The 1946 title game and manly play
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2019 2:13 pm
Those of us of a certain age, and let's face it, who isn't, will remember the furor that resulted when the NFL instituted the "in the grasp" rule in 1979 or thereabouts. "Let's just put quarterbacks in skirts" was about the nicest thing anyone said about the rule and the arguments made back then sound awfully familiar in today's more safety-conscious NFL. I was one of those complaining back in those days when I was young and resilient, but now that I've gotten older and feel the usual aches and pains, even without having gotten the daylights beaten out of me for months at a time every year, I'm much less at ease with the idea of watching other people destroy their bodies with reckless abandon for my amusement, no matter how much they get paid.
That aside, the argument back in the "in the grasp" days was that football players used to be tougher and it was a rougher game. Surely, Sam Huff and Art Donovan had a lot to do with this view, but NFL films did a good job of promoting the idea, too. So, I was surprised to see, when watching the John Miles-narrated film of the 1946 title game -- a highly recommended action, I should add -- that on at least two occasions, Giant quarterback Frank Filchock was called down twice on quick whistles the moment more than one Bear defender had their hands on him. Filchock never went to the ground in either case and really, the defenders never did more than wrap their arms around him and push backward. The defenders didn't even try to throw or drag him down, suggesting that this sort of play was pretty common at that time. And this, in an age, when a runner could get back up and keep running after being tripped by a defender who didn't have him under control.
I certainly didn't expect to see this and I'm curious to know if anyone who has studied this era at greater length can offer any additional insights. It does make me rethink the idea that what many think of as extreme measures to protect quarterback safety is a relatively recent phenomenon.
That aside, the argument back in the "in the grasp" days was that football players used to be tougher and it was a rougher game. Surely, Sam Huff and Art Donovan had a lot to do with this view, but NFL films did a good job of promoting the idea, too. So, I was surprised to see, when watching the John Miles-narrated film of the 1946 title game -- a highly recommended action, I should add -- that on at least two occasions, Giant quarterback Frank Filchock was called down twice on quick whistles the moment more than one Bear defender had their hands on him. Filchock never went to the ground in either case and really, the defenders never did more than wrap their arms around him and push backward. The defenders didn't even try to throw or drag him down, suggesting that this sort of play was pretty common at that time. And this, in an age, when a runner could get back up and keep running after being tripped by a defender who didn't have him under control.
I certainly didn't expect to see this and I'm curious to know if anyone who has studied this era at greater length can offer any additional insights. It does make me rethink the idea that what many think of as extreme measures to protect quarterback safety is a relatively recent phenomenon.