art_nflfilmsmissesblocks

    It was nice to finally see the finished product of the NFL Films' documentary on the
Pottsville Maroons.
     Although thrilled they came up to shoot it, and with the notoriety generated, everyone
was disappointed the story was just under 10 minutes, when they shot hours of footage.
Perhaps a bigger letdown was some of the perceptions and insinuations that almost domin-
ated the otherwise well-done piece.
     Some of the statements tended to demean the "depressed" Coal Region, certainly still in
its heyday in the 1920s. Also, the Maroons were definitely not all "coal miners and farmers,"
but rather the best players from the best football schools of the time, all players from Penn
State, Lafayette, Notre Dame, etc. There were only a few area players, but even local
Barney Wentz played in the prestigious Rose Bowl in 1920.
     By far the hardest pill to swallow was Mr. Horrigan's (from the Hall of Fame) dialog
intimating that Dr. Striegal (Maroons owner) set up the game with the Four Horsemen of
Notre Dame, and was warned by the NFL three times not to play the game.
     The Maroons and their management did not instigate the game, with many reports that
the Four Horsemen had challenged any pro team, saying "none can beat us," with promoters
then setting the game up. Also, Maroons archives show that Dr. Striegal informed the league
of the game by phone, and since Commisioner Joe Carr was sick, an underling said "go ahead
and play the game," later denying the conversation.
     Regardless, Dr. Striegal was not warned (even once), and Horrigan failed to mention that
Carr then allowed the Chicago Cardinals to play two "extra" games (one with ineligible high
school players) to eclipse Pottsville's record. Carr's diary, however, does reflect that he
wrote in 1926 that "Pottsville were the true Champions of '25," and that "all is forgiven."
     Carr's family wanted to turn this over to the Maroons committee, but it was misplaced
at the Hall of Fame. After all, this was a Notre Dame team that was finished college, and it
was only an exhibition game. No harm, no foul. Would the Yellowjacets have been allowed
to play them?
     Other things don't add up. For instance, in those days the NFL was a fledgling league, with
the college teams thought to be better. Without a doubt, the Maroons clearly had the
dominant football team that year with a still NFL record eight consecutive shutouts (one over
the hopeful champion Yellowjacets), then won the "championship game" 21-7 against the
Cardinals.
     One would think that the league office would want to further publicize and capitalize on
the Maroons beating the hallowed Four Horsemen and Seven Mules, to show how good the
NFL was. Perhaps someday the diary of Joe Carr will surface to further support all the
facts that could return the NFL championship here, albeit if jointly shared.
     Nick Barbetta had a great analogy during his taping with NFL Films. He said, "like they
just returned Jim Thorpe's medals 75 years later, the NFL could do the same," which coin-
cedentally is the same time period this year. Not to mention the good will and positive
public relations the NFL would get.
     This, and other facts to support the Maroons' side of the story, unfortunately ended up
on the cutting room floor. Perhaps that's the result of our society being fixated on seeing
highlights, but not the whole story, therefore sometimes missing the the most important
part of the plot.