Pottsville Maroons The Pottsville Maroons played in the National Football League ( NFL ) from 1925 to 1928 . The team was owned by Dr . John Streigel and played at Minersville Park , now the site of King ' s Village shopping plaza . The team became the Boston Bulldogs in 1929 ( not related to the Boston Bulldogs of the American Football League three years earlier ) . The NFL considers the Bulldogs and the Maroons to be the same team . The Maroons , from 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 the next two seasons . In 1929 , the team then moved to Boston , Massachusetts , and became the Bulldogs , but folded after the season . The 1928 roster included three future Pro Football Hall of Fame members - Johnny " Blood " McNally , Walt Kiesling , and coach Wilbur " Pete " Henry - but posted the worst record in franchise history . Writer John O ' Hara , who would go on to become a world - famous novelist with " Appointment in Samarra " , covered the team for the local newspaper . History . Origins . The Maroons were originally founded in the early 1920s , as the Pottsville Eleven , around the members of the Yorkville Hose Company . In 1922 the team had attracted the sponsorship of area businessmen Harold Kingsbury , Irvin Heinz and Frank Schoeneman . These men upgraded the club by luring talented pro players such as Carl Beck , Benny Boynton and Stan Cofall . However the team still maintained a strong local presence on the field by employing many local residents . This led to success on the field and resulted in a growing fan base . The team originally played in the Anthracite League , a football league made up of teams based in Pennsylvania coal mining towns . By the end of the 1923 season the team was on the brink of capturing the Anthracite League title . Maroons nickname . In 1924 the Pottsville Eleven was purchased for $ 1 , 500 by Dr . John G . " Doc " Striegel , a local surgeon . 1924 was the same year the team also adopted the Maroons name . As legend has it , the team placed an order for new football jerseys with Joe Zacko , a local sporting goods supplier . Zacko was told that the color of the jerseys was not important . Knowing that the color of the jerseys was not an issue , Zacko sent the team twenty - five maroon colored jerseys and soon the team was known as the Maroons . 1924 Anthracite League champs . During the 1924 Anthracite League season , the Maroons added three members of the NFL ' s 1923 Canton Bulldogs championship team to their roster . These players were Larry Conover , Harry Robb and future Hall of Fame inductee Wilbur " Pete " Henry . NFL President Joseph Carr was not pleased to see stars like Henry deserting the league to play for an independent coal region team , but there wasn ' t much he could do about it unless Pottsville joined the league . A suit filed by Henry ' s former NFL team was thrown out on a technicality by a Pennsylvania judge . The Maroons then posted a 6 - 0 - 1 record against Anthracite League teams and clinched the league title that November with a victory over Coaldale . Immediately after winning the league title , the Maroons issued challenges to both the NFL champion Cleveland Bulldogs and the Frankford Yellow Jackets , who claimed the Eastern professional championship . When neither team accepted , Striegel scheduled a game with the NFL ' s Rochester Jeffersons - - arguably the " worst " team in the NFL , since they had not won a game against an NFL opponent since 1921 . These two teams met in a season finale on the last Sunday of November . In what could be seen as an upset , Rochester defeated Pottsville 10 - 7 , giving the Maroons their only loss of the season . However Pottsville ended its 1924 season with an overall record of 12 - 1 - 1 , scoring 288 points and allowing only 17 while capturing the Anthracite League title . The NFL . In August 1925 the Maroons were granted a National Football League franchise . The Maroons proved to be a popular NFL attraction . The Maroons were a good team and also located close to Philadelphia , home of the Yellow Jackets . This allowed visiting teams to play Saturday games against the Yellow Jackets and then play the next day against the Maroons , who ignored Pennsylvania ' s blue law s prohibiting Sunday sporting events . This led to twice the gate receipts for visiting teams . Signing players . Since many Maroons players moved back to their NFL teams in 1925 , the Maroons recruited several talented players to replace them . These included former Army great Walter French and Jack Ernst , a quarterback from Lafayette College . Another Army recruit , end Eddie Doyle , was a fine player who during World War II would sadly become the first American killed in the landings in North Africa . Topping this collection of stars was Charlie Berry , possibly the best athlete on the team . After a spectacular athletic career at Lafayette College , he signed both pro baseball and pro football contracts . All of that talent cost money . Players were paid by the game . Former player Russ Hathaway later pointed out that he was receiving $ 100 a game , while the local miners didn ' t make that in a month . Dr . Striegel ' s payroll in 1925 exploded . He was gambling that the Maroons ' share for road games would make up for the meager receipts even a sell - out at little Minersville Park would bring . 