One of the curiosities of my research/study/hobby of football history and photo achiving is noting the ususual amount of photos of the Giants in 1925. Between 1926 (of which I have hardly anything) and 1932 there is not much, not even in newspapers until 1929. Not only do I have many photos from 1925, I have quite a few tha are high quality. I figured I'd share some here. I've always attributed this to pro football being a new thing in New York in 1925 and drew some curious onlookers. Then in 1926 there was the rival AFL with Red Grange playing across the Harlem River which did draw attention away from the Giants and NFL that year. The NFL downsized in 1927 in attempt to recover from the salary war between the two leagues (the Giants nearly went bankrupt).
The Giants first coach, Bob Folwell, in the Polo Grounds.
Folwell shaking hands with the Giants headline attraction, Jim Thorpe.
Jim Thorpe in game action, Giants at Frankford Yellow Jackets. This was the igants second ever game played, I still do not have a photo of their first game at Providence the previous week. This photo comes from teh Philadelphia Inquirer.
Sideline portrait from the Giants first home game against the Yellow Jackets, the day after the game at Frankford. The Yellow Jackets were forbidden to play on Sundays due to contraints of local blue laws. they typically played on Saturdays, then took a train to the city of the same team and played the next day. This was thorpe's last game in a Giants uniform, the last straw was him issing a drop-kick FG attempt, one of the few things he was still supposed to be good at. The players, left to right: Dutch hendrian, Jim Thorpe, Babe Parnell and Paul Jappe.
Player profiles from the original game program, which was reprinted in 1976.
After Thorpe left, Hinkey Haines became the main attraction for the Football Giants. He was a multi-talented playermaker with speed who could score from anywere on teh field. He scored the first touchdown in Giants history on Noivember 1, a 5-yard rush, which was also the giants first ever victory, 19-0 over the defending NFL champion Cleveland Bulldogs. He also cough the Giants fist TD pass in the same game, 25 yards from Jack McBride.
Haines broke his nose in November, and not wanting to miss time, he wore this excellent helmet with what has become known as the "exicutioner mask"!
This game agains the Rochester Jeffersons was the last game the giants wore brown helmets. That's Heine Benkhert totoing the rock for the G-Men.
The following week against the Providence Steam Roller the Giants helmets were white. They wore white helmets through 1928. The photo is from the NY Daily News.
The Giants starting backfield from the Steam Roller program.
One of my personl favorite uniforms of 1925 was worn by the Dayton Tiranlges. The game summary in the NY Daily News called them "jail-break uniforms."
The big game of 1925, not only for the Giants but the NFL as a whole, was Red Grange's visit to the Polo Grounds on December 6.
Jack McBride, considered one of the best passers in the game before statistics were recorded, was featured in the Grange program. Look at size of that ball in his hand, compared to the size of the modern ball, which would not be established until 1934.
The offical seems to be point Phil White towrd the hole in teh Bears front line in this photo. White is one of only eight players to wear the jersey number "0" for the Giants. The Giants didn't wear numbers on the front of their jerseys until 1929.
A week after losing to Chicago in New York, the Giants exacted some revenge on the Bears (who were without the services of an injuerd and exhausted Gragne) to finish their first campaign 8-4, good for 5th place in the league standings. The photo is from teh Chicago Daily Tribune.
Maybe the reason Dayton folded was because of those awful uniforms.
Wish I could have seen a Giants game at the Polo Grounds. It must have been pretty special
...thanks so much for posting these wonderful photos and great information!!!
He also played for two AFL teams (Brooklyn Lions and NY Yankees).
I'd love to see if you have anything else from '26.
He also played for two AFL teams (Brooklyn Lions and NY Yankees).
I'd love to see if you have anything else from '26.
Who was your grandfather? I have very little from 1926.
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I have one photo of a game in the polo grounds. Like your photo above against the Bears he's the lone player on the field without a helmet.
He also played for two AFL teams (Brooklyn Lions and NY Yankees).
I'd love to see if you have anything else from '26.
Who was your grandfather? I have very little from 1926.
Art Stevenson. Played for Fordham in the late teens I think. Played a few pro games for a few teams when the pro game started in NY, but he was older by then.
I think my relatives have at least one more game photo from '26, plus some articles.
There is at least one feature article that Ed Sullivan wrote about my grandfather when he was at Fordham and Sullivan was a sports writer. I haven't seen the article in about 45 years.
I'd be happy to scan and email you the photo that I do have if you're interested.
This photo is from teh NY Daily News
This photo is scanned from a history book.
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I have one photo of a game in the polo grounds. Like your photo above against the Bears he's the lone player on the field without a helmet.
He also played for two AFL teams (Brooklyn Lions and NY Yankees).
I'd love to see if you have anything else from '26.
Who was your grandfather? I have very little from 1926.
He was already 30 in 1926. He played again in 1928 when he was 32.
football reference - ( New Window )
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In comment 14354702 markky said:
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I have one photo of a game in the polo grounds. Like your photo above against the Bears he's the lone player on the field without a helmet.
He also played for two AFL teams (Brooklyn Lions and NY Yankees).
