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Pottsville Maroons

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The Pottsville Maroons played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. The team was owned by Dr. J.G. Streigel and played at Minersville Park, now the site of King's Village shopping plaza. The team became the Boston Bulldogs in 1929. The NFL considers the Bulldogs and the Maroons to be the same team.

The Maroons of Pottsville, Pennsylvania were one of the best teams in the league in 1925 and 1926, recording regular season records of 10-2 and 10-2-1, respectively. However, the team suffered losing records during their next two seasons. In 1929, the team then moved to Boston, Massachusetts and became the Bulldogs, but folded after the season.

1925 NFL Championship controversy

Controversy surrounds who actually won the 1925 NFL Championship. Officially, the Chicago Cardinals are listed as the 1925 NFL champions because they finished with the best record; however, many Pottsville fans at the time claimed that the Maroons were the legitimate champions. The Maroons and the Cardinals were the top contenders for the title, with Pottsville winning a late-season meeting between them, 21-7. But the Maroons scheduled a game against a team of University of Notre Dame All-Stars in Philadelphia (and winning 9-7) on the same day that the Frankford Yellow Jackets were scheduled to play a game in the same city. Frankford protested, saying that it was violating their protected territory rights.

Although NFL president Joe Carr warned the Maroons in writing that they faced suspension if they played in Philadelphia, the Maroons claimed that Carr approved the game during a telephone call, and played anyway. In response, Carr fined the club, suspended it from all league rights and privileges (including the right to play for the NFL championship), and returned its franchise to the league.

In 2003 the NFL decided to again examine the case regarding the 1925 championship. But in October the NFL voted 30-2 not to reopen the case. Thus the Cardinals are still listed as the 1925 NFL champions. [1]

Pro Football Hall of Famers

Season-by-season

Year W L T Finish Coach
Pottsville Maroons 1925 10 2 0 2nd Dick Rauch
1926 10 2 1 3rd Dick Rauch
1927 5 8 0 8th Dick Rauch
1928 2 8 0 8th Pete Henry
Boston Bulldogs 1929 4 4 0 4th Dick Rauch

Notes and references