New York Giants 27
Ottawa Rough Riders 6
The National Football League's New York Giants became the first team
to ever play on foreign soil on August 12, 1950 when they met the Ottawa
Rough Riders in a preseason exhibition game at Lansdowne Park, Ottawa.
Fifteen thousand spectators showed up for this moment of North American
football history.
The New York Times reported on the game:
The New York Giants of the National Football League overcame confusion
and Canadian rugby rules today to defeat the Ottawa Rough Riders, 27 to
6. The first half of the exhibition game was played under Canadian rules
and the second half under American standards. An estimated 15,000 fans
witnessed the novel game at Lansdowne Park. Stymied by rules that
prohibit interference beyond ten yards from scrimmage and permit only
three downs for yardage, the Giants superior passing and sharp pass
defense nevertheless gave them a 13 to 6 halftime lead over their
lighter opponents. When the tough eight-man Canadian line stalled the
Giants early in the game, backfield coach Al Sherman [Allie Sherman]
took over the quarterback spot (In 1953, Sherman would take his first
head coaching position with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL. One of his players was Hall of Famer Bud Grant. In 1957, Sherman returned to
the Giants as a scout and then joined the coaching staff two years
later). By the end of the first half he had whipped the confused New
Yorkers into a smoothly operating machine. But, the switch to American
rules in the second half started the process all over again when the
field was narrowed with makeshift lines to the standard U.S. 50-yard
width. However, the accurate passing of Charley Conerly and the driving
interference for halfbacks Bob Griffith and rookie Jim Ostendarp let the
Giants rove almost at will.
The hard-driving Ottawans scored in the first two minutes of play when
Joe Adquini caught a pass from Bruce Cummings. It gave them five points,
Canadian, and the conversion failed. A few moments later Tom Landry
punted into the end zone for the Giants to provide them with a point, a
Canadian rouge. Then the Giants got the ball on a fumble and Landry
passed down the field in three plays. Steve Hattfield then plunged over
from the seven-yard line. Ray Poole kicked the extra point. Later in the
first quarter Cummings kicked the ball beyond the end zone for the
Riders to provide them with their final point. One Giant touchdown on a
60-yard run was called back when end Al Schmid forgot his Canadian rules
and engaged in a little downfield blocking. The visiting Americans were
penalized 15 yards once for high tackling, an accepted practice in the
National Football League.
Under Sherman's generalship, the Giants used a three halfback "T"
formation to push Griffith through the line in two long runs to set up
another score. Then Sherman passed to Bill Swiacki on the three and
Hattfield crushed
through center for another five-point score. Conerly's
bullet passes--he missed only one and was rushed off his feet once in 12
tries--set up both touchdowns in the second half. Twice he passed beyond
the improvised boundary. The Giants scored twice in the second half when
Griffith plunged over from the one-yard line and again when Griffith ran
it over from the two-yard line. The final score was Giants 27, Rough
Riders 6
Regular Season:
In 1950, the New York Giants finished 10-2 and in a tie for first place
in the American Conference of the NFL. They lost in the playoffs to the
Cleveland Browns, who were competing in their first year as an NFL team
having come from the defunct All-American Conference. The Browns won the
championship of the NFL that season. The Giants were coached by Steve
Owen and led by quarterback Charlie Conerly. Also on that Giant team was
defensive back, Tom Landry. Ottawa finished 5-7 and third in the Eastern
Division. The team was led by Don Loney, who won the Jeff Russell Trophy
as MVP of the Eastern Conference, and end Bob Simpson.
