1928 Detroit Wolverines season
National Football League team season
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The 1928 Detroit Wolverines season was their first and only season in the league, after relocating from Cleveland in the offseason.[1] The team went 7â2â1,[2] finishing third in the league; their two losses came to Frankford and Providence, the NFL's top two teams.
| 1928 Detroit Wolverines (NFL) season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | LeRoy Andrews |
| Results | |
| Record | 7â2â1 |
| League place | 3rd NFL |
History
As a booming city and one of the great centers of American manufacturing, Detroit was regarded as a promising location for a stable professional football franchise by the fledgling National Football League (NFL). The league awarded its first Detroit franchise to Jimmy Conzelman on August 1, 1925.[3]
The Wolverines, led by former University of Michigan star quarterback Benny Friedman, also met the New York Giants twice: an easy 28-0 win in Detroit and a 19-19 tie[4] at the Polo Grounds in New York.
Ironically, this proved to be the team's downfall, as the Wolverines piqued the interest of Giants owner Tim Mara, who wanted to acquire Friedman and Detroit's other star players. Mara did so by buying the entire Detroit franchise, and promptly shutting it down, thus delivering Friedman et al to New York.
The NFL would not return to the Motor City until 1934, when the Portsmouth Spartans moved to Detroit and were rebranded as the Lions.
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 14, 1928 | at New York Yankees | W 35â12 | 1â0 | Yankee Stadium | 18,000 | Recap | [5][6] |
| 2 | October 21, 1928 | New York Giants | W 28â0 | 2â0 | Dinan Field | 12,000 | Recap | [7][8] |
| 3 | October 28, 1928 | at Chicago Bears | W 6â0 | 3â0 | Wrigley Field | 20,000 | Recap | [9][10] |
| 4 | November 3, 1928 | at Frankford Yellow Jackets | L 25â7 | 3â1 | Frankford Stadium | 8,000 | Recap | [11] |
| 5 | November 4, 1928 | at Providence Steam Roller | L 7â0 | 3â2 | Cycledrome | 8,500 | Recap | [12] |
| 6 | November 11, 1928 | at New York Giants | T 19â19 | 3â2â1 | Polo Grounds | 30,000 | Recap | [13][14] |
| 7 | November 18, 1928 | New York Yankees | W 13â0 | 4â2â1 | Dinan Field | 8,000 | Recap | [15][16][17] |
| 8 | November 25, 1928 | at Chicago Bears | W 14â7 | 5â2â1 | Wrigley Field | 15,000 | Recap | [18][19][20] |
| 9 | November 29, 1928 | Dayton Triangles | W 33â0 | 6â2â1 | Dinan Field | Recap | [21][22][23][24] | |
| 10 | December 9, 1928 | at New York Yankees | W 34â6 | 7â2â1 | Yankee Stadium | 3,000 [25] | Recap | [26][27][28] |
Game summaries
Game 1: at New York Yankees
Yankee Stadium was the scene and 2:30 pm was the time for the October 14 franchise debut of the Detroit Wolverines as they faced C. C. Pyle's New York Yankees.[29] Gibby Welch, "Wild Bill" Kelly, and Bo Molenda were among those Yankees receiving top billing in the battle against former University of Michigan star Benny Friedman.[29] An impressive crowd of 18,000 made their way to the stadium, joined by a region radio audience listening to the live sideline broadcasts of two competing stations.[29]
Standings
| NFL standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| Providence Steam Roller | 8 | 1 | 2 | .889 | 128 | 42 | T1 | ||
| Frankford Yellow Jackets | 11 | 3 | 2 | .786 | 175 | 84 | W2 | ||
| Detroit Wolverines | 7 | 2 | 1 | .778 | 189 | 76 | W4 | ||
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 4 | 3 | .600 | 120 | 92 | W1 | ||
| Chicago Bears | 7 | 5 | 1 | .583 | 182 | 85 | L2 | ||
| New York Giants | 4 | 7 | 2 | .364 | 79 | 136 | L5 | ||
| New York Yankees | 4 | 8 | 1 | .333 | 103 | 179 | W1 | ||
| Pottsville Maroons | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 74 | 134 | L1 | ||
| Chicago Cardinals | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 | 7 | 107 | L4 | ||
| Dayton Triangles | 0 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 9 | 131 | L7 | ||
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Roster
|
Starters LE - Lyle Munn (Kansas State) QB - Benny Friedman (Michigan) â LH - Rex Thomas (St. John's) |
|
- â - Denotes NFL Hall of Fame member.