Historia Infinitus

It was to be the Steagles’ last game of the regular season; it was against the Green Bay Packers. 5 December 1943. “The lines had started forming outside the ticket windows at nine o’clock that morning, two-and-a-half hours before they opened and five hours before kickoff. It was the first NFL game ever played in Philadelphia for which the demand for tickets exceeded the supply.” (Algeo p.199)

First Quarter
The Steagles fumbled the ball early in the game. Green Bay recovered the ball and then Tony Canadeo scored for the Packers. John Hinkle made up for his fumble by scoring a touchdown of his own tying the game.

Green Bay pulled ahead again on another Canadeo touchdown. The Steagles, not wanting to lose their last game in front of a huge hometown crowd pushed back. Zimmerman made a long pass to Tony Bova that was nearly intercepted. Bova gained possession of the ball and tied the score again.

Second Quarter
While the first quarter was very active with a total of four touchdowns, the second quarter only saw Don Hutson of Green Bay kicking a 25 yard field goal. At half-time the score was 17-14 in favor of the Packers.

Third Quarter
“…Joe Laws intercepted a Zimmerman pass to set up a four-yard scamper by Irv Comp: Green bay 24, Phil-Pitt 14. On the last play of the third quarter, Zimmerman was intercepted again, leading to a 12-yard touchdown pass from Comp to Hutson: Green Bay 31, Phil-Pitt 14. (Algeo p.201)

Fourth Quarter
Zimmerman, who was exhausted at this point, was pulled from the game and Allie Sherman was put in as quarterback. After a long drive Sherman passed to Tony Bova who scored.

After that touchdown Zimmerman returned to the game and led another drive with Ernie Steele scoring at the end. The score was now 31-28 in favor of Green Bay.

The Steagles defended well against the Packer’s next drive and Green Bay was forced to punt. However when Jack Hinkle got the ball he was quickly tackled by five Green Bay players and he fumbled. Green Bay recovered the ball and then scored one last touchdown.

The final score was 38 to 28 in favor of Green Bay. Not only had they lost the game, but they ended up coming in third place in their division with the Redskins and Giants ahead of them. However, it was the first winning season in the history of the Steelers and only the second for the Eagles.

“Their defense ended the season ranked second to the Bears in fewest total yards allowed per game (230.1) and first against the rush, ceding opponents just 79.3 yards per game on the ground. On offense they led the league in rushing yards per game (173), ending the Bears’ four-season hold on that title.” (Algeo p.202)

Works Cited
1) Matthew Algeo, Last Team Standing: How the Steelers and the Eagles “The Steagles” Saved Pro Football During World War II (copyright 2006 by Matthew Algeo, Da Capo Press) ISBN#: 0-306-81472-3
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steagles (accessed 29 November 2009)