1934: Bears Edge Lions in Thanksgiving Showdown

A Thanksgiving tradition began on November 29, 1934 when the Detroit Lions hosted the Chicago Bears at the University of Detroit’s Titan Stadium. The Lions, transplanted from Portsmouth, Ohio, where they played as the Spartans from 1930-33, were 10-1 entering the contest, having run off a record seven straight shutouts to start the season. They had lost to Green Bay for the first time the previous Sunday, by a score of 3-0, and had given up a total of 30 points in all.

Star tailback Dutch Clark had come out of a year’s retirement to lead a talented backfield for Head Coach George “Potsy” Clark’s club that included FB Ace Gutowsky, wingback Ernie Caddel, and tailback Glenn Presnell. End Buster Mitchell and guard Ox Emerson were All-Pro-calibre players.

The Bears were the defending NFL champions and came into the contest undefeated at 11-0. Under the direction of George Halas, the owner and head coach, Chicago typically dominated opponents and had only allowed two teams to score in double figures all season.

There was a sellout crowd of 25,000 fans in attendance for the Western Division showdown, and the game was broadcast nationally on radio (new Lions owner George Richards was a radio executive). Detroit got the first break of the day, with a defensive play that set up the first touchdown. With the Bears at their own 36, Mitchell intercepted a deflected pass by QB Carl Brumbaugh and returned it to the Chicago four yard line. Gutowsky ran for a touchdown from there and Clark drop-kicked the extra point.

The Bears tied the game thanks to HB Gene Ronzani scoring on a 14-yard pass into the end zone from QB Keith Molesworth early in the second quarter, with Jack Manders (pictured at top) adding the extra point on a placekick. The play was set up on a long completion by the same combination of Molesworth to Ronzani that put Chicago in scoring position.


The Lions regained the lead when Presnell kicked a 42-yard field goal. Gutowsky (pictured at left) powered over again for another touchdown shortly thereafter, capping a drive that began at the Detroit 35, but Clark’s extra point attempt was blocked. The Lions were up by 16-7 at the half. In the third quarter, Manders kicked field goals of 21 and 42 yards, cutting Detroit’s lead to 16-13.

The key play of the game occurred in the fourth quarter when G Joe Zeller intercepted a Gutowsky pass at his own 46 and returned it to the Detroit four yard line, where Gutowsky himself finally pulled him down. Two plunges into the line gained two yards, but then FB Bronko Nagurski, faking another run, instead reared up and floated a pass to end Bill Hewitt in the end zone for what proved to be the winning touchdown. Nagurski’s PAT attempt was blocked.

The Lions drove from their own 20 to the Chicago 14 yard line but gave up the ball on downs with less than a minute to play, clinching the 19-16 win for the Bears.

Detroit outrushed the Bears with 201 yards to 116 and led in first downs, 14 to 6, but Chicago’s passing attack and the kicking of Manders made the difference.

The win clinched the Western Division title for the Bears, and they emphasized the point by beating the Lions again in the season finale the following week in Chicago. Thus, they ended the season with a perfect 13-0 record, but were upset by the Giants in the NFL Championship game. Detroit finished second at 10-3.

Bill Hewitt’s game-winning touchdown reception was one of a league-leading five TD catches, out of a total of 11 receptions (Hewitt pictured below, #56 without helmet).

Jack Manders led the NFL with 10 field goals (by comparison, the five runners-up, which included Glenn Presnell and Dutch Clark, had four apiece), 28 extra points, and 76 points (Clark was the runner-up in both categories with 13 PATs and 73 points), showing why he earned the nickname “Automatic Jack”.

The Thanksgiving Day game was considered a success and, except for a brief hiatus during World War II, the Lions have continued to host a game every Thanksgiving.

1934: Eagles Roll Up 64-0 Win Over Cincinnati Reds

Two teams that had entered the NFL in 1933, the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Reds, met on November 6, 1934 on a muddy field at Philadelphia’s Temple Stadium. Neither club had been very successful thus far. The Eagles, coached by Lud Wray, had gone 3-5-1 in their inaugural season and carried a 1-5 record into the game against the Reds. Moreover, they had been shut out in each of their last three contests.

The situation was even worse with Cincinnati, which debuted at 3-6-1 in 1933 and was 0-7 thus far in ’34. Led by player/coach Algy Clark, they had scored a grand total of 10 points in the seven games. The team was on financially shaky ground and on the brink of being disbanded.

There were approximately 2000 fans present for one of only two Eagles home games played at Temple Stadium (they typically played at the Baker Bowl). It didn’t take long for the tone of the contest to be set. On the fifth play, back Ed Storm ran 36 yards for a touchdown. By the end of the first quarter, the Eagles had a 26-0 lead on their way to a 64-0 shellacking of the Reds.

Star HB Swede Hanson (pictured above), an outstanding open-field runner who was provided with plenty of opportunities to show off his talent, scored three touchdowns (two rushing, one on an interception return) and gained 190 yards rushing on 18 carries. End Joe Carter also scored three TDs, all on pass receptions. Hanson, Carter, and tailback Ed Matesic each had scoring plays of over 40 yards. The Eagles were effective both running the ball and passing - of their ten touchdowns, four came on runs, five on passes, and one on an interception.

While the records are sketchy (Hanson’s rushing total may include pass receptions or kick returns, as there are discrepancies in some accounts), Philadelphia did set a league record for most points by the winner of a shutout in which both teams were NFL members (the Rochester Jeffersons defeated a non-league-affiliated Fort Porter team 66-0 in 1920). No Eagles team since has run up as many points in a game, shutout or otherwise.

The disastrous defeat marked the end for the Cincinnati franchise, which promptly folded. It was replaced by a team called the St. Louis Gunners that completed the season – and won its first game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-0. Six players from the Reds played for the Gunners, a club made up of local talent and castoffs from other NFL teams. St. Louis went 1-2; the combined Reds/Gunners record was 1-10 for a last-place finish in the Western Division. The Gunners did not return for the 1935 season.

Oddly enough, Cincinnati’s player/coach Clark joined the Eagles (as a player only) for the remainder of the season. Philadelphia returned to earth the following week, losing to Brooklyn by a 10-7 score, although they won their last two games and were 4-7 for the year, tying with the Dodgers for third in the Eastern Division. They scored a total of 63 points in their other ten contests, but all four of their wins were shutouts.

The big game against Cincinnati helped Swede Hanson put together his best of eight seasons in the NFL (five with the Eagles). He ranked second in rushing (805 yards) on a league-leading 146 carries (tied with Detroit’s Ace Gutowsky) and his 5.5 yards per attempt ranked fourth. His eight touchdowns (7 rushing, one on the INT return) put Hanson in a tie for second with Dutch Clark of the Lions (one behind leader Beattie Feathers of the Bears). The 190-yard (or so) rushing performance was one of three that he had in 1934 – the first three in franchise history – and Hanson was a 2nd-team All-NFL selection by the league and the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Joe Carter also had a notable season, co-leading the NFL in pass receiving with 16 catches (along with Red Badgro of the Giants). His 238 receiving yards ranked second, as did his four receiving touchdowns.