1.
Anthracite
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Anthracite is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, Anthracite is the most metamorphosed type of coal, in which the carbon content is between 92. 1% and 98%. The term is applied to varieties of coal which do not give off tarry or other hydrocarbon vapours when heated below their point of ignition. Anthracite ignites with difficulty and burns with a short, blue, Anthracite is categorized into standard grade, which is used mainly in power generation, and high grade and ultra high grade, the principal uses of which are in the metallurgy sector. Anthracite accounts for about 1% of global reserves, and is mined in only a few countries around the world. China accounts for the majority of production, other producers are Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, South Africa, Vietnam, the UK, Australia, Canada. Total production in 2010 was 670 million tons, Anthracite derives from the Greek anthrakítēs, literally coal-like. Other terms which refer to anthracite are black coal, hard coal, stone coal, dark coal, coffee coal, blind coal, Kilkenny coal, crow coal or craw coal, markets to distinguish it from its competitors. Culm has different meanings in British and American English, england, culm is the imperfect anthracite of north Devon and Cornwall, which was used as a pigment. The term is used to refer to the rock strata whose deposits are found in both Britain and in the Rhenish hill countries. Lastly, it may refer to coal exported from Britain during the 19th century, america, culm refers to the waste or slack from anthracite mining, mostly dust and small pieces not suitable for use in home furnaces. Anthracite is similar in appearance to the jet and is sometimes used as a jet imitation. Anthracite differs from ordinary bituminous coal by its hardness, its higher relative density of 1. 3–1.4, and luster. It contains a percentage of fixed carbon and a low percentage of volatile matter. It is also free from included soft or fibrous notches and does not soil the fingers when rubbed, anthracitization is the transformation of bituminous coal into anthracite. The moisture content of fresh-mined anthracite generally is less than 15 percent, the heat content of anthracite ranges from 22 to 28 million Btu per short ton on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis. The heat content of coal consumed in the United States averages 25 million Btu/ton, on the as-received basis. Since the 1980s, anthracite refuse or mine waste has been used for power generation in a form of recycling
2.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
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The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football. As of 2017, there are a total of 310 members of the Hall of Fame, groundbreaking for the building was held on August 11,1962. The original building contained just two rooms, and 19,000 square feet of interior space, in April 1970, ground was broken for the first of many expansions. This first expansion cost $620,000, and was completed in May 1971, the size was increased to 34,000 square feet by adding another room. The pro shop opened with this expansion and this was also an important milestone for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as yearly attendance passed the 200,000 mark for the first time. In November 1977, work began on another project, costing US$1,200,000. It was completed in November 1978, enlarging the shop and research library. The total size of the hall was now 50,500 square feet, the building remained largely unchanged until July 1993. The Hall then announced yet another expansion, costing US$9,200,000 and this expansion was completed in October 1995. The buildings size was increased to 82,307 square feet, the most notable addition was the GameDay Stadium, which shows an NFL Films production on a 20-foot by 42-foot Cinemascope screen. Through 2017, all inductees except one, played part of their professional career in the NFL. For CFL stars, there is a parallel Canadian Football Hall of Fame, only one player, the Chicago Bears have the most Hall of Famers among the leagues franchises with 32 enshrinees. Enshrinees are selected by a 46-person committee, largely made up of media members, each city that has a current NFL team sends one representative from the local media to the committee. A city with more than one franchise sends a representative for each franchise, there are also 13 at-large delegates, and one representative from the Pro Football Writers Association. Except for the PFWA representative, who is appointed to a term, all other appointments are open-ended and terminated only by death, incapacitation, retirement. To be eligible for the process, a player or coach must have been retired for at least five years. Any other contributor such as an owner or executive can be voted in at any time. Fans may nominate any player, coach or contributor by simply writing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame via letter or email
3.
Philadelphia
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In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
4.
