Ed Danowski, 85, Star Player For Fordham and the Giants
by Bill Brink
Ed Danowski, a football star at Fordham who went on to lead the Giants to two National Football League titles in the 1930's, died last Saturday in East Patchogue, L.I. He was 85.
The cause of death was complications from Alzheimer's disease, said his younger son, John.
In the single-wing formation popular in the 1930's, the halfback was the primary passer. Danowski, the halfback, led the Giants in passing from 1935 through 1939, and led the league in that category in 1935 and 1938. In his first professional season he helped the Giants win the 1934 league championship in the ''Sneakers Game,'' which still endures as one of the most famous Giants games.
The game against the Chicago Bears was played on Dec. 9, 1934, on a frozen field at the Polo Grounds. Trailing by 10-3 at halftime and unable to get good traction with their cleats, the Giants sent an equipment man to Manhattan College to get some sneakers. Many of the Giant players changed into them, and they rallied to beat the Bears, 30-13, with Danowski running for one touchdown and throwing for another in the second half.
''I don't know how they decided which players got them,'' the Giants' co-owner, Wellington Mara, recalled in a 1991 interview, ''but I do remember running back Ken Strong had a pair and there's a picture of Ed Danowski changing shoes at halftime. So I guess the skill players got them.''
Four years later, in the 1938 title game against Green Bay, the Giants were trailing by 17-16 when Danowski threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Hank Soar to clinch the 23-17 victory for New York.
Born and raised on Long Island, Danowski played for Riverhead High School, then starred at Fordham from 1930 to 1934. After his Giants career, he joined the Navy, then returned to Fordham to serve as head football coach from 1946 to 1954, when the university dropped football. He then worked as a coach and teacher in the East Meadow, L.I., school district until his retirement in 1977.
He is survived by his wife, Josephine, and another son, Edward, of Hicksville, L.I. His son John, of Farmingdale, L.I., is lacrosse coach at Hofstra University.
Published in The New York Times on Feb 5, 1997
by Bill Brink
Ed Danowski, a football star at Fordham who went on to lead the Giants to two National Football League titles in the 1930's, died last Saturday in East Patchogue, L.I. He was 85.
The cause of death was complications from Alzheimer's disease, said his younger son, John.
In the single-wing formation popular in the 1930's, the halfback was the primary passer. Danowski, the halfback, led the Giants in passing from 1935 through 1939, and led the league in that category in 1935 and 1938. In his first professional season he helped the Giants win the 1934 league championship in the ''Sneakers Game,'' which still endures as one of the most famous Giants games.
The game against the Chicago Bears was played on Dec. 9, 1934, on a frozen field at the Polo Grounds. Trailing by 10-3 at halftime and unable to get good traction with their cleats, the Giants sent an equipment man to Manhattan College to get some sneakers. Many of the Giant players changed into them, and they rallied to beat the Bears, 30-13, with Danowski running for one touchdown and throwing for another in the second half.
''I don't know how they decided which players got them,'' the Giants' co-owner, Wellington Mara, recalled in a 1991 interview, ''but I do remember running back Ken Strong had a pair and there's a picture of Ed Danowski changing shoes at halftime. So I guess the skill players got them.''
Four years later, in the 1938 title game against Green Bay, the Giants were trailing by 17-16 when Danowski threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Hank Soar to clinch the 23-17 victory for New York.
Born and raised on Long Island, Danowski played for Riverhead High School, then starred at Fordham from 1930 to 1934. After his Giants career, he joined the Navy, then returned to Fordham to serve as head football coach from 1946 to 1954, when the university dropped football. He then worked as a coach and teacher in the East Meadow, L.I., school district until his retirement in 1977.
He is survived by his wife, Josephine, and another son, Edward, of Hicksville, L.I. His son John, of Farmingdale, L.I., is lacrosse coach at Hofstra University.
