Maroons book mailed to NFL owners; author wraps up tour

The following was reported in today's issue of the Pottsville Republican and Herald:

In an effort to win further support for the Pottsville Maroons, Lasting Legacy of Pottsville mailed copies of David Fleming’s book about the legendary team to 19 of the 32 NFL owners Tuesday, according to Pottsville Mayor John D.W. Reiley.

While Lasting Legacy may send packages — which include a letter signed by Reiley and Gov. Ed Rendell — to other teams, Reiley said, “I don’t think there’s any plan to hit the others. ESPN more or less has contacts for the ones we’re sending out.”

“You only need a handful of owners, half a dozen, to get behind the team the way the region is and you’ll really start to see the issue move,” Fleming said Tuesday, the final day of his second promotional tour for “Breaker Boys: The NFL’s Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship,” published by ESPN Books on Oct. 9.

It was an event-filled week for the ESPN The Magazine writer from Davidson, N.C., who signed hundreds of books, traveled to Harrisburg on Monday to watch the state House of Representatives approve a resolution to support the team, and shook hands with George P. Graham of Pine Grove, who wrote and recorded two songs dedicated to “The Great Pottsville Maroons.”

“In many ways it was more exciting than the first trip. It felt like we were launching the book and the cause to a whole other level,” Fleming said.

His latest tour wrapped Tuesday afternoon at the Pennsylvania Cable Network studio in Harrisburg, where he was interviewed and taped for the show “PA Books.” Fleming called the interview “in depth.” It was slated to air in February, but Fleming said he hopes it’s scheduled sooner.

Fleming caught a 7:55 p.m. flight out of Harrisburg Tuesday and arrived in Charlotte, N.C. just after 9.

As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, he’s gathered signatures on a petition to vindicate the team. He’s planning to take them directly to the NFL owners Feb. 3 at Super Bowl XLII at Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

And since October, Fleming has also been giving Lasting Legacy of Pottsville advice on how to connect with NFL owners, who could become potential supporters. On Nov. 30, he said he recommended the names of 21 of the 32 NFL owners who should receive copies of “Breaker Boys.”

But Reiley said in fact it was 20 NFL owners.

On Tuesday, Lasting Legacy mailed 20 packages containing the book, letter signed by Reiley and Rendell, a copy of a six-page article about the Pottsville Maroons written by Fleming in 2003, “Lost In Time,” published in ESPN Magazine, a copy of “Breaker Boys and a DVD copy of a ESPN video history of the Maroons.

Two packages were sent to representatives of the San Francisco 49ers, based on Fleming’s recommendations, according to Arlene Sibbett, Reiley’s secretary.

Reiley said the Philadelphia Eagles have already received a copy of the book.

“That’s why the numbers might be a bit off,” he said.

Single packages were also mailed to these teams: Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers, according to a list provided by Sibbett.

Reiley also contacted those teams to notify them the packages were in the mail, Sibbett said.

The letter signed by Reiley and Rendell included with them states:

“As an NFL owner, you understand better than most the importance of honoring NFL pioneers, teams and towns that helped to make football our national pastime. Today, we would like to introduce you to one of those important teams — the Pottsville Maroons.

“Led by the indomitable running back, Tony Latone, this charismatic team from Pennsylvania coal country was universally regarded as the best football team in the world in 1925. After rolling over the NFL in their first season in the league, they also defeated Notre Dame (and its Four Horsemen) in an exhibition game in Philadelphia, in what was described as the greatest game ever seen. Pottsville’s win helped legitimize the fledging NFL. Yet instead of being rewarded for their pioneering efforts, the Maroons were unfairly stripped of the title by the league president for playing a game outside their own territory.

“We believe that the overwhelming evidence — as laid out in David Fleming’s recently published book ‘Breaker Boys: The NFL’s Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship — proves that the Pottsville Maroons are the true 1925 champions. It is a cause that the City of Pottsville and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have been working on for more than eight decades — one that is also supported by such pillars of the game as George Halas, Art and Dan Rooney, Red Grange, Paul Tagliabue, George Preston Marshall and Jeff Lurie.

“Accompanying this letter is an article from ESPN: The Magazine, which contains David Fleming’s original article on the Maroons, a DVD on the team that ESPN produced, and a signed copy of ‘Breaker Boys,’ which has already been optioned for the movies. We are not asking for your support of the Maroons or for any action on the team’s behalf — we simply hope to inform you about this very important and entertaining team. We are confident that, just like thousands of football fans before you, once you learn more about the incredible story you will eagerly join us in our quest to return the 1925 NFL title to its rightful owner, the Pottsville Maroons.”