The Curse of Bobby Layne (Second and Ten)

Brian Swartz · 10-08-2023, 04:04 AM

The strangest thing has happened in the last year and esp. the last month, particularly for those of us who have at some point been fans of them: the Detroit Lions, 11-3 in their last 14 games, have become popular. Asked if they are 'for real', most pundits have jumped on board and the range of opinions goes from contender in the NFC to 4th-best in the conference for most, occasionally somebody will point out that they look good but ... the words just stick in their throat because they're still the Lions. The consensus appears to really be though that they are a good team getting better, likely to win the division and a playoff game at least. Those are things that, as a matter of historical record, the Detroit Lions are remarkably consistent in finding ways to not do.

Let's get the obvious out of the way: there is no such thing as the Curse of Bobby Layne. It's an urban legend at best, and one that didn't even start being talked about until Layne actually died. Like the Curse of the Bambino and other such things, it's much more readily understood as a coping mechanism for fans of a franchise to explain why the organization sucks at winning far more than it should. You can basically draw a line and divide Detroit Lions history in two parts; they were good until Layne was traded away in 1958, going 6-1 in the playoffs with 4 Championships, 3 of them in the 50s with Layne as their quarterback. The second part, post-Layne, has them as the worst franchise in the Super Bowl Era and it's not at all close, 1-12 in the playoffs, no Super Bowl appearances much less championships. Regular-season Lions are merely among the worst compared to other NFL franchises, but their record of failure in the playoffs knows no peer. In the latter time span of 65 years there's been exactly one good one; making the NFC Championship Game in 1991 and losing to a great Washington Redskins team.

In this thread, we'll take judicial notice of the actual, current Lions accomplishments as they happen, but also trace the whole sordid story of the franchise and use Second and Ten to answer the question; are they cursed/unlucky, or just plain incompetent? I say the answer is yes to both, but we'll see what the simulation thinks about the matter.

Brian Swartz · 10-08-2023, 04:18 AM

Portsmouth Founding

This tale does not actually begin in Detroit, but in the mid-sized city of Portsmouth in southern Ohio, positioned just northeast of the confluence of the Ohio and Scioto rivers. On July 12, 1930, the Portsmouth Spartans were granted admission to the National Football League. With a population of roughly 42,000, the largest the city would ever grow, Portsmouth was the second-smallest city to host an NFL team at the time, slightly larger than Green Bay. The team had been formed two years earlier, absorbing players from various other defunct independent teams of which there were many to choose from. The idea of a local football team had enough support that in 1929 a bond issue was passed by the residents of Portsmouth to build what would become Universal Stadium - later Spartan Municipal Stadium, with a maximum seating capacity of 8,200. Events beyond their knowledge or control would, of course, have a major hand in deciding the success of this venture. On September 14, 1930, Universal Stadium officially opened.

The Spartans' coach that first year in their new stadium was also a lineman: Center/Tackle Harold 'Hal' Winslow Griffen. The team was mediocre, tying for 7th with a 5-6-3 record. For 25 of the 38 players on the roster, ranging in age from 22 to 35, it was their first year of professional football. Two of the rookies, Chuck Bennett (23) and Mayes McClain (25), scored 7 touchdowns apiece to lead the Spartans in scoring. Both players would have short and undistinguished careers after this, however.

A Man Called Potsy

The next year, George M. 'Potsy' Clark, then 37 years of age, accepted the head coaching job for the Portsmouth Spartans. In time, he would become one of the most influential and successful coaches of the early NFL, and more accomplished in multiple fields than most men are in any one endeavor. Clark picked up the nickname Potsy as a child and it stuck with him. He was a highly successful athlete in multiple sports both in high school and college. He starred alongside none other than Red Grange, Harold Pogue, and other All-Americans at the University of Illinois from 1914-1915, and was a good enough shortstop that he received multiple offers to play professional baseball as well - which he turned down.

After graduating from Illinois, Clark took an assistant football coaching job at the University of Kansas. His coaching career was interrupted by World War I where he served as a second lieutenant, returning to coach as an assistant for his former coach at Illinois, Bob Zuppke. Michigan Agricultural College - later Michigan State University - hired Potsy as their football coach, and also assistant in baseball, in 1920. After a 4-6 record there he was off to the University of Kansas where he would stay for the next five years. 16-17-6 was his overall mark there, tying Nebraska for the MVC title in 1923 before slipping to 2-5-1 each of the final two years.

From '27-'29 he had somewhat more success for independent Butler, 14-9-1 in total, while also being the athletic director. It seems that his relative success there led to Butler gaining notoriety for what was considered by some to be the wrong reasons for an academic institution, and it appeared that this would be the last chapter in Potsy's uneven coaching adventures. He went into the insurance business, apparently successfully, and if he hadn't been offered the Portsmouth Spartans job that may well have been the end of it - for both him in coaching, and the Spartans as a franchise.

1931

In Potsy Clark's first year of being an NFL head coach, he assembled a roster that was even more inexperienced than they'd had the year before, and retained just eight players from the '30 version of the team. What they lacked in continuity, they definitely gained in a disciplined direction and new talent. Portsmouth outscored their opponents better than two to one, allowing fewer points than any other team and fashioning a 11-3 record, second only to the 12-2 Green Bay Packers who were named champions for the third year in a row.

Earl Harry 'Dutch' Clark scored 9 touchdowns to lead the team; he is named First Team All-Pro at the Quarterback position. Glenn Presnell and Bill McKalip scored 4 each, all three players upgrading the team considerably in their first professional seasons. Harry Ebding and John Cavosie were other newcomers making an impact.

