Basically inspired by Cakes' random bursts of ancient NFL history, here's a thread for ye olde NFL. No real direction here, just whatever comes to mind. For instance, as a native of Staten Island, I was surprised as all hell to find that they had their own NFL team. The Staten Island Stapletons (later on, Stapes), existed from 1915 to 1935 and played in the NFL from '29 to '32. http://www.hickoksports.com/history/sistapes.shtml Giants Hall-Of-Famer Ken Strong began his pro career in S.I. Wicked cool old picture:
I put this thread in the history/trivia forum. It's quite a bit to add here. But this is a great idea for a thread and hopefully a lot of interesting stuff will be added http://forums.theganggreen.com/showthread.php?t=14396
I'll post some things in this thread from time to time. I'll start off with a few tidbits. ____ The only time in NFL history that every team in a division had a winning record occurred in 1935. The Western Division went as follows: Detroit Lions 7-3-2 Green Bay Packers 8-4-0 Chicago Bears 6-4-2 Chicago Cardinals 6-4-2 Detroit beat the Giants in the NFL Championship Game 26-7 that year. ____ The first 1,000 yard rusher, Beattie Feathers (1004 yards with 1934 Bears), did not wear socks. Socks did not become a mandatory article of clothing in league play until 1945. ____ The 1945 Championship Game was played in 0 degree weather in Cleveland. Most fans stayed away due to a big snowstorm that hit Cleveland a few days before the game. Cleveland won the game 15-14. They took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter when Redskins quarterback Sammy Baugh threw a pass from his end zone and it hit the crossbar. Per rules in place at the time, it was a safety. The teams traded touchdown passes in the 2nd quarter. Cleveland's successful XP attempt was a key play in this 1-point win. Rookie quarterback and future Hall of Famer Bob Waterfield's kick was partially blocked. The ball bounced off the crossbar and went through. Cleveland took a 15-7 lead in the 3rd quarter on Waterfield's second TD pass of the game. The extra point attempt failed. Washington added a touchdown pass of their own in the 3rd quarter. Waterfield made a game-saving tackle late in the contest. A month after the game, Rams owner Dan Reeves was granted permission by the league to move the team to Los Angeles.
Where are they Now?: Cockroft Steve King, Staff Writer 12.12.2006 Former Browns place kicker Don Cockroft was sitting at a picnic table in the Beer Garden concession stand at training camp last year as practice was being carried on at an adjacent field. There were running backs taking handoffs and cutting behind blocks, just as Leroy Kelly and the two Pruitts -- Greg and Mike - did back in Cockroft's day. There were the quarterbacks dropping back, finding a receiver and making the throw, just as Bill Nelsen and Brian Sipe once did. There were defensive tackles fighting off blocks and making plays, just as Jerry Sherk and Walter Johnson used to do. Yes, with what was going on that day, this could have just as easily been a practice during any of the 14 years - 1967-80 - in which Cockroft played for the club. Indeed, those parts of the game hadn't changed in all those years since. But then something that was distinctly 2005 shocked any dreamers back to reality. As the place kickers worked out, it was obvious that their technique was drastically different than that of most of the place kickers in Cockroft's era. In 2006, every kicker at every level of football kicks uses a soccer style approach. Cockroft and his contemporaries went at the ball straight on, and in fact he was one of the last straight-on kickers in the NFL. Yesterday: A Legend Follows A Legend The first of two third-round choices of the Browns in 1967, Cockroft was drafted out of tiny Adams State in Colorado as the heir apparent to aging Hall of Famer Lou Groza, whowas headed for retirement after that season. Cockroft spent the 1967 campaign on the injured reserve list and then took over for Groza in 1968. Following a legend is never easy, but Cockroft didn't let it bother him. "I don't know if it was immaturity or whatever, but it never crossed my mind," he said. That's because he had a strong leg and a lot of confidence in his own abilities, especially as a punter. "Punting is what I was certainly noted for in college," said Cockroft, who led the nation in that category as a senior with a 48-yard average per attempt. Cockroft doubled as the team's punter and place kicker from 1968-76, averaging 40.3 per punt. He had an impressive rookie campaign as a place kicker, hitting an NFL-best 75 percent (18-of-24) of his field-goal attempts en route to what would turn out to be a career high of 100 points. But after that good start, Cockroft's field-goal kicking took a dip. He hit just 39-of-73 tries (53.4 percent) from 1969-71, prompting the Browns to use one of their fifth-round draft choices in 1972 to draft a kicker, George Hunt. Cockroft responded to the challenge like a champion. "I was having a great season in 1972 with my field-goal kicking