1934 NFL Championship Game

1934 NFL Championship Game
	The World Champion 1934 New York Giants
13	30
Date	December 9, 1934
Stadium	Polo Grounds, New York City
Attendance	35,059
	← 1933 ; NFL Championship Game ; 1935 → ;

The 1934 NFL Championship Playoff, popularly remembered as "The Sneakers Game",^[2] was the second scheduled National Football League (NFL) championship game. Played at the Polo Grounds in New York City on December 9,^[3] it was the first title game for the newly created Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy. With a remarkable fourth quarter, the New York Giants defeated the Chicago Bears 30–13.^[1]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Game summary

The defending champion Bears entered the game undefeated at 13–0, with an 18-game winning streak. The Giants (8–5) won consecutive division titles, but had lost their final regular season game at Philadelphia. The Bears were favored to repeat as champions.^[7]^[8]^[9]

A freezing rain the night before the game froze the Polo Grounds field.^[10] After Giants end Ray Flaherty remarked to head coach Steve Owen that sneakers would provide better footing on the frozen playing surface,^[11] Owen sent his friend Abe Cohen, a tailor who assisted on the Giants sideline, to Manhattan College to get some sneakers.^[2]^[12]

The Bears led 10–3 at the half when the Giants switched to the basketball sneakers.^[13] A Chicago field goal was the only score in the third quarter, extending the lead to ten points. Early in the fourth, Giants quarterback Ed Danowski threw a touchdown pass to Ike Frankian to close the score to 13–10. (The pass was momentarily intercepted at the Bears' 2-yard line, but Frankian was there to snatch the ball out of the defender's hands.) On the next New York drive, running back Ken Strong scored on a 42-yard touchdown run. Later Strong had another touchdown run. The Giants scored for a final time on Danowski's 9-yard run, a fourth unanswered touchdown. New York scored 27 points in the 4th quarter and won 30–13.^[14] The Giants 27 fourth quarter points in a championship game set an NFL record that still stands today.

Scoring summary

Bears fullback Bronko Nagurski being dragged down by Bo Molenda and Mel Hein of the Giants.

Sunday, December 9, 1934
Kickoff: 2 p.m. EST^[9]

First quarter
- NYG – FG Ken Strong 38, 3–0 NYG
Second quarter
- CHI – Bronko Nagurski 1 run (Jack Manders kick), 7–3 CHI
- CHI – FG Manders 17, 10–3 CHI
Third quarter
- CHI – FG Manders 22, 13–3 CHI
Fourth quarter
- NYG – Ike Frankian 28 pass from Ed Danowski (Strong kick), 13–10 CHI
- NYG – Strong 42 run (Strong kick), 17–13 NYG
- NYG – Strong 11 run (kick failed), 23–13 NYG
- NYG – Danowski 9 run (Bo Molenda kick), 30–13 NYG

Officials

Referee: Bobby Cahn
Umpire: George Lowe
Head Linesman: George Vergara
Field Judge: M.J. Meyer ^[3]

The NFL had only four game officials in 1934; the back judge was added in 1947, the line judge in 1965, and the side judge in 1978.

Players' shares

The projected attendance of 55,000 was not reached,^[7] as the week's weather kept it under 36,000. Each player on the winning Giants team received $621 (equivalent to $14,100 in 2023), while the Bears received $414 (equivalent to $9,400 in 2023) each.^[1]^[5]^[6]

Aftermath

This was the Giants second NFL championship, and the first time they won a championship game. After the game, Abe Cohen promptly returned the sneakers to Manhattan College so the basketball team could practice the next day.^[15]

Many of the participants have been interviewed since the game took place, most notably Bronko Nagurski of the Bears and Mel Hein of the Giants. Generally, players from both sides have attributed the Giants' second-half dominance to their selection of footwear. As Nagurski put it later, "We immediately said something was wrong because they suddenly had good footing and we didn't...they just out-smarted us." A mini-documentary of the game, narrated by Pat Summerall, can be seen in the 1987 video "Giants Among Men." NFL Films named the game the #8 bad weather game of all time, and in 2019, it was named the 62nd greatest game in NFL history.^{[citation needed]}

22 years later, in the 1956 NFL Championship Game, the Giants employed the same tactic they used against the Bears, this time wearing sneakers throughout the entire game on a frozen Yankees Stadium. The Giants would win that game 47-7.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Gannon, Pat (December 10, 1934). "Giants make spectacular finish to beat Bears for pro grid title". Milwaukee Journal. p. 2, part 2.
^ ^a ^b Canavan, Tom (January 5, 1986). "Sneakers game is most famous episode in Bears-Giants rivalry". Gainesville Sun. Florida. Associated Press. p. 4F.
^ ^a ^b Smith, Wilfrid (December 9, 1934). "Bears battle Giants today before 50,000". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
^ Smith, Wilfrid (December 10, 1934). "Giants whip Bears for pro title, 30-13". Chicago Tribune. p. 23.
^ ^a ^b "Giants rally crushes Bears, 30-13". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 10, 1934. p. 18.
^ ^a ^b "Giants win pro football title in thriller, 30-13". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 10, 1934. p. 29.
^ ^a ^b "Bears, with 13 straight victories, 3 to 1 favorites over Giants today". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. December 9, 1934. p. 1, sports.
^ "Feathers, Kopcha out, Bears still picked to beat Giants today". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 9, 1934. p. 1, sports.
^ ^a ^b "Favor Bears over Giants". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. December 9, 1934. p. 1B.
^ Pervin, 2009, pp. 9–10.
^ "Flaherty's idea wins title for Giant team". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. December 10, 1934. p. 14.
^ Anderson, Dave (January 2, 1986). "Giants' owner looks back". Wilmington Morning Star. North Carolina. New York Times. p. 1B.
^ "Giants stage amazing rally to beat Chicago Bears 30-13". Miami News. Associated Press. December 10, 1934. p. 10.
^ Neil, Edward J. (December 10, 1934). "Giants rally and upset Bears". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 13.
^ "1934 NFL Championship". www.profootballhof.com. Retrieved September 16, 2022.