Green Bay Packers (7-3-2) 7, Detroit Panthers (4-6-2) 0
Sunday November 28th 1926 (at Detroit)
GAME RECAP (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE)
(DETROIT) - Getting off to a flying start in the opening period of Sunday's NFL game here at Navin Field, the Green Bay Packers smeared their way through for the only touchdown of the game. The final
score was 7 to 0, with Jimmy Conzelman's Panthers on the short end. The combat between the professional gridders failed to draw what might be termed a corporal's guard. The thousand and odd spectators looked like a drop in the bucket in the big American League ballpark, which can house a 30,000 crowd without being jammed. The Big Bay Blues easily deserved the verdict. They piled up twice as many first downs as Conzelman and company, fought like tigers in the shadow of their own goal post, and gave an all around exhibition of football that couldn't help but be admired by the whole crowd. For the first few minutes of the fray, the teams battled along on fairly even terms. Then Pid Purdy hurled a pass into the waiting arms of Cully Lidberg. The former pride of Minnesota was injured on the play and Rex Enright took his place.
ENRIGHT PLAYS GREAT GAME
At last Rockne's fullback of 1925 came into his own. Never was there a better exhibition of fullbacking on Navin field. He cut, slashed and wormed his way time after time for numerous yards and they all came when it opened. It was Enright that penetrated the great Detroit line five times in succession and finally plunging over the mighty Barrett for a touchdown with a foot to spare. As usual, Purdy kicked the goal. Several times, later in the game, it seemed as if the Packers might increase their margin, but the Panthers fought stubbornly when pushed back into their own backyard. When the second half started, Jimmy Conzelman inserted himself into the Detroit lineup. Jimmy may not be as fast as in other days, but he hasn't lost any of his smartness. He tried every trick within the book and several on the outside, but the Packers watched him like a hawk. He hurled pass after pass, but they were mostly of the prayer variety. The Panthers got away with some short gains via the aerial route, but they were all within their own territory. When past the midfield, the Badger State champions would dig in a bit deeper and force their opponents to kick. The ball see-sawed back and forth all during the final quarter. Detroit was trying to take every chance and they even hurled forward passes when within sneaking distance of their own uprights, but it was a futile battle. The Packers, riding along on their one touchdown margin, played conservative football. They were hanging tight to the old cowhide and playing "safety first" against the jinx
of costly fumbles which possible robbed them of a national championship through last minute defeats at the hands of the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Yellowjackets. Word from Chicago that the Packers would be given another opportunity to battle with the Chicago Bears at Soldiers' Field stadium on December 19, in the Paddy Carr benefit game was warmly greeted by Captain Lambeau and his gridders. Every member of the squad is anxious for another crack at the Bruins. The team will probably take a vacation for a week or so and then return home and resume their training for the skirmish with the Halas-Sternaman eleven.
GREEN BAY - 7 0 0 0 - 7
DETROIT - 0 0 0 0 - 0
SCORING
1ST - GB - Rex Enright run (Pid Purdy kick) GREEN BAY 7-0
ARRANGEMENTS FOR PACKER-BEAR GAME TO BE MADE TODAY
NOV 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Definite word as to whether or not the Green Bay Packers will play the Chicago Bears in the Paddy Carr Christmas Basket benefit game at Soldiers' Field, Chicago, on December 19, will be announced within a day or two, A.B. Turnbull, president of the Green Bay Football corporation, announced Sunday upon his return from Chicago, where he conferred with George Halas, Bear manager, and Joseph F. Carr, president of the NFL. President Carr was in Chicago to witness the Army-Navy game and informed Mr. Turnbull that he selected the Packers to battle the Bears because of the excellent showing they had made this season and also because he thought they would be the best attraction for such a game. At first, Chicago officials suggested that the benefit game be between the Chicago Bulls and the Bears, but President Carr would not consent to such a contest, saying that he regarded the Bulls as outlaws and that there were clubs in his own league that would play far better football and give the fans more for their money...PACKER MORALE HIGH: President Carr said he was particularly anxious to have the Packers play the Bears in this game because it would be a great thing not only for the local club but for pro football generally. The recent Bear-Packer game was declared by sport writers to have been the best one played in Chicago this season, and the National league president is confident that the benefit game would contain plenty of thrills for the fans. The morale of the Green Bay club is among the best in the league and the Packers never stop battling until the final whistle blows. Chicago sports writers, when they heard that the Packers had been selected to play in the game against the Bears, declared that it was sure to be one of the greatest football games ever played in Chicago, and promised their cooperation in making the affair a success...MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TODAY: Final arrangements for the benefit game will be made in Chicago sometime today. The proceeds will be used by the Paddy Carr Christmas Basket fund committee to buy Christmas baskets for the poor in Chicago. The committee will be in charge of the ticket sale and a drive is planned throughout Chicago and it is hoped that 15,000 or 20,000 ducats will be sold at prices ranging from $2 to $5 each. The Packers will get their actual expenses, plus the salary of the players. There will be no profit for the football corporation. Mr. Turnbull received a telegram late Sunday from Capt. Lambeau at Detroit, saying that the Packer players would gladly play the game against the Bears and that every player was in fine condition and anxious to get another chance to knock off the Bears. The Packers played a tie with the Bears here, and lost to them because of a fumble in the closing minutes of play at Chicago on November 21.