and my punting," he said. Then came a late-season game at home against the upstart Steelers, with whom the Browns were battling for the AFC Central title. He said he missed "by one inch to the right" a 26-yarder??? with two minutes left that would have put the Browns ahead by two points. "That was more than a miss. It was my whole career," Cockroft said. A deeply religious man, Cockroft wondered why he was being subjected to this nightmarish experience. It was the same question he had had the previous three years when he struggled. He went to the sidelines and prayed for an opportunity to redeem himself. "I said to God, ?I don't care if it's 60 yards, just please give me a second chance,' " Cockroft said. He got it. "It was from the same exact spot on the field," Cockroft said. This time, he kept his head down - "On the earlier one, I got over-anxious and looked up too quickly," he said - and booted it straight through with just 13 seconds remaining to give the Browns a 26-24 win that was key in them earning the conference's wild-card playoff berth. The game was a springboard for his career. He finished with 1,080 points, the second-highest total in club history behind Groza's 1,349. Today: Back In Northeast Ohio Cockroft, now 61, lives in the Canton, Ohio suburb of Hills and Dales with his wife, Barb. He moved back to the area six years ago from his native Colorado, where his three grown children still reside. He is also the step-father to three children. He has been in the mortgage business for almost three years and has worked the last two years with a Canton-based company. Memories: A Real Pain Cockroft kicked a late field goal to beat the Bengals in the regular-season finale and clinch the 1980 Central title for the Browns, but he never got a chance to be the hero in the 14-12 playoff loss to the Raiders. After Cockroft had struggled with his kicking throughout that bitterly cold day, coach Sam Rutigliano passed up a field goal attempt in the closing minute and instead tried to throw the ball into the end zone and win it with a touchdown. Now known simply as the Red Right 88 game, it ended disastrously with an interception. "What many people don't know about that situation is that I was a long way from being 100 percent physically in 1980," Cockroft said. "I had two herniated discs and needed four epidurals to just get through the season. I probably should have gone on IR." But just like his kicking, he approached that injury straight on. He sucked it up and hit 16-of-26 field goals on the year and scored 87 points, the sixth-highest total of his career. http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/article.php?id=6262
1933 NFL Championship Game Chicago, December 17, 1933 First ever NFL Championship Game The game was played at Wrigley Field in front of 30,000 people. First Touchdown scored in NFL Championship Game History was scored by Morris "Red" Badgro 352 yards passing combined Game Winning Touchdown scored when Bronco Nagurski thew a pass to Bill Hewitt who then lateraled the ball to Billy Karr. The NFL's first-ever championship game in 1933 featured its fair share of wild plays. Included among them was the game-winning touchdown by the Bears. In a designed trick play, Bronko Nagurski faked the run, threw a jump pass 14 yards to the helmet-less Bill Hewitt, who in turn lateraled to Bill Karr who ran 19 yards to the end zone. BEARS BEAT GIANTS FOR TITLE, 23-21 Forward-Lateral, Nagurski to Hewitt to Karr, Brings the Deciding Touchdown. AIR DUEL THRILLS 30,000 Manders Aids Victors With 3 Field Goals-Newman Completes 12 Passes. Code: Bears Giants First Downs 13 13 Yards gained rushing 165 80 Forward passes 16 19 Forwards completed 7 13 Yards gained, forwards 7 13 Forwards intercepted by 1 1 Yards gained, laterals 19 0 Number of Punts 10 14 Distance of punts, yards 420 440 Runback of punts, yards 58 39 Penalties 7 3 Yards lost, penalties 35 15 AP Chicago, Dec. 17- In a sensational forward passing battle the Chicago Bears won the national professional football championship today by beating the New York Giants, 23 to 21. The game was witnessed by 30,000. The Bears, trailing by 21 to 16, seized victory out of the air in the dramatic closing minutes of the game. Billy Karr, right end, who learned his football at West Virginia, plucked a long lateral pass and, eluding two Giant tacklers who chased him desperately, galloped 25 yards for the deciding score. The game was a thrilling combat of forward passing skill, desperate line plunging and gridiron strategy that kept the chilled spectators on their feet in constant excitement. The lead changed hands six times during the furious sixty minutes of play, with first the Bears holding command and then the Giants taking it away from them. An Offensive Battle The struggle was a revelation to college coaches who advocate no changes in the rules. It was strictly an offensive battle and the proffesional rule of allowing passes to be thrown from any point behind the line of scrimmage was responsible for most of the thrills. The Bears' attack was led by Bronko