Blue White Illustrated

The All-Star starting center was Mel Hein of the New York Giants, who was already headed to what would be a Hall of Fame career from 1931-45. Throughout his career, Hein rarely came out of games, but he did that day for Cherundolo because it was one of the most brutal games in pro history. Sportswriters had dubbed the Bears "The Monsters of the Midway" while winning the NFL title the previous season – actually stealing the name from the University of Chicago, which had dropped football in 1939. The new Monsters became famous by punctuating the 1940 season with an astounding 73-0 victory over Washington in the championship game. In 1941, the Bears virtually rolled over their opponents by big margins, losing only to the Green Bay Packers at midseason, 16-14, and walloping the Packers, 33-14, and Giants, 37-9, in the playoffs to repeat as champions. The Pro Bowl All-Stars were primed for revenge from the battering their teams took that season. The game had been originally scheduled for Los Angeles but shifted to New York because of the outbreak of World War II. The weather was horrendous on game day, and the wind, snow and sub-freezing temperatures reduced the expected crowd of 40,000-plus down to an official 17,725. That attendance disappointed the Naval Relief Society, which received 50 percent of the gross gate receipts of $50,509. But the game was not a disappointment. The Bears, favored by 13 points, won, 35-24, in what The Associated Press described as a "rough and tough battle" on a muddy field. "It was a bruising melee from start to finish, the All-Stars seeking some sort of individual revenge for the treatment handed out by George Halas' giants during the regular season. But a fivetouchdown barrage, three in the first half, nullified brilliant solo performances by [quarterback] Slingin' Sammy Baugh, [end] Perry Schwartz and numerous other satellites of the play-for-pay circle. "So rough was the fray that Don Hutson, all-league end from the Green Bay Packers, suffered a broken rib; Frank Filchock, Washington Redskins back, was nursing two broken ribs today, and Baugh was forced to endure four stitches in his jaw." Future Hall of Famers were all over the field, including All-Stars Hein, Hutson, Baugh, tackle Bruiser Kinard, Chicago's quarterback Sid Luckman, halfback Georg McAfee, tackle Joe Stydhar and center Clyde "Bulldog" Turner. Turner would overshadow Cherundolo for the rest his career, as Cherundolo would be named a perennial secondteam All-NFL by most of the media throughout the 1940s. Chicago continued its domination of the NFL during the 1942 regular season, winning all 11 games by 16 points or more, but it lost the championship game to the once-beaten Redskins, 146. Meanwhile, Cherundolo helped coach Walt Kiesling and another future Hall of Famer – halfback "Bullet" Bill Dudley – lead the Steelers to their best year since the creation of the franchise in 1933. Pittsburgh finished second behind Washington with a 7-4 record in the Eastern Division. By then, Word War II had begun to deplete NFL rosters, and in 1943 Cherundolo left for the Navy. He was fortunate to spend his service time as a chief specialist with the Navy's V-12 recruit training program on the campus of Colgate. He was also fortunate to find the love of his life there, and married Margaret Ellen Whitehead one week before the Steelers opened the 1945 season. He played in six of the 10 games that season on a team that was last in the Eastern Division at 2-8. In 1946, Art Rooney turned to Jock Sutherland to rejuvenate the Steelers. Sutherland had played for the legendary Pop Warner at Pitt three decades earlier when Warner transformed Pitt into a national powerhouse. After succeeding Warner as head coach in 1924, Sutherland led the Panthers to five national titles before resigning at the end of the 1938 national championship season when Pitt finally decided to follow Penn State and de-emphasize its athletic program. Sutherland coached the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940-41 before going into the Navy, serving as an officer until his discharge in late 1945. Sutherland was just what the Steelers needed. The Pirates National League baseball team was sliding into mediocrity at the end of the war, going from fourth in 1945 to seventh in 1946, and eventually tied for last in 1947, ironically, with Philadelphia. With the Pirates' decline, Sutherland's Steelers surged in popularity. In 1946, it was standing room only, with 35,000 plus at Forbes Field for five home game and another six sellouts in 1947. The 1946 team finished 5-5-1, and the next year Pittsburgh had its first genuine shot at the NFL championship. It would figure that only the Eagles stood in the Steelers' way. The Eagles had finished second in the five-team Eastern Division in 1945 and 1946, and in 1947, it was a two-team battle most of the season between the Eagles and Steelers. With Cherundolo named captain by Sutherland, the Steelers went 8-4 in the regular season and clinched at least a tie for the division title in their final game of the season Dec. 7, beating the Boston Yanks, 17-7, in the rain and mud at Forbes Field. As they celebrated in the locker room, Cherundolo's teammates surprised their leader, the man they called "Pop," and presented him with a wristwatch. Earlier that day, the Eagles had lost to the Chicago Cardinals, 45-21, at home, but they had one game left on the 12-game league schedule. A loss by Philadelphia to Green Bay the following Sunday would have given the Steelers the division title outright, but SEE CHERUNDOLO PAGE 59

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