And that takes us up to 1932, when Second and Ten will join the tale.

Brian Swartz · 10-09-2023, 01:50 AM

1932

The Spartans' roster shrunk to 22 players, many of them returning from the '31 season. Only four were in their rookie year, a stark departure from previous years. Dutch Clark was again First Team All-Pro at Quarterback, and for the first and only time, Father Lumpkin aka Roy Lee Lumpkin earned that honor at blocking back. Clark and Presnell shared the passing duties fairly equally; Clark had about double the carries of any other rusher on the team with 138. Presnell, Cavosie, and rookie LeRoy Erwin 'Ace' Gutowsky each had 62-68 rushes apiece.

Dutch Clark had 2 passing, 3 rushing, and 3 receiving touchdowns which tells you a lot about his versatility; no other Portsmouth player scored more in any of those categories. Harry Ebding was the most prolific receiver in what of course was a run-dominated era, with 14 catches for 171 yards.

Green Bay appeared set to win their fourth straight title after starting the year 8-0-1, but they faded to a 10-3-1 finish including losses in their final two games to Portsmouth and Chicago - who finished in a tie at 6-1-4 and 6-1-6 respectively. As weird as it seems for teams with 6 wins to be ahead of a team with 10, it's an artifact of the policy of ignoring ties for the purposes of the standings. Portsmouth and Chicago tied with an .857 winning percentage at 6-1 as a result, while at 10-3 Green Bay was behind them at .769.

No tiebreakers were in force, but as a curiosity, from a point differential standpoint, Chicago had 151 scored and 44 allowed, Green Bay 152 scored and 63 allowed, and Portsmouth 116 scored and 62 allowed. The head to head results had Green Bay with a win and a loss against Portsmouth, a win, loss, and tie against Chicago in three meetings, and Portsmouth had tied Chicago in both of their games against each other, so none of that would have done anybody any good.

Overall, one would expect the Chicago Bears to be the best team based on the points scored, but they'd also tied almost half of their games. What ended up actually happening both is, and at the same time is not, the first playoff game in NFL history. Chicago and Portsmouth played an extra game, a rubber match if you will. Practically speaking it was a championship game and it was referred to as one, but it was also just added to the final standings, and is not officially considered a playoff game, which means whoever lost would be bumped down to third below Green Bay. Poetic justice would be for a third tie deciding absolutely nothing, and who knows how history would have been different if that happened. In actuality, it was scoreless for three quarters with the decisive play being a scoring pass thrown in the fourth quarter by Chicago's Bronko Nagurski, a man who for my money possessed the greatest name of any football player ever. The play was protested by Portsmouth who claimed that Nagurski was not 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage, which was required at the time on all forward passes. This was to no avail, the play stood and a late safety made up the final margin.

Portsmouth had been close to being champions in both their second and third year, coming away with neither one, and having the franchise's first real controversy. They finish third, and Chicago ends Green Bay's streak of titles. More importantly, the game was quite popular and prompted a number of changes by the league:

- The NFL was divided into two divisions, with a true playoff game between the top team in each to determine the champion. The precursor to the modern Super Bowl was born.

- Forward passes at any point behind the line of scrimmage were legalized, eliminating the 5-yard rule. In proposing the change, Potsy Clark acerbically noted that 'Nagurski would do it anyway'. Cheeky. One can easily imagine that this would benefit his own star, Dutch Clark, as much if not more than any other player, as a possible motivation.

- Goal posts were moved forward to the goal line from the end line.

These were the first departures from existing college rules that the NFL would make, with part of at least the stated goals improve scoring, reduce the number of ties and improve the game. At least in terms of the ties, they were successful in this. In 1932, 20.8% of games ended in a tie; the following year, that number was slashed to 8.8%, with only five games failing to produce a decisive result.

SAT Verdict

The final pre-championship game standings are listed below, followed by the SAT average over 10 season simulations. This is the intended methodology for future years as well.

Code:

Chicago Bears             6-1-6, .857; 73-39-18, .652
Portsmouth Spartans       6-1-4, .857; 54-45-12, .545
Green Bay Packers        10-3-1, .769; 62-51-13, .549
Boston Braves             4-4-2, .500; 53-51-10, .510
New York Giants	          4-6-2, .400; 46-69-4, .407
Brooklyn Dodgers          3-9-0, .250; 43-66-10, .394
Chicago Cardinals         2-6-2, .250; 41-46-13, .471
Staten Island Stapletons  2-7-3, .222; 53-58-9, .477

The main conclusion here is that pretty much anything could have happened. Most teams finished in first place at some point in the replays. Secondarily, the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers were the worst overall, the Chicago Bears the best overall, and you can basically flip a coin between Green Bay and Portsmouth for the second position. Staten Island perhaps underperformed the most in the actual season compared to SAT's results.

The Bears essentially were the right champion, somewhat masked by being unfortunate in some of their tie games. Portsmouth was somewhat lucky in this case to be their opposition in the title game. Ultimately it's one of those defining events where the way things happened to turn out shaped the future sport, even if it wasn't the most likely turn of events. At some point, even if it wasn't Chicago and Portsmouth in 1932, there would have been a tie in the standings. Could have happened sooner, could have happened later.

Brian Swartz · 10-10-2023, 04:43 AM

The rest of the NFC North seems determined to give the Lions the division. After five games, a two-game lead + tiebreaker in hand. Pretty sure I'm in the wrong universe at this point.