PHILLY SCRIBE PENNED THRILL YARN OF PACKER-JACKET GAME
DEC 1 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Information received from Chicago last night practically closed the Packer-Bear game on December 19 although the contracts have not been signed as yet. A conference is to be held this afternoon at the Sherman house in Chicago at 2 p.m. and it is expected that the deal will be closed at that time...The following story, which appeared in the Philadelphia Ledger on Friday, Nov. 26, gives a colorful description of the Packer-Yellowjacket game on Thanksgiving Day. The game was so exciting that even the veteran Quaker scribe waxed over-enthusiastic in penning his yard about the combat. It follows: "'Two-Bits' Homan is small in stature, but today he is a mighty big man in the eyes of the red-hot Frankford football enthusiasts. He was the hero of the game in which the Frankford Yellowjackets Thursday conquered the Green Bay Packers from Wisconsin, 20 to 14. The encounter had only a few fleeting minutes to go, with the Jackets trailing, 14 to 13, and the biggest crowd that has attended Frankford Stadium this season, doleful and silent, when 'Two-Bits' stepped out to save the game. The diminutive and daring quarterback caught a forward pass on the 20-yard line just as the ball seemed headed straight out of bounds. The forward pass was thrown from the Green Bay 35-yard line by the unerring arm of Stockton, the Frankford fullback, and he knew Homan would be there to receive it. With a quick twist of his lithe body to prevent himself from going over the boundary line, 'Two-Bits' turned and headed toward the goal line, just as towering and brawny Green Bay tackles thundered toward him. First this way and then that wheeled Homan as he sought to elude the men blocking his path. That wouldn't do. So 'Two-Bits' ups and straight arms one and then the other formidable foeman out of his path. 'There he goes!' was the wild, loud cry that went up from those Frankford rooters, who have learned to cheer for their home team with their hearts and souls put into their cheers. And there he went - that 'Two-Bits'. Feet flying, he dashed toward the goal line and just as he thew himself for the plunge that would carry him across, the big arms of a Green Bay tackler reached out to bring him down, but it was too late. Homan was a second too soon...'TWO-BITS' BECOMES HERO: Did those Frankford folks roar? You said it, and mighty cheers for Stockton mingled with those for Homan. Hogan, who went in for Bruder, kicked the extra point that rounded out the victorious Frankford total. Then with the game very nearly at its end, those Frankford fans settled themselves into their seats with an air of security as their team, holder of second place in the National Professional football league, continued to wage warfare that might have culminated in another touchdown if the blast of the whistle had not ended the game. There were tense situations throughout the battle, the Frankford followers voting it one of the most sensational games they had even seen in their stadium. The powerful arm of Stockton, which has played a big part in many a Frankford triumph, was working at its best. It paved the way for Tex Hamer to get off to a spectacular and speedy dash for Frankford's first touchdown in the first period. Two attempts at battering the line got the burly Jackets little if anything in yardage. Then Stockton heaved a forward pass to Hamer. Tex spurted in his characteristic fashion, but after toting the ball for 25 yards he was forced out of bounds. On the next play, Hamer again flashed in the most approved comet-like style, and this time he did not stop flashing until he had carried the ball 18 yards for a touchdown. Six points out in front, Frankford forward passing, with Stockton playing the role of the unfailing thrower, and Moran and Hamer doing the receiving and carrying put the ball on Green Bay's 20-yard line. Hamer and Moran rammed into the opposing line for substantial gains, Jones being the one to take the ball over the line for the second Frankford six pointer. Rudd kicked the point. Then the first period closed with the Jackets seemingly comfortably fixed with a lead of 13 to 0...GREEN BAY'S POWERFUL THRUSTS: In the second period those Green Bay Packers rallied together all their strength. Then the onlookers caught a glimpse of a swift-moving, capable team in action that caused the Frankford cohorts grave misgivings. Our team may be due for a licking, one of the staunchest of the Yellowjackets' rooters was heard to say to another, as equally as staunch, shortly after Green Bay gained possession of the ball when one of the Packers recovered a forward pass that was juggled and fumbled by Chamberlin. Those Green Bay boys got going then. Purdy made a neat pass to Lewellen. Thereupon Lewellen made a plunge for a first down. For a time, it was Purdy and Lewellen, the latter receiving one forward pass that would have been a sure touchdown if the Green Bay runner had not been forced out of bounds on Frankford's 5-yard line. Right then and there Green Bay put all its fight into the fray, and after three smashes at the opposing forces had failed. Lidberg, who had substituted for Enright, took the sphere over for the Packers' first touchdown. Purdy's trusted toe counted for the extra point. The third period went by without additional scoring, but the quarter ended with Green Bay on the offensive, with the hopes of the home team's followers sinking lower with each succeeding thrust of the visitors from
Wisconsin...PACKERS TAKE LEAD: Purdy's brilliant forward passing came to the fore, with the Green Bay team deep in Frankford territory. The Green Bay quarterback, a product of Nebraska, heaved a near and long one to Flaherty, the right end, who got off on a tear and was not tackled until he reached Frankford's 2-yard line and then carried the ball across. There was real cause for gloom among the home folks with the game almost gone and the Green Bay outfit in the lead, even if it was only by a scant point. Frankford rooters became more dispirited when Budd attempted a kick from placement on the 30-yard line on Frankford's last down and failed to make the boot good. Then when the diminutive and doughty 'Two-Bits' Homan stepped into the breach to climax the game with his stirring tun for a touchdown, even Bobby Calhoun, the stentorian-voiced announcer, who seldom allows himself to become ruffled, placed his ponderous megaphone to his mouth and roared with the several thousand other thrilled souls."
