HAROLD (RED) GRANGE

ILLINOIS VS PENNSYLVANIA

OCTOBER 31, 1925

By the 1925 football season there was essentially no doubt whatever throughout most of the land about the gridiron greatness of Red Grange from Illinois. Yet despite two brilliant seasons that had featured plenty of thrills and dazzling performances, the always superior sounding Eastern media apparently harbored doubts about his talents that had only been demonstrated against supposedly backward Midwestern teams. So in late October of 1925 Grange and his Illini teammates traveled to Philadelphia to take on Penn and everyone was about to see just how good the “Galloping Ghost” really was.

Illinois headed east with just a 1-3-0 record on the season, while the unbeaten Penn Quakers — with serious ideas about a possible mythical national championship — had rolled to five straight wins and were favored by four to five touchdowns. Throughout the night before the game the entire Philadelphia region was deluged by a storm but by morning the rain had stopped, leaving the Franklin Field gridiron looking very much like a potential swamp. The weather itself was cold and very damp, with heavy clouds casting a gloom over the scene. In spite of all this, a crowd of about 67,000 fans jammed into the historic stadium, while the press box was packed to the limit with journalists — including every important sportswriter from around the country and the Eastern cities.

The teams exchanged possessions in the opening minutes and then Zip Long of Penn boomed out a long punt that was downed on the Illinois 42 yard line. Coming out of their huddle for the first play, the Illini backs set up in a straight line with Grange the deep man, and then shifted into position. The snap went to the yellow helmeted Grange and quickly he zipped through a small hole on the left side of the line. Twisting, dodging, and changing directions, he quickly picked up speed and then broke into the clear, sailing to the end zone on his 46-yard touchdown dash with no one within 20 yards of him.

Trailing 6-0 with only five minutes off the clock, Penn decided to kick off again and hope for an Illini turnover in the already very muddy conditions. The ball came down to a waiting Grange standing on his 16 yard line, and he quickly set off up the field, avoiding Penn defenders as he dodged, broke tackles, and kept on changing directions. Amazingly, while Grange was busy avoiding tacklers as he maneuvered through the mud, a speedy Quaker defender managed to catch up from behind and just barely tripped him up with a desperate lunge; but not before the Illini star had returned the kick 59 yards to the Penn 25. It then took five running plays to cover the distance, as the visitors pounded the ball down to the Penn four yard line, from where fullback Earl Britton plowed in for the touchdown to make it 12-0.

The two teams then settled into a back-and-forth struggle with Grange handling most of the ball carrying work for Illinois as he continued slashing and weaving through the Penn line for good yardage. In the second quarter the Quakers got on the scoreboard after they had pinned Illinois at its four yard line with a punt. Britton dropped back to punt the ball from his end zone, but the kick was blocked and he just managed to fall on the loose ball for a safety to make it 12-2.

Grange continued to hammer away at the Quaker line as he led a drive to Penn’s 38 yard line. From there the Illini surprised the defense as Britton rifled a forward pass to Grange that was good for a gain of 24 yards to the 14. The drive continued until Penn finally held on downs at its own one yard line. The Quakers then decided to punt the ball right back but the kick only carried out to their 37. The Illini then went back to work on another drive, highlighted by Grange bolting 13 yards off a fake field goal attempt and then sweeping around right end on the next play and appearing to sail across the muddy gridiron for another 13 yards to the end zone and the touchdown.

The Illini continued to dominate the action through the third quarter as the slippery Grange piled up yardage against the frustrated Penn defenders. Toward the end of the stanza Grange and his Illini running mates slogged down the field on another march that moved to the Penn 24 yard line before the great tailback struck one last time. Set up for an apparent field goal try with Grange the holder, Britton instead took the snap from center, eluded a heavy Quaker rush, and flipped a short pass out to right end Chuck Kessel. Without hesitating, Kessel turned and flipped a lateral to the “Galloping Ghost” who was streaking toward the right sideline on the flea-flicker play. There was no stopping the whirlwind as he cut up the field and dashed the remaining 20 yards to the end zone for his third touchdown of the game.

Grange carried the ball a few more times in the fourth quarter, but the teams played a scoreless final stanza to close out the shocking — at least to the Eastern football people — 24-2 victory for Illinois over previously unbeaten Penn. Everyone — especially the sportswriters — were left mostly speechless and in awe by the performance they had just witnessed by the dazzling Grange. Not only had he scored three touchdowns, but the Illini tailback had carried the ball 36 times for an incredible 363 yards — including runs of 39 and 20 yards along with his 56-yard touchdown dash in the game’s opening minutes —and also had a kickoff return of 59 yards.

Without question Grange’s play against Penn in the impossible field conditions would always be remembered as one of the greatest individual performances in football history. When they regained their senses, the Eastern sportswriters – along with everyone else — recognized Grange’s greatness and all the stories about him had been proved more than true. No less than Walter Eckersall of the Chicago Tribune called it the greatest game of Grange’s college career, exceeding even his dazzling play against Michigan in 1924. There never again would be any doubts about Red Grange, and less than a month later his college days would be over as he embarked on a great career in pro football.