Ghosts of the Gridiron - Virtual Scrapbook Library

Vol. 3: Coaldale Big Green

In the years following World War I, the coal mining towns of Eastern Pennsylvania produced a number of fine football clubs.  The annual competition between local teams for bragging rights to the coveted "anthracite crown" produced a game that was arguably the equal of that played by the fledgling National Football League.  The success of the NFL eventually prompted these teams to form the Anthracite League.  The most well known Anthracite League team was the Pottsville Maroons.  That club jumped to the NFL in 1925 and immediately established itself as a championship contender.  But perhaps the most consistently successful club in the coal region was the Coaldale Big Green.  Managed by the charismatic James “Casey” Gildea and led on the field by the hard-charging “Honeyboy” Evans and “Blue” Bonner, the Big Green were a force to be reckoned with on the coal field gridirons throughout the 1910s and 1920s.  The club played as an independent until the formation of the Anthracite League (1924).  After the demise of that circuit, Coaldale joined then the equally short lived Eastern League of Professional Football (1926-27).

Below is a collection of digitized photos and newspaper clippings reporting on the Big Green during the period 1916-27.  Simply click on an individual image to view a full sized version of that article or photograph.

The team photos and player images in the Miscellaneous Photos section appear courtesy Bill Scutta.  The images of the "Curran Cup" Anthracite Coal Region championship trophies appear courtesy John Wasilko.

Miscellaneous Photos Coaldale Big Green Team Photo 1916 Coaldale Big Green Team Photo 1919 Coaldale Big Green Team Photo 1921 Coaldale Big Green 1921 Team Photo Players Identified Coaldale Big Green Team Photo Early 1920's Joe Garland Date unknown Blue Bonner Date unknown Blue Bonner & Casey Gildea Date unknown Memorial to former Big Green player John (Simon) Lewchick 1922 & 1923 Anthracite Coal Region Championship Trophies 1922 Curran Cup Anthracite Coal Region Championship Trophy 1923 Curran Cup Anthracite Coal Region Championship Trophy 1917  (1-0-0, incomplete) Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, PA 11/19/1917 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/19/1917 1920  (2-0-0, incomplete) Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/6/1920 1921  (4-2-3, incomplete) Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 9/21/1921 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 10/3/1921 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/24/1921 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 10/30/1921 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/30/1921 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/31/1921 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/2/1921 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/5/1921 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/6/1921 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/7/1921 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/11/1921 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/12/1921 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/12/1921 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/21/1921 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/23/1921 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/23/1921 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 12/8/1921 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 12/9/1921 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 12/9/1921 1922  (10-1-3) Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/9/1922 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/16/1922 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/23/1922 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/30/1922 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/5/1922 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/13/1922 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/20/1922 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/27/1922 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/27/1922 Evening Bulletin Philadelphia, PA 12/11/1922 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 12/11/1922 1923  (10-4-0) Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 10/1/1923 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/15/1923 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/20/1923 Evening Bulletin Philadelphia, PA 10/22/1923 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 10/22/1923 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/22/1923 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/30/1923 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/1/1923 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/2/1923 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/4/1923 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/12/1923 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/19/1923 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/24/1923 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/26/1923 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/26/1923 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/26/1923 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 12/3/1923 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 12/10/1923 1924  (1-6-0, Anthracite League; 5-7-0, overall) Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 10/6/1924 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/6/1924 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 10/20/1924 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 10/27/1924 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/2/1924 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/3/1924 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/10/1924 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/11/1924 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/17/1924 Evening Bulletin Philadelphia, PA 11/24/1924 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/24/1924 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/24/1924 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/28/1924 1925  (4-4-3, incomplete) Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 10/5/1925 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 10/5/1925 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 10/12/1925 Millville Daily Republican Millville, NJ 10/27/1925 Millville Daily Republican Millville, NJ 10/30/1925 Millville Daily Republican Millville, NJ 10/30/1925 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/26/1925 1926  (4-4-3, Eastern League; 6-4-3, overall) Bethlehem Globe Times Bethlehem, PA 9/25/1926 Bethlehem Globe Times Bethlehem, PA 9/27/1926 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 9/27/1926 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/15/1926 Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 11/29/1926 Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 12/6/1926 1927  (3-3-0, EFL; 7-6-0, overall) Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, PA 10/24/1927 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 10/24/1927 Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, PA 11/14/1927 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/14/1927 Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 11/21/1927