1934 NFL Championship Game
The NFL Championship game in 1934 was the second edition of the endgame of the National Football League. The match took place in the Polo Grounds in New York City on December 9, 1934. The master of the East Division, the New York Giants, defeated the champions of the West Division, the Chicago Bears, with 30-23. The game went into an allusion to the unusual choice of shoes of the Giants teams as Sneakers Game ( " Sneakers Game") in the story.
Prehistory
The New York Giants Coach Steve Owen had won eight of their 13 season games and to have in a weak East Division as the only team more victories than defeats. Both offensively ( 147 points, the league 5th place) and defensively (107 opponents points, 6th place ) they were superior mediocrity. The only All- Pro players of the Giants was Mel Hein Center.
The Chicago Bears coach George Halas had all 13 season games won, a ratio of 200 points achieved ( 286-86 ) and won superior to the West Division. The heart of the Bears was the offensive to the running backs Bronko Nagurski, Beattie Feathers, Jack Manders and End Bill Hewitt, who were all elected to the All-Pro team, this was the 31 -year-old, future Pro Football Hall of Fame -back Red Grange. The defensive and Nagurski, who played in defense linebacker, held nine of 13 opponents to seven points or less.
Since there were no playoffs in 1934, entered the west and east champion directly in the NFL Championship Game.
Game
Although the Giants played in the Polo Grounds home, the undefeated Bears were regarded as the clear favorite - also they beat the Giants in the regular season with 27-7 clear. Before the game there had been sleet that had frozen overnight, so that players with their hard studded shoes from slipping constantly. The Bears running back trio Nagurski, Feathers and Manders could barely raise her feared running game. In the first quarter, the Giants went through a field goal by running back / kicker Ken Strong with 3-0 lead. The Bears fought back in the second quarter with a touchdown run by Nagurski (point -after- touchdown kick by Manders successful) and a field goal by Manders and went 10-3 in the half-time break.
In the half-time Giants equipment manager Abe Cohen came back with eight pairs of sneakers, which he had borrowed from a fellow college basketball club. With the soft sneakers, the Giants players were much more familiar with the icy ground. Although in the third quarter increased Manders with a second field goal for 13-3 from the perspective of the Bears, but the longer the game lasted, the more the Giants came into their own: in the fourth quarter gave New York's quarterback Ed Danowski a 28- yard touchdown to end Ike Frankian, so it was only 13-10 after a successful PAT by Strong. Strong ran ( successfully PAT, a fail) with two touchdown passes to New York 23-13 in front before nearing the end Danowski (PAT Bo Molenda successfully ) completed the final score of 30-13 for the Giants.
After the game, both teams agreed that the New York sneakers had been playing crucial. Nagurski said later: "We [ Chicago Bears ] slipped and slithered around, and they [New York Giants ] overran us. They were just smarter than we are. " ( " We were slipping and sliding around and theywere running all over us. They just outsmarted us. " )
The Giants, who "only" eight of their 13 season games won ( .615 ) until today are statistically the least successful champion of NFL history. The Bears missed a perfect season: a victory they would have become the first NFL champion with a flawless balance ( 14 wins, zero losses). From Chicago coach George Halas is narrated that he made sure the rest of his career, that his teams always had sneakers available.