| Type: | nflc |
| 1934 | |
| Visitor: | Chicago Bears |
| Visitor Abbr: | CHI |
| Home: | New York Giants |
| Home Abbr: | NYG |
| Visitor Coach: | George Halas |
| Home Coach: | Steve Owen |
| Visitor Conf: | Western |
| Home Conf: | Eastern |
| Visitor Record: | 13–0 |
| Home Record: | 8–5 |
| Visitor Qtr1: | 0 |
| Visitor Qtr2: | 10 |
| Visitor Qtr3: | 3 |
| Visitor Qtr4: | 0 |
| Visitor Total: | 13 |
| Home Qtr1: | 3 |
| Home Qtr2: | 0 |
| Home Qtr3: | 0 |
| Home Qtr4: | 27 |
| Home Total: | 30 |
| Date: | December 9, 1934 |
| Stadium: | Polo Grounds |
| City: | New York City |
| Attendance: | 35,059 |
| Hofers: | Bears: George Halas (owner/coach), Red Grange, Bill Hewitt, Walt Kiesling, William R. Lyman, George Musso, Bronko Nagurski Giants: Tim Mara (owner/founder), Steve Owen (coach), Red Badgro, Ray Flaherty, Mel Hein, Ken Strong |
The 1934 NFL Championship Game, also known as "The Sneakers Game",[1] was the second scheduled National Football League (NFL) championship game. Played at the Polo Grounds in New York City on December 9,[2] it was the first title game for the newly created Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy. With a remarkable fourth quarter, the New York Giants defeated the Chicago Bears 30–13.[3] [4] [5] [6]
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.[7] [8] [9]
A freezing rain the night before the game froze the Polo Grounds field.[10] After Giants end Ray Flaherty remarked to head coach Steve Owen that sneakers would provide better footing on the frozen playing surface,[11] Owen sent his friend Abe Cohen, a tailor who assisted on the Giants sideline, to Manhattan College to get some sneakers.[1] [12]
The Bears led 10–3 at the half when the Giants switched to the basketball sneakers.[13] 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.[14] The Giants 27 fourth quarter points in a championship game set an NFL record that still stands today.
Sunday, December 9, 1934
Kickoff: 2 p.m. EST[9]
The NFL had only four game officials in ; the back judge was added in, the line judge in, and the side judge in .
The projected attendance of 55,000 was not reached,[7] 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.[3] [5] [6]
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.[15]
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.