Nagurski, former University of Minnesota plunging fullback, who individually gained 65 yards in fourteen attempts and started the forward-lateral pass that was responsible for the winning touchdown. A notable performance was turned in also by Jack Manders. The former Gopher kicked three goals from placement, one for 40 yards in four attempts and added a goal after touchdown for a total of ten points. Newman Passing Star Harry Newman, Michigan's all American quarterback in 1932, was the outstanding star in the Giants' attack. He tossed seventeen passes, completing twelve for a total of 201 yards. Hailed as the greatest offensive teams in professional football, the rivals did not waste any time improving it, although the gridiron was slippery, particularly the grassy spots, because of mist and fog that hung over the field as the game started. Molesworth quick-kicked over Newman's head and gave the Bears their first scoring chance. Strong returned the punt to the Giants' 42-yard line. There Nagurski plucked a pass out of the air and raced to the Giants' 26-yard line. Ronzani slashed right tackle, going to the 15-yard line. Three plays netted only eight yards, but the ball was placed in a spot for Manders to place kick from the 16-yard line. The ball sailed squarely between the goal posts. Giants' Defense Tightens In the second period, Ronzani tossed a pass to Molesworth, netting the Bears 17 yards and placing the ball on the Giants' 29-yard line. The New York team's defenses tightened, but Manders, called upon for the second time to place kick, booted the oval between the goal posts on a 40-yard effort. The Giants stirred to desperation came back with a touchdown, with Badgro taking Newman's pass and running 29 yards to score. Richards paved the way for the touchdown with a 30-yard drive off left tackle to the Bears' 39-yard line. Strong added the extra tally on a placement kick. The Bears missed another scoring opportunity just before the half ended, when Grange got away on a 17-yard gallop around left end going to the Giants' 9-yard line. There Manders attempted another field goal, but this time he failed. With both teams fighting desperately and using all the strategy at their command, things began to happen in the third period. No sooner did the Bears get the ball than they went right down the field. Kicks Another Field Goal Ronzani gained 15 yards on one play, and a pass Molesworth to Brumbaugh, brought the ball to Giants' 13-yard line. Once more the Giants' defense stiffened, but Manders again dropped back to the 19-yard line to score with another field goal that gave the Bears a 9 to 7 margin. The lead did not last long however, as the Giants, in a sensational display of passing with Newman heaving the ball to Burnett, Richards and Krause, drove straight down the field for 61 yards and a touchdown, Krause going over. Strong kicked the point. That score was accomplished in only eight plays. The last pass Newman threw to Krause was caught as the latter was chased out of bounds on the 1-yard line. He went over two plays later. Then the Bears took a turn at scoring with amazing speed and in six plays chalked up a touchdown. A pass Corbett to Brumbaugh, that gained 67 yards provided the spark. It brought the ball to the Giants' 8-yard line with Nagurski after two plays, tossing a pass over the goal line to Karr. Manders added the extra point and the Bears went into the lead again, 16 to 14. The Giants however, struck back on the kickoff. They took the ball on the 26-yard line and with a passing attack carried to the 8-yard line. There Newman wound up the spectacular display by tossing a pass to Strong in the end zone for a touchdown. Again Strong added the extra point, and the Giants led, 21 to 16. Resume Overhead Attack Then came the thrilling climax. The Bears apparently beaten, took to the air. The first pass Molesworth to Brumbaugh, brought the ball to the 32-yard line. The next one, hurled from the lind of scrimmage, Nagurski to Hewitt, was followed by a long lateral to Karr. Karr caught it out in the open and started for the Giants' goal. Ken Strong and another Giant tore after him, but Ronzani formerly of Marquette University, knocked Strong out of the way and Karr raced across the goal with the winning point. Code: Chicago Bears (23) New York Giants (21) Hewitt LE Badgro [URL="http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=136"]Lyman[/URL] LT Grant Carlson LG Gibson Miller C [URL="http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=92"]Hein[/URL] Kopcha RG Jones [URL="http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=159"]Musso[/URL] RT [URL="http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=170"]Owen[/URL] Karr RE [URL="http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=68"]Flaherty[/URL] Brumbaugh QB Newman Molesworth RH Strong Ronzani RH Burnett Nagurski FB Molenda Code: Score by Periods 1 2 3 4 F Chicago Bears 3 3 10 7 23 New York Giants 0 7 7 7 21 This is from an article written by the AP. I am not sure what newspaper it was from. I hope you enjoyed it.
