New York Giants 41

Ottawa Rough Riders 18

Aug. 11, 1951

For the second year in a row, the Giants and Rough Riders met at Lansdowne Park, Ottawa. Ten thousand spectators witnessed the contest between the CFL and NFL in shirt sleeve weather. Despite unfamiliarity with Canadian rules, especially the prohibition of downfield blocking, the Giants won easily. Although it was a lopsided score, the game was described as thrilling by the New York Times.

The two squads played under Canadian rules in the first half and American rules in the second. The Giants led 13-11 at the end of the Canadian half . Ottawa quarterback, Tom O’Malley hit Bill Larochelle and Howie Turner for touchdowns in the first quarter. O’Malley would also toss a third quarter touchdown to Alton Baldwin who raced 63 yards for a touchdown.

On the day, O’Malley outshined his New York counterpart, Travis Tidwell. O’Malley passed 10 of 17 for 223 yards, while Tidwell finished 8 of 18 for 188. New York took advantage of the American rules to score four times in the second half. Eddie Price scored on a six-yard run in the first half and a fifteen-yard run in the second half. To open the second half, Joe Scott scored on a run. Rookie Bob Hudson scored on two receptions at his tight end position and Jimmy Ostendarp returned a punt 67 yards for a score. In this game, kicker Ray Poole connected on all 6 of his PAT attempts and scored one rouge. The final was an easy Giants victory, 41-18

The Canadian Press described the game as follows: "Rough Riders, rebuilt and with a new coach, Clem Crowe, of last year's Baltimore Colts, held their end up reasonably well in the Canadian-ruled first half, lagging 13-11 after the second quarter, but bowed out 41-18 to New York Giants of the National Football League. There was no doubt in either half that the big-league professional club had class to spare."

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