Date: December 7, 1947 Location: Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, PA Weather: 44F, 10 MPH
The ninth NFA Championship Game was held at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, PA. This was Pittsburgh's first Championship Game appearance. Detroit would be playing in their third straight Championship and fourth in five years.
GAME SUMMARY
The defending champions would find themselves down early in the game. The Mustangs would receive the ball first, but would be forced to punt. Joe Salem would return the punt 84 yards for a touchdown to put the first points of the game on the board. After the extra attempt was successful, Pittsburgh led 7-0. The score would remain until the 2nd quarter. A Pittsburgh punt would take an awkward bounce and appeared to bounce into the endzone and out of bounds. The officials would rule the ball out of bounds at the half yard line. Mustangs Head Coach Michael Garrett would become animated with the officials and was close to being ejected from the game. He would lose his argument and the Mustangs would start their 5th possession of the game from their own half yard line. On second and ten, Giles Richland would drop back to pass his right tackle Randy Flemington would lose his balance which allowed Pittsburgh's William Blackman to slip passed and tackle Richland for a safety in the endzone. Pittsburgh would lead 9-0 at the half. Even though Pittsburgh was winning, their offense was being shut out by the Mustangs defense. On Detroit's first possession of the second half, they would finally be able to score a touchdown. John Ames would score a 9 yard touchdown. With the extra point, Pittsburgh now led 9-7. The score would remain the same until the final minutes of the game. Detroit's defense would continue to contain Pittsburgh's offense which kept the Mustangs championship hopes alive. With 2:12 left in the game, Detroit would take their first lead of the game. John Ames would rush 4 yards for a touchdown to take the lead 14-9. Pittsburgh would receive the ball after Ames's touchdown, but Harold Tisch would throw an interception to end any hopes of a Pittsburgh championship. Detroit would win their second consecutive NFA Championship. President Harry S Truman was in attendance and presented the trophy to Mustangs owner Chester Ford. For his outstanding defensive performance, James Hostess was named MVP of the game.