Trying to find more information regarding the 1926 exhibition between the AFL champion Quakers and the NFL Giants. From what I have read, the Quakers were probably the 2nd best team in the AFL but won the championship by defeating the better NY Yankees who were missing Red Grange due to injury. The Giants were referred to as 'a seventh-place team', but were probably one of the stronger teams in the NFL at the time as the league had 'bloated' to 22 teams and the schedules were all over the place. The Quakers initially challenged the NFL champion Frankford Yellowjackets to a Title of Philadelphia game, but Frankford refused. Joe Carr didn't want an NFL team to play an AFL team, but Tim Mara's Giants took the challenge. So a couple weeks after the season had ended for both teams, a game was played on Dec. 12th at the Polo Grounds. Reportedly it was a blizzard with 5000 fans showing up, and the Giants won easily 31-0.
Does anyone have an actual account of the game? Did each team have its regular rosters for this exhibition? Why did Tim Mara agree to play?
1926 Super Bowl - Quakers v. Giants
-
rhickok1109
- Posts: 1490
- Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:57 am
Re: 1926 Super Bowl - Quakers v. Giants
This is an OCRed version of a game story from the Brooklyn Times-Union:
Battling Giants
Humble Quakers
Secret Raw Meat Diet Hinted
as Pro Gridders Down
A. L. Champs.
As far as could be ascertained by
the more curious of the 5,000 specta-
tors at the Polo Grounds yesterday,
the New York Football Giants, All-
(but one) Collegians, have been on
a secret diet of raw meat It is
probable that the directors of the
club took the boys down to the
Garden in a body last week and had
them initiated by Harry Stockelynch,
the Belgian bike rider, who is the
greatest exponent of the art now at
large in the metropolitan district
but whether this was the case or
not, the New York Football Giants
etc. have obtained it somewhere and
in large quantities. And from all
indications, they thrive on it. Only
this very rare diah could have made
the victory of these Giants
over the Philadelphia Quakers yes-
terday.
Only the moat conservative would
call it a victory, at that The score
was 31 to 0.
For. be it known, and it probably
isk, that these Philadelphia Quakers
won the American Football League
pennant not so long ago. by the ap-
parently simple process of defeating
Harold (Red) Grange's Yankees
twice in one week. And be it fur-
ther known that the Giants finished
in third hole for the National League
championship. Thus it will be seen
at a glance that raw meat is a better
diet for football players, by some 31
points, than gruel, and probably thin
gruel.
The collegians, and the non-col-
legian, who is Al Nesser. and one of
the finest, played about as well as
any team has ever played of a chilly
afternoon on a wet and frozen field,
or ever will play, for that matter.
This field was wet as well as frozen.
It was featured by muddy puddles
and sheets of ice. It was very hard
in spots and very squoshy in others.
It was no place even for a profes-
sional to be.
But the boys went to work at the
start and accomplished a business-
like job. When it was all over it
could be seen that the Philadelphia
Quakers did not so much as want
a return game. They had had
enough and a lot of it The Giants
were a lustful lot and they gave the
Quakers far more football la this
post-season game than did the
Yanks in two regular contests.
Jack McBrlde, which is the same
as saying the Giants, did enough to
win the game alone, but the other
10 helped some. So did Hinkey
Haines. So did Jack Hagerty. who
contributed a no-good runback of a
punt for 68 yards and a touchdown,
which was no good because the
kicker had been roughed. And so it
went.
By actual count. McBride scored
19 of the Giant points. After miss-
ing a 30-yard field goal he set out
to earn his salary. From scrim-
mage he struggled 50 yards to a
touchdown in a run that could not
have been much better on a good
field. After he had crossed the line
an alert official discovered that both
teams had been offside. Nothing
daunted. Jack proceeded to kick a
goal from placement that gave the
New Yorkers a 3 to 0 lead at half-
time, after another try for goal had
failed. In the second half, the Syra-
cuse star went through the Quakers
for three first downs, a touchdown
and an extra point in rapid succes-
sion. After Hagerty had circled
left end for another score. Jack
kicked the point. He then inter-
cepted a pass and skidded 85 yards
to his second touchdown and kicked
the point after that. Otherwise Jack
did very little.
