I enjoyed reading Jim Hague’s article “Moments of Gridiron Greatness” and learning about some of the unique contributions to football that were made in Jersey City sports history. I feel compelled, however, to clarify two points.
The “KF-79” play utilized in the 1934 Rose Bowl is directly attributable not to Lou Little but to Pop Warner and the Carlisle Indians of Carlisle, PA. That team introduced this play against the detested Harvard team in 1902. Although the Indians lost that game 12-11, the team had used this innovation, along with numerous other ingenious tactics, to revolutionize the game of college football. Ironically, these tactics were deemed as “cheating” by the Carlisle team and rules were written specifically against their use. Yet the Columbia team, over two decades later (and also a detested opponent of the Carlisle team in the early 20th century) successfully employed the play with no argument. I recommend The Real All-Americans: The Team That Changed a Game, a People, a Nation by Sally Jenkins for insight into how and why these plays are so important to the present-day game.
Second, Alex Wojciechowicz did enjoy a brilliant career with the Detroit Lions, as you mention. However, he did not win a championship until 1948 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He signed with the Eagles in 1946 and was an integral 60-minute player on the 1948 and 1949 Championship teams, making the Eagles the only team in NFL history to win back-to-back championships by shutouts. In fact, the Eagles fans voted Wojciechowicz to the Eagles’ all-time team in honor of the team’s 75th anniversary this year [2007]. It would have been nice just to see Wojciechowicz mentioned as having a brilliant career with the Lions and the Eagles, since it was his time with the Eagles that cemented his place in football history.
Thank you for a great article.
Thank you, Christopher Zinsli and Jersey City Magazine for your lovely mention of my book The Last Three Miles: Politics, Murder, and the Construction of America’s First Superhighway.
Comments, questions, kudos, complaints? Please e-mail jcmag@hudsonreporter.com and put “Letters” in the subject line