Comiskey Park
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Comiskey Park was a ballpark in Chicago, Illinois, the home of the Chicago White Sox from 1910 through 1990. Built by owner Charles Comiskey and designed by Zachary Taylor Davis, it hosted four World Series, the field was also the site of the 1937 heavyweight title match in which Joe Louis defeated then champion James J. Braddock in eight rounds. The Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League also called Comiskey Park home when they werent playing at Normal Park or Soldier Field, the Cardinals won the 1947 NFL Championship Game over the Philadelphia Eagles at Comiskey Park. A new ballpark opened in 1991, across 35th Street and south of its predecessor, originally also called Comiskey Park, it was renamed U. S. Cellular Field in 2003 and Guaranteed Rate Field in 2016, the park was built on a former city dump that Comiskey bought in 1909 to replace the wooden South Side Park. It was originally built as White Sox Park, but within three years was renamed for White Sox founder and owner Charles Comiskey, the original name, White Sox Park, was restored in 1962, but it went back to the Comiskey Park name in 1976. Comiskey Park was very modern for its time and it was the third concrete-and-steel stadium in the major leagues to be built since 1909. As originally built, it seated almost 32,000, a record at the time, briefly, it retained the nickname The Baseball Palace of the World. The parks design was influenced by Sox pitcher Ed Walsh. Later changes were made, but the park remained more or less favorable to defensive teams, for many years this reflected on the White Sox style of play, solid defense, and short, quick hits. The park was unusual in that no player ever hit 100 home runs there, the first game in Comiskey Park was a 2–0 loss to the St. Louis Browns on July 1,1910. The last game at Comiskey was a win, 2–1, over the Seattle Mariners on September 30,1990, the White Sox won their first-ever home night game, over St. Louis on August 14,1939, 5–2. The first no-hitter at Comiskey Park was hurled by Vern Kennedy on August 31,1935, Comiskey Park was the site of four World Series. In 1917, the Chicago White Sox won games 1,2 and 5 at Comiskey Park, in 1918, Comiskey Park hosted the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. The Cubs borrowed Comiskey Park for the series because of its seating capacity. The Red Sox defeated the Cubs four games to two, games one, two and three were played at Comiskey Park. The Red Sox won games one and three, attendance was under capacity in that war year. The best crowd was game 3, with some 27,000 patrons, in 1919, the White Sox lost the infamous Black Sox World Series to the Cincinnati Reds, five games to three in a nine-game series
5.
Chicago
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Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the third-most populous city in the United States. With over 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the state of Illinois, and it is the county seat of Cook County. In 2012, Chicago was listed as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $640 billion according to 2015 estimates, the city has one of the worlds largest and most diversified economies with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. In 2016, Chicago hosted over 54 million domestic and international visitors, landmarks in the city include Millennium Park, Navy Pier, the Magnificent Mile, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Campus, the Willis Tower, Museum of Science and Industry, and Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicagos culture includes the arts, novels, film, theater, especially improvisational comedy. Chicago also has sports teams in each of the major professional leagues. The city has many nicknames, the best-known being the Windy City, the name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa, known to botanists as Allium tricoccum, from the Miami-Illinois language. The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as Checagou was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir, henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the wild garlic, called chicagoua, grew abundantly in the area. In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by a Native American tribe known as the Potawatomi, the first known non-indigenous permanent settler in Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African and French descent and arrived in the 1780s and he is commonly known as the Founder of Chicago. In 1803, the United States Army built Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed in 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes had ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, on August 12,1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 4,000 people, on June 15,1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as U. S. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4,1837, as the site of the Chicago Portage, the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicagos first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois, the canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad, manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy. The Chicago Board of Trade listed the first ever standardized exchange traded forward contracts and these issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage
6.
Shibe Park
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Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a baseball park located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League, when it opened April 12,1909, it became baseballs first steel-and-concrete stadium. In different eras it was home to The $100,000 Infield, The Whiz Kids, Shibe Park stood on the block bounded by Lehigh Avenue, 20th Street, Somerset Street and 21st Street. It was five blocks west, corner-to-corner, from the Baker Bowl, the stadium hosted eight World Series and two MLB All-Star Games, in 1943 and 1952, with the latter game holding the distinction of being the only All-Star contest shortened by rain. In May 1939, it was the site of the first night game played in the American League, Phillies Hall-of-Fame centerfielder and longtime broadcaster Richie Ashburn remembered Shibe Park, It looked like a ballpark. It had a feeling and a heartbeat, a personality that was all baseball, when as many as 28,000 showed up to fill the 9,500 wooden bleacher seats, Shibe and partner Connie Mack decided the As needed a new place to play. He searched for a site for his new park and found one on Lehigh Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets, five blocks west of Baker Bowl, straddling the neighborhoods known as Swampoodle and Goosetown. It was still primitive at the time, an area of high bluffs, rain-washed gullies, quagmires, open fields, even ponds where chickens pecked. Although a grid of streets was planned for the area, few actually existed, without the hospital, the areas stigma would eventually dissipate, but at the time, the land was still a bargain. He spent a total of $67,500 on seven land packages totaling 5.75 acres, for the design and its execution, Shibe hired William Steele and Sons. Their engineering staff had worked with the new technology of steel-reinforced concrete, and designed and built the citys first skyscraper, the Steele design for the Shibe façade was in the ornate French Renaissance style, including arches, vaultings, and Ionic pilasters. The souvenir program on Opening Day called it a combination of color. Gabled dormer windows on the upper decks copper-trimmed green-slate mansard roof looked out over the streets below, presiding over all were terra cotta busts of Shibe and Mack above the main entrances on Lehigh and 21st. The signature feature of the design was the octangular tower on the southwest corner. On the ground floor was an entrance lobby. Bobby Shantz, pitcher for the As in their last years at Shibe, Shibe was proud of the egalitarianism of the design, he said it was for the masses as well as the classes. In April 1908, design in hand, the Shibes and the Steeles broke ground, with the resources of the Steele firm, construction was speedy, efficient and completed in time to open the 1909 season. The city was excited about its new ballpark – the Philadelphia Public Ledger called it a palace for fans, American League president Ban Johnson pronounced that Shibe Park is the greatest place of its character in the world
7.
