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This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons.com for more sports history.

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Bob Feller Show, Program Number 9. There was a time when pro football was a struggling sport.

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In the mid-20s, fans were reluctant to part with their money to see a pro football game.

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It was that way in Chicago and all the other cities where National Football League teams played, and even in New York.

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On a Sunday afternoon in 1925, the owners of the New York Giants wore great big smiles. Tickets for the coming game against the Chicago Bears were selling faster than they could be printed.

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The reason? Red grains. The immortal galloping ghost that set the nation talking about his great exploits at the University of Illinois.

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Every school child knew who Red Grains was. Now he was a pro football star with the Bears.

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More than 70,000 fans jammed the polo grounds for the Giants-Bears clash, and thousands of others were turned away.

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There was a chill in the air as Green's and his teammates crowded out on the field. An occasional boo, but mostly cheers greeted the Bears.

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Green still wore that famous number 77, the number that had become a legend in college football.

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A roar rocked the polo grounds as the Giants appeared on the field. A flip of a coin, and the game was on.

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The fans had turned out for one reason. They wanted to see Grains. So naturally they were disappointed when Grains didn't have a hand in the first touchdown.

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The Bears marched slowly down the field and towards the Giants goal line. But it was Joe Sturmond who lugged the pigskin across for the score, not Grains.

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He had carried the ball only nine yards in the drive. Grains was a marked man. When the Bears went to the air, there were not two, but three defenders covering Grains.

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But Grains brought the crowd to its feet when he leaped high to grab a pass with the defenders all around him. The play gained 25 yards and set up another Bear touchdown.

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But like the first touchdown, it wasn't Red who carried the ball into the end zone, but Sturmond.

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As the teams up the field, for the halftime break, the Bears held a 12-0 lead.

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The Giants fans were blue because their team trailed, and the thousands of other fans were disappointed because the great Red Grains had not been allowed to show off his talent.

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Grains even sat out the entire third quarter. The Giants scored a touchdown and had an extra point. Now it was 12-7 in favor of the Bears.

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A chorus of chants, We want Grains, echoed through the park as the final period got underway.

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And seconds later, Grains joined his teammates in the huddle. A whole quarter remained for Red to show the crowd his amazing talent.

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I'll be back in a minute. The Giants took the air. Seconds ticked off. One pass, then another. They were on the move, so another.

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But this time, Grains picked it out of the air. An interception. The crowd held its breath. He sidestepped one Giants player, then another.

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Grains headed for the sidelines. He was almost clear. Just one more player to get past.

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Into the end zone, he scooted for a touchdown. Reg Grains had not disappointed thousands of fans who had come to see him play.

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They had seen the greatest player of his time, and maybe the greatest ever.