The first title game. The first heartbreak.

Our history includes every season that brought us here. The Giants were in the middle of this thing when the league was still deciding how its championship should work.

In 1933, the NFL split into divisions and arranged a championship game between their winners. New York went 11–3 to win the East. Chicago was waiting in the first scheduled title game under the new format.

The Giants had already won the 1927 championship through the standings. Now there was one more afternoon to get through.

We had the lead.

Harry Newman found Red Badgro for a 29-yard touchdown, the first touchdown in NFL championship-game history. That is a Giants name at the beginning of the record book.

Late in the game, New York led 21–16. Chicago’s answer went from Bronko Nagurski to Bill Hewitt, then by lateral to Billy Karr. The Bears took it, 23–21.

Think about trying to live with that play over the winter. You get past the pass, then there is another man with the ball and the championship is getting away from you.

Those teams played before my time. My connection to them begins with my grandfather’s stories and the defense he talked about. Going back through the history gives those Giants more than a distant date. They had their own lead to protect, their own game they nearly won.

The next season would bring the Sneakers Game and a different ending. This first title-game trip deserves its place before we turn that page.