The official score was 31 to 0.
What it would have been without
those alert officials is too terrible
to think about. The Quakers, with
the great A1 Kruez in the starring
role. although he did not play much,
succeeded in bringing one glorious
first down back to Philadelphia with
them.
Battling Giants
Humble Quakers
Secret Raw Meat Diet Hinted
as Pro Gridders Down
A. L. Champs.
As far as could be ascertained by
the more curious of the 5,000 specta-
tors at the Polo Grounds yesterday,
the New York Football Giants, All-
(but one) Collegians, have been on
a secret diet of raw meat It is
probable that the directors of the
club took the boys down to the
Garden in a body last week and had
them initiated by Harry Stockelynch,
the Belgian bike rider, who is the
greatest exponent of the art now at
large in the metropolitan district
but whether this was the case or
not, the New York Football Giants
etc. have obtained it somewhere and
in large quantities. And from all
indications, they thrive on it. Only
this very rare diah could have made
the victory of these Giants
over the Philadelphia Quakers yes-
terday.
Only the moat conservative would
call it a victory, at that The score
was 31 to 0.
For. be it known, and it probably
isk, that these Philadelphia Quakers
won the American Football League
pennant not so long ago. by the ap-
parently simple process of defeating
Harold (Red) Grange's Yankees
twice in one week. And be it fur-
ther known that the Giants finished
in third hole for the National League
championship. Thus it will be seen
at a glance that raw meat is a better
diet for football players, by some 31
points, than gruel, and probably thin
gruel.
The collegians, and the non-col-
legian, who is Al Nesser. and one of
the finest, played about as well as
any team has ever played of a chilly
afternoon on a wet and frozen field,
or ever will play, for that matter.
This field was wet as well as frozen.
It was featured by muddy puddles
and sheets of ice. It was very hard
in spots and very squoshy in others.
It was no place even for a profes-
sional to be.
But the boys went to work at the
start and accomplished a business-
like job. When it was all over it
could be seen that the Philadelphia
Quakers did not so much as want
a return game. They had had
enough and a lot of it The Giants
were a lustful lot and they gave the
Quakers far more football la this
post-season game than did the
Yanks in two regular contests.
Jack McBrlde, which is the same
as saying the Giants, did enough to
win the game alone, but the other
10 helped some. So did Hinkey
Haines. So did Jack Hagerty. who
contributed a no-good runback of a
punt for 68 yards and a touchdown,
which was no good because the
kicker had been roughed. And so it
went.
By actual count. McBride scored
19 of the Giant points. After miss-
ing a 30-yard field goal he set out
to earn his salary. From scrim-
mage he struggled 50 yards to a
touchdown in a run that could not
have been much better on a good
field. After he had crossed the line
an alert official discovered that both
teams had been offside. Nothing
daunted. Jack proceeded to kick a
goal from placement that gave the
New Yorkers a 3 to 0 lead at half-
time, after another try for goal had
failed. In the second half, the Syra-
cuse star went through the Quakers
for three first downs, a touchdown
and an extra point in rapid succes-
sion. After Hagerty had circled
left end for another score. Jack
kicked the point. He then inter-
cepted a pass and skidded 85 yards
to his second touchdown and kicked
the point after that. Otherwise Jack
did very little.
The official score was 31 to 0.
What it would have been without
those alert officials is too terrible
to think about. The Quakers, with
the great A1 Kruez in the starring
role. although he did not play much,
succeeded in bringing one glorious
first down back to Philadelphia with
them.
Re: 1926 Super Bowl - Quakers v. Giants
Thanks Ralph. That is what I was looking for.