I'd love to see if you have anything else from '26.
Who was your grandfather? I have very little from 1926.
Art Stevenson. Played for Fordham in the late teens I think. Played a few pro games for a few teams when the pro game started in NY, but he was older by then.
I think my relatives have at least one more game photo from '26, plus some articles.
There is at least one feature article that Ed Sullivan wrote about my grandfather when he was at Fordham and Sullivan was a sports writer. I haven't seen the article in about 45 years.
I'd be happy to scan and email you the photo that I do have if you're interested.
that would be awesome, thank you.
bigbluelarry@hotmail.com
Maybe the reason Dayton folded was because of those awful uniforms.
Wish I could have seen a Giants game at the Polo Grounds. It must have been pretty special
I think those Triangles uniforms are pretty awesome. You should see what they wore in 1927...
http://www.gridiron-uniforms.com/GUD/controller/controller.php?action=teams&team_id=defunct
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In comment 14354702 markky said:
Quote:
I have one photo of a game in the polo grounds. Like your photo above against the Bears he's the lone player on the field without a helmet.
He also played for two AFL teams (Brooklyn Lions and NY Yankees).
I'd love to see if you have anything else from '26.
Who was your grandfather? I have very little from 1926.
He was already 30 in 1926. He played again in 1928 when he was 32. football reference - ( New Window )
I see, he only played 4 games for the Giants. Do you know which ones? I have scans of the game programs for the KC Cowboys & Philadelphia Quakers, he isn't listed in either one.
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In comment 14354708 truebluelarry said:
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In comment 14354702 markky said:
Quote:
I have one photo of a game in the polo grounds. Like your photo above against the Bears he's the lone player on the field without a helmet.
He also played for two AFL teams (Brooklyn Lions and NY Yankees).
I'd love to see if you have anything else from '26.
Who was your grandfather? I have very little from 1926.
He was already 30 in 1926. He played again in 1928 when he was 32. football reference - ( New Window )
I see, he only played 4 games for the Giants. Do you know which ones? I have scans of the game programs for the KC Cowboys & Philadelphia Quakers, he isn't listed in either one.
I think he played 2 games for the Giants and 2 games for the Brooklyn Lions in 1926. I'm not sure which games. With some digging I think I can find out. A couple of archives have popped up on the web in the last few years. I'd love to have a copy of a program with his name or picture. That would be amazing for me. I've searched but have found no 1926 programs at all. It's cool that you have a couple.
what Red Dog said ...
Thank you so much for posting this
I think he played 2 games for the Giants and 2 games for the Brooklyn Lions in 1926. I'm not sure which games. With some digging I think I can find out. A couple of archives have popped up on the web in the last few years. I'd love to have a copy of a program with his name or picture. That would be amazing for me. I've searched but have found no 1926 programs at all. It's cool that you have a couple.
The Brooklyn Lions are one of the white whales for us at the GUD. We only have one group of promotional photos of their players in uniform (excellent vertically striped green & white jersyes), but desperately want a game photo. As you probably know, midway through the season they absorbed the AFL's Brroklyn Horsemen, but they wore the Horsemen's red & black uniforms - which included two games against the Giants.
http://www.gridiron-uniforms.com/GUD/1926.shtml
Haha! Pottsville wasn't robbed, Comissioner Joe Carr telergaphed Pottsville's owner multiple times not to play Notre Dame inside the city limits of Philadelphia as that territory was exclusive to the Frankford Yellow Jackets, but they did it anyway, and paid for it. The sad part is Pottsville was a superior team to the Chicago Cardinals who won the title via Pottsville's suspension.
Big Blue '56 : 3/23/2019 7:14 pm : link : reply
Doc Alexander, who became our second (?) HC, was my teacher in Med School (Radiology)..This was back in the ‘60s when you could get your hands on very little info. After class he’d regale us with all those wonderful stories of his era
I thought you were going to complain that larry stole your camera!!!
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Love these..
Big Blue '56 : 3/23/2019 7:14 pm : link : reply
Doc Alexander, who became our second (?) HC, was my teacher in Med School (Radiology)..This was back in the ‘60s when you could get your hands on very little info. After class he’d regale us with all those wonderful stories of his era
I thought you were going to complain that larry stole your camera!!!
You always were and will continue to be, a murderer!!
Haha! Pottsville wasn't robbed, Comissioner Joe Carr telergaphed Pottsville's owner multiple times not to play Notre Dame inside the city limits of Philadelphia as that territory was exclusive to the Frankford Yellow Jackets, but they did it anyway, and paid for it. The sad part is Pottsville was a superior team to the Chicago Cardinals who won the title via Pottsville's suspension.
LOL All you need to remember is the town is called "Pottsville" for God's sake. It's a wide spot in the road in middle-of-nowhere PA. They eat Scrapple there. They mine coal when they can get any work at all. The people who live there will never believe they weren't robbed in order to give the trophy to a big city team. The people in my town would probably believe the same thing.
-"Did Mara sign old man Thorpe just for his locker-room presence?"
-"I knew McBride's hand size was an issue before they signed him. Mara should have scouted that better"