Brian Swartz · 10-11-2023, 02:34 AM

1933

Rarely is there so clear a demonstration of a player's value as there was the next year, as Dutch Clark elected to remain in his home state and coach the Colorado School of Mines football team. Without him, Portsmouth slipped to 6-5 in the newly formed West Division, still good enough for 2nd place but well behind the Chicago Bears, who won a second title in a row with a tight 23-21 win in the first true playoff game in NFL history over the New York Giants, champions on the East Divison and by far the highest-scoring team in the league. The Spartans were still an above-average team but lost four of their last five, three of them by a field goal. Quite possibly they were better than their record indicated, and almost certainly that record would have been much-improved with Dutch leading the way.

Presnell was named All-Pro, throwing for 6 TDs and running for 6 more. Rookie FB Elmer Schaake actually rushed slightly more often, totaling 412 yards but no scores though he had one as a receiver. Line play was also a strength of the team, with third-year tackle George Christensen joining Presnell on the All-Pro selection for the first time, as well as third-year guard Ox Emerson doing so for the second year in a row. Despite a somewhat down year statistically, Harry Ebding was also selected at RE.

SAT Verdict

East

Code:

New York Giants      11-3-0, .786   85-50-5, .630
Brooklyn Dodgers      5-4-1, .556   65-31-4, .677
Boston Redskins       5-5-2, .500   56-58-6, .491
Philadelphia Eagles   3-5-1, .375   39-47-4, .453
Pittsburgh Pirates    3-6-2, .333   27-79-4, .255

West

Code:

Chicago Bears        10-2-1, .833    97-27-6, .782
Portsmouth Spartans   6-5-0, .545    60-47-5, .561
Green Bay Packers     5-7-1, .417    60-62-8, .492
Cincinatti Reds       3-6-1, .333    31-62-8, .333
Chicago Cardinals     1-9-1, .100    23-82-5, .219

SAT's results reflected the actual season much more closely after the rule changes from '32. Notably they still produce significantly fewer ties. Portsmouth was very consistent across the sims, usually having 5-7 wins. Above-average, but not more than that, and Chicago dominating the West. In the East it was a different story; SAT felt that race should have been closer. The New York Giants, highest-scoring team by far but with an average defense at best, were actually slightly outperformed by the Brooklyn Dodgers, who were the inverse. Best defense by far, average in scoring. Both teams were highly volatile, finishing anywhere from 1st-4th.

Brian Swartz · 10-13-2023, 09:21 PM

Northward Bound

From 1930-1933, the home record of the Portsmouth Spartans was unsurpassed by any other NFL franchise. The combination of a small market and the Great Depression however, was too much for the team to overcome financially. Reportedly, players were being given shares in the team in lieu of their salaries, which there was no money to pay. One wonders how aware of this situation Dutch Clark was, and how much of a factor if any it played in his decision not to play professionally half the country away from his home in the 1933 season.

New Ownership

Enter George Arthur Richards, a man about whom there is much to say both good and ... not so good. He moved to Chicago on his own at the age of 14 - life was most definitely different a century ago - and got a job operating an elevator. By the age of 23 in 1912 he as the youngest branch manager the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company had ever had, later founded a successful car dealership, and eventually transitioned into the radio business. On Christmas Day, 1926, Richards took over the now-venerable station of WJR, but at the time it was going bankrupt. Under Richards leadership, WJR became profitable, continuing his track record as a very successful businessman.

Richards was also the financial backing for the popular broadcasts of Father Charles Coughlin, and reportedly pushed him to focus on politics rather than religion. Coughlin's program, named the 'Golden Hour of the Shrine of the Little Flower' after the church he pastored in Royal Oak, Michigan, was heard by an estimated 15-30 million on 36 stations with WJR as the most important, and by 1934 he had built his own post office to handle the 10,000 letters he was receiving daily. Inflammatory attacks on communists, bankers, Jews, and the KKK were much of his public fare at least. It started largely as support for social justice as he saw it and anti-capitalist rhetoric, as when he in not exactly understated fashion declared that "If Congress fails to back up the President in his monetary program, I predict a revolution in this country which will make the French Revolution look silly". Later in the 30s, his broadcasts descended into anti-semitic and pro-fascism of the lowest order. If you feel the need to throw up and aren't familiar with this particular corner of history, look up some of his statements. Be sure to have a stiff beverage and/or a sedative handy if you do.

Richards also purchased the Portsmouth Spartans for an estimated $15,000, moving them to Detroit as the Lions in 1934, where they have remained to the present day nearly 90 years later. He negotiated live radio broadcasts of the Lions games on Thanksgiving, helping to popularize that long-standing tradition.

Brian Swartz · 10-24-2023, 03:34 AM

Football In Detroit

One might well wish for a human being somewhat more ... discerning in their tastes as the saviour of the franchise, swooping down with his bag full of money to rescue the team from financial ruin. As a business venture, it was definitely a gamble as three previous franchises had already failed in Detroit, and those during the 1920s in much better economic times. Had it not been someone with the media clout of a George Richards who purchased them, the move may well have failed.

- The Detroit Heralds had a 15-year history as an amateur and semi-professional team when the APFA formed in 1920. Even World War I didn't seem to deter them. After rebranding as the Tigers in 1921, financial problems ultimately sank them and the players who hadn't already left joined other teams.

