Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship

In 1925, thePottsville Maroons, a semi-pro football team from the heart of Pennsylvaniacoal country, joined the still young National Football League. Comprised mainlyof hardscrabble miners (including several future Hall of Famers) and led byflamboyant player-coach Dick Rauch, the Maroons did the unthinkable anddominated the NFL. In the finalgame of that first season, the team traveled to Chicago to face the ChicagoCardinals, which had the best record in the league. Viewed by many as thechampionship game for 1925, the Maroons overcame a Windy City snowstorm to defeatthe Cardinals 21-7. But fanswanted more. As news of their success spread throughout the country, a movementbegan to have the Maroons face a team of All-Stars from the University of NotreDame that featured the Four Horsemen. On a neutral field in Philadelphia, theMaroons defeated the Horsemen and company 9-7. The shoe that Charlie Berry usedto kick the winning field goal was bronzed for eternity. And the Maroonsmistakenly thought the NFL championship awaited them. In February1926, the NFL owners, citing league violations against the Maroons for theirexhibition game, awarded the title to the Chicago Cardinals. Initially theyrefused it. For 80 years, Pottsville has fought to have its championshiprestored, and in Marooned their remarkable story is told at last.

Fleming recounts the story of how, in 1926, the Pottsville Maroons, a semi-pro football team from the heart of Pennsylvania coal country, was stripped of its championship title. For 80 years, Pottsville fans have fought to have the championship restored.

In 1925, the Pottsville Maroons, a semipro football team from the heart of Pennsylvania coal country, joined the young National Football League. These hardscrabble miners, led by flamboyant player-coach Dick Rauch, did the unthinkable and dominated the NFL. Near the end of their first season, the Maroons faced the first-place Chicago Cardinals in what many viewed as the championship game. They overcome a Windy City snowstorm to win 21-7 and ended the season with the best record in the league. When the public demanded it, they also played an exhibition game against an all-star team from Notre Dame, which only a year earlier had won the college championship behind its legendary Four Horsemen. The Maroons defeated the Irish 9-7, and the shoe that Charlie Berry used to kick the winning field goal was bronzed for eternity. By the following spring, however, the NFL championship was history. In February 1926, the league's owners, citing rules violations in the Notre Dame game, awarded the title to the Chicago Cardinals, though the team initially refuesed it. For 80 years, Pottsville fans have fought to have their championship restored. Breaker Boys tells the team's remarkable story.