Joe Delaney Joe Delaney Joe Delaney was a 2nd round draft choice of Kansas City Chiefs in 1981 as a RB from Northwestern State. His rookie year he made the Pro Bowl rushing for 1121 yards. Injuries set him back in his second season as he finished the year with 380 yards. Unfortunately he never got to a year 3. In June of 1983 he died in an act of true heroism. Hearing 3 boys screaming for help he ran towards them. They were in a pond and were drowning. Without thinking twice Joe jumped into the pond, but unfortunately he could not swim himself. He was able to save one of the three boys. Joe left behind a wife and 3 children and saved one boys life. http://www.plattecountylandmark.com/cchatter81.htm http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/rick_reilly/news/2003/07/01/reilly0707/ http://www.nsudemons.com/story.asp?id=899
Melvin "Jack" Hein played '31-'45 Played 15 Seasons for the NY Giants and NEVER MISSED A DOWN He was the Only O-Lineman to ever win the NFL MVP...(1938) and helped the 'Ginas win the CHampionship that year.. Was inducted into the HOF in 1963 in his very first ballot...ranked #74 on the "SPORTING NEWS" TOP 100 ALL TIME LIST He coached at USC during the 50's Went to the University of Washington August 22, 1909-January 31, 1992
Here's a little diddy about Fritz Pollard In a 1921 game vs. the Chicago Cardinals Fritz scored 2 Touchdowns in leading the Akron Pros to a 23-0 win. In the opening quarter he scored from more than 50 yards out sidestepping and juking Cardinal players on the way to the endzone. Here is his Hall of Fame Bio
Immaculate Reception The immaculate reception: 1972 AFC Divisional Playoff game. Oakland Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers. The game was played in Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA Three Rivers Stadium In the 4th quarter the Steelers trailed the Raiders 7-6 with the ball on their own 40 yardline with :22 left in the game and no timeouts left. Chuck Noll called in 66 Circle Option. A pass play intended to go to Barry Pearson. Frenchy Fuqua Terry Bradshaw could not find him avoided two Raiders players and heaved the pass towards Frency Fuqua. The Raiders' Jack Tatum hit Fuqua at the same time the ball arrived sending the ball sailing backwards where Franco Harris ran and caught it before the ball hit the ground. He then ran down the sidelines stiff arming Raiders DB Jimmy Warren on his way towards the endzone! Scientific proof the ball hit Jack Tatum first
I remember this guy. Good article. I thought it was interesting and funny, expecially the story about Parcells. :up Where are They Now? Brad Benson Former left tackle now riding high in retirement. By Michael Eisen, Giants.com March 22, 2007 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? Virtually every longtime Giants fan knows what happened in the Metrodome in Minneapolis on Nov. 16, 1986. The Giants trailed, 20-19, and faced with a seemingly impossible fourth-and-17 situation with 1:06 remaining in the fourth quarter. But Phil Simms threw a 21-yard pass to Bobby Johnson on the right sideline and moments later, Raul Allegre kicked a 33-yard field goal to give the Giants an improbable 22-20 victory. Brad Benson served on the Giants offensive line from 1977-1987. To many, the fourth-and-17 is the defining moment from the Giants? first Super Bowl season. The players happily recall that victory, of course. But to many of them, what stands out from that day is not the catch or the field goal at the end of the game, but a near confrontation at the end of the first half between coach Bill Parcells and the team?s left tackle, Brad Benson. Allegre seemingly kicked a 55-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter. But the score was nullified by Benson?s illegal motion penalty. Pushed back five yards, Allegre then missed a 60-yard attempt. That?s when Parcells, who had a volcanic temper when provoked, went after Benson. And Benson started heading toward his coach. ?I was smoking,? Benson said. ?I could read his lips on the sideline. It wasn?t