Scott Adamson, Author at Adamsonmedia.com

The NFL’s first frantic February

Super Bowl LX is today, meaning people who don’t know the difference between football and foosball will still be tuning in to the event. And make no mistake about it – it is an event, with 60 minutes of gridiron action augmented (and sometimes overshadowed) by music, marketing and talking – lots and lots of talking.

But while February 8, 2026, will see the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots battle for the Lombardi Trophy, February 8, 1926, was also a pretty big day in NFL history.

**Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Bluesky @scottadamson1960.bsky.social**

On that date, newspapers across the United States reported that the head of the newly-anointed NFL champion Chicago Cardinals had taken a pass on his team being declared champion. Plus, a new football league was being formed to challenge the National Football League.

That’s a lot to unpack, so let’s open the suitcase …

One hundred years ago, NFL owners held their winter meetings in Detroit. Among the agreements reached for the 2026 season included banning college players from playing in the NFL until their class had graduated; limiting league clubs to scheduling no more than two games per week; upping guarantee money from $1,000 to $1,500, with one percent of gate receipts going to a league fund; increasing team roster size from 16 to 18 players; and reelecting NFL President Joseph Carr for a new three-year term (at $5,000 per year).

“Professional football successfully passed its crisis at the Detroit meeting,” Green Bay Packers president A.B. Turnbull proclaimed to the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “It was the unanimous opinion of the delegates that some drastic steps were necessary and those in attendance lost little time in putting across several regulations that will be of benefit to the postgraduate sport.”

Those “regulations” were interesting, but pale in comparison to the main headlines.

For openers, Carr decided to dethrone the Pottsville Maroons, who finished the 1925 season with a 10-2 NFL record. They were 13-2 overall, counting exhibition conquests of independent Colwyn Darby, Eastern League foe Atlantic Roses, and the Notre Dame All-Stars (featuring Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley and Elmer Layden of “Four Horsemen” fame).

However, the franchise violated the territorial rights of the Frankford Yellowjackets by playing the Notre Dame exhibition in Philadelphia, an offense Carr found so grievous that he suspended the Maroons, stripped them of their title and awarded it to the Cardinals (who lost to Pottsville, 21-7, in 2025).

But … Chicago owner Chris O’Brien declined the honor. The Cardinals, in fact, were on probation for suiting up four high school players in a 2025 contest. He said that sanction – and the fact that Pottsville had been removed from the league – convinced him it would be wrong to accept a crown. He wanted a championship “clearly won on the field of play.”

Thus, league owners voted that there would be no champion for the 1925 season.

Turns out, the NFL had even bigger concerns.

On February 7 it was revealed that a new football league would be formed in Chicago later in the month. C.C. Pyle, manager of superstar Red Grange (who played with the Chicago Bears in 1925), made the announcement when he was denied a franchise in New York.

While Pyle – who had a lease with Yankee Stadium – said the majority of owners were fine with a second team in America’s First City, New York Giants officials blocked the move.

“There is room for two teams in New York, just as there is in Chicago,” Pyle told the Associated Press.

On February 18, Pyle announced that Grange would be the main attraction for the New York Football Yankees of the American League of Professional Football. Philadelphia and Milwaukee were also granted franchises, with St. Louis, Cleveland and Boston awarded conditional franchises.

So, by the end of February, the National Football League found itself without a defending champion and also had to fend off a challenge from another circuit showcasing the sport’s biggest draw in Grange.

O’Brien, however, was confident the senior organization would prevail.

“We have most of the high class stars under contract and a war chest of which we draw, and we certainly intend to protect our investment to the best of our financial ability,” he said in an interview with the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “If the newcomers think they can break in without a fight, they are welcome to try it.”

A century later, it’s obvious things have turned out just fine for the NFL.

Pyle’s circuit lasted only one season, although his Yankees were granted admission to the NFL for 1927. They folded after two seasons, and Grange returned to the Bears in 1929. Frankford – pictured at the top of this article – won the 1926 NFL championship with a 14-1-2 record and nary a hint of controversy.

The National League has held off all challengers ever since. Its biggest, coming from the modern American Football League, resulted in a full merger that went into effect in 1970. Now at 32 clubs and an international brand, it’s hard to imagine any serious future competition.

And as for that vacated title in 1925, well, the NFL officially awarded it to the Chicago Cardinals in 1963.

Travel to the Borough of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, however, and you might find there remains some disagreement over that decision.

When the Southmen tried to rise again

By February, 1976, the World Football League was more or less a distant memory.

It had folded on October 22, 1975 – a rebooted second season shunned by fans and TV networks. (The ill-fated, lower budget attempt followed an inaugural 1974 campaign that drowned in red ink).

But while the likes of the Southern California Sun, Philadelphia Bell and The Hawaiians were no more, one team existed, at least in a technical sense.

Four months after the WFL’s demise, the Memphis Southmen were hoping to play on. Owner John Bassett still had former Miami Dolphins stars Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield and Jim Kiick under contract, as well as head coach John McVay. He even held a stadium lease for the Liberty Bowl.

