1939 National Football League All-Star Game

The 1939 National Football League All-star Game was the professional football league's first-ever all-star game, sponsored by the Los Angeles Times as a charity game to benefit the Salvation Army.[1][2] It pitted the New York Giants, the league's champion for the 1938 season, against a team of all-stars. The game was played on Sunday, January 15, 1939, at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, California in front of 15,000 fans; although 30,000 spectators were expected, bad weather led to the poor attendance.[3] The Giants defeated the all-stars by a score of 13–10.[4]

1939 NFL All-star Game

New York Giants All-America All-stars 13 10 Head coach: Steve Owen (New York Giants) Head coach: Gus Henderson (Detroit Lions)
1 2 3 4 Total New York Giants 0 3 0 10 13 All-America All-stars 0 3 0 7 10
Date	January 15, 1939
Stadium	Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, California
MVP	none selected
Attendance	15,000
TV in the United States
Network	not televised

The players on the all-star squad were selected by fan balloting. For the only time in the game's history, players from teams outside the NFL were invited; five players from the Los Angeles Bulldogs and Hollywood Stars, two local teams in what would eventually become the Pacific Coast Professional Football League, were among the members of the All-Star team.[5]

Rosters

The players involved in this game were:[4][6][7]

All-American All-Stars roster

Position:	Starters:	Reserves:
Quarterback	Erny Pinckert, Washington Redskins	Stu Smith, Pittsburgh Pirates Ed Goddard, Cleveland Rams Gordon Gore, Los Angeles Bulldogs Johnny Drake, Cleveland Rams Cecil Isbell, Green Bay Packers
Left Halfback	Sammy Baugh, Washington Redskins
Right Halfback	Lloyd Cardwell, Detroit Lions
Fullback	Clarke Hinkle, Green Bay Packers
Left End	Gaynell Tinsley, Chicago Cardinals	Bob McChesney, Washington Redskins Joe Carter, Philadelphia Eagles Bill Moore, Los Angeles Bulldogs
Right End	Perry Schwartz, Brooklyn Dodgers
Left Tackle	Joe Stydahar, Chicago Bears	Ernie Smith, Hollywood Stars
Right Tackle	Frank Kinard, Brooklyn Dodgers
Left Guard	Byron Gentry, Pittsburgh Pirates	Owen Hanson, Hollywood Stars Bill Radovich, Detroit Lions Russ Letlow, Green Bay Packers
Right Guard	Pete Mehringer, Los Angeles Bulldogs
Center	John Wiatrak, Cleveland Rams	Phil Dougherty, Chicago Cardinals

New York Giants roster

Position:	Starters:	Reserves:
Quarterback	Nello Falaschi	Tuffy Leemans Len Barnum John Karcis Kink Richards Johnny Gildea Dale Burnett Leland Shaffer
Left Halfback	Hank Soar
Right Halfback	Ward Cuff
Fullback	Ed Danowski
Left End	Jim Lee Howell	Hap Barnard Chuck Gelatka Jack Haden
Right End	Jim Poole
Left Tackle	Ed Widseth	Frank Cope John Mellus
Right Tackle	Ox Parry
Left Guard	Orville Tuttle	Pete Cole
Right Guard	Kayo Lunday
Center	Mel Hein	Stan Galazin

References

1. "Facts, Figures Regarding First Annual Pro Game". Los Angeles Times. January 8, 1939. Retrieved January 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
2. United Press (January 16, 1939). "Giants Defeat Pro All-Stars". Republican Herald. Retrieved January 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Crawford, Fred R. "The First Pro Bowl Game" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
4. "Giants Beat Stars; Ward Cuff Is Hero". Milwaukee Journal. UP. January 16, 1939. p. L-7. Retrieved February 2, 2012 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Giants Meet All-Stars in Last of Bowl Games". Milwaukee Journal. UP. January 15, 1939. p. 7 (section III). Retrieved February 2, 2012.
6. Guenther, Jack (January 16, 1939). "N.Y. Giants Winners of Pro Title". Berkeley Daily Gazette. United Press. p. 10. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
7. Crawford, Fred R. (1990). "The First Pro Bowl Game" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 12 (4). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-31. Retrieved January 31, 2012.