January 15, 1939

On January 15, 1939, the first NFL All-Star Game was played at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles between the NFL Champion New York Giants and an All-Star team comprised of stars from the NFL and from two independent teams, the Los Angeles Bulldogs and Hollywood Stars. The game was established by George Preston Marshall (owner of the Boston franchise), Bill Henry (Los Angeles Times sports editor) and Tom Gallery (a promoter). The Giants had won the right to appear in the game when they defeated the Green Bay Packers for the 1938 title. A crowd of 15,000 witnessed the historic game

In an extremely well played game, the Giants staged comeback to win in the 4th quarter. In the second quarter, following a Johnny Karcis interception, which he returned to the All-Star 13, Feets Barnum kicked a field goal to give the Giants the lead 3-0. Ernie Smith of the Stars kicked a 26-yard field goal with 20 seconds to go in the half to tie the score at 3-3.In the third quarter, starting from his own 20, Washington's Sammy Baugh hit Brooklyn's Perry Scwartz for ten yards. On second and inches, Baugh surprised the Giants by hitting Detroit's Lloyd Cardwell streaking down the sideline for a 70 yard touchdown and a 10-3 lead.
 

Ed Danowski brought Giants back on a long drive and tied it in the 4th with a touchdown pass of his own, a 22 yard strike to Chuck Gelatka. The All-Stars again drove deep into Giants territory, but a field goal by the Packers' Ernie Smith was deflected wide of the uprights by New York’s Chief Johnson late in the quarter.  Later, Ed Goddard of the Cleveland Rams fumbled a Danowski punt and the Giants got the ball inside the Stars 20 on a Jim Howell recovery, With 5 minutes remaining, Ward Cuff kicked a game winning 17 yard field goal. According to newspaper reports of the day, the All-Stars were much deeper on the bench than the Giants. The Giants actually pulled an upset in this game because they were forced to play a single unit for almost the entirety of the game and were outgained on the ground and through the air.

Giants' Hank Soar carried ball with defenders, Swartx 99, Gentry 18 and Kinard 25, closing in

January, 1940

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