COFFIN CORNER VOLUME 48 NUMBER 3 IS NOW AVAILABLE IN MEMBERS ONLY. THE ISSUE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING:
PFRA-ternizing. Announcements on the newest book in the Great Teams series, the proposed PFRA YouTube channel, Chapter news including the Tenth Annual Conference of the Western New York Chapter, the upcoming Washington, D. C./Baltimore meeting on June 20 and the creation of new Chapters in Dallas and Florida.
George Preston Marshall: The Flamboyant, Controversial Owner Left a Lasting Impact on the NFL by Mike Richman. A short biography of the longtime Washington owner who helped shape the modern NFL through innovative rule changes, marketing, and broadcasting that made pro football more popular and profitable. However, his legacy was overshadowed by lingering racism, including leading the NFL’s exclusion of Black players, becoming the last owner to integrate under U. S. government pressure in 1961, leaving Marshall remembered as both a pioneer and one of the league’s problematic figures.
It Wasn’t That Bad by William J. Ryczek. An author’s remembrance of two seasons of the New York Giants (1973–74) who finished on a downtrend but were viewed more positively by fans due to new coach Bill Arnsparger, quarterback Craig Morton, and several young players who gave the team hope and made 1974 far more competitive and exciting. The Giants lost several dramatic games in heartbreaking fashion, but their improved play suggested the franchise was finally moving in the right direction after the demoralizing collapse of 1973.
Two Decades of Futility: The 1967–1986 New Orleans Saints by Sean M. Miskimins. Twenty years of frustration for the ’Aints, who struggled early because of poor drafting and inconsistent leadership from a succession of general managers who repeatedly missed on talent, let good players leave, and failed to build a strong roster around quarterback Archie Manning. The franchise finally started to turn the corner in the 1980s under Bum Phillips, whose successful drafting and personnel decisions laid the foundation for New Orleans’ first winning season and finally a playoff appearance in 1987 led by Jim Mora Sr.
Ten Things You Probably Don’t Know About the New York Giants by Dan Neumann. A small taste of Big Blue tidbits for a team that spent a century collecting oddball stories: they’ve played home games in three states, briefly employed an aging Jim Thorpe for just a few half-games, survived a family feud so intense that buying light bulbs required diplomacy, and nearly turned into the “New Jersey Broncos” under Dan Reeves. Along the way they won their way to Super Bowls with fake punts, almost rehired the Big Tuna, and somehow became the only franchise to win championships on all four major TV networks—proving that their history is equal parts football dynasty, sitcom, and traveling circus.
The First Gridiron Game by Bert Gambini. A challenge to the traditional belief that the first intercollegiate football game was played between Rutgers and Princeton in 1869 and an argument that the contest was essentially a soccer-style match rather than true gridiron football. The contention here is that football as we know it began on October 16, 1880, when Rutgers and Stevens Institute met on the field under rules that introduced the line of scrimmage and defined possessions, innovations identified as the sport’s most fundamental characteristics