The champions came back for another.

Three championship games in three years. That is the first thing I want beside the 1935 Giants, before the score gets to do all the talking.

They had won the previous year with the sneakers at the Polo Grounds. Now they were trying to defend the title, and the season made them work for the return trip.

New York stood at 4–3 before winning its last five regular-season games. Four of those wins were shutouts. They finished 9–3 and went to Detroit with a chance to do it again.

Closer than the final score looks.

Ken Strong caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from Ed Danowski. It would be the Giants’ only touchdown, but for a long stretch it kept the game within reach.

Detroit had a 13–7 lead before its late touchdowns widened the margin to 26–7. Reading only the final, you can miss the part when New York was still one score away.

That part matters to a fan. There is a difference between an afternoon that gets away from you early and one that lets you keep calculating how the next possession might change it.

Detroit protected its lead. Detroit won its first championship. Our title defense ended there.

I still want the late-season run remembered. Five straight wins, a defense throwing shutouts, another chance at the championship. That is a season worth knowing, even when the last game belongs to somebody else.