1925 season . During this time the Maroons insisted that their players live in the Pottsville area . During the 1920s most players had to travel great distances from their homes and only joined their teams on game day . By having the players live in Pottsville , coach and former Colgate University assistant Dick Rauch instituted regular practices for his players . This helped the Maroons to a 28 - 0 win over the Buffalo Bisons in their first NFL game . When not practicing , the Maroons spent their days hanging around the fire house , drinking Yuengling , playing cards and tossing footballs in the street . The Maroons then jumped out to a 9 - 1 - 1 record . However some believe that having visiting teams play Frankford the day before the Maroons benefited the team . Pottsville was 5 - 1 - 0 in their six games against teams that played the Yellow Jackets the previous day . On the first snap of the game against the Chicago Bears , the Pottsville players knocked football legend Red Grange out cold . Grange soon recovered from the hit , only to be knocked out again . Immediately Grange said " The hell with ( the $ 500 owed to him for the one game ) , it ain ' t worth it . " He then proceeded to walk off the field . The team ' s only loss in 1925 came from a 20 - 0 upset to the Yellow Jackets . However in the second meeting of the two teams , the Maroons beat Frankford 49 - 0 . At this time Pottsville and the Chicago Cardinals ( now the Arizona Cardinals ) were the two top teams in the league . This led to a " championship game " between the two teams that November near the end of the season . The game was held at Chicago ' s Comiskey Park , under snowy conditions . The Maroons won the game 21 - 7 and captured the 1925 NFL championship . However the season still wasn ' t officially over , since the early NFL titles were given to the team with the best regular - season record , and the team geared up to play the Providence Steam Roller for the season finale . More importantly the Maroons were looking at a huge payoff by playing in a possible exhibition game against an all - star team from the Notre Dame , which was viewed as the best amateur team in the nation and featured the College ' s famed Four Horsemen . 1925 NFL Championship controversy . Controversy surrounds who actually won the 1925 NFL Championship . Officially , the 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 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 Notre Dame All - Stars , which included the famed " Four Horsemen " , in Philadelphia ( winning 9 - 7 ) . The game was scheduled to take place in Shibe Park instead of Pottsville ' s Minersville Park because of the expected high turnout and the fact that Minersville Park was a high school stadium . Professional football was still struggling to carve out a niche in a sport that was only previously played collegiately , lacking credibility with fans who viewed the level of play as inferior . This was a major victory on the path to legitimizing the NFL and gaining much needed exposure for the fledgling league . However , on the same day the Frankford Yellow Jackets were scheduled to play a game in the same city . Frankford protested , citing an NFL bylaw that the game ' s venue violated their protected territory rights , by playing the game in Philadelphia . Despite warnings from the NFL and the Yellow Jackets , Striegel went ahead and booked the game against the All - Stars . He did this partly because he didn ' t think the league ' s ruling would survive a legal challenge and partly because he had lost money on the team and couldn ' t resist the huge paycheck that came with the Notre Dame game . 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 . However at halftime of the Notre Dame game , Striegel was handed a telegram from Carr fining the Maroons $ 500 and suspending the team from the league , stripping them of the title they had just won . Spurred on by the news , the Maroons played on . Down a point with less than a minute to go , Charlie Berry kicked a 30 - yard field goal to upset college ’ s best team 9 - 7 . The Maroons ' victory over the Irish ensured that the NFL now had the credibility to exist on an equal standing with college football . However for all this victory did for the league , the Maroons were repaid by having their NFL title team stripped . The Maroons were also thrown out of the league . It should be noted , that the then Chicago Cardinals did not attempt to publicly take credit for the title until 1933 , when it was acquired by the Charles Bidwill whose descendants still own the modern day franchise ( since relocated to St . Louis and now Arizona ) . There are some who believe that a " curse " was place on the Cardinals as a result of the debacle , and that in an era where the NFL has implemented measures to ensure competitive parity , the curse is the reason for the failure of the Cardinals to win as many championships as would be expected with a team of such longevity ( the Cardinals only other championship came in 1947 ) . The team has since been immortalized in the town of Pottsville , where there are bars and establishments bearing the team ' s name and an inspirational picture of the 1925 " World Champion " team displayed in the high school football team ' s locker room . In 2003 , the NFL briefly decided to address via a vote during an owners meeting on whether the league should re - 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 . Return to the NFL . The NFL reinstated the Maroons the very next season . The league feared that the Maroons would jump to the threatening American Football League . In 1926 Red Grange and his manager C . C . Pyle wanted an NFL franchise in New York City . However , that move would have infringed on the territorial rights of the New York Giants . Pyle and Grange were turned down , so they decided to start their own league , the AFL . To keep independent teams from joining Grange ' s league , the NFL hastily expanded to 22 franchises . The Maroons were one of the teams added , or in this case reinstated . That year the Maroons were once again in the thick of title contention until late in the season . Pottsville ’ s shutout victories over the Buffalo Rangers and Akron Indians led to the team finishing with a 10 - 2 - 1 record and third place in the final standings . 