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The 1934 NFL championship game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants will go down in history for something that happened off the field.
We will get to that later.
In 1934, the Bears were a force to be reckoned with. They went through the entire 13-game season undefeated. During just three times of those 13 games did their opponents score double figures. They also completed three shutouts (held a team scoreless).
The Bears were at the top of the NFL Western Division and were the league's highest-scoring team (286 points). The next closest was the Detroit Lions (238 points).
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The Giants, however, were vastly different. They managed to get through the 1934 season with an 8-5 record. Not bad, but not exactly that good either. The Giants lost their opening two games and only scored six points.
New York only managed 147 points from their 13 games. Somehow, they managed to sit atop the NFL Eastern Division, which set them on a collision course with George Halas' Bears.
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The 1934 NFL Championship game
The Polo Grounds field was frozen because of a serious rainstorm that happened the night before. It left the ground slippery underfoot. The Giants jumped out to a 3-0 lead, thanks to a 38-yard field goal from Ken Strong.
The much-vaunted Bears offense took the lead in the second quarter, thanks to a one-yard run by Bronko Nagurski. Chicago then added to its lead with a 17-yard field goal from Jack Manders to give the Bears a 10-3 lead at halftime.
The sneakers switch
At halftime, Giants coach Steve Owen was told by Ray Flaherty that the team would have better footing wearing sneakers. Abe Cohen, a friend of Owen was sent out to try and get some for the players.
He returned with nine pairs he found at Manhattan College, and the players switched their foot wear. Boy, did it work. The Bears added another field goal to make the score 13-3, and that is where it ended for Chicago. The Giants then steamrolled them in the fourth quarter, scoring 27 unanswered points.
Ed Danowski threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ike Frankian to bring New York to within three points. Then, a huge 42-yard rushing touchdown from Ken Strong put the Giants ahead for the first time in the game, but they did not stop there.
Another rushing touchdown from Strong put the Giants up by ten points. Ed Danowski added another touchdown with a nine-yard rush to complete the second half rout 30-13.
The Giants won the NFL championship game and left the Chicago Bears, who were chasing an undefeated season in their wake, handing them their first loss of the season.
Did the Giants win because of the sneakers? Looking back in the history books, one could say they definitely had something to do with it.
All stats via Pro Football Reference.
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