14. The Easterners scored twice in the early minutes of the game on passes and then the Big Bay Blues woke up and forged ahead, 14 to 13. With only a few minutes left, the Yellowjackets got their aerial attack functioning and shoved over another score...Newspaper men claim that the game played between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, which resulted in a win for the Windy City team, was one of the greatest pro games ever played, teeming with excitement throughout the fracas. Fumbles were costly to the Green Bay team, one of them giving in the Halas-Sternaman combine their last touchdown...Despite the rule made last year to discourage intentional safeties, the play cropped up again in the Cardinal-Kansas City game, when Bloodgood the K.C. quarterback downed the ball behind his own goal to prevent the Cardinals from what might have turned into a touchdown...Ed Weir, giant Nebraska tackle, who has been sought by many of the teams in the National league, has at last entered the ranks and will finish out the season with the Frankford Yellowjackets. Weir should be one of the best tackles in the pro game, as he was when cavorting in college...Eckstein, Providence center, looks like of the likely picks for the pivot position in the All Professional teams which will soon be making their appearance in the papers. He has been one of the mainstays in the Providence lineup all season, and has outplayed every man he has run up against this season...Johnny Bryan, manager and owner of the Milwaukee Badgers, which club has finished their schedule, has joined the Bears for the rest of the season. He played against Green Bay and had some fine work at halfback. It was with the Bears that he first entered the professional rank...Red Dunn has recovered from his injuries and is again doing his stuff in the Cardinal backfield. His return to the game has been welcomed with open arms by the Cardinal fans who consider him just about the best backfielder in the game...Only about 1,000 fans witnessed the game at Detroit Sunday between the Detroit Panthers and the Green Bay Packers, which Green Bay won, 7 to 0. The field was in poor condition for the game which was a good exhibition despite the conditions. Green Bay scored their lone touchdown in the second quarter on a line smash by Enright...Pottsville continued in their winning ways by trimming Providence, 8 to 0, on Thanksgiving Day. The Miners are still occupying third place in the league standings, but are not able to make up much ground to overtake the pacemaking Bears and Yellow Jackets...Dame Rumor has it that the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears will play a benefit game at Soldiers Field in Chicago on Sunday December 9 for the benefit of the Christmas Basket fund, originated by Paddy Carr, well known Chicago politician. The Packers are highly regarded in the Windy City and the game should draw a capacity house...Canton and Akron, ancient enemies since the professional game was in its infancy, staged a scoreless tie on Thanksgiving Day, and to say the least, it was quite an argument. Both of the teams are far down in the percentage lists but never-the-less, they play quite some football...It's a cinch that there is one team in the league which the New York Giants can defeat handily. That team is Brooklyn, and only last Sunday, Tim Mara's squad handed a 27 to 0 setback to their neighbors across the river. This makes several times this season that the two have clashed and always with favorable results for the New Yorkers...In the Chicago Cardinal-Kansas City game, the feature was provided by Dewitz, who galloped 75 yards for the only touchdown of the game. It was quite some run and in his long dash to the goal the Cowboy evaded a flock of Card tacklers by some fine pivoting and dodging.
PACKERS AND BEARS TO CLASH IN CHICAGO ON DECEMBER 19
DEC 2 (Chicago) - The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears will meet in a professional football game at Soldiers Field here on December 19. The contest will be a benefit fray for the Paddy Carr Xmas basket fund. Arrangements for the contest were concluded at a meeting held here in the City Hall on Wednesday afternoon. Mayor Dever, Alderman McDonough and other civic luminaries were in conference with Manager George Halas of the Chicago Bears for over an hour. The committee in charge of the game lost little time in getting the copy for tickets in the hands of the printers and within 24 hours ducats for the game will be placed on sale all over Chicago and in suburban territory. Efforts will be made to make this game the biggest affair in the history of Chicago. Solicitors are going to make an office to office tour through the business district in their sales campaign. One member of the committee said that he expected the ticket sale to go over the 100,000 mark and that, at least, 50,000 would be at the game. In speaking of the game, George Halas, manager of the Bears, said: "I am sure it will be a great exhibition of football. There is no doubt but that the Green Bay Packers are the strongest team we met this year. The exhibition the Badger stats champions put up against us at Cubs park on November 21 is still being talked about in local sporting circles. The football fan likes a 'fighting' team and I will personally vouch for the fact that the Wisconsin eleven never quits battling from first whistle to last. Unless I miss my guess this game is going to be the greatest football game ever played in Chicago.
PACKERS ARE PLEASED
DEC 2 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - When word was noised around here last night that the game with the Bears in Chicago was "all set", there was a tickled bunch of Packer players. Every man on the squad is anxious for another crack at the Bruins. The Bays will vacation for the rest of the week but, at least ten days, before the Bear fray, the team will resume its practices. Several of the players have gone home for a few days but they will all be back in time to be tuned up to high pitch for the "battle of the season".
