Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUPERBOWL

In 1944, the NFL was understandably short of players, so the commissioner, Elmer Layden, asked Steeler owner Art Rooney and the then Chicago Cardinal owner, Charles Bidwell, if they would agree to merge the two teams for a year. Both agreed. Neither team was very good, even at full strength so unfortunately, instead of getting the best of two teams, there were only terrible players left. In fact the Cardinals were in the midst of a 29-game losing streak.

Naturally, this composite team went 0-10, being outscored by an average of three touchdowns per game. They threw 41 interceptions and set a league mark for the worst punting that still stands: only 32.7 yards per punt. It didn't help that the two teams had hated each other's guts. The coach, Walt Kiesling, was no better. Many years later, he CUT a young quarterback named John Unitas.

Their lone ace, Johnny Grigas, threw away his leather helmet and skipped town before the last game ended, a 49-7 rout by the Bears, leaving his roommate a note: "This is the end."

The team nickname for the season: THE CAR-PITTS. Think about that this Sunday.

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