- A similar fate met the Detroit Panthers, who lasted two years from 1925-1926. The team wasn't nearly as bad as the Heralds/Tigers had been, forging an overall winning record in those two years, but as player-coach-owner Jim Conzelman later said 'The town wasn't quite ready for pro football'.

- A final attempt, the Detroit Wolverines, banked on former Michigan Wolverine star Benny Friedman in 1928. An investor group put $10,000 into purchasing the Cleveland Bulldogs and moving them to Detroit ... sound familiar? Their problem wasn't being unsuccessful ... it was being too successful, going 7-2-2 in their only year of competition. The New York Giants wanted Friedman badly enough that owner Tim Mara bought the Wolverines franchise for 30% less than they'd cost a year earlier, just to secure his rights. Money talks, and apparently the financial prospects of keeping the Panthers running just weren't there.

None of this was particularly unusual. Far more NFL franchises failed in the 20s than succeeded. As recently as 1926, 5 of the then-22 teams were new that year, and 7 would fold before the next season began. It wasn't that chaotic every year but the league was definitely a merry-go-round. Since then there had been relative stability, by which we mean only 1-2 franchises folding on an annual basis. The first consecutive seasons in which the same teams competed each year were yet in the league's future; 1935 and 1936.

Brian Swartz · 10-24-2023, 03:37 AM

1934

The first year of professional football in Detroit in six years and the first year of the Lions as such was a bounce-back season, ending in 2nd place again at 10-3. The Chicago Bears were a perfect 13-0, the first unblemished record the league had ever seen. Green Bay had gone 12-0-1 in 1929, the closest any team had come. And then the Bears went out and lost in a rematch of the previous year's championship game, 30-13 to the New York Giants, who were 8-5 and had scored only 40 more points than they allowed. The Bears scoring margin on the year? 200 points. A massive upset. The Lions were clear second-best in that department, an impressive 238 points against 59 allowed, narrowly beating out the St. Louis Gunners for the best scoring defense in the NFL.

The key to this resurgence, naturally, was the return of Dutch Clark. Leading passer with 383 yards, rusher with 763, 8 TDs, and a 6.2-yd average, and a handful of receptions as well. Presnell was back as secondary passer 7 rushing TDs, Gutkowsky as the most common runner from the FB position. 2nd-year back Ernie Caddell and first-year FB Frank Christensen got about 100 carries each as well in a rushing attack that was more diverse than ever. 4th-year player Buster Mitchell had his first and only All-Pro selection, more for his blocking than his tackling, and Emerson repeated with that honor as well. Harry Ebding's 264 receiving yards were enough to lead the league.

For all of that, a fabulous 10-0 star was derailed by a trio of 3-point losses to end the year. 3-0 to Green Bay, then 19-16 and 10-7 to the Bears. The Lions were close, and ponder for a moment that this franchise, which would eventually become the butt of so many well-deserved jokes, won their first ten games as Lions!?!

SAT Verdict

East

Code:

New York Giants          8-5, .615    75-45-10, .625
Boston Redskins          6-6, .500    44-70-6,  .386
Brooklyn Dodgers         4-7, .364    42-66-2,  .389
Philadelphia Eagles      4-7, .364    40-69-1,  .367
Pittsburgh Pirates       2-10, .167   40-77-3,  .342

West

Code:

Chicago Bears            13-0, 1.000   104-20-7, .839
Detroit Lions            10-3, .769    107-21-3, .836
Green Bay Packers         7-6, .538    63-57-10, .525
Chicago Cardinals         5-6, .455    53-50-7, .515
St. Louis Gunners         1-2, .333    
Cincinatti Reds           0-8, .000     8-101-1, .073

The New York Giants are confirmed as the best of a weak East Division, and who even knows the order of the others although Boston was probably fortunate to win half their games in the real season. As for Detroit, that late losing streak was either unlucky or a choke job. Depends on your bent I guess. SAT thinks they should have been right there with the Chicago Bears, not as high-scoring but better on defense and no question those were the best two teams. We'll cut the Lions some slack here with their first year in a new city, but it's still a tough pill to swallow.

If you're wondering about St. Louis, they don't show up in the replays because they were an independent team that filled in for Cincinatti after the Reds were suspended for non-payment of league dues. SAT just uses Cincinatti for the whole season, and they would not return for the following year so it's quite an ignominious end to that franchise.

Brian Swartz · 10-26-2023, 12:16 AM

1935

There were no great teams this year, but four good ones in a close range from 80-86 in point differential. At 7-3-2, the Detroit Lions edged out 8-4 Green Bay and 6-4-2 Chicago to end the Bears' stranglehold on the league. The New York Giants won the East easily once more, but the Lions handled them comfortably in the championship game 26-7 to claim their first NFL title! Not bad for the second year in Detroit. This was something that could definitely be marketed.

8 TDs for Dutch Clark on the year, 4 rushing and 2 each passing and receiving. Unlike past years, Glenn Presnell did the majority of the passing and less of the running, and there was more variety in the number of players throwing as well. Dutch took the largest number of carries, but the most yards went to Ernie Caddel (450 yds, 6 rushing TDs). It seems that the third-year WB helped provide just enough balance to put the Lions over the top compared to their competition in the West Division.

First Team All-Pros were of course Dutch Clark again and Ox Emerson, with Caddel, Presnell, and a couple of others on the Second Team. In the championship game against the Giants, the Lions had a decisive 297-194 edge in yardage with both teams committing a pair of turnovers. Four different players found the end zone; Gutkowsky early on, Dutch Clark from 40 yards later in the first quarter, Caddel in the 4th to put the game effectively out of reach, and first-year back Buddy Parker got a garbage-time TD to round out the scoring. He'll figure into this story more in the future.

