The city of New York was introduced to professional football on the same day that the city was introduced to the New York Football Giants. It was a clear sunny October afternoon in 1925 when the Giants took the field to play against the Frankford Yellow Jackets. The Giants lost their home debut by the score of 14-0 to lower their record to 0-3 after opening with two losses on the road. But more importantly, the New York Football Giants and professional football had arrived. Tim Mara, a bookmaker (legal at the time) and successful businessman and promoter, purchased the team for a reported $500. In an era when professional football was in the shadows of baseball, boxing and college football, and professional football teams hailed from the towns of Dayton, Rochester and Columbus, league officials believed that a team in a large market such as New York was exactly what was needed to keep pro football alive.