Majestics Miss Field Goals Again To Tie With The Olympics
In the week preceding the Majestics’ next game, the Dan Burns Eleven handed the Olympics their first defeat in three years. Against the Olympics and in front of 5,000 fans, the Majestics were unable to put any points on the board. Missing three field goal attempts, the game finished 0-0.
Another mid-week victory for the Burns A. A. over Ambridge saw them move to the top of the conference at 4-1-1. The late touchdown that gave Burns the 6-0 win set up a clash with the Majestics the following Sunday.
The headline “Revenge is Sweet” in the Pittsburgh Press set the tone as the Majestics faced the only team they had lost to. The return of Jim Levey to the Majestics was expected to give their offense a boost. “Fast, shifty and very deceptive in his movements on the field,” Levey was rated as one of the best ball carriers in conference football.
Levey didn’t disappoint the 7,000 who travelled to the Bridgeville Speedway to watch the game. After Jim Rooney had put the Majestics 9-0 ahead in the second quarter with a touchdown and field goal, Levey ignited the fans in the third period. He returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown and the Majestics won 16-0 to avenge their opening day defeat.
It was a win that Art Rooney could enjoy as the Majestics became the top scorers in the conference with a total of 56. They had only given up 6 points and those were the ones conceded to Burns.
Burns 4-2-1 Olympics 3-1-2 Majestics 3-1-2 West View 1-1-3 Firemen 2-3-1 Ambridge 0-5-1 The following Sunday, the Majestics travelled to Quarry Field to play the East Pittsburgh Firemen. “Rooney Gridders in Quest of First Place,” was the headline in the Pittsburgh Press. Burns were not playing which gave the Majestics the opportunity to take the top spot in the conference with a win.
The Majestics took a strong offense to the game. With the best punter in the conference Jimmy Rooney, together with the powerful running of Jimmy Levey and Mose Kelsch, the Majestics were nailed on to move to the top.
Despite the powerful offense on display, it was the defense of the Firemen who won the day holding the Majestics to a 0-0 decision. The Radios enjoyed the best chances, but the Firemen held them except for one chance. Levey thought he had scored a touchdown on a 6-yard run, but it was called back for “offside.”
Majestics 3-1-3 Burns 4-2-1 Olympics 3-1-2 West View 1-1-4 Firemen 2-3-2 Mystics 0-3-2 The Majestics had little time to reflect on their performance as the following day they played West View. In an Armistice Day charity contest for the American Legion at Reeves Field, Beaver Falls, the Majestics returned to winning form. Kelsch put the Radios ahead with an 8-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. In the second period, Rooney found Sweeney with a 44-yard pass for a touchdown that saw the Majestics win 13-7.
A mid-week 6-0- victory by the Olympics (Tubers) over the Firemen (Ladders) saw another change at the top of the conference as the Olympics moved onto 10 points.
After playing two games in two days, the Majestics had the prospect of regaining the conference lead six days later when they faced Paul Muzzio’s West View. The Majestics dominated the game in front of a crowd of 6,000. Jim Rooney scored in the first quarter on a 12-yard run before "Honey" Guarino returned an interception 20 yards for the second score.
Despite the Majestics’ 14-0 victory, a McKeesport 13-0 win over Ambridge saw the Olympics remain at the top of the conference.
Olympics 5-1-2 Majestics 4-1-3 Burns 4-2-2
Majestics face Fritz Pollard’s Chicago All-Stars team
The following Sunday saw Art Rooney’s enterprise in bringing good football to Pittsburgh come to the fore. He was also anticipating adding to his precarious bank balance when he invited Fritz Pollard’s Chicago All-Stars team to play. It would see his team take a break from playing a conference game and would be an opportunity to gauge the standard of his team.
“Fritz Pollard & Mighty ‘11’ To Battle Majestics,” was the headline in the Pittsburgh Courier. The Courier was an African American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh.
The Courier’s article on the game enthusiastically continued: The most tasty treat of the whole football season here looms for Sunday afternoon at the Bridgeville Bowl Stadium when Fritz Pollard and his brilliant aggregation of Big Ten football stars battle the powerful Art Rooney’s Majestic Radio eleven, the cream of pro teams in this district.
Pollard and his mighty eleven will come direct to Pittsburgh from Chicago for the big clash. This notable aggregation will be opposed by what is considered one of the best pro elevens of ex-college stars ever assembled here.
It will include such superb players as Rooney, Scanlon, Guarino and Benedict of Pitt; “Sleepy” Glenn of West Virginia fame, Brozie of Ohio State, Red Whitmore of Geneva, Levy (sic) of Quantico, Spender of Duquesne, Paul Karcis, a brother of the Pitt immortal of Monaca, Vaughn of Bellefonte and “Mose” Kelsch, whom everyone knows as one of the outstanding pro players of this sector.
One of the biggest crowds ever to attend a pro clash here is expected to turn out for this biggest battle of big-time college stars of Gridania ever to be played here.
In the absence of Jim Levey, it was left to Jim Rooney and Kelsch to overcome their opponents. The Chicago Pros scored first in the second quarter on an interception returned for a touchdown. Despite falling seven points behind, the Majestics overcame their opponents as they dominated the exchanges in the third quarter.
Rooney scored twice although he missed both point after attempts which saw the Majestics triumph 12-7.
Kelsch made seven of his team’s fourteen first downs as they fought back from going behind to take the win. In the conference, the only game played saw West View beat Burns 13-0.
The Majestics next two scheduled games were postponed. The Thanksgiving contest against the Mystics due to the cold and the following one against the Olympics because of rain.
With the postponement of these games, the awarding of the title of the first Western Pennsylvania Independent Sandlot Football Conference champion would be delayed.
The Olympics and Majestics were schedule to meet on the last Sunday of November. Although Pittsburgh was experiencing a cold spell with many games called off due to icy fields, warmer weather was expected to allow the clash to go ahead. With the top two teams in the conference due to face each other, the contest was billed as the title decider.
For sandlot football fans, there was a great sense of anticipation and enthusiasm that Sunday morning. The two local newspapers previewed the game with expectations of a record crowd. The excitement of a gigantic clash was dampened by heavy rain when the game was called off just a couple of hours before kickoff.
The season continued into the first Sunday of December. The Olympics surprisingly failed to score against West View in a 0-0 tie, but extended their lead over the Majestics in the conference. The Majestics game against the Mystics was cancelled again because of icy conditions. The postponement gave Art Rooney and some of his players the chance to watch his opponent in action to prepare for their crunch meeting with the conference standings:.
Olympics 5-1-3 Majestics 4-1-3 Burns 4-3-2
