies was a great …” (Rooney): Cope, The Game That Was (p. 137).
83 The Allie Sherman biography is based on Asinof, “Big Shrimp of Pro Football,” Sherman, Book of Football, and material contained in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin clip files.
84 The Roy Zimmerman biography is based on interviews with his wife, Dena Mary Zimmerman, and his sons, Donald Zimmerman and Rex Zimmerman, as well as contemporaneous newspaper accounts.
85 “Zimmerman made few …” (Whittlesey): Washington Post, November 25, 1943.
85 The circumstances surrounding Zimmerman’s trade to the Eagles were reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 9, 1943.
86 For information about the physical standards for inductees I am indebted to Anderson, Physical Standards in World War II. I ascertained each player’s draft status based on contemporaneous newspaper reports, later articles about the team, player interviews, and Selective Service records.
88 “He was a legitimate receiver …” (Rooney): Longman, If Football’s a Religion, Why Don’t We Have a Prayer? (p. 64).
88 “Let’s face it …” (Sears): Longman, If Football’s a Religion, Why Don’t We Have a Prayer? (p. 64).
89 “I was doing mostly …” (Kilroy): Leuthner, Iron Men (p. 144).
89 Hank Soar discussed playing football while on active duty in Peterson, Pigskin (p. 140). Tony Canadeo did likewise in Whittingham, What a Game They Played (pp. 217–218).
91 For my description of wartime Pittsburgh, I am indebted to Burlbaugh, The War, the Steagles and the Card-Pitts. For my description of Forbes Field, I am indebted to Didinger and Lyons, The Eagles Encyclopedia.
94 Throughout the book, my game accounts are based on contemporaneous newspaper reports and player interviews.
94 “Hotel reservations …” (Canadeo): Barnett, “When the Packers Went to War.”
96 “The mistakes we made …” (Neale): Philadelphia Inquirer, September 13, 1943.
96 “Any team that …” (Neale): Philadelphia Inquirer, September 16, 1943.
96 My description of wartime Philadelphia is based on Miller, et al., Philadelphia Stories. My description of Shibe Park is based on Kuklick, To Every Thing A Season and Westcott, Philadelphia’s Old Ballparks. My description of bond drives is based on Lingeman, Don’t You Know There’s a War On?
99 “If all the clubs …” (Bell): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, September 10, 1943.
Eight: Birds of Steel
101 “You worked all day …” (Hinkle): Ecenbarger, “The Steagles Hybrid Team Zany Moments in Steelers’ Past.”
101 “With the pick of both …” (Neale): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 25, 1943.
102 Lewis Hershey’s letter to local draft boards was published in United States Selective Service System, Selective Service as the Tide of War Turns (pp. 165–166).
102 “We found that …” (unnamed draft board official): Philadelphia Record, October 1, 1943.
102 The induction shortfall is described in Goralski, World War II Almanac, 1931–1945 (p. 283).
103 “ignoring the considered judgment” (McNarney): Flynn, The Draft, 1940–1973 (p. 74).
103 “What kind of …” (Roosevelt): Flynn, The Draft, 1940–1973 (p. 74).
104 Pete Cawthon’s efforts to cobble together the Dodgers are recounted in Lynch, Tender Tyrant (pp. 127–130).
104 “I’m out of shape …” (Jones): Lynch, Tender Tyrant (p. 128).
105 “We simply do not …” (Cawthon): New York Herald Tribune, October 21, 1943.
105 Dennis Shea’s disparaging comments about the Steagles
were published in numerous papers, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 21, 1943.
106 “a serious student” and “had real possibilities” (Neale): Holland, “Greasy Neale: Nothing To Prove, Nothing To Ask.”
108 “deeply impressed” (Owen): Philadelphia Inquirer, October 4, 1943.
108 The story of how Bill Paschal came to play for the Giants was told in a Grantland Rice column that was published on December 8, 1943 in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
109 Greasy Neale discussed his long friendship with Steve Owen in Neale and Meany, “Football Is My Life.”
110 “They clocked me …” (Hinkle): Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, February 8, 1968.
111 “When he gets in a game …” (Neale): Milwaukee Journal, December 1, 1943.
111 Hinkle explained the “41 Outside” play in an interview with the author. The story of the misattributed 37-yard run appears in Ecenbarger, “Steagles” and Infield, “When the Steagles Roamed the Gridiron.”
111 “I didn’t realize …” (Hinkle): The Times Herald (Norristown, PA), undated clipping on file at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
113 My account of Allie Sherman’s late-game touchdown against the Giants is based on an interview with Ted Doyle.
114 Bucko Kilroy discussed Walt Kiesling’s defensive coaching acumen in Infield, “When the Steagles Roamed the Gridiron.”
114 “I didn’t like it …” (Graham): Ross, “The White, Night Football.”
114 “about ten years” (Luckman): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 8, 1943.
115 “30 and 40 percent weaker” (Kiesling): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 9, 1943.
115 “The caliber of play …” (Kilroy): Didinger, “War Baby in 1943, Eagles and Steelers Were Steagles.”
115 “The 4-F boys …” (Mara): Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 15, 1943.
115 The story of Allie Sherman encountering the Giants at the North Philadelphia train station appeared in the New York Times, November 7, 1963.
116 My description of life at the Hotel Philadelphian is based primarily on my interviews with Ray Graves, Tom Miller, Vic Sears, and Ernie Steele, all of whom lived there in 1943. Also helpful was Infield, “When the Steagles Roamed the Gridiron.”
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