1939 NFL All-Star Game
National Football League all-star game
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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]
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| Date | January 15, 1939 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 Hansen, 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 |