Last Team Standing (39 page)

73
“The time has come …”
(McNutt):
New York Times,
August 15, 1943.

73
McNutt and Hershey's contentious relationship
is discussed in Flynn,
Lewis B. Hershey.

73
“I will not transmit …”
(Hershey): Flynn,
Lewis B. Hershey
(p. 90).

74
“The usefulness of the sport …”
(McNutt): Mead,
Even the Browns
(p. 90).

74
The wages of workers at the Budd factory
were published in the
Philadelphia Daily News,
July 29, 1943.

75
The war production figures
come from Dear and Foot,
The Oxford Companion to World War II
and Polmar and Allen,
World War II: The Encyclopedia of the War Years, 1941–1945.

75
Executive Order 8802
is discussed in Goodwin,
No Ordinary Time
(pp. 252–253).

75
The African-American employment statistics
are cited in Goodwin,
No Ordinary Time
(p. 540).

75
The Raymond Clapper column
was published in the
Pittsburgh Press,
December 15, 1943.

75
For my account of women in the workplace
during the war, I am deeply indebted to Anderson,
Wartime Women
and Erenberg and Hirsch,
The War in American Culture.

76
“lacks the glamour”
(female worker): Anderson,
Wartime Women
(p. 29).

76
Wartime day-care programs
are discussed in Goodwin,
No Ordinary Time
(pp. 416–417).

76
The Dorothy Dix column
about women wearing “tubular britches” was published in the
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin,
August 3, 1943.

76
“We're here to work …”
(Penczak):
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin,
August 3, 1943.

77
“You'd think …”
(male worker): Anderson,
Wartime Women
(p. 47).

77
The Pauline Rugh story
was widely reported in Pennsylvania newspapers in August and September 1943. The Red Smith column appeared in the
Philadelphia Record,
September 9, 1943. The Havey Boyle column appeared in the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
September 1, 1943. Unfortunately, my attempts to locate Rugh and her former players were unsuccessful.

Seven: Unfit for Military Service

78
My description of the Steagles training camp
is based on contemporaneous newspaper reports as well as player interviews. The conflict between Greasy Neale and Walt Kiesling is well documented. For example, see Dervarics, “When Steagles Walked the Earth” and Spadaro, “Remembering the ‘Steagles.'”

80
Greasy Neale's favorite profane sayings
were collected by the author in player interviews.

80
“I loved Greasy …”
(Hinkle):
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin,
February 8, 1968.

80
“It is to be doubted …”
(Daley):
New York Times,
February 16, 1969.

80
The anecdote about Walt Kiesling sabotaging Art Rooney's play
appears in Cope, “Pro Football's Gashouse Gang.”

81
“Seldom did Kiesling …”
(Tucker): Tucker,
Steelers' Victory After Forty
(p. 58).

81
“You can't get into condition …”
(Kiesling):
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
August 30, 1943.

81
“He was a tremendous …”
(Rooney): Cope,
The Game That Was
(pp. 136–137).

81
“The thing about Walt …”
(Haugsrud): Pro Football Hall of Fame, “Hall of Fame Profile: Walt Kiesling.”

81
“Greasy had a sense …”
(Kilroy): Infield, “When the Steagles Roamed the Gridiron.”

81
“Kies was a great …”
(Rooney): Cope,
The Game That Was
(p. 137).

83
The Allie Sherman biography
is based on Asinof, “Big Shrimp of Pro Football,” Sherman,
Book of Football,
and material contained in the
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin
clip files.

84
The Roy Zimmerman biography
is based on interviews with his wife, Dena Mary Zimmerman, and his sons, Donald Zimmerman and Rex Zimmerman, as well as contemporaneous newspaper accounts.

85
“Zimmerman made few …”
(Whittlesey):
Washington Post,
November 25, 1943.

85
The circumstances surrounding Zimmerman's
trade to the Eagles were reported in the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
November 9, 1943.

86
For information about the physical standards for inductees
I am indebted to Anderson,
Physical Standards in World War II.
I ascertained each player's draft status based on contemporaneous newspaper reports, later articles about the team, player interviews, and Selective Service records.

88
“He was a legitimate receiver …”
(Rooney): Longman,
If Football's a Religion, Why Don't We Have a Prayer?
(p. 64).

88
“Let's face it …”
(Sears): Longman,
If Football's a Religion, Why Don't We Have a Prayer?
(p. 64).

89
“I was doing mostly …”
(Kilroy): Leuthner,
Iron Men
(p. 144).

89
Hank Soar discussed playing football
while on active duty in Peterson,
Pigskin
(p. 140). Tony Canadeo did likewise in Whittingham,
What a Game They Played
(pp. 217–218).

91
For my description of wartime Pittsburgh,
I am indebted to Burlbaugh,
The War, the Steagles and the Card-Pitts.
For my description of Forbes Field, I am indebted to Didinger and Lyons,
The Eagles Encyclopedia.

94
Throughout the book, my game accounts
are based on contemporaneous newspaper reports and player interviews.

94
“Hotel reservations …”
(Canadeo): Barnett, “When the Packers Went to War.”

96
“The mistakes we made …”
(Neale):
Philadelphia Inquirer,
September 13, 1943.

96
“Any team that …”
(Neale):
Philadelphia Inquirer,
September 16, 1943.