While both Memphis and the Birmingham Vulcans, a fellow member of the defunct WFL, had applied to membership in the National Football League, only the Southmen had an existing infrastructure in place.

“I am optimistic about getting into the NFL this season because I have no reason not to be optimistic,” Bassett, a Canadian businessman, told the Toronto Star for a February 3, 1976, article. “They want to meet with us again. The NFL had to be impressed with the Memphis application. We have money from 46,000 applicants for season tickets, along with written requests for 8,000 more. That’s at $10 per ticket. There are 1,200 box seats at $15 each. They are sold.”

No question Bassett had all his ducks in a row. Only problem was, the NFL had already granted expansion franchises to Seattle and Tampa Bay. The Seahawks and Buccaneers were set to debut during the 1976 season, increasing the league to 28 teams.

Memphis squeezing in at 29 would be quite a feat.

But Bassett believed there was a chance, and so did McVay.

The coach who led the Southmen to a 24-8 record was busy, well, being a coach while Bassett continued to court the NFL.

“The things we’re doing are the same things we would do if the NFL accepts us,” McVay said in an interview with United Press International that appeared on February 29, 1976. “We’re getting ready for the draft, trying to evaluate personnel, rate them and see how they’d fit into our needs. Everything we’re doing is geared to going into the NFL in 1976.”

McVay scouted the Senior Bowl in January, and also sent scouts to the Hula Bowl. He told UPI he was researching the college draft as well as a potential expansion draft involving his team as well as Seattle and Tampa Bay.

McVay’s contract was valid until 1977, and he said 30 Southmen in all were still signed up to the team that last played on October 19, 1975. Aside from the “Big Three,” quarterback Danny White, receiver Ed Marshall and running back Willie Spencer continued to be paid by Bassett.

“In my heart I believe Memphis will get a franchise in 1976, ‘77 or ‘78,” McVay said. “All we can do is make a solid proposal and wait.”

The wait ended on March 16, 1976, when NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced that with Seattle and Tampa Bay coming into the league, owners decided there would be no NFL expansion for “the foreseeable future.”

“After a lengthy and thorough discussion, the clubs concluded that under the present conditions – that is our legal and labor problems – they could not firmly commit to expansion at this time. However, it is clear that these two cities (Memphis and Birmingham) were the most active in recent months and will be among those most strongly considered when the league eventually feels it can expand.”

Needless to say, Bassett was not happy.

“It’s a tremendous disservice to the people of Memphis who worked so hard and demonstrated the ability to form and support the team,” Bassett said. “I think their (NFL owners) reasons are totally unacceptable and transparent.”

Once the Southmen dissolved, Csonka, Warfield and Kiick returned to the NFL.

Csonka spent three years with the New York Giants before returning to Miami for one last season in 1979. Warfield, who began his pro career with the Cleveland Browns, ended there as well, playing in 1976 and 1977. Both men are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Kiick signed with the Denver Broncos in 1976 and played with the Broncos and Washington Redskins in 1977. He died in 2020, and was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

McVay (grandfather of Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay) was assistant coach with the Giants in 1976 and head coach from 1977-79. He went on to have a 20-year executive career with the San Francisco Giants.

He was 91 when he passed away in 2022.

As for Bassett, he moved his World Hockey Association franchise, the Toronto Toros, to Birmingham in 1976, and owned the United States Football League’s Tampa Bay Bandits from 1983-85. Bassett succumbed to cancer in 1987. He was only 47.

Fifty years after the Southmen’s failed bid, Memphis is still without an NFL team – and that status will likely not change. Instead, it’s Nashville that represents Tennessee in pro football’s biggest league – with the Houston Oilers leaving Texas and ultimately morphing into the Tennessee Titans.

In 1997 the Titans (still carrying the Oilers brand) played their inaugural season in Memphis while a stadium was being built in the Music City. Local fans who wanted a team of their own mostly steered clear of the Liberty Bowl; the squad averaged just 28,027 fans per home game.

Bespoke Wishcasting

The “Open” sign on the door at Bespoke Wishcasting, Inc., illuminated promptly at 9 a.m. Once it did, Cuthbert Tiffany sauntered in and gave the place a quick once-over. The two employees, wearing light blue golf shirts bearing the company logo, recognized him immediately.

And who wouldn’t? Thanks to a monumental family fortune he inherited when he turned 21, Tiffany was the richest man in the world – by far – and made sure everyone knew it. He owned the largest yacht ever built (for a laugh, he named it the S.S. Minnow); oversaw construction of the tallest building on the planet (the Tiffany Tower in Qatar, which had plenty of space but, to date, no occupants); and even formed the World Elite Amateur Sailing League, in which players paid $1 million per event for the privilege of participating. He, in fact, served as president of WEASL as well as player-coach of the Martha’s Vinyard Diamond Deckers.