PRO FOOTBALL GOSSIP
DEC 2 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - By virtue of their 9 to 6 win over Detroit and the defeats handed the Green Bay Packers by the Bears and Frankford, Los Angeles jumped up a notch in the league standings now being in fourth place while Green Bay occupies the fifth position. However, a defeat this week for the Angels will mean another descent in the percentage column...The biggest game of the year and one which will no doubt determine the championship of the National league will be played at Frankford on Saturday, when the Chicago Bears invade the Quaker City. It should be a humdinger of a battle and worth going a long way to see, and no doubt the largest crowd of the season will be in the park when the whistle blows...One of the biggest surprised of the season has been the fine showing made by the Kansas City Cowboys. Only last Sunday Doc Andrew's cohorts handled the Chicago Cardinals a 7 to 2 trimming and the week before laced Buffalo. They are now in the sixth position in the league and play Los Angeles this Sunday...Playing on a gridiron covered with mud the Chicago Bears and their old rivals, the Cardinals, battled to a scoreless tie. Neither team seriously menaced the goal line of the other except during the last period when the highly touted Bill Senn got away for one of his spectacular runs...The Green Bay Packers lost to Frankford, 20 to
YELLOWJACKET-BEAR PRO FOOTBALL GAME DRAWS LARGE CROWD
DEC 4 (Philadelphia) - The biggest crowd that ever witnessed a pro football game in this city was forecast for Shibe field this afternoon where the Chicago Bears and Frankford Yellowjackets clash in a game on which hinges the postgraduate gridiron championship. The top attendance so far was the 11,000 plus turnout that saw the Green Bay Packers mix with the Jackets on Thanksgiving Day at Frankford field. Due to the increased demand for seats, the Jacket management shifted the game to Shibe field, home park of the Athletics, which has a seating capacity of some 45,000. The Bears arrived here last night and Manager George Halas reported that his team was "in the pink". The Chicagoans, who haven't met defeat this season, are 5 to 4 favorites in the betting.
ONLY TWO GAMES PLAYED
DEC 6 (Columbus) - There were only two games played in the NFL over the week as inclement weather conditions made it impossible to play a half dozen scheduled contests. The Saturday game resulted in an important change in the league standing as the Philadelphia Yellowjackets on Saturday defeated the Chicago Bears, 7 to 6, and stepped into first place. This was the first time this season the Bears were thrown for a loss. A young blizzard blanketed the east yesterday and, as a result, the Bear-New York, Hartford-Providence, Duluth-Brooklyn games were drifted out. In the middle west, it was found necessary to call off the Chicago Cardinal-Canton game. Kansas City beat Los Angeles, 7 to 3...FEW GAMES REMAINING: There are only a few National league games still on the schedule. Next Saturday, Providence plays in Philadelphia while on Sunday Philadelphia invades Providence; Pottsville performs in Chicago against the Bears and Buffalo has a battle with Brooklyn. It is quite likely that Pottsville and Philadelphia will meet on December 19 at Shibe field in Philadelphia with the Green Bay Packers playing the Bears at Soldiers field in Chicago. Duluth plays Kansas City on this date and Brooklyn jousts New York again.
PRO FOOTBALL SCHEDULE IN IMPORTANT TILTS SUNDAY
DEC 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Although up here in Wisconsin, it looks as if the season for hockey is at hand, the pro footballers are still going to it and several important games are scheduled for Sunday. A contest that should be full of fight and other things will be played at Cubs' field, Chicago, when the Bears and Pottsville have it out. These teams have never met. Both squads are contenders for the National league championship. The Bruins are in second place and the Miners third. The losing eleven
will be out of the running...DULUTH VS. KANSAS CITY: Local fans will watch eagerly for the result of the Duluth-Kansas City game which will be played in Kawtown. A win for the Cowboys will put them a notch ahead of the Packers in fourth place. However, Duluth is not the easiest club in the world to beat and the Eskimos may cut short the Cowboys' winning streak. Down east, Philadelphia and Providence will hook up in a two game series. Saturday the Steamrollers play in Quakertown and Sunday the clubs hop over to Providence for a contest.
PACKERS WILL RESUME FOOTBALL PRACTICE ON MONDAY
DEC 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "Report for practice Monday morning." This was the text of the telegram sent out Thursday night to Cully Lidberg at Minneapolis, Minn.; Rosy Rosatti at Norway, Mich.; Jack Harris at Chicago; Pid Purdy at Beatrice, Neb.; Dick Flaherty at Milwaukee; Moose Gardner at Ashland, Wis.; and Rex Enright at Rockford, Ill. In other words it means that the Big Bay Blues will start their grind the first of the week in preparation for the Bear game, which will be played as a P.J. Carr basket fund at the Soldiers stadium in Chicago on December 19...ANXIOUS FOR WORK: Despite the snow and chilly weather, the Packers who are saying here, are more than anxious to resume work. Earpe, O'Donnell, Woodin, Jean, Cyre, MacAuliffe, Lewellen and Capt. Lambeau are reported fit and so is Eddie Kotal, who lives in Appleton. Capt. Lambeau is confident that the one week of practice will put his team in the pink for the skirmish with the Bruins. After that hectic game in Chicago a few weeks back, there wasn't a man on the club who wouldn't have given his week's salary for another crack at the Halas-Sternaman combination and now that the opportunity has arrived the Bays have every intention of making the best of it. An effort will be made to get the City stadium gridiron in shape for practice. The snow will be scraped off the field over the weekend so that the stage will all be set when it is time to start practice.