SAT Verdict

East

Code:

New York Giants      9-3,   .750     74-42-4, .638
Brooklyn Dodgers     5-6-1, .455     44-70-6, .386
Pittsburgh Pirates   4-8,   .333     27-91-2, .229
Boston Redskins      2-8-1, .200     58-54-8, .518
Philadelphia Eagles  2-9-0, .182     30-81-9, .270

West

Code:

Detroit Lions        7-3-2, .700      81-33-6, .711
Green Bay Packers    8-4,   .667      63-53-4, .543
Chicago Bears        6-4-2, .600      76-39-3, .661
Chicago Cardinals    6-4-2, .600      62-52-6, .544

Interestingly, Boston looks much better in the replay over on the East. Green Bay a bit worse in the West, and Detroit is confirmed as deserving champions a little ahead of - who else - the Chicago Bears.

10-09-2023, 01:50 AM	#3
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	1932 The Spartans' roster shrunk to 22 players, many of them returning from the '31 season. Only four were in their rookie year, a stark departure from previous years. Dutch Clark was again First Team All-Pro at Quarterback, and for the first and only time, Father Lumpkin aka Roy Lee Lumpkin earned that honor at blocking back. Clark and Presnell shared the passing duties fairly equally; Clark had about double the carries of any other rusher on the team with 138. Presnell, Cavosie, and rookie LeRoy Erwin 'Ace' Gutowsky each had 62-68 rushes apiece. Dutch Clark had 2 passing, 3 rushing, and 3 receiving touchdowns which tells you a lot about his versatility; no other Portsmouth player scored more in any of those categories. Harry Ebding was the most prolific receiver in what of course was a run-dominated era, with 14 catches for 171 yards. Green Bay appeared set to win their fourth straight title after starting the year 8-0-1, but they faded to a 10-3-1 finish including losses in their final two games to Portsmouth and Chicago - who finished in a tie at 6-1-4 and 6-1-6 respectively. As weird as it seems for teams with 6 wins to be ahead of a team with 10, it's an artifact of the policy of ignoring ties for the purposes of the standings. Portsmouth and Chicago tied with an .857 winning percentage at 6-1 as a result, while at 10-3 Green Bay was behind them at .769. No tiebreakers were in force, but as a curiosity, from a point differential standpoint, Chicago had 151 scored and 44 allowed, Green Bay 152 scored and 63 allowed, and Portsmouth 116 scored and 62 allowed. The head to head results had Green Bay with a win and a loss against Portsmouth, a win, loss, and tie against Chicago in three meetings, and Portsmouth had tied Chicago in both of their games against each other, so none of that would have done anybody any good. Overall, one would expect the Chicago Bears to be the best team based on the points scored, but they'd also tied almost half of their games. What ended up actually happening both is, and at the same time is not, the first playoff game in NFL history. Chicago and Portsmouth played an extra game, a rubber match if you will. Practically speaking it was a championship game and it was referred to as one, but it was also just added to the final standings, and is not officially considered a playoff game, which means whoever lost would be bumped down to third below Green Bay. Poetic justice would be for a third tie deciding absolutely nothing, and who knows how history would have been different if that happened. In actuality, it was scoreless for three quarters with the decisive play being a scoring pass thrown in the fourth quarter by Chicago's Bronko Nagurski, a man who for my money possessed the greatest name of any football player ever. The play was protested by Portsmouth who claimed that Nagurski was not 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage, which was required at the time on all forward passes. This was to no avail, the play stood and a late safety made up the final margin. Portsmouth had been close to being champions in both their second and third year, coming away with neither one, and having the franchise's first real controversy. They finish third, and Chicago ends Green Bay's streak of titles. More importantly, the game was quite popular and prompted a number of changes by the league: - The NFL was divided into two divisions, with a true playoff game between the top team in each to determine the champion. The precursor to the modern Super Bowl was born. - Forward passes at any point behind the line of scrimmage were legalized, eliminating the 5-yard rule. In proposing the change, Potsy Clark acerbically noted that 'Nagurski would do it anyway'. Cheeky. One can easily imagine that this would benefit his own star, Dutch Clark, as much if not more than any other player, as a possible motivation. - Goal posts were moved forward to the goal line from the end line. These were the first departures from existing college rules that the NFL would make, with part of at least the stated goals improve scoring, reduce the number of ties and improve the game. At least in terms of the ties, they were successful in this. In 1932, 20.8% of games ended in a tie; the following year, that number was slashed to 8.8%, with only five games failing to produce a decisive result. SAT Verdict The final pre-championship game standings are listed below, followed by the SAT average over 10 season simulations. This is the intended methodology for future years as well. Code: Chicago Bears 6-1-6, .857; 73-39-18, .652 Portsmouth Spartans 6-1-4, .857; 54-45-12, .545 Green Bay Packers 10-3-1, .769; 62-51-13, .549 Boston Braves 4-4-2, .500; 53-51-10, .510 New York Giants 4-6-2, .400; 46-69-4, .407 Brooklyn Dodgers 3-9-0, .250; 43-66-10, .394 Chicago Cardinals 2-6-2, .250; 41-46-13, .471 Staten Island Stapletons 2-7-3, .222; 53-58-9, .477 The main conclusion here is that pretty much anything could have happened. Most teams finished in first place at some point in the replays. Secondarily, the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers were the worst overall, the Chicago Bears the best overall, and you can basically flip a coin between Green Bay and Portsmouth for the second position. Staten Island perhaps underperformed the most in the actual season compared to SAT's results. The Bears essentially were the right champion, somewhat masked by being unfortunate in some of their tie games. Portsmouth was somewhat lucky in this case to be their opposition in the title game. Ultimately it's one of those defining events where the way things happened to turn out shaped the future sport, even if it wasn't the most likely turn of events. At some point, even if it wasn't Chicago and Portsmouth in 1932, there would have been a tie in the standings. Could have happened sooner, could have happened later.

