NEW MAHONING — With a lightning fast tongue, an auctioneer in this Carbon County village Tuesday rattled off descriptions of numerous items that once graced the Maroons Sport Bar & Grill in Pottsville.
But at a public auction at the Mahoning Valley Fire Hall, Doug Houser, Schnecksville, Lehigh County, admitted he wasn’t sure what vintage pictures and posters were originals, and what were reproductions.
“The bar closed. The real estate was sold. And these are the contents that the trustee had asked us to remove before we sold the real estate. A lot had to do with the 1925 football team, the Maroons. Some people had asked me if a lot of this is original or not. I can’t attest to that. I think some of it are blown up pictures. Others might be original, but I cannot attest to whether or not they are the original ones,” Houser informed the crowd of more than 75 at the event.
It was 90 years ago this week that the Pottsville Maroons defeated the Chicago Cardinals, 21-7, for the unofficial NFL title. The auction wasn’t held to mark the anniversary, but to further remind the region that the once-popular sports bar which honored the team was gone.
The sale was by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of PA. It was conducted by Houser Auctioneers, including Houser’s brother, Tim, New Ringgold. The trustee was William G. Schwab, Lehighton.
Schwab is a lawyer who serves as trustee for former owners of the Maroons Sports Bar, Robert C. and Karen Dittmar, according to Amanda Jones, a paralegal in Schwab’s office in Lehighton.
Schwab and the Dittmars were not present at the auction.
“Attorney Schwab, the attorney for bankruptcy, I spoke with him yesterday. He has some court commitments today, so he won’t be here. And he said, ‘Doug, you’re in charge,’ ” Doug Houser said.
Prior to the auction, potential bidders examined items related to the Maroons.
Bob Fromme, Millersburg, Dauphin County, was hoping to find something authentic related to one of the players, Barney Wentz.
“I’m a little disappointed. I was looking for items with connections to Barney Wentz. He was from Shenandoah originally. There’s Barney right there,” Fromme said as he spotted a framed head shot which measured about 8-by-10. He suspected it was a reproduction, an enlargement made from a smaller image.
“Look at the dots, the pixelation. I don’t think it’s an original photo,” Fromme said.
“I think most of them were probably blown up, but they still have a lot of historical significance relative to the team. It’s certainly a nice collection. I’m 70 and I was certainly aware of the Maroons football team. I was a sports enthusiast,” Doug Houser said.
Among the items were framed pictures of Pottsville athletes, including a vintage image of the “P.H.S. Track Team.”
“It has no date on it,” Tim Houser shouted out to the crowd.
Robert Gordon, Allentown, a history buff, bought that and two others for $6 each. The other two featured photos of the Pottsville High 1926-27 basketball team and the 1942-43 basketball team, according to Tim Houser.
“Originally, I’m from the Bronx. I’m a retired New York City teacher. I was a history teacher. And I like things about local history and I love learning about Pennsylvania history. Being a New Yorker, this is all new to me,” Gordon said.
The first auction regarding items from the former bar was a decorative light advertising “Yuengling Light Lager” and “Yuengs & Wings.”
Hawk Acevedo, Lansford, bought it for $85.
The Maroons Sports Bar & Grill in Pottsville opened in June 2004 under the ownership of James and Aggie Sophie Croley. It closed in November 2006. Then, in October 2007, the Dittmars reopened the business, according to the newspaper’s archives.
On Nov. 17, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John J. Thomas, Wilkes-Barre, signed an order authorizing Schwab to sell the 4,900-square-foot property at 556 N. Centre St., Pottsville, to cousins Peter John Russo and Peter F. Russo, the owners of Roma Pizza, 116 W. Market St., Pottsville.
On Dec. 6, 1925, the Maroons defeated the Chicago Cardinals, 21-7, for the unofficial NFL title. Then, on Dec. 12, the Maroons defeated a non-NFL team, the Notre Dame All-Stars, 9-7, in an exhibition game at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park.
The Philadelphia-based Frankford Yellow Jackets claimed the Maroons invaded their territory. The league fined the Maroons $500 and suspended them from all rights and privileges and declared their franchise forfeited in the league, according to the 2007 ESPN book “Breaker Boys: The NFL’s Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship” by David Fleming.
While the Cardinals refused to accept the 1925 NFL championship, Fleming said it was never officially awarded to any team. The Cardinals organization later claimed rights to the title.