SEASON NEARS END
DEC 10 (Chicago) - The pro football season here is drawing to a close. Sunday, two games are scheduled. The Bears and Pottsville Maroons clash at Cubs park while at the White Sox grounds Red Grange & Co. from New York are to tangle with Joe Sternaman's Bulls. The curtain will be pulled down on Sunday, December 19, when the Bears and Green Bay Packers meet at Soldiers field in the P.G. Carr Christmas benefit fund game. The Wisconsin eleven is rated as one of the best in the country. The Packers stand fourth in the National league race. The game between the Packers and Bears, which was played here recently, was called the greatest exhibition of pro footballing ever seen on a Chicago gridiron. The benefit tickets for the game are selling like hot cakes, it is said.
PRO FOOTBALL GOSSIP
DEC 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The early arrival of winter has raised havoc with a number of the NFL games. However, several of the clubs are carrying on despite the drifts and a few games will be played off before the season's end...The last minute win of the Yellowjackets over the Chicago Bears sort of changed the complexion of the percentage table as it put the Philadelphia eleven at the top of the heap with the Windy City Bruins second in line...The Kansas City Cowboys continued to scamper along victory row last Sunday as they bumped off Los Angeles, 7 to 3, in Kawtown. This was the first time this season that Andrews and the gridders have played at home...Despite the fact that there wasn't a spectator present, the N.Y. Giants and Bears scampered out in the snow to warm up for a clash last Sabbath day. However, the storm waged so furiously that it was out of the question to play...Following the game in Kansas City, Los Angeles hit the trail for the Pacific coast. The Westerners have been on the road ever since the season started. It is expected that several of the teams will hop to the coast next month...The Duluth Eskimos have bumped into a lot of tough weather breaks. When they opened the schedule at Green Bay, it rained hard and ever since then. Scanlon and his gridders haven't seen such an awful lot of sunshine...Those postponements certainly put a hole in the dough bags of any club but they are felt doubly hard by the traveling team who used the weekly take in at the gate to finance the hotel bill and the three per for players...The Detroit club had rather a peculiar season. Conzelman's team dropped their first three games. Then they turned around to win four and tied two. The Panthers finished the year the same way they started by losing 3 frays...Post season games against teams in the other circuit have been banned by President Joe Carr. Several efforts to book such contests were launched but in each instance the executive wisely refused to sanction the combat...The Canton Bulldogs, who in other years were among the topnotchers, this fall ended near the cellar. A lone victory over Louisville was the only success marked up by the Ohioans as they lost nine games and tied three frays...The race for the top of the heap certainly is a dandy as only seventeen points separate the first three clubs. The Philadelphia Yellowjackts are leading with .929, then comes the Bears with .919 and Pottsville with .906...This is the All-American season and the pro football followers are having a great time trying to pick postgraduate star teams. A glance over the candidates shows plenty of good backs and ends with linemen about average...Those selecting star teams are going to have trouble keeping Paddy Driscoll off the honor roll. This veteran Bear backfielder starred in practically every game and his educated toe won a lot of frays for the Bruins...Los Angeles has a couple of aspirants in Imlay and Brick Muller that will get a lot of consideration. Mulller showed gobs of class at his wing position while Imlay was a team in himself when performing at quarterback...Ernie Nevers, backbone of the Duluth team, is a likely candidate for the fullback job as he was one of the outstanding stars that kept going all the time. Haines of New York is another backfielder deserving recognition...Green Bay feels certain that Lewellen, star punter and halfback, is easily of All-American pro class while the Milwaukee Badgers are laying their cards on the table back of La Verne Dilweg, a wing man who ranks among the best...Some interesting developments are expected at the National league football meeting which will be held in New York the latter part of next month. It is known that a number of the clubs are opposed to carrying the traveling teams...Life is just one sport after another for Joe Carr, the National league president. During the fall, he bosses the pro league. When the caging season arrives he heads the basketball circuit and in baseball he is in the Columbus party...Although the football season at Buffalo couldn't be termed a financial success, the fans of the Bison City were pretty well satisfied with the brand of football displayed by Jim Kendricks and his squad of Texas footballers...Dame Rumor has it that Johnny Bryan took a bump of about $5,000 in putting pro football back on the map in Milwaukee. However, the Brewer moguls are confident that 1927 will see them reap a nice harvest on their gridiron team...Providence and Philadelphia are booked to lock horns in a two game series over the weekend. Saturday, the Steamrollers invade Quakertown while on Sunday the Yellowjackets are slated to play on the Rhode Islanders' field...A battle royal will be on tap Sunday in Chicago at Cubs park when the Pottsville Maroons, third placers in the National league race, have it out with the Bears. The Miners have a wonderful team this season and they should give the Halas-Sternaman combination the toughest kind of a fray.
BEARS
DEC 16 (Chicago Tribune) - Looking like a bunch of polar bears playing tag in the frozen north the Green Bay Packers are working out daily in preparation for the P.J. Carr Christmas benefit game in Chicago Sunday against the Bears at Soldiers' field. The Badger state champions don't know what a grass gridiron looks like any more but they are beginning to feel at home on a frozen surface. Pid Purdy, the Packer quarter who is also a member of the Chicago White Sox, reported for practice today equipped with skates. Fans who come to the park to see the drills stand on snow piles about ten feet high which make a good grandstand. The Big Bay Blues hope to down the Bears and gain revenge for the 19 to 13 defeat they suffered in Chicago on November 21.
