friedman was lured back halfway through the 1931 season, and, but the giants struggled the next two seasons, finishing with a combined record of 11–12–3. they rebounded in 1933 finishing 11–3, and narrowly losing to the chicago bears 23–21 in the championship game. new york's resurgence was led by some of the league's best linemen, such as ray flaherty, and future hall of famers red badgro, and mel hein. hein, the team's center, was acquired in 1931, and also played the linebacker position. he would go on to a fifteen-year nfl career in which, as a center, he became an all-nfl first team selection eight times, and the only offensive lineman ever named league mvp. they also were aided by strong seasons from halfbacks ken strong, whose 64 points paced the team, and kink richards who averaged 6.8 yards per carry on the season.