Official (American football)
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In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. During professional and most college games, seven officials operate on the field. Beginning in 2015, Division I college football conferences are using eight game officials, College games outside the Division I level use six or seven officials. Arena football, high school football, and other levels of football have other officiating systems, High school football played under the National Federation of State High School Associations rules typically use five officials for varsity and 3,4, or 5 for non-varsity games. Because the referee is responsible for the supervision of the game. American football officials generally use the equipment, Whistle Used to signal a reminder to players that the ball is dead. Penalty marker or flag A bright-yellow-colored flag that is thrown on the field toward or at the spot of a foul, for fouls where the spot is unimportant, such as fouls which occur at the snap or during a dead ball, the flag is typically thrown vertically. The flag is wrapped around a weight, such as sand or beans, so that it can be thrown with some distance and accuracy and to ensure it remains in place, Officials typically carry a second flag in case there are multiple fouls on a play. Officials who run out of flags when they see multiple fouls on a play may drop their hat or a bag instead. Bean bag Used to mark various spots that are not fouls, for example, a bean bag is used to mark the spot of a fumble or the spot where a player caught a punt. It is typically colored white, blue, black, or orange, depending on the league, college conference, level of play. Unlike penalty flags, bean bags may be tossed to a parallel to the nearest yard line. Down indicator A specially designed wristband that is used to remind officials of the current down and it has an elastic loop attached to it that is wrapped around the fingers. Usually, officials put the loop around their index finger when it is first down, the finger when it is second down. Some officials, especially umpires, may use a second indicator to keep track of where the ball was placed between the hash marks before the play. This is important when the ball is re-spotted after a pass or a foul. Game data card and pencil Officials write down important administrative information, such as the winner of the coin toss, team timeouts. Game data cards can be paper or reusable plastic
8.
University of Notre Dame
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The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located adjacent to South Bend, Indiana, in the United States. In French, Notre Dame du Lac means Our Lady of the Lake and refers to the patron saint. The main campus covers 1,250 acres in a setting and it contains a number of recognizable landmarks, such as the Golden Dome, the Word of Life mural. The school was founded on November 26,1842, by Father Edward Sorin, CSC, Today, many Holy Cross priests continue to work for the university, including the president of the university. Notre Dame is a large, four-year, highly residential research university, undergraduate students are organized into four colleges, and the Architecture School. The latter is known for teaching New Classical Architecture and for awarding the globally renowned annual Driehaus Architecture Prize, the university offers over 50 foreign study abroad yearlong programs and over 15 summer programs. It maintains a system of libraries, cultural venues, artistic and scientific museums, including the Hesburgh Library and the Snite Museum of Art. Over 80% of the universitys 8,000 undergraduates live on campus in one of 29 single-sex residence halls, each with its own traditions, legacies, events, the university counts approximately 120,000 alumni. The universitys athletic teams are members of the NCAA Division I and are known collectively as the Fighting Irish, other ND sport teams, chiefly in the Atlantic Coast Conference, have accumulated 16 national championships. The Notre Dame Victory March is often regarded as the most famous, started as a small all-male institution in 1842 and charter in 1844, Notre Dame reached international fame at the beginning of the 20th century. Ever since, the University has seen growth, and under the leadership of the next two presidents, Rev. Malloy and Rev. Jenkins, many infrastructure and research expansions have been completed. In 1842, the Bishop of Vincennes, Célestine Guynemer de la Hailandière, offered land to Father Edward Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross, on the condition that he build a college in two years. Sorin arrived on the site with eight Holy Cross brothers from France and Ireland on November 26,1842 and he soon erected additional buildings, including the Old College, the first church, and the first main building. They immediately acquired two students and set about building additions to the campus, Notre Dame began as a primary and secondary school, but soon received its official college charter from the Indiana General Assembly on January 15,1844. Under the charter the school is named the University of Notre Dame du Lac. Because the university was only for male students, the female-only Saint Marys College was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross near Notre Dame in 1844. The first degrees from the college were awarded in 1849, the university was expanded with new buildings to accommodate more students and faculty. With each new president, new programs were offered and new buildings built to accommodate them
9.