He had almost everything, but it was the “almost” part that bedeviled him.

That’s where Bespoke Wishcasting, Inc., came in.

For a price – and that price varied depending on the job – the friendly Wishcasters at the company could give you anything you requested.

A trip to the moon? No problem … the rocket would be fueled and ready for launch in no time. A spot in the Indianapolis 500? They’d make sure you had the car and the crew to run toward the front during time trials. A bestselling novel? Write whatever you like and it’ll fly off the shelves. If you named it and claimed it – and had the money to pay for it – it was all yours.

And what Tiffany wanted was Penelope Garner, his high school flame who was now married with a family and living abroad. He had contacted her several times over the years in hopes of luring her away from what he called “her dull life,” but to no avail. She wasn’t just uninterested in him – she had gone so far as to file a restraining order to make sure he stayed away.

That was fine … Tiffany wanted a fresh start anyway, and the only way to get it was to travel back to May 25, 1979, and get a do-over prom date with Penelope.

“So, who runs the show here?” asked Tiffany, staring at the workers.

“I’m Bernadine and this is my brother, Basil,” said the young woman as she stepped from behind the sparkling white counter and extended her hand. “I’ll be glad to assist you, Mr. Tiffany.”

“Yeah, I don’t do handshakes,” he said, waving her off. “Look, you people have a reputation for being able to do what no one else can do, and I’m gonna give you a chance to prove it. But before I waste my time, I need to know if you have reliable time travel capabilities.”

“Absolutely,” Basil said, without hesitation. “It’s quite expensive, of course, but I’m assuming that won’t be a problem for you.”

“You assume correctly. What I want is to be transported about 47 years in the past, to May 25, 1979. I even have the exact time for you … 6:12 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. And the address in 312 Wisteria Commons Drive.”

Bernadine walked over to a computer, made a series of clicks, and smiled.

“OK,” she said. “You want to travel to the home of Gavin Garner, circa 1979. That shouldn’t be a problem in the least. I do need to know the reason for your visit … time travel is more than just a flash of light and a whoosh … we have to have data points.”

Tiffany shrugged.

“Whatever. I’m going back to take Gavin Garner’s daughter, Penelope, to the senior prom. The last time I tried it, things went sideways pretty quickly.”

“How so?” Bernadine asked.

“Is that really any of your business?”

“No, sir, none of mine,” Bernadine said. “But it’s part of the time travel business. To make this work, I have to know everything you remember. In other words, I need you to describe everything that happened on that date and that time.”

Tiffany let out a long sigh.

“OK, I rang the bell and her father answered the door – I had never met him before. Well, I had kinda met him before, but I didn’t realize he was Penelope’s dad.”

“Kinda met him?”

“He was a garbage man … you know, I guess they call them sanitation workers now. Anyway, I’d see him picking up our trash and you know – I was just a kid messing around – I’d throw quarters at him and yell things like, “How does it feel to be around rich people, Mr. Smelley? It was just a goof.”

Bernadine typed in the info.

“So, did he recognize you when you came to pick up Penelope?”

“He did … he did, indeed. Looked at Penelope and said, ‘Penny, this is the young man who likes to throw quarters at me.” Her face turned red and she slammed the door in my face.”

Bernadine nodded.

“So, I suspect you want to go back in time and apologize to Mr. Garner?”

Tiffany huffed.

“Hell, no. I wanna stick my foot in the door and tell Penelope I’m the richest man in the world and can make her the luckiest girl in the world. Once she knows she can spend her life with a billionaire genius and get away from garbage daddy, I’ll finally get everything I want. So, how soon can you portal me or zap me or whatever it is you people do?”

“It usually takes a couple of hours to get everything set up,” Basil said. “But considering who you are, we’ll do it right away. The fee is $57 billion. Something like this is normally $58 billion, but you’re our first customer today, so you get a discount. Once the transaction is done, you’ll just step into the Dematerialization Zone, which is that circle on the floor next to the counter. Once we activate it, you’ll see it glow, spin and hear a whir, and you’ll feel slightly dizzy. In roughly 10 seconds, you’ll be on the porch of the Garner residence at exactly 6:12 p.m. on May 25, 1979.”

Tiffany hastily pulled out his phone, transferred the money to the Bespoke Wishcasting, Inc., account, and stepped inside the circle.

“Do it,” he snapped.

Just as Basil said, within 10 seconds of the glow, spin and whir, Tiffany dematerialized and was transported to the time and destination of his choice.

When the process was complete, Bernadine and Basil looked at each other and broke into laughter.

“Oh, how I wish I could be there,” Bernadine said. “Just to see the look on Cuthbert’s face when he realizes he’s a 65-year old man trying to take a 17-year old to the prom. He really didn’t think this one through, did he? Now he’s stuck there and his money’s here. So much for being a billionaire genius.”

“Forget his face,” Basil said, flashing a huge smile. “Imagine granddad’s … and mom’s. Let’s call her and see if she remembers … I want details.”