pretty. There were words there that would set just about anybody off.? Appropriately, team leaders Harry Carson and George Martin intervened. Carson grabbed Benson, while Martin managed to restrain Parcells. ?George Martin put his arm around my neck,? Parcells said. ?I was going to chase Benson and George tackled me. I said, ?Let me go, what do you think I?m going to do?? He said, ?I think you?re going to kill Benson.? George knew what I was doing.? ?I remember that so distinctly,? Martin said. ?Bill had homicide written all over his face. And Brad knew it.? As they made the long walk to the locker room, Parcells directed a withering verbal assault at Benson. After the dramatic victory, he had pretty much calmed down. Although he mercilessly critiqued him at virtually every practice, Parcells had a soft spot in his heart for Benson, who overcame his athletic limitations to become a Pro Bowl tackle. ?On the flight home, Ronnie Barnes (then the head trainer, now the vice president of medical services) comes back and said, ?Listen, Bill would like you to come up and see him,?? Benson said. ?So I came up and I sat down beside him. He got on me pretty good. And he said, ?Listen, I just want you to know I love you. You are my man. I have a lot of confidence in you.? Normally you could only have beer - you couldn?t have any hard liquor, but he ordered me a drink. I was really in the cat?s seat. So he said, ?So are we okay?? I said, ?Yeah, we are fine.? Parcells said, ?Good, go back to your seat.? I said, ?Okay.? I got up and he said, ?By the way, you move like that one more time, I?m going to cut you.? He had that last word.? Parcells always did. But that was fine with Benson, who credits Parcells for helping make him the player he was. Benson joined the Giants as a rookie free agent in 1977, following a stellar career at Penn State, where he was a three-year starter and an offensive captain as a senior. He was actually drafted in the eighth round by the New England Patriots, released and picked up by the Giants. Benson was active for five games as a rookie, then played in all 16 games as a pro sophomore. The Giants won a total of 11 games under coach John McVay in those two years, and the lowlight of the 1978 season was Joe Pisarcik?s infamous fumble. ?I was in the huddle for the Philadelphia fumble,? Benson said. ?My first two years - I really don?t want to say bad things about an administration, but it was a real step down from Penn State. Guys were leaving at lunch time to go have beers. It was just incredible. I couldn?t believe the things that were going on.? In 1979, George Young hired Ray Perkins to be the head coach and Benson became the starting left tackle. ?When Perkins came in, he instilled the discipline and everything that we needed, but he was just missing something,? Benson said. ?In other words, he had no relationship with his players ? no relationship.? That changed when Parcells was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach for the 1983 season. Parcells was a tough guy who could also massage souls and egos. He knew who he could ride hard and who needed a softer touch. It quickly became clear in which category Benson resided. ?Brad was the whipping boy,? said Phil Simms, then the Giants? quarterback. ?Billy (Ard, the left guard) never heard anything.? Benson rarely made it through a practice without receiving a verbal blast from the coach. Part of it was the position he played. Parcells rode left tackles and cornerbacks, because he believed those players were on an island and had to possess mental toughness to survive. Also, Parcells knew that riding Benson made the all-important left tackle a better player. http://www.giants.com/news/eisen/story.asp?story_id=24385 ^ ^ The rest of the story.
What are the rules of that now? If it hits the crossbar and is caught by an offensive player is it a TD? Or INT/Safety by the D?
They weren't in the middle of the endzone, they were on the goal line. The NCAA moved them to the back of the endzone in 1927, but the NFL didn't do that until 1974.