PACKERS TUNING UP FOR BEARS GAME ON SUNDAY
DEC 16 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers are getting ready the best that they can for the gridiron skirmish with the Bears in Chicago on Sunday. It has been impossible for the players to do anything out of doors as the sub zero weather and frozen gridiron has made footballing pretty much out of question. However, the Bays haven't been asleep at the switch. Indoor practices have been on tap at both the armory and Columbus club during the week. The old cowhide is being tossed around pretty lively and some new formations have been mapped out for use against the Bruins...VACATION PROVED BENEFICIAL: The team hasn't ever been in better physical condition as every player is in the pink and dead anxious for another crack at the Halas-Sternaman outfit. The two week's vacation proved beneficial as it gave each of the gridders a well deserved rest after their continuous drills since early in September. The Big Bay Blues figure that a win over the Bears would be a first class Christmas present and, from all accounts, they intend to play Santa Claus to themselves and the army of Packer followers. So far as outdoor practice is concerned, the Bears haven't anything on the Packers this week as the Chicago team is "gliding" along. Two practice sessions have been held at the Broadway armory. Cubs field, home park of the Bears, isn't fit for practice and and the straw covering at Soldiers field will not be taken off until Sunday morning. Following the game with the Packers on Sunday, the Bears will pack up their gridiron togs and hit the trail for a four game invasion of California. While in the west, the Chicagoans will play Los Angeles, Nevers' Eskimos, Southern California All Stars and the Olympic club of San Francisco...GRIDGRAPH AT C.C.C.: Locally, interest is warming up over the game and it is expected that quite a number of fans will make the pilgrimage to Chicago. However, those that don't go will surely be found at the Columbus club where the gridgraph will carry the story of the game, play by play. The game in Chicago is to start at 1:30. The first flashes from the scene of action will begin ticking off the wire about 1 o' clock. Expecting a record crowd, the doors to the Columbus club auditorium are to be opened at 12:30. The usual prices will prevail.
PACKERS DRILL ON ICY GRID FOR TILT WITH
LEWELLEN IS SELECTED ON ALL AMERICAN PRO TEAM
DEC 17 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - If there were but five positions on a football eleven, the selections of an all-american team composed of players who were members of National league clubs would not be a difficult task as there were a quintet of gridders who stood out head and shoulders over the rest of the field. However, it was a free-for-all for the other half dozen positions and the opinions of the football experts in the different parts of the country varied just as much as the geographical location of the cities they represented. The National league covered lots of territory. The circuit stretched from Providence and Hartford on the east to Los Angeles on the west and from Duluth up the at the northern end down to Louisville at the south...NEVERS UNANIMOUS CHOICE: Ernie Nevers, former All-American at Stanford, who captained and coached the Duluth Eskimos, was the unanimous choice for the fullback post, as every expert names the Duluthian. Nevers could do anything and everything on a football field and what's more he liked to be in the game all the time. In this respect, he differed from some other topnotchers who were keen for bench duty whenever the opportunity presented itself. Nevers was practically the whole Duluth team. Without him, the Northerners would never have reached "first base". The Chicago Bear management made a ten strike when they purchased Paddy Driscoll's contract from the Cardinals. The former Northwestern star doesn't seem to have grown old. He has been playing pro football for ten years, and 1926 was one of the best seasons Driscoll ever experienced. Paddy has single-handedly won a lot of games for the Bears this past fall. His educated toe and brilliant open field running has kept him in the headlines all the time. Driscoll was named on fifteen of the selections for either half or quarter. Brick Muller, the Los Angeles end, got fourteen votes and Imlay, the far Westerners' flashy quarterback, polled eleven ballots. Muller was an all-American in his "rah rah" days and he lived up to his collegiate reputation. Los Angeles was on the road all the time but Muller proved to be a good tourist and he was in there all the time playing "heads up" football. Muller was a marked man in every game but he generally outsmarted the opposition...IMLAY FLASHY BACK: When it came to open field running, Imlay didn't have to take his hat off to any back in Joe Carr's circuit. He had a peculiar style of pivoting which netted plenty of yardage for Los Angeles. Imlay was a superb handler of forward passes and he ran back punts in a way that opened the eyes of the critics. Imlay is a pepper box on the field and his aggressiveness makes him the logical kind of a player for quarterback. Aside from the above mentioned players, Ellis, the Chicago Cardinal tackle, got more votes than any of the others. He is credited with ten. Ellis is a product of Detroit U and in 1925 played with one of the Ohio pro clubs. He was easily the outstanding player on the Cardinal eleven. It was over Ellis that the Cards made most of their gains while on the defense, he was the whole team in himself. Ellis was one of the few tackles in the league that made it a business to rush the passer to
PACKERS ARE GETTING READY FOR BEAR GAME ON SUNDAY
DEC 14 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Handicapped by frigid weather conditions more fit for Ernie Nevers' Polar Bears than anything else, the Green Bay Packers are doing their best to get in shape for their encounter Sunday with the Bears at Soldiers' field, Chicago. The rain on Sunday, followed by the recent "north pole" spell has offset all the snow cleaning down at the City stadium and the gridiron is a mass of ice. However, if weather conditions moderate any in the next 24 hours, Capt. Lambeau hopes to get his gridders out in the open for the rest of the week...IN GOOD CONDITION: In the meantime, the Bays have been going though some training stunts in the gymnasium at the Columbus club. The players are looking in pretty good shape despite their ten days layoff and every man on the squad should be in the pink of physical condition for the fracas with the Bruins. According to present plans, the team will leave here Saturday afternoon in a special car over the C. N. & W. During their stay in Chicago, the team will headquarter, as usual, at the Parkway hotel. Sunday's game in Chicago will start at 1:30. Notice of the early start was received from the Carr basket benefit fund committee which is staging the contest. The fracas was set ahead so that the tilt could be completed before darkness settles over the field. Last week when the Bears and Pottsville battled at Cubs park, it was next to impossible to see what was going on during the final quarter...WILL USE GRIDGRAPH: The gridgraph game will again hold forth at the Columbus club. Arrangements have been completed for a special telegraph wire direct from Soldiers' field to Green Bay. Ed. Johnson, who handled the Bear game so nicely from the Chicago end of the wire, will again flash the details hot off the gridiron.