Chicago Bears
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The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. The Bears have won nine NFL Championships and one Super Bowl and hold the NFL record for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Bears have also recorded more victories than any other NFL franchise. The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919 and it is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFLs founding. The team played games at Wrigley Field on Chicagos North Side through the 1970 season, they now play at Soldier Field on the Near South Side. The Bears have a rivalry with the Green Bay Packers. The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, the Bears practice at adjoining facilities there during the season. They hold their training camp from late July to mid-August at Ward Field on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Originally named the Decatur Staleys, the club was established by the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur and this was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The company hired George Halas and Edward Dutch Sternaman in 1920 to run the team, the 1920 Decatur Staleys season was their inaugural regular season completed in the newly formed American Professional Football Association. Full control of the team was turned over to Halas and Sternaman in 1921, official team and league records cite Halas as the founder as he took over the team in 1920 when it became a charter member of the NFL. The team relocated to Chicago in 1921, where the club was renamed the Chicago Staleys, under an agreement reached by Halas and Sternaman with Staley, Halas purchased the rights to the club from Staley for US$100. In 1922, Halas changed the name from the Staleys to the Bears. The team moved into Wrigley Field, which was home to the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise, as with several early NFL franchises, the Bears derived their nickname from their citys baseball team. Halas liked the bright colors of his alma mater, the University of Illinois. The Staleys/Bears dominated the league in the early years and their rivalry with the Chicago Cardinals, the oldest in the NFL, was key in four out of the first six league titles. During that span, the Bears posted 34 shutouts, the Bears rivalry with the Green Bay Packers is one of the oldest and most storied in American professional sports, dating back to 1921. The franchise was a success under Halas, capturing the NFL Championship in 1921
10.
Red Grange
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His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League. He was a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. In college, Grange was a three-time consensus All-American, leading his team to a championship in 1923. He was the only consensus All-American running back in 1924 who was not a member of the Four Horsemen, the same year, Grange became the first recipient of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award denoting the Big Tens most valuable player. In 2008, he was named the best college player of all time by ESPN. Red Grange was born on June 13,1903, in Forksville, Pennsylvania and his father was the foreman of three lumber camps. His mother died when he was just five years old, for a number of years, the Grange family lived with relatives until they could finally afford a home of their own in Wheaton, Illinois. When they arrived in Wheaton, Grange’s father worked hard and became the chief of police, at Wheaton High School, Grange earned 16 varsity letters in four sports during the four years he attended, notably scoring 75 touchdowns and 532 points for the football team. As a high school junior, Grange scored 36 touchdowns and led Wheaton High School to an undefeated season, in his senior year, his team won every game but one in which they lost 39–0 to Scott High School in Toledo, Ohio. Knocked out in game, Grange remained unconscious for two days, having difficulty speaking when he awoke. In addition to his success in football, Grange was an all-state track, in 1920, Grange was a state champion in the high jump, while placing third and fourth in the 100-yard dash and the 220-yard dash, respectively. In 1921, he won the title in both the long jump and the 100-yard dash, and finally in 1922, he placed third in the 100-yard dash. To help the family money, he took a part-time job as an ice toter for $37.50 per week. After graduation, Grange enrolled at the University of Illinois, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity and he had initially planned to compete in only basketball and track, but changed his mind once he arrived and joined coach Bob Zuppkes Fighting Illini football team. Grange played for the team from 1923 to 1925, in his first collegiate football game, he scored three touchdowns against Nebraska. He once scored four touchdowns in twelve minutes, in seven games as a sophomore, he ran for 723 yards and scored 12 touchdowns, leading Illinois to an undefeated season and the Helms Athletic Foundation national championship. The Michigan Wolverines entered the game as favorites, having won a national title in 1923. Grange returned the kickoff for a 95-yard touchdown and scored three more touchdowns on runs of 67,56, and 44 yards in the first 12 minutes–the last three in less than seven minutes
11.
