1.
AFC Championship Game
–
The AFC Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the American Football Conference, the winner then advances to face the winner of the National Football Conference Championship Game in the Super Bowl. The game was established as part of the 1970 merger between the NFL and the American Football League, with the merged league realigning into two conferences. Since 1984, each winner of the AFC Championship Game has also received the Lamar Hunt Trophy, named after the founder of the AFL and longtime leader of the Kansas City Chiefs, Lamar Hunt. The first AFC Championship Game was played following the 1970 regular season after the merger between the NFL and the American Football League. The game is considered the successor to the former AFL Championship, every AFC team except the Houston Texans has played in an AFC Championship Game at least once. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most appearances in the AFC Championship Game at 16, with 11 of those games being in Pittsburgh, at the end of each regular season, a series of playoff games involving the top six teams in the AFC are conducted. In the current NFL playoff structure, this consists of the four division champions, the two teams remaining following the Wild Card round and the divisional round play in the AFC Championship game. Initially, the site of the game was determined on a rotating basis, since the 1975–76 season, the site of the AFC Championship has been based on playoff seeding based on the regular season won-loss record, with the highest surviving seed hosting the game. A wild card team can only host the game if both participants are wild cards, in case the fifth seed would host the sixth seed. Such an instance has never occurred in the NFL, beginning with 1984–85 season, the winner of the AFC Championship Game has received the Lamar Hunt Trophy, named after the founder of the AFL. The original design consisted of a base with a sculpted AFC logo in the front. Numbers in parentheses in the table are AFC Championships, bold indicates team won Super Bowl that year. ^ b, The Seahawks were members of the NFC in 1976 and then members of the AFC from 1977 to 2001, including their appearances in the NFC Championship Game, they hold a combined 3–1 record between both Conference Championship Games. ^ c, The Buccaneers were members of the AFC in 1976 before moving to the NFC in 1977, ^ e, Includes appearances as the Baltimore Colts, where they went 1–1 in AFC Championship Games. Since moving to Indianapolis in 1984, the Colts are 2–3 in AFC Championship Games ^ f, Includes appearances as the Houston Oilers, since moving to Tennessee in 1997, they are 1–1 in AFC Championship Games. Los Angeles Raiders Largest margin of victory –48 points**, January 20,1991 – Buffalo Bills vs
2.
NFC Championship Game
–
The National Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the National Football Conference, the winner then advances to face the winner of the American Football Conference Championship Game in the Super Bowl. The game was established as part of the 1970 merger between the NFL and the American Football League, with the merged league realigning into two conferences. Since 1984, each winner of the NFC Championship Game has also received the George Halas Trophy, named after the founder and longtime owner of the NFLs Chicago Bears, George Halas. The first NFC Championship Game was played following the 1970 regular season after the merger between the NFL and the American Football League. The game is considered the successor to the original NFL Championship, every NFC team has played in an NFC Championship at least once. The Seattle Seahawks, who have members in both the AFC and the NFC, hold the distinction of appearing in both conference title games. Only the Detroit Lions have yet to win an NFC Championship Game, at the end of each regular season, a series of playoff games involving the top six teams in the NFC are conducted. In the current NFL playoff structure, this consists of the four division champions, the two teams remaining following the Wild Card round and the divisional round play in the NFC Championship game. Initially, the site of the game was determined on a rotating basis, since the 1975–76 season, the site of the NFC Championship has been based on playoff seeding based on the regular season won-loss record, with the highest surviving seed hosting the game. A wild card team can only host the game if both participants are wild cards, in case the fifth seed would host the sixth seed. Such an instance has never occurred in the NFL, the original design consisted of a wooden base with a sculpted NFC logo in the front and a sculpture of various football players in the back. The trophies are now a new, silver design with the outline of a hollow football positioned on a base to more closely resemble the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Numbers in parentheses in the winning team column are NFC Championships won by that team, bold indicates team won Super Bowl that year. Numbers in parentheses in the city and stadium column is the amount of times that area and stadium has hosted a NFC Championship. ^ a, Overtime ^ b, The Seahawks were members of the NFC in 1976 and then members of the AFC from 1977–2001, including their only appearance in the AFC Championship Game, they hold a combined 3–1 record between both Conference Championship Games
3.
Super Bowl XII
–
The Cowboys defeated the Broncos 27–10 to win their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 15,1978, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans and this was the first time that the Super Bowl was played in a domed stadium, and the first time that the game was played in prime time. The game pitted Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach against their former quarterback, led by Staubach and the Doomsday Defense, Dallas advanced to its fourth Super Bowl after posting a 12–2 regular season record and playoff victories over the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings. The Cowboys defense dominated most of Super Bowl XII, forcing eight turnovers, two of those interceptions led to 10 first-quarter points. Denvers longest play of the game was just 21 yards, which occurred on their opening drive, Dallas expanded its lead to 20–3 in the third quarter after wide receiver Butch Johnson made a diving catch in the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown reception. For the first and only time, two players won Super Bowl MVP honors, defensive tackle Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin and this was also the first time that a defensive lineman was named Super Bowl MVP. The NFL awarded Super Bowl XII to New Orleans on March 16,1976 at the NFL owners meetings held in San Diego, the main storyline surrounding Super Bowl XII was Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach versus Broncos quarterback Craig Morton. Morton began his playing for Dallas in 1965. Staubach joined the Cowboys in 1969 after spending 4 years of service in the United States Navy, during the 1970 season, both Morton and Staubach started for about half of the regular season games. Morton was ultimately selected to lead the team through the playoffs and eventually to their Super Bowl V loss to the Baltimore Colts, the next year, Staubach won the starting job and eventually led Dallas to defeat the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI, 24–3. Staubach was also named Super Bowl MVP during that game, in 1972, Morton started most of the Cowboys games as Staubach was out with a separated shoulder. However, in the playoffs against San Francisco, Staubach relieved Morton and led the team to a come-from-behind victory. Morton was relegated to backup status until he left the team in 1974 to join the New York Giants, after spending three years with the Giants, Morton became the starting quarterback for the Broncos, a franchise with a dismal history. It had taken them 14 years to record their first winning season, but under the leadership of the newly arrived Morton and their new coach Red Miller, Denver finished 1977 with a 12–2 record and earned the #1 seed in the AFC. Denver tight end Riley Odoms was his target, with 37 receptions for 429 yards. Wide receiver Haven Moses was also a deep threat, catching 27 passes for 539 yards. However, the Broncos main offensive strength was their rushing game, Denver had 3 running backs, Otis Armstrong, Lonnie Perrin, and Rob Lytle, who carried the ball equally, combining for 1,353 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. On special teams, multi-talented wide receiver Rick Upchurch led the NFL with 653 punt return yards, while also catching 12 passes for 245 yards and recording 456 yards returning kickoffs
4.