HEAVY TICKET DEMAND
DEC 14 (Chicago) - Already heavy demand has developed for tickets to the football game to be held at Soldiers' field Sunday for the benefit of the P.J. Carr Memorial Christmas fund. The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers will be seen in action. Edward J. Kelly, president of the South Park board, has bought ten boxes at $100 each and Col. George P. Nixon and Jacob Lindheimer have purchased a like amount. Alfred A. Austrian, Stuyvestant Peabody, P.A. Nash, Henry Paschen, B.F. Lindheimer, Congressman Thomas A. Doyle and Alderman Joseph B. McDonough have each bought $500 worth of boxes. General admission and reserved tickets are $1 and $2 each are being sold in large quantities.
the limit...HEALEY NAMED AGAIN: And here the race for the other positions tighten up. Ed Healey is named for the tackle job. Injuries slowed him up a bit this fall but just the same he was a rip roaring lineman. This is Healey's third year on the all American pro team. Healey is a smart forward and there is very little wasted energy in his efforts. Sonnenberg, the big Detroit tackle all-American in 1925, got more votes than any of the star guards so he is placed at a center flanker's post along with Budd, one of the Philadelphia Yellowhackets' best bets. Budd charges fiercely and follows the ball with an uncanny sense. As for Sonnenberg, the team wouldn't be complete without him. He was the mainstay of the Detroit club and was frequently shifted behind the line to lug the cowhide. There were few better bootsmiths in the National league than this Detroiter...SMITH AT CENTER: There was little to choose at center between Smith of Kansas City, Herb Stein of Pottsville, Eckstein of Providence and Trafton of the Bears. However, the Cowboys played wonderful ball in the closing lap of the season, and every player on the team gave Smith credit for the sport. He is a made over backfielder. Smith moved into center when Woustouphal had to leave the Kaws on account of a death in his family. Smith passed perfectly and his roving defensive ability made him shine when it came to intercepting forward passes. Berry, the Pottsville flash, is named at the other end position as a running mate to Brick Muller. The former Lafayette star was an all-American pro in 1925, and he played just as good ball this season although possibly did not bask quite as much in the limelight. Berry was husky enough to take care of a tackle and frequently he knifed through and smeared the secondary besides putting his own man out of the play...LEWELLEN OF GREEN BAY: This leaves one halfback position open and Lewellen of Green Bay is chosen to complete the eleven. The former Nebraska captain was a sensation in midwest pro football this season. He outpunted every man that faced him this year and this included such kickers as Driscoll of the Bears, Dunn of the Cardinals, Nevers of Duluth and Sonnenberg of Detroit. However, the booting wasn't Lewellen's only forte and he probably gained as many chalkmarks as any backfielder in the circuit, when carrying the ball. However, this doesn't complete the list of good footballers as there was an army of other stars. Stockton of Philadelphia, Haines of New York, Oden of Providence and Bloodgood of Kansas City were crack backs. Bloodgood recently kicked four field goals in one game to win for the Cowboys over Duluth...DILWEG AND BISELL: Dilweg of Milwaukee and Bissell of Akron would make a pair of ends nearly as good as the Muller-Berry combination. Owens of New York and Thurman of Los Angeles were two bang up tackles while Barquist of Kansas City and Buckler of the Chicago Bears turned in some great football as guards. This was Buckler's first year out and he proved to be a sensation. Eiden of Louisville should be heard of in another year, while Lidberg, Green Bay's fullback from Minnesota, was a brilliant footballer. Tex Hamer continued to shine for the Yellowjackets and Senn, the Bears' recruit back from Knox, was a sensation. When it came to line plunging, Tony La Tone of Pottsville didn't have a peer in pro football. In McBride and Messer, New York had a pair of sterling guards. Ashmore, the Milwaukee tackle, looked pretty good while Lamb and Red Dunn of the Chicago Cards were brilliant at times. Kendrick gave a good account of himself at Buffalo and Rapp was a mainstay of the Columbus club. Ink Williams continued to play real football for Hammond, while Dobeleit came through nicely for Dayton.
LEWELLEN ALL-AMERICAN
DEC 17 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - By an almost unanimous vote, seventeen sport writers and football officials from cities throughout the country where professional football is played selected Verne C. Lewellen, Green Bay Packer halfback, as a member of its mythical all-American eleven, the lineup of which appears elsewhere in this issue. This is the first time in the history of the professional game that a Green Bay player has been named on the all-star team. His teammates on this mythical team are Nevers, Driscoll and Imlay, all of whom are known to every football follower in the country. Although Lewellen played superbly in all of the home games, it was his performances on foreign fields that put him into prominence. As a receiver of the forward pass and at carrying the ball he was not to be excelled, while his ability to punt gained him national fame. The Chicago Bears will testify to this. A product of the University of Nebraska, where he captained the famous Cornhusker team of 1922, Lewellen came to Green Bay the following year to make this his home and practice law. The success of Lewellen in attaining such heights is typical of the progress made by the Packer team during the last few years. Lewellen did a great deal to make the Packers successful, as other members of the team, through unselfish cooperation, made his success possible. Lewellen and the Packers are to be congratulated.
