“The Pile-Up: 1930s Football”Mid-Century Oil on Canvas by T. Byrne, 30" x 48"

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“The Pile-Up: 1930s Football,” mid-century oil on canvas by T. Byrne, 30" x 48", unframed

A bold and dynamic sports … Read more “The Pile-Up: 1930s Football,” mid-century oil on canvas by T. Byrne, 30" x 48", unframed

A bold and dynamic sports painting titled Leather Helmet Scrimmage, executed in oil on canvas and signed T. Byrne at lower left. Measuring 30 inches high by 48 inches wide, this large-scale work captures the raw energy and physicality of early American football, depicting players locked in a dramatic ground-level struggle.

The composition features four athletes in vintage leather helmets and brown uniforms with white numerals and red striping, recalling the uniforms of 1930s collegiate teams and early professional squads. Player #21 clutches the ball at right, his determined profile framed by stylized shadows. He is flanked by teammates and opponents (#17 and #88), collapsed and contorted in a pile-up, while another figure looms from above. The artist employs broad, angular brushwork, earthy tones, and stark highlights to heighten the sense of collision and grit.

Though painted in the mid- to late 20th century, Byrne’s subject intentionally evokes the leather-helmet era of American football (1920s–1940s), before plastic headgear became standard. The work straddles the line between realism and modernist abstraction, making it as much a piece of athletic nostalgia as an expressionist composition.

Dimensions: 30" H x 48" W (unframed)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Condition: Excellent, with minor age-related surface wear.

This painting would appeal to collectors of sports memorabilia, Americana, and mid-century modern art, or as a striking statement piece in a game room or office. See less