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
–
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, often referred to simply as the Superdome, is a domed sports and exhibition venue located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It primarily serves as the venue for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. Plans were drawn up in 1967 by the New Orleans modernist architectural firm of Curtis and Davis and the building opened as the Louisiana Superdome in 1975. Its steel frame covers a 13-acre expanse and the 273-foot dome is made of a lamellar multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of 680 feet and it is adjacent to the Smoothie King Center. The Superdome gained international attention of a different type in 2005 when it housed thousands of people seeking shelter from Hurricane Katrina, the building suffered extensive damage as a result of the storm, and was closed for many months afterward. It was eventually decided the building would be refurbished and reopened in time for the Saints 2006 home opener on September 25. On October 3,2011, it was announced that German automaker Mercedes-Benz purchased naming rights to the stadium, the new name took effect on October 23,2011. Atlantas Mercedes-Benz Stadium, set to open in 2017, will become the fifth stadium to bear the name of the German automaker, the Superdome is located on 70 acres of land, including the former Girod Street Cemetery. The dome has a space of 125,000,000 cubic feet, a height of 253 feet, a dome diameter of 680 feet. The Superdome has a listed seating capacity of 76,468 or 73,208. However, published figures from events such as the Sugar Bowl football game have exceeded 79,000. The basketball capacity does not reflect the NCAAs new policy on arranging the basketball court on the 50-yard line on the football field, in 2011,3,500 seats were added, increasing the Superdomes capacity to 76,468. The Superdomes capacity was 75,167 for WWE WrestleMania XXX, the actual capacity is 73,208 people. The team regularly draws capacity crowds, the NFL has hosted seven Super Bowls at the Superdome, most recently Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. The 1976 Pro Bowl was held at the Superdome on Monday and it was the NFLs 26th annual all-star game. Tulane University played their games at the stadium from 1975 to 2013 before moving to on-campus Yulman Stadium. The BCS National Championship Game was played at the Superdome four times, the College Football Playoff semifinal game is played every three years in the stadium. Two other bowl games are played there annually, the Sugar Bowl
5.
New Orleans
–
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U. S. Census, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723, as it was established by French colonists and it is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music, and its celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is referred to as the most unique in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranks third in population, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish, La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded May 7,1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time and his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, during the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a campaign against the British from the city in 1779. New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French oversight, nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, the most notable exception being the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans, and Italians, Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The Haitian Revolution ended in 1804 and established the republic in the Western Hemisphere. It had occurred several years in what was then the French colony of Saint-Domingue
6.
Tampa Stadium
–
Tampa Stadium was a large open-air stadium located in Tampa, Florida. It opened in 1967, was expanded in 1974–75, and was demolished in 1999. The facility is most closely associated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League and it also hosted two Super Bowls, in 1984 and 1991. To meet the demands of the Buccaneers new owners, Raymond James Stadium was built at public expense in Tampa Stadiums parking lot in 1998. The older stadium was demolished in early 1999, the land on which Tampa Stadium was situated had been the perimeter of Drew Field, a World War II-era airfield which was the precursor to Tampa International Airport. In 1949, the city of Tampa bought a 720-acre grassy parcel between the airport and West Tampa from the government with the idea of eventually building a community sports complex. Al Lopez Field was the first phase of the project, opening in 1955, by the early 1960s, Tampas civic leaders were interested in attracting a National Football League team to the area. Several well-attended NFL exhibition games were held at Phillips Field near downtown, when it opened in 1967, Tampa Stadium consisted of a matching pair of large arch-shaped concrete grandstands with open endzones. The seating consisted of long, backless aluminum benches that were accessed via tunnels which connected the seating area to wide. The benches were arranged in two large tiers divided by a walkway about halfway up the grandstands. The slope of the grandstands was relatively steep, giving every seat a direct, the official capacity was 46,481, though temporary bleachers could be placed in one or both endzones if needed. Over the lifetime of Tampa Stadium, the grass turf consisted of several varieties of Bermuda grass. The playing surface was one of the best in the NFL. Tampa Stadium was built almost exclusively of concrete, throughout its existence, exterior walls were painted light tan or white or left as bare concrete, as were the flooring surfaces. Seating consisted of long aluminum benches, and there was no roof or overhang of any kind over the field or seating areas, while the stadiums minimalist design allowed for very good sight lines, it also exposed both spectators and players to the full brunt of Tampas subtropical climate. This was especially true after the stadium was enclosed for the Bucs 1976 inaugural season. While fans could retreat under the grandstands to the shade of the wide concourses where concessions and restrooms were located, players, cooling equipment was usually placed near the sideline benches. The Buccaneers were also allowed to wear their white jerseys at home, during the summer and early autumn, