1934 NFL Championship Game

Lore & Background

A freezing rain the night before the game froze the Polo Grounds field. After Giants end Ray Flaherty remarked to head coach Steve Owen that sneakers would provide better footing on the frozen playing surface, Owen sent his friend Abe Cohen, a tailor who assisted on the Giants sideline, to Manhattan College to get some sneakers. The Bears led 10–3 at the half when the Giants switched to the basketball sneakers. 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. 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. The Giants 27 fourth quarter points in a championship game set an NFL record that still stands today.

In Their Own Story

The air at the Polo Grounds was biting cold, carrying the scent of roasting chestnuts and damp wool from thousands of bundled fans. As the clock ticked down on the fourth quarter, the roar of the crowd seemed to shake the very foundations of the stadium. Red Grange, eyes fixed on the end zone, broke through a line of Bears defenders who had been impenetrable all season. He didn't just run; he flew, dodging tackles with a grace that made the impossible look routine. When he crossed the goal line for the clinching score, the stadium erupted in a chaotic symphony of joy that echoed across Manhattan, cementing a moment where New York finally claimed its football throne.

Reader's Guide

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. The projected attendance of 55,000 was not reached, 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. 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.

Did You Know?

• The game is popularly remembered as 'The Sneakers Game'.
• The Giants scored 27 points in the fourth quarter, an NFL record for a championship game that still stands today.
• Abe Cohen, a tailor who assisted on the Giants sideline, fetched the sneakers from Manhattan College.
• Bronko Nagurski of the Bears later said of the Giants' footwear switch: 'they just out-smarted us.'
• 22 years later, in the 1956 NFL Championship Game, the Giants employed the same sneaker tactic on a frozen field and won 47-7.