Published in The New York Times on Feb 5, 1997
Ed Danowski, 85, Star Player For Fordham and the Giants
by Bill Brink
Ed Danowski, a football star at Fordham who went on to lead the Giants to two National Football League titles in the 1930's, died last Saturday in East Patchogue, L.I. He was 85.
The cause of death was complications from Alzheimer's disease, said his younger son, John.
In the single-wing formation popular in the 1930's, the halfback was the primary passer. Danowski, the halfback, led the Giants in passing from 1935 through 1939, and led the league in that category in 1935 and 1938. In his first professional season he helped the Giants win the 1934 league championship in the ''Sneakers Game,'' which still endures as one of the most famous Giants games.
The game against the Chicago Bears was played on Dec. 9, 1934, on a frozen field at the Polo Grounds. Trailing by 10-3 at halftime and unable to get good traction with their cleats, the Giants sent an equipment man to Manhattan College to get some sneakers. Many of the Giant players changed into them, and they rallied to beat the Bears, 30-13, with Danowski running for one touchdown and throwing for another in the second half.
''I don't know how they decided which players got them,'' the Giants' co-owner, Wellington Mara, recalled in a 1991 interview, ''but I do remember running back Ken Strong had a pair and there's a picture of Ed Danowski changing shoes at halftime. So I guess the skill players got them.''
Four years later, in the 1938 title game against Green Bay, the Giants were trailing by 17-16 when Danowski threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Hank Soar to clinch the 23-17 victory for New York.
Born and raised on Long Island, Danowski played for Riverhead High School, then starred at Fordham from 1930 to 1934. After his Giants career, he joined the Navy, then returned to Fordham to serve as head football coach from 1946 to 1954, when the university dropped football. He then worked as a coach and teacher in the East Meadow, L.I., school district until his retirement in 1977.
He is survived by his wife, Josephine, and another son, Edward, of Hicksville, L.I. His son John, of Farmingdale, L.I., is lacrosse coach at Hofstra University.
Published in The New York Times on Feb 5, 1997
by Bill Brink
Ed Danowski, a football star at Fordham who went on to lead the Giants to two National Football League titles in the 1930's, died last Saturday in East Patchogue, L.I. He was 85.
The cause of death was complications from Alzheimer's disease, said his younger son, John.
In the single-wing formation popular in the 1930's, the halfback was the primary passer. Danowski, the halfback, led the Giants in passing from 1935 through 1939, and led the league in that category in 1935 and 1938. In his first professional season he helped the Giants win the 1934 league championship in the ''Sneakers Game,'' which still endures as one of the most famous Giants games.
The game against the Chicago Bears was played on Dec. 9, 1934, on a frozen field at the Polo Grounds. Trailing by 10-3 at halftime and unable to get good traction with their cleats, the Giants sent an equipment man to Manhattan College to get some sneakers. Many of the Giant players changed into them, and they rallied to beat the Bears, 30-13, with Danowski running for one touchdown and throwing for another in the second half.
''I don't know how they decided which players got them,'' the Giants' co-owner, Wellington Mara, recalled in a 1991 interview, ''but I do remember running back Ken Strong had a pair and there's a picture of Ed Danowski changing shoes at halftime. So I guess the skill players got them.''
Four years later, in the 1938 title game against Green Bay, the Giants were trailing by 17-16 when Danowski threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Hank Soar to clinch the 23-17 victory for New York.
Born and raised on Long Island, Danowski played for Riverhead High School, then starred at Fordham from 1930 to 1934. After his Giants career, he joined the Navy, then returned to Fordham to serve as head football coach from 1946 to 1954, when the university dropped football. He then worked as a coach and teacher in the East Meadow, L.I., school district until his retirement in 1977.
He is survived by his wife, Josephine, and another son, Edward, of Hicksville, L.I. His son John, of Farmingdale, L.I., is lacrosse coach at Hofstra University.
Published in The New York Times on Feb 5, 1997
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