96
My description of wartime Philadelphia
is based on Miller, et al.,
Philadelphia Stories.
My description of Shibe Park is based on Kuklick,
To Every Thing A Season
and Westcott,
Philadelphia's Old Ballparks.
My description of bond drives is based on Lingeman,
Don't You Know There's a War On?

99
“If all the clubs …”
(Bell):
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin,
September 10, 1943.

Eight: Birds of Steel

101
“You worked all day …”
(Hinkle): Ecenbarger, “The Steagles Hybrid Team Zany Moments in Steelers' Past.”

101
“With the pick of both …”
(Neale):
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
June 25, 1943.

102
Lewis Hershey's letter
to local draft boards was published in United States Selective Service System,
Selective Service as the Tide of War Turns
(pp. 165–166).

102
“We found that …”
(unnamed draft board official):
Philadelphia Record,
October 1, 1943.

102
The induction shortfall
is described in Goralski,
World War II Almanac, 1931–1945
(p. 283).

103
“ignoring the considered judgment”
(McNarney): Flynn,
The Draft, 1940–1973
(p. 74).

103
“What kind of …”
(Roosevelt): Flynn,
The Draft, 1940–1973
(p. 74).

104
Pete Cawthon's efforts
to cobble together the Dodgers are recounted in Lynch,
Tender Tyrant
(pp. 127–130).

104
“I'm out of shape …”
(Jones): Lynch,
Tender Tyrant
(p. 128).

105
“We simply do not …”
(Cawthon):
New York Herald Tribune,
October 21, 1943.

105
Dennis Shea's disparaging comments
about the Steagles were published in numerous papers, including the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
July 21, 1943.

106
“a serious student” and “had real possibilities”
(Neale): Holland, “Greasy Neale: Nothing To Prove, Nothing To Ask.”

108
“deeply impressed”
(Owen):
Philadelphia Inquirer,
October 4, 1943.

108
The story of how Bill Paschal
came to play for the Giants was told in a Grantland Rice column that was published on December 8, 1943 in the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

109
Greasy Neale discussed his long friendship with Steve Owen
in Neale and Meany, “Football Is My Life.”

110
“They clocked me …”
(Hinkle):
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin,
February 8, 1968.

111
“When he gets in a game …”
(Neale):
Milwaukee Journal,
December 1, 1943.

111
Hinkle explained the “41 Outside” play
in an interview with the author. The story of the misattributed 37-yard run appears in Ecenbarger, “Steagles” and Infield, “When the Steagles Roamed the Gridiron.”

111
“I didn't realize …”
(Hinkle):
The Times Herald
(Norristown, PA), undated clipping on file at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

113
My account of Allie Sherman's late-game touchdown
against the Giants is based on an interview with Ted Doyle.

114
Bucko Kilroy discussed Walt Kiesling's defensive coaching
acumen in Infield, “When the Steagles Roamed the Gridiron.”

114
“I didn't like it …”
(Graham): Ross, “The White, Night Football.”

114
“about ten years”
(Luckman):
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
July 8, 1943.

115
“30 and 40 percent weaker”
(Kiesling):
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
November 9, 1943.

115
“The caliber of play …”
(Kilroy): Didinger, “War Baby in 1943, Eagles and Steelers Were Steagles.”

115
“The 4-F boys …”
(Mara):
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
September 15, 1943.

115
The story of Allie Sherman encountering the Giants
at the North Philadelphia train station appeared in the
New York Times,
November 7, 1963.

116
My description of life at the Hotel Philadelphian
is based primarily on my interviews with Ray Graves, Tom Miller, Vic Sears, and Ernie Steele, all of whom lived there in 1943. Also helpful was Infield, “When the Steagles Roamed the Gridiron.”

116
Philadelphia's wartime housing shortage
is described in Miller, et al.,
Philadelphia Stories
(p. 134).

Nine: Chicago

120
The matchstick story
appeared in the
Chicago Tribune,
April 9, 1943. The stocking story appeared in the
Philadelphia Daily News,
August 27, 1943. My account of wartime rationing is drawn from Bentley,
Eating for Victory,
Lingeman,
Don't You Know There's a War On?,
and Goodwin,
No Ordinary Time.

122
For more about homemakers
on the home front, see Anderson,
Wartime Women,
Goodwin,
No Ordinary Time,
and Lingeman,
Don't You Know There's a War On?

122
Harriet Doyle reminisced
about her wartime responsibilities in an interview with the author.

123
“Equipment was very scarce …”
(Rooney): Robinson, “Remembering When the Eagles and Steelers Were Teammates.”

123
Al Wistert recounted his encounter with Fred Schubach
in an interview with the author.

124
“Democracy makes us …”
(Conzelman): Peterson,
Pigskin
(p. 139).

125
Attendance statistics
come from Liu and Marini,
2005 NFL Record & Fact Book.

125
“Fans had found …”
(Halas): Halas,
Halas by Halas
(p. 216).

125
“Look, this is a good line …”
(Sears):
Chicago Tribune,
October 16, 1943.

125
“Hell, I don't even …”
(Bell):
Philadelphia Record,
October 15, 1943.

126
“Their spirit …”
(Bell):
Philadelphia Record,
October 15, 1943.