As yet the Packers have been unable to win over the Bear clan in the Windy City but have turned the trick on their own stamping grounds at Green Bay. In the first game of the season between the teams the final result was a 6 to 6 tie, the game being played at Green Bay. It was a sensational battle and furnished a spectacular background for the meeting of the teams at Chicago about a month ago. In this battle the Bears came from behind to win, 19 to 13, after it looked very much like curtains for the North Siders. Sportswriters termed the game the most spectacular pro game they had ever seen and so far no one has disputed this claim. And it's a dead cinch that this game on Sunday will not be much of a parlor affair if the two preceding games are any precedent. Tickets for the affair have been selling rapidly and if the weather is anywhere near what might be called decent, there will be more people at the game that have ever witnessed a pro game in the city. The game will start at 1:30 and Bobby Cahn will do his stuff as referee. The umpire will be Walter Steffen, well known in sport circles throughout the country as the coach of Carnegie Tech which surprised the football world by defeating Notre Dame, 19 to 0. This is the first time Steffen has taken any interest in the professional game and it will be interesting as to what his opinion of the sport will be after the affair is over. The man on the sticks will be Olson, who has officiated in numerous pro games in Chicago. These officials should be able to keep things moving without any hitch
HOPE FOR VICTORY
DEC 18 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Despite the fact that they have been unable to do much work out-of-doors, Capt. Lambeau and his Big Bay Blues departed for Chicago this afternoon at 1:30 confident of handing a trimming to their old rivals, the Bears. The men have been working indoors every day and are in good condition. Just who will start the game for the local team is problematical as Captain Lambeau would not commit himself on the subject. During their stay in Chicago the Packers will make their headquarter as usual at the Parkway Hotel. A win for the team would be a mighty big feather in their caps and it is certain that there will be no stone left unturned in an effort to win. If the boys come through as they expect to it will be a great occasion, as it will be the first time that the Packers have ever been able to defeat the Bears in Chicago.
BEARS, PACKERS BATTLE TODAY; CHARITY TO WIN
DEC 19 (Chicago Tribune) - The Green Bay Packers, whose Christmas list is to defeat the Chicago Bears, will hang up their stockings this afternoon at Soldiers' field, and they expect to find this wish fulfilled when the game is over. The proceeds from the contest will be donated to the P.J. Carr Christmas fund. Having tied one game with the Wisconsin eleven, the first of the year when they invaded the Green Bay bailiwick, and having won the return game at Cubs park, November 21, the Bears are in no mind to conclude the season's efforts with a defeat. Green Bay can tie Kansas City for fourth place in the twenty-two team race if it beats the Bears...GREEN BAY IN SHAPE: The Bays report all men in excellent condition. The backfield is one of he best in the pro game. Pid Purdy, White Sox outfield recruit, calls 'em for the team and in addition had a toe worthy of consideration in the same breath used to extoll the abilities of Paddy Driscoll. He has given the Bear forwards more exercise on punts that any other receiver. He is accurate in passing the ball, and has no hesitancy about stepping around the tackles as they come down the field. Lidberg, fullback, who once backed up the Minnesota line, is the bone crusher of the outfit. It was his work in plunging the line that made the Bay aerial attack function in such splendid shape in previous encounters...LEWELLEN GOOD PUNTER: Lewellen does the kicking. While his punts are well covered by the end, he also deserves credit for the consistent placing of his efforts. The Bears, who use a box formation in the secondary to strengthen their defense against passes, always have been at a disadvantage this year against a real long distance kicker, and this factor may be the turning point in Sunday's encounter. It was Lewellen who snatched a fumble by Driscoll in the game at Cubs park and raced 40 yards to score the touchdown which gave them a lead until Driscoll duplicated the play to bring victory to the north side. The Bear system of attack, which has brought them 12 victories this year, has been overhauled this week and the worn part replaced.
PACKERS AND BEARS WILL BATTLE IN CHICAGO SUNDAY
DEC 18 (Chicago) - Ice, snow and everything else which goes along with winter, had held no terrors for the Chicago Bears, who meet the Green Bay Packers at Soldier's field on Sunday, in a game for the Paddy Carr Benefit Fund at 1:30. Every morning since Tuesday, the Bruins have been going through their paces to put them on edge for the battle with the invaders from the Badger State as there is more than one reason why the Halas-Sternaman crew is anxious to put the skids under the Green Bay aggregation. In the first place the Bears have not been defeated this season on their home field and this will be the last game of the year for the Bears in the Windy City as the management has booked another Coast barnstorming trip. By concluding the season in Chicago with a win, it will write finis to the most successful season which the Bears have enjoyed since their entry into the National Professional League and it will also add considerable to their prestige on the coast trip...ARE BITTER RIVALS: But the biggest reason for all for their keen desire to win is the fact that these two teams are about the bitterest rivals there are in the pro game. Since way back in the days of the old Staleys these two teams have held little or no love for each other.