This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/11/2001.
In Pennsylvania mining country, they don't consider the Pittsburgh Steelers the first NFL champions. They say the Pottsville Marrons were. In 1925, this western Pennsylvania pro team joined the league for $500. Led by running back Tony Latone – compared by many with Bronko Nagurski – and QB Jack Ernst, the Maroons compiled a 12-1 record and defeated the Chicago Cardinals 21-7 to win the title. A week later, in Philadelphia's Shibe Park, the Maroons beat a team of Notre Dame All-Stars that included the fabled "Four Horsemen." But the staid NFL may not have been happy to see the Maroons hold its trophy. Days later, league president Joe Carr ruled that the Notre Dame game had violated another league team's territory, and stripped the Maroons of the title. Residents of Pottsville, yelling "We Wuz Robbed!", have for 75 years petitioned the NFL to restore the title on its heroes, to no avail. This excellent-condition, wood-framed "official" team photo of the proud 1925 Maroons is an echo of one of what may be the NFL's greatest injustice.