1934 NFL Championship Game

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.

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

The Bears led 10–3 at the half when the Giants switched to the basketball sneakers. 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. The Giants 27 fourth quarter points in a championship game set an NFL record that still stands today.

Scoring summary

Scoring

• First quarter
  • NYG – Ken Strong 38-yard field goal. Giants 3–0
• Second quarter
  • CHI – Bronko Nagurski 1-yard run (Jack Manders kick). Bears 7–3
  • CHI – Jack Manders 17-yard field goal. Bears 10–3
• Third quarter
  • CHI – Jack Manders 22-yard field goal. Bears 13–3
• Fourth quarter
  • NYG – Ike Frankian 28-yard pass from Ed Danowski (Strong kick). Bears 13–10
  • NYG – Ken Strong 42-yard run (Strong kick). Giants 17–13
  • NYG – Ken Strong 11-yard run (kick failed). Giants 23–13
  • NYG – Ed Danowski 9-yard run (Bo Molenda kick). Giants 30–13 Top passers
• CHI – Keith Molesworth – 4/9, 60 yards, 1 INT
• NYG – Ed Danowski – 6/11, 83 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT Top rushers
• CHI – Bronko Nagurski – 24 rushes, 68 yards, 1 TD
• NYG – Ken Strong – 9 rushes, 94 yards, 2 TD Top receivers
• CHI – Bill Hewitt - 2 receptions, 30 yards
• NYG– Dale Burnett - 2 receptions, 30 yards

Officials

• Referee: Bobby Cahn
• Umpire: George Lowe
• Head linesman: George Vergara
• Field judge: M.J. Meyer

:The NFL had only four game officials in ; the back judge was added in , the line judge in , and the side judge in .

Players' shares

The projected attendance of 55,000 was not reached, as the week's weather kept it under 36,000. Each player on the winning Giants team received $621 (equivalent to $ in ), while the Bears received $414 (equivalent to $ in ) each.

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.

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.

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

References

1. Canavan, Tom. (January 5, 1986). "Sneakers game is most famous episode in Bears-Giants rivalry". Gainesville Sun.
2. Smith, Wilfrid. (December 9, 1934). "Bears battle Giants today before 50,000". Chicago Tribune.
3. Gannon, Pat. (December 10, 1934). "Giants make spectacular finish to beat Bears for pro grid title". Milwaukee Journal.
4. Smith, Wilfrid. (December 10, 1934). "Giants whip Bears for pro title, 30-13". Chicago Tribune.
5. (December 10, 1934). "Giants rally crushes Bears, 30-13". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
6. (December 10, 1934). "Giants win pro football title in thriller, 30-13". Pittsburgh Press.
7. (December 9, 1934). "Bears, with 13 straight victories, 3 to 1 favorites over Giants today". Milwaukee Journal.
8. (December 9, 1934). "Feathers, Kopcha out, Bears still picked to beat Giants today". Pittsburgh Press.
9. (December 9, 1934). "Favor Bears over Giants". Milwaukee Sentinel.
10. Pervin, 2009, pp. 9–10.
11. (December 10, 1934). "Flaherty's idea wins title for Giant team". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
12. Anderson, Dave. (January 2, 1986). "Giants' owner looks back". Wilmington Morning Star.
13. (December 10, 1934). "Giants stage amazing rally to beat Chicago Bears 30-13". Miami News.
14. Neil, Edward J.. (December 10, 1934). "Giants rally and upset Bears". Milwaukee Sentinel.
15. "1934 NFL Championship".
16. "NFL 100 Games".