10-11-2023, 02:34 AM	#5
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	1933 Rarely is there so clear a demonstration of a player's value as there was the next year, as Dutch Clark elected to remain in his home state and coach the Colorado School of Mines football team. Without him, Portsmouth slipped to 6-5 in the newly formed West Division, still good enough for 2nd place but well behind the Chicago Bears, who won a second title in a row with a tight 23-21 win in the first true playoff game in NFL history over the New York Giants, champions on the East Divison and by far the highest-scoring team in the league. The Spartans were still an above-average team but lost four of their last five, three of them by a field goal. Quite possibly they were better than their record indicated, and almost certainly that record would have been much-improved with Dutch leading the way. Presnell was named All-Pro, throwing for 6 TDs and running for 6 more. Rookie FB Elmer Schaake actually rushed slightly more often, totaling 412 yards but no scores though he had one as a receiver. Line play was also a strength of the team, with third-year tackle George Christensen joining Presnell on the All-Pro selection for the first time, as well as third-year guard Ox Emerson doing so for the second year in a row. Despite a somewhat down year statistically, Harry Ebding was also selected at RE. SAT Verdict East Code: New York Giants 11-3-0, .786 85-50-5, .630 Brooklyn Dodgers 5-4-1, .556 65-31-4, .677 Boston Redskins 5-5-2, .500 56-58-6, .491 Philadelphia Eagles 3-5-1, .375 39-47-4, .453 Pittsburgh Pirates 3-6-2, .333 27-79-4, .255 West Code: Chicago Bears 10-2-1, .833 97-27-6, .782 Portsmouth Spartans 6-5-0, .545 60-47-5, .561 Green Bay Packers 5-7-1, .417 60-62-8, .492 Cincinatti Reds 3-6-1, .333 31-62-8, .333 Chicago Cardinals 1-9-1, .100 23-82-5, .219 SAT's results reflected the actual season much more closely after the rule changes from '32. Notably they still produce significantly fewer ties. Portsmouth was very consistent across the sims, usually having 5-7 wins. Above-average, but not more than that, and Chicago dominating the West. In the East it was a different story; SAT felt that race should have been closer. The New York Giants, highest-scoring team by far but with an average defense at best, were actually slightly outperformed by the Brooklyn Dodgers, who were the inverse. Best defense by far, average in scoring. Both teams were highly volatile, finishing anywhere from 1st-4th.

10-24-2023, 03:34 AM	#7
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Football In Detroit One might well wish for a human being somewhat more ... discerning in their tastes as the saviour of the franchise, swooping down with his bag full of money to rescue the team from financial ruin. As a business venture, it was definitely a gamble as three previous franchises had already failed in Detroit, and those during the 1920s in much better economic times. Had it not been someone with the media clout of a George Richards who purchased them, the move may well have failed. - The Detroit Heralds had a 15-year history as an amateur and semi-professional team when the APFA formed in 1920. Even World War I didn't seem to deter them. After rebranding as the Tigers in 1921, financial problems ultimately sank them and the players who hadn't already left joined other teams. - A similar fate met the Detroit Panthers, who lasted two years from 1925-1926. The team wasn't nearly as bad as the Heralds/Tigers had been, forging an overall winning record in those two years, but as player-coach-owner Jim Conzelman later said 'The town wasn't quite ready for pro football'. - A final attempt, the Detroit Wolverines, banked on former Michigan Wolverine star Benny Friedman in 1928. An investor group put $10,000 into purchasing the Cleveland Bulldogs and moving them to Detroit ... sound familiar? Their problem wasn't being unsuccessful ... it was being too successful, going 7-2-2 in their only year of competition. The New York Giants wanted Friedman badly enough that owner Tim Mara bought the Wolverines franchise for 30% less than they'd cost a year earlier, just to secure his rights. Money talks, and apparently the financial prospects of keeping the Panthers running just weren't there. None of this was particularly unusual. Far more NFL franchises failed in the 20s than succeeded. As recently as 1926, 5 of the then-22 teams were new that year, and 7 would fold before the next season began. It wasn't that chaotic every year but the league was definitely a merry-go-round. Since then there had been relative stability, by which we mean only 1-2 franchises folding on an annual basis. The first consecutive seasons in which the same teams competed each year were yet in the league's future; 1935 and 1936. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 10-24-2023 at 03:35 AM.

