HBO visits Pottsville

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

An HBO Sports video crew tried to slip quietly into Pottsville Tuesday to shoot an “Inside the NFL” feature on the Pottsville Maroons and the lost 1925 NFL Championship, set to air Jan. 30 at 10 p.m.

Pottsville native and former Denver Broncos wide receiver Jack Dolbin was interviewed for the feature inside Pottsville Area High School late Tuesday afternoon, along with Crimson Tide football coach Kevin Keating.

The crew said they could not release any details about the project, but HBO spokesman Kevin Flaherty later confirmed the group was shooting the piece.

He said the Maroons feature will last about 10 minutes as part of a bigger Super Bowl special.

Two weeks ago, “Inside the NFL” producer Christine Wilt, also at the high school Tuesday along with the two-man camera and audio crew, said the project was not finalized, but HBO was looking into the idea and making sure they “could tell the story visually.”

Wilt said the Maroons saga was “really neat.”

The REPUBLICAN & Herald was told any other information would have to come from Flaherty, who said he didn’t know anything about the project until Tuesday.

“I didn’t even know there was a team,” Flaherty said in a phone interview Tuesday evening.

David Fleming’s “Breaker Boys: The NFL’s Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship” was released Oct. 9, renewing interest in the legendary football team. An online petition supporting the Maroons and urging the NFL to return the title received 10,772 signatures as of Tuesday night.

Others interviewed for the program include Pottsville Mayor John D.W. Reiley, Maroons historian Nick Barbetta, and patrons at the Maroons Sports Bar and Grill Tuesday afternoon, according to Flaherty.

The hour long program airs each Wednesday at 10 p.m. on HBO and features recaps of NFL game highlights from the previous Sunday as well as special programs such as the Super Bowl show.

The Maroons defeated the Chicago Cardinals in 1925 NFL championship game, only to lose the title less than two weeks later after playing an exhibition game against the famed Notre Dame Four Horsemen squad at Shibe Park, Philadelphia.

The title was awarded to the Cardinals, who later moved to Arizona.

In 2003, NFL owners voted 30-2 against opening a new discussion about the Maroons’ claim to the title.

Only Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney voted in the Maroons’ favor.

In October, Lurie and Rooney said they still back the team.

Meanwhile, Fleming has written a new piece on the Maroons for a special Super Bowl issue of ESPN the Magazine, which hits shelves Jan. 31.

On Tuesday night, Fleming appeared on “It’s Your Call With Lynn Doyle” on Comcast CN8 in Philadelphia to talk about the Maroons.

Fleming also said he plans to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during the week leading up to the Super Bowl to “pick his brain” about new Maroons discussions.