Editing New York Giants (section)

=====NFL champions (1927)=====
In its [[1927 NFL season|third season]], the [[1927 New York Giants season|team]] finished with the best record in the league at 11–1–1 and was awarded the NFL title.<ref name="NYG.comchamp">{{cite web |url=http://www.giants.com/history/ChampionshipGames.html |title=Championship games 1925–1949 |access-date=January 12, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060701144903/http://www.giants.com/history/ChampionshipGames.html |archive-date=July 1, 2006}}, giants.com. Retrieved January 12, 2007.</ref> After a disappointing [[1928 New York Giants season|fourth season]] ([[1928 NFL season|1928]]) owner [[Tim Mara]] bought the entire squad of the [[Detroit (1920s NFL teams)|Detroit Wolverines]], principally to acquire star quarterback [[Benny Friedman]], and merged the two teams under the Giants name.<ref name="r147">{{cite web | title=Did the New York Giants buy a whole team just to get their quarterback? | website=Los Angeles Times | date=2012-02-08 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/sports-now/story/2012-02-08/did-the-new-york-giants-buy-a-whole-team-just-to-get-their-quarterback | access-date=2024-08-17}}</ref>

In [[1930 NFL season|1930]], there were still many who questioned the quality of the professional game, claiming the college "amateurs" played with more intensity than professionals. In December 1930, the Giants played a team of [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame]] All Stars at the [[Polo Grounds]] to raise money for the unemployed of New York City. It was also an opportunity to establish the skill and prestige of the pro game. [[Knute Rockne]] reassembled his [[Four Horsemen (football)|Four Horsemen]] along with the stars of his [[1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|1924 Championship squad]] and told them to score early, then defend. Rockne, like much of the public, thought little of pro football and expected an easy win.<ref name="Neft, Cohen, and Korch. pg. 83">Neft, Cohen, and Korch. pg. 83</ref> But from the beginning it was a one-way contest, with Friedman running for two Giant touchdowns and [[Hap Moran]] passing for another. Notre Dame failed to score. When it was all over, Coach Rockne told his team, "That was the greatest football machine I ever saw. I am glad none of you got hurt."<ref>[http://hapmoran.org/giantsnd/Giants_vs_Notre_Dame_page1.htm New York Giants vs. Notre Dame All Stars December 14, 1930] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726140844/http://hapmoran.org/giantsnd/Giants_vs_Notre_Dame_page1.htm |date=July 26, 2011 }}, hapmoran.org. Retrieved March 12, 2007.</ref> The game raised $100,000 for the homeless, and is often credited with establishing the legitimacy of the professional game for those who were critical.<ref name="Neft, Cohen, and Korch. pg. 83"/> It also was the last game the legendary Rockne ever coached; he was killed in an airplane crash on March 31, 1931.