1926 also saw the signing of George Kenneally , a rookie out of St . Bonaventure University , who earned all - pro status and was named team captain in just his second season , and would later become part owner of the club . However , towards the end of the season , the Maroons management struggled to meet its financial obligations , and there were published reports of a strike among the team ' s players . The 1927 season saw a decline in the team ' s on - field performance . Pottsville lost several of its stars , and others were growing older , and finished the season with a disappointing 5 - 8 - 0 record . Doc Striegel relinquished operational control of the team for the 1928 season by " loaning " it to a group of three players : Herb Stein , Pete Henry and Duke Osborn . Henry took over the coaching reigns but the downward spiral continued . The Maroons ended what turned out to be their final season in Pottsville with a dismal 2 - 8 - 0 record . At the end of the season the players were given a small football made of anthracite coal , a memento of the last season played in Pottsville . Boston Bulldogs . Striegel finally sold the club during the off season to a New England based partnership that included Maroons ' standout George Kenneally . The new owners relocated the franchise to Boston prior to the 1929 season , where it was renamed the Bulldogs . Six veteran Maroons players made the move with the team . Dick Rauch also returned to the fold , resuming his position as head coach . The 1929 season ' s brightest moment came in late October when the team returned to Pottsville for a two game swan song , to defeat the Buffalo Bison and Orange Tornadoes . Unfortunately the franchise relocation and name change had done little to improve the club ' s on - field record . The team finally folded that year , ending the franchise ’ s final season with a 4 - 4 - 0 record . Because the Washington Redskins began in 1932 as the Boston Braves , some Pottsville backers , with help from a few writers , have suggested that the Redskins descended from the Maroons by way of the Boston Bulldogs . The 1932 Boston franchise , however , had no relationship to the 1929 Bulldogs . Today . In 1967 , the NFL created a special committee to investigate the 1925 controversy . The committee brought the Maroon ’ s claim to a team owners meeting that year , where the owners voted 12 - 2 in favor of keeping the championship with the Cardinals . That same year , the surviving members of the Maroons carved their own championship trophy out of coal and presented it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame , where it can be seen today . Today the people of Pottsville still embrace to the legacy of the Maroons . The town contains the headquarters of the Pottsville Maroons Memorial Committee , whose job it is to keep alive the spirit of Pottsville ' s only big - league sports franchise . In Pottsville , there was a major push led by Mayor John D . W . Reiley to restore the Maroons 1925 title . The owner of a local embroidery shop still makes Maroons T - shirts and distributes them to residents and fans . In 2003 Pennsylvania Gov . Ed Rendell got involved in the Pottsville - NFL debate by lobbying NFL owners and asking city and borough councils across the state to lobby the league to restore the Maroons ' title . Despite the long - time backing of Bears founder George Halas , Steelers founder Art Rooney and , more recently , Steelers chairman Dan Rooney , Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie , the Pennsylvania General Assembly , and former commissioner Paul Tagliabue , the NFL ’ s other owners , led , not surprisingly , by the Cardinals , still continue to vote it down ( 30 - 2 ) . Also in 2003 , U . S . President George W . Bush chimed in on the subject . According to an article in " ESPN the Magazine " , Bush sent a handwritten note to ESPN calling the Maroons ' case " illuminating . " After a 2003 vote in favor of keeping the 1925 title with the Cardinals , Rendell wrote an angry letter to Tagliabue calling the NFL owners a group of “ cowardly barons . ” Rendell berated the National Football League and declared he would have no more communication with league officials until they grant the Pottsville Maroons the 1925 title . The governor ended the letter saying , “ I am closing with the wish that every NFL franchise except for the Eagles and the Steelers lose large quantities of money . ” In 2006 David Fleming authored the book " Breaker Boys : The NFL ’ s Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship " In 2008 , to determine which was the better team in 1925 , USA Today statistician Jeff Sagarin analyzed the two teams ' statistics , including considerations for strength of schedule . The results showed the Maroons as the better team to the second - place Cardinals . Season - by - season . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > The Maroons had the best record toward the championship but were suspended from the league after playing a game in Philadelphia against a team of Notre Dame All - Stars . ( see above )