Green Bay Packers
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The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. They are also the third-oldest franchise in the NFL, organized and it is the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team based in the United States. Home games are played at Lambeau Field, the Packers are the last vestige of small town teams common in the NFL during the 1920s and 1930s. Founded in 1919 by Earl Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun, between 1919 and 1920, the Packers competed against other semi-pro clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest. They joined the American Professional Football Association, the forerunner of todays NFL, the Packers have won 13 league championships, the most in NFL history, with nine NFL titles before the Super Bowl era and four Super Bowl victories. They won the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968 and were the only NFL team to defeat the American Football League prior to the AFL–NFL merger. The Vince Lombardi Trophy is named after the Packers head coach of the same name and their two further Super Bowl wins came in 1997 and 2011. The Packers are long-standing adversaries of the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions, the Bears–Packers rivalry is one of the oldest in NFL history, dating back to 1921. The Green Bay Packers were founded on August 11,1919 by former high-school football rivals Earl Curly Lambeau, Lambeau solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company. He was given $500 for uniforms and equipment, on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor, the Green Bay Packers have played in their original city longer than any other team in the NFL. On August 27,1921, the Packers were granted a franchise in the new pro football league that had been formed the previous year. Financial troubles plagued the team and the franchise was forfeited within the year, before Lambeau found new financial backers and these backers, known as the Hungry Five, formed the Green Bay Football Corporation. After a near-miss in 1927, Lambeaus squad claimed the Packers first NFL title in 1929 with an undefeated 12–0–1 campaign, among the many impressive accomplishments of these years was the Packers streak of 29 consecutive home games without defeat, an NFL record which still stands. The arrival of end Don Hutson from Alabama in 1935 gave Lambeau, credited with inventing pass patterns, Hutson would lead the league in receptions eight seasons and spur the Packers to NFL championships in 1936,1939 and 1944. An iron man, Hutson played both ways, leading the league in interceptions as a safety in 1940, Hutson claimed 18 NFL records when he retired in 1945, many of which still stand. In 1951, his number 14 was the first to be retired by the Packers, after Hutsons retirement, Lambeau could not stop the Packers slide. He purchased a large lodge near Green Bay for team members, rockwood Lodge was the home of the 1946-1949 Packers, though the 1947 and 1948 seasons produced a record of 12-10-1, and 1949 was even worse at 3-9
12.
Pittsburgh Steelers
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers compete in the National Football League, as a club of the leagues American Football Conference North division. Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC, Pittsburgh has won more Super Bowl titles and hosted more conference championship games than any other NFL team. The Steelers have won 8 AFC championships, tied with the Denver Broncos and they share the record for most conference championship games played in with the San Francisco 49ers. The Steelers share the record for second most Super Bowl appearances with the Broncos, and Dallas Cowboys, the Steelers lost their most recent championship appearance, Super Bowl XLV, on February 6,2011. The Steelers were founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8,1933, by Art Rooney, taking its name from the baseball team of the same name. The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since its founding, the current owner is Arts son, Dan Rooney, who has given much control of the franchise to his son Art Rooney II. The Steelers enjoy a large, widespread fanbase nicknamed Steeler Nation, the Steelers currently play their home games at Heinz Field on Pittsburghs North Side in the North Shore neighborhood, which also hosts the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. Built in 2001, the stadium replaced Three Rivers Stadium which hosted the Steelers for 31 seasons, prior to Three Rivers, the Steelers had played their games in Pitt Stadium and Forbes Field. The Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL first took to the field as the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 20,1933, through the 1930s, the Pirates never finished higher than second place in their division, or with a record better than.500. Prior to the 1940 season, the Pirates renamed themselves the Steelers, during World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises to field a team, during the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles forming the Phil-Pitt Eagles and were known as the Steagles. In 1944, they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were known as Card-Pitt and this team finished 0–10, marking the only winless team in franchise history. The Steelers made the playoffs for the first time in 1947 and this forced a tie-breaking playoff game at Forbes Field, which the Steelers lost 21–0. The Steelers also received a $3 million relocation fee, which was a windfall for them, the Steelers history of bad luck changed with the hiring of coach Chuck Noll for the 1969 season. The Pittsburgh Steelers 1974 draft was their best ever, no team has ever drafted four future Hall of Famers in one year. They also enjoyed a regular season streak of 49 consecutive wins against teams that would finish with a record that year. The Steelers suffered a rash of injuries in the 1980 season, the 1981 season was no better, with an 8–8 showing