10-24-2023, 03:37 AM	#8
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	1934 The first year of professional football in Detroit in six years and the first year of the Lions as such was a bounce-back season, ending in 2nd place again at 10-3. The Chicago Bears were a perfect 13-0, the first unblemished record the league had ever seen. Green Bay had gone 12-0-1 in 1929, the closest any team had come. And then the Bears went out and lost in a rematch of the previous year's championship game, 30-13 to the New York Giants, who were 8-5 and had scored only 40 more points than they allowed. The Bears scoring margin on the year? 200 points. A massive upset. The Lions were clear second-best in that department, an impressive 238 points against 59 allowed, narrowly beating out the St. Louis Gunners for the best scoring defense in the NFL. The key to this resurgence, naturally, was the return of Dutch Clark. Leading passer with 383 yards, rusher with 763, 8 TDs, and a 6.2-yd average, and a handful of receptions as well. Presnell was back as secondary passer 7 rushing TDs, Gutkowsky as the most common runner from the FB position. 2nd-year back Ernie Caddell and first-year FB Frank Christensen got about 100 carries each as well in a rushing attack that was more diverse than ever. 4th-year player Buster Mitchell had his first and only All-Pro selection, more for his blocking than his tackling, and Emerson repeated with that honor as well. Harry Ebding's 264 receiving yards were enough to lead the league. For all of that, a fabulous 10-0 star was derailed by a trio of 3-point losses to end the year. 3-0 to Green Bay, then 19-16 and 10-7 to the Bears. The Lions were close, and ponder for a moment that this franchise, which would eventually become the butt of so many well-deserved jokes, won their first ten games as Lions!?! SAT Verdict East Code: New York Giants 8-5, .615 75-45-10, .625 Boston Redskins 6-6, .500 44-70-6, .386 Brooklyn Dodgers 4-7, .364 42-66-2, .389 Philadelphia Eagles 4-7, .364 40-69-1, .367 Pittsburgh Pirates 2-10, .167 40-77-3, .342 West Code: Chicago Bears 13-0, 1.000 104-20-7, .839 Detroit Lions 10-3, .769 107-21-3, .836 Green Bay Packers 7-6, .538 63-57-10, .525 Chicago Cardinals 5-6, .455 53-50-7, .515 St. Louis Gunners 1-2, .333 Cincinatti Reds 0-8, .000 8-101-1, .073 The New York Giants are confirmed as the best of a weak East Division, and who even knows the order of the others although Boston was probably fortunate to win half their games in the real season. As for Detroit, that late losing streak was either unlucky or a choke job. Depends on your bent I guess. SAT thinks they should have been right there with the Chicago Bears, not as high-scoring but better on defense and no question those were the best two teams. We'll cut the Lions some slack here with their first year in a new city, but it's still a tough pill to swallow. If you're wondering about St. Louis, they don't show up in the replays because they were an independent team that filled in for Cincinatti after the Reds were suspended for non-payment of league dues. SAT just uses Cincinatti for the whole season, and they would not return for the following year so it's quite an ignominious end to that franchise. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 10-24-2023 at 03:56 AM.

10-26-2023, 12:16 AM	#9
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	1935 There were no great teams this year, but four good ones in a close range from 80-86 in point differential. At 7-3-2, the Detroit Lions edged out 8-4 Green Bay and 6-4-2 Chicago to end the Bears' stranglehold on the league. The New York Giants won the East easily once more, but the Lions handled them comfortably in the championship game 26-7 to claim their first NFL title! Not bad for the second year in Detroit. This was something that could definitely be marketed. 8 TDs for Dutch Clark on the year, 4 rushing and 2 each passing and receiving. Unlike past years, Glenn Presnell did the majority of the passing and less of the running, and there was more variety in the number of players throwing as well. Dutch took the largest number of carries, but the most yards went to Ernie Caddel (450 yds, 6 rushing TDs). It seems that the third-year WB helped provide just enough balance to put the Lions over the top compared to their competition in the West Division. First Team All-Pros were of course Dutch Clark again and Ox Emerson, with Caddel, Presnell, and a couple of others on the Second Team. In the championship game against the Giants, the Lions had a decisive 297-194 edge in yardage with both teams committing a pair of turnovers. Four different players found the end zone; Gutkowsky early on, Dutch Clark from 40 yards later in the first quarter, Caddel in the 4th to put the game effectively out of reach, and first-year back Buddy Parker got a garbage-time TD to round out the scoring. He'll figure into this story more in the future. SAT Verdict East Code: New York Giants 9-3, .750 74-42-4, .638 Brooklyn Dodgers 5-6-1, .455 44-70-6, .386 Pittsburgh Pirates 4-8, .333 27-91-2, .229 Boston Redskins 2-8-1, .200 58-54-8, .518 Philadelphia Eagles 2-9-0, .182 30-81-9, .270 West Code: Detroit Lions 7-3-2, .700 81-33-6, .711 Green Bay Packers 8-4, .667 63-53-4, .543 Chicago Bears 6-4-2, .600 76-39-3, .661 Chicago Cardinals 6-4-2, .600 62-52-6, .544 Interestingly, Boston looks much better in the replay over on the East. Green Bay a bit worse in the West, and Detroit is confirmed as deserving champions a little ahead of - who else - the Chicago Bears.

