Pottsville and Arizona
1925 - current day
It seems sports and curses go hand in hand. Chicago had the Curse of the Billy Goat. Boston had the curse of the Bambino. Even the Madden NFL video games had the curse of its cover. However, a small coal region city has its own curse, has been going strong for just under a century. In Pottsville and in the state of Arizona, it is known as the Curse of the Maroons.
The city of Pottsville has been known for many things: coal barons, authors, a checkered past, and obviously beer. However, the small coal region city was also home to a dominant football team that rocked an infantile NFL a century ago.
Anthracite football had a reputation for the hard play on the field. From 1920-1924, The Pottsville Eleven, later know as the Pottsville Maroons, dominated local independent football.
Dr. John Striegel purchased the team in 1924 and had larger goals than just dominating local coal-cracker competition. His sights were set on much larger aspirations. He envisioned his team becoming dominant in an upstart league known as the National Football League.
Striegel had visions of competing with major metropolitan city team like the New York Giants, Chicago Bears and Cardinals, and even a fan-owned team known as the Green Bay Packers. Beating these teams with his collection of players would surely put Pottsville on the map as a NFL powerhouse.
Was Striegel successful at accomplishing his goals? Well, this has been a controversial topic for close to one-hundred years not just in the Anthracite-region of Northeastern Pennsylvania, but also within the National Football League headquarters.
December 6, 1925. A collection of eleven men clad in Maroon jerseys invaded the windy city of Chicago with one goal in mind: beat the Chicago Cardinals and win the 1925 NFL Championship. With this win, the underdog Pottsville Maroons would lay claim and virtually guarantee the 1925 NFL championship for the small coal-region city. Battling not just the opposing Cardinals, but also blustery, snowy conditions of frozen Comiskey Park, the Maroons imparted their will over the home team. Shocking to all outside the Anthracite Region, the scoreboard read Pottsville 21 - Cardinals 7 as the final whistle blew. This victory assured the Maroons of the highest winning percentage in the NFL for the 1925 season. Thus giving Pottsville the 1925 championship.
Controversy soon followed, even before the beloved Maroons could disembark the train for their victory celebration with the residents of Pottsville. Pottsville’s owner, Dr. John Striegel, battled the strain of financial woes throughout the season.
Earlier in the season the Frankford Yellow Jackets, a NFL team calling the outskirts of Philadelphia home, had arranged an exhibition game versus a collection of former Notre Dame players, including the infamous Four Horseman. This deal guaranteed to be a huge draw at the gates and help the team financially. The Frankford Football Club originally arranged the game to be played in which the best NFL team in the Northeast would take on the Irish. At that time iy seemed a certainty Frankford would host the game. It had asserted a dominance over the NFL.
However, the coal region collection of players wearing Maroon jerseys shocked the Philadelphia-based team and earned the right to play the Fighting Irish team. Pottsville split the season series with Frankford and had the best winning percentage after its upset of the Cardinals.
In an effort to relieve the financial strains, Striegel had arranged for an exhibition against the vaunted Four Horsemen of Notre Dame. The game was set to be played in Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Frankford immediately attempted to put the nix to the game claiming Pottsville would infringe upon their territorial rights. Hard to believe today, but it was incredibly important during the birth of the NFL to survive.
Sure enough the complaint reached Commissioner Joseph Carr. He became involved immediately. Streigel and Carr went back and forth. Streigel saying his team earned the right to play Notre Dame in a larger stadium and take the gate. Carr saying if the Pottsville owner had his team play the game in Frankford’s territory, they would be forced to vacate the title and be suspended. Ultimately, Stręgiel needed the money from the game for his Pottsville team to survive. The team had struggled financially all season, and this was his chance to be back in the black.
The Maroons played the Fighting Irish in Shibe Park in Frankford's territory. Pottsville won an instant classic against the Irish, that is if you are from the Coal Region, 9-7 in front of a disappointing10,000 fans. Charlie Berry kicked a last minute field goal to seal the upset win. There was such jubilation after the win, Berry’s cleat was bronzed to immortalize the winning kick.
Pottsville was jubilant in celebration! Joseph Carr seethed with contempt. Pottsville was immediately ordered to relinquish their championship claim. Chicago, knowing this, slapped together two opponents from disbanded teams and trounced them handily. In such a rush, Chicago played teams even made up with local high school players just to play the game. The reasons - the team in the NFL with the highest winning percentage would be declared champion. With these two games, Chicago overtook Pottsville.
Initially Chicago refused to stake a claim to the 1925 championship. However over time and under new ownership by the Bidwell family, who still owns the team to this day, the Chicago Cardinals claimed the title as 1925 NFL champions in 1933.
Legend has it citizens of Pottsville were beside themselves by Chicago’s claim. Their beloved Maroons had trounced the Cardinals on their own field. To make matters worse, Chicago threw together two inferior opponents just to bolster their winning percentage. Surely, the NFL would not let this happen.
Sadly, the NFL did.
It is said the livid Pottsville citizens bestowed upon the Cardinals a curse. They would never win a championship again until Pottsville rightfully was given back their 1925 NFL Championship. The Cardinals eventually left Chicago and moved to St. Louis and moved again to their current home - Phoenix, Arizona..
Pottsville petitioned the NFL on two occurrences to reinstate their 1925 championship. In 1962 the NFL voted down the petition 12-2. Again in 2003 the petition surfaced again, and again it was shot down., with only two supporters, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
What Impact Has the Curse Had?
The Cardinals have not been known to be an extremely successful franchise. In fact, to be frank, they have struggled mightily.
The Cardinals have by far the most losses in NFL history. The 3rd worst winning percentage in league history. And a playoff run that borders on pathetic and non-existant. However, the curse has not been perfect. The Cardinals won one championship in 1947. The ironic part, the Cardinals beat none other than the Eagles 28-21, a Philadelphia based team just as Frankford was.
Not long ago during the 2008 season, the Cardinals finally earned the opportunity to break the plaguing curse once and for all. The team entered Super Bowl XLIII as an underdog, yet they held the lead with just under one minute left in the game As victory seemed certain, the curse of the Maroons made its presence known once again. An acrobatic, fingertip Santonio Holmes touchdown catch defeated the stunned Cardinals. The team that beat the Cardinals? The Pittsburgh Steelers. One of the two teams that have supported the Maroons receiving back their 1925 championship.
The Curse of the Maroons has held true for 75 years, and hopefully continues on. When…if….the city of Pottsville receives the ‘25 NFL title will the curse be lifted? Who knows for sure? However, right now, the curse tightly holds true. At the time of this writing, Cardinals are playing. And people within the Anthracite Coal Region are all smiles - the Cardinals are losing.
