Aug. 11, 1962 - It wasn’t entirely the fault of the defensive unit that the New York Giants couldn’t hold a 21-0 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals today. The offense bore some of the blame too, as the Cards came back to gain a 21-21 tie in the NFL teams’ first exhibition game. Trailing by 14-21 toward the end of the third period, the Cardinals forged the tie when Phil King fumbled on the Giant 14, and Larry Wilson, a St. Louis defensive halfback, picked up the ball and ran for the touchdown. The game was played before 16,000 fans at Fawcett Field in Canton, Ohio, as the highlight of a day of ceremonies marking the start of construction on the National Professional Football Hall of Fame. It was the first pro football game since 1926 in Canton, where organized league pro football got its start. It is said that on Sept. 17, 1920, men representing 11 cities met in a garage in Canton and formed the American Professional Football Association. A year later, this became the NFL. The cities that received franchises in the association were Canton, Cleveland, Dayton, Akron, and Massillon, all in Ohio; Rochester, N.Y.; Muncie and Hammond, Ind.; and Chicago, Rock Island, and Decatur, Ill. The Cardinals are the oldest team in the league, though they have since moved from Chicago to St. Louis.
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