10-08-2023, 04:18 AM	#2
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Portsmouth Founding This tale does not actually begin in Detroit, but in the mid-sized city of Portsmouth in southern Ohio, positioned just northeast of the confluence of the Ohio and Scioto rivers. On July 12, 1930, the Portsmouth Spartans were granted admission to the National Football League. With a population of roughly 42,000, the largest the city would ever grow, Portsmouth was the second-smallest city to host an NFL team at the time, slightly larger than Green Bay. The team had been formed two years earlier, absorbing players from various other defunct independent teams of which there were many to choose from. The idea of a local football team had enough support that in 1929 a bond issue was passed by the residents of Portsmouth to build what would become Universal Stadium - later Spartan Municipal Stadium, with a maximum seating capacity of 8,200. Events beyond their knowledge or control would, of course, have a major hand in deciding the success of this venture. On September 14, 1930, Universal Stadium officially opened. The Spartans' coach that first year in their new stadium was also a lineman: Center/Tackle Harold 'Hal' Winslow Griffen. The team was mediocre, tying for 7th with a 5-6-3 record. For 25 of the 38 players on the roster, ranging in age from 22 to 35, it was their first year of professional football. Two of the rookies, Chuck Bennett (23) and Mayes McClain (25), scored 7 touchdowns apiece to lead the Spartans in scoring. Both players would have short and undistinguished careers after this, however. A Man Called Potsy The next year, George M. 'Potsy' Clark, then 37 years of age, accepted the head coaching job for the Portsmouth Spartans. In time, he would become one of the most influential and successful coaches of the early NFL, and more accomplished in multiple fields than most men are in any one endeavor. Clark picked up the nickname Potsy as a child and it stuck with him. He was a highly successful athlete in multiple sports both in high school and college. He starred alongside none other than Red Grange, Harold Pogue, and other All-Americans at the University of Illinois from 1914-1915, and was a good enough shortstop that he received multiple offers to play professional baseball as well - which he turned down. After graduating from Illinois, Clark took an assistant football coaching job at the University of Kansas. His coaching career was interrupted by World War I where he served as a second lieutenant, returning to coach as an assistant for his former coach at Illinois, Bob Zuppke. Michigan Agricultural College - later Michigan State University - hired Potsy as their football coach, and also assistant in baseball, in 1920. After a 4-6 record there he was off to the University of Kansas where he would stay for the next five years. 16-17-6 was his overall mark there, tying Nebraska for the MVC title in 1923 before slipping to 2-5-1 each of the final two years. From '27-'29 he had somewhat more success for independent Butler, 14-9-1 in total, while also being the athletic director. It seems that his relative success there led to Butler gaining notoriety for what was considered by some to be the wrong reasons for an academic institution, and it appeared that this would be the last chapter in Potsy's uneven coaching adventures. He went into the insurance business, apparently successfully, and if he hadn't been offered the Portsmouth Spartans job that may well have been the end of it - for both him in coaching, and the Spartans as a franchise. 1931 In Potsy Clark's first year of being an NFL head coach, he assembled a roster that was even more inexperienced than they'd had the year before, and retained just eight players from the '30 version of the team. What they lacked in continuity, they definitely gained in a disciplined direction and new talent. Portsmouth outscored their opponents better than two to one, allowing fewer points than any other team and fashioning a 11-3 record, second only to the 12-2 Green Bay Packers who were named champions for the third year in a row. Earl Harry 'Dutch' Clark scored 9 touchdowns to lead the team; he is named First Team All-Pro at the Quarterback position. Glenn Presnell and Bill McKalip scored 4 each, all three players upgrading the team considerably in their first professional seasons. Harry Ebding and John Cavosie were other newcomers making an impact. And that takes us up to 1932, when Second and Ten will join the tale.

10-10-2023, 04:43 AM	#4
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	The rest of the NFC North seems determined to give the Lions the division. After five games, a two-game lead + tiebreaker in hand. Pretty sure I'm in the wrong universe at this point.

10-13-2023, 09:21 PM	#6
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Northward Bound From 1930-1933, the home record of the Portsmouth Spartans was unsurpassed by any other NFL franchise. The combination of a small market and the Great Depression however, was too much for the team to overcome financially. Reportedly, players were being given shares in the team in lieu of their salaries, which there was no money to pay. One wonders how aware of this situation Dutch Clark was, and how much of a factor if any it played in his decision not to play professionally half the country away from his home in the 1933 season. New Ownership Enter George Arthur Richards, a man about whom there is much to say both good and ... not so good. He moved to Chicago on his own at the age of 14 - life was most definitely different a century ago - and got a job operating an elevator. By the age of 23 in 1912 he as the youngest branch manager the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company had ever had, later founded a successful car dealership, and eventually transitioned into the radio business. On Christmas Day, 1926, Richards took over the now-venerable station of WJR, but at the time it was going bankrupt. Under Richards leadership, WJR became profitable, continuing his track record as a very successful businessman. Richards was also the financial backing for the popular broadcasts of Father Charles Coughlin, and reportedly pushed him to focus on politics rather than religion. Coughlin's program, named the 'Golden Hour of the Shrine of the Little Flower' after the church he pastored in Royal Oak, Michigan, was heard by an estimated 15-30 million on 36 stations with WJR as the most important, and by 1934 he had built his own post office to handle the 10,000 letters he was receiving daily. Inflammatory attacks on communists, bankers, Jews, and the KKK were much of his public fare at least. It started largely as support for social justice as he saw it and anti-capitalist rhetoric, as when he in not exactly understated fashion declared that "If Congress fails to back up the President in his monetary program, I predict a revolution in this country which will make the French Revolution look silly". Later in the 30s, his broadcasts descended into anti-semitic and pro-fascism of the lowest order. If you feel the need to throw up and aren't familiar with this particular corner of history, look up some of his statements. Be sure to have a stiff beverage and/or a sedative handy if you do. Richards also purchased the Portsmouth Spartans for an estimated $15,000, moving them to Detroit as the Lions in 1934, where they have remained to the present day nearly 90 years later. He negotiated live radio broadcasts of the Lions games on Thanksgiving, helping to popularize that long-standing tradition.

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