For eighty-two years, there has been a small but growing movement to return the 1925 NFL Championship title to the Pottsville Maroons. The title was stripped following a territorial dispute when the Maroons played Notre Dame in an exhibition game in Philadelphia. The Frankford Yellow Jackets -- forerunners of the Eagles -- protested and the NFL's commissioner, Joseph Carr, punished the Maroons and awarded the title to the Chicago Cardinals, even though the Maroons had defeated the Cardinals handily in the championship game.
At first, it was a cause with a small cult following in Schuylkill County, the primary recruitment tool was benign trivia exchanged between gargoyles perched on barstools. Eventually, the movement grew to the point that Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell unsuccessfully lobbied NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue for justice to be served.
But now, supporters have a new ally, one that dwarfs all others: ESPN, The Worldwide Leader in Sports. Posted to ESPN.com's Page 2 is an online petition, with over 6200 signatures garnered in just five days, that will be sent to current NFL commish Roger Goodell.
To be fair, ESPN's motives are not completely pure. One of their senior writers, David Fleming, has penned a book, published by, you guessed it, ESPN Books, entitled: Breaker Boys: The NFL’s Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship. Released in hardcover less than three weeks ago, there's already a movie script that's been written, based on the book with Gavin O'Connor, director of Disney's Miracle (ESPN is owned by Disney) set to direct Breaker Boys. So, it's only natural that ESPN wants to have a happy ending to go with it's books and movies.
Whether Big Media makes the difference or not, it still makes for a great story and something interesting to ponder... What if the Maroons title hadn't been taken away? Would da reejin still be a forgotten footnote in the history of the Industrial Revolution? Would boilo [Christmas Eve] and Yuengling Lager [Wednesday before Thanksgiving] be the country's most consumed holiday beverages? Would The Office have been set in Pottsville rather than Scranton?
Hard to say, but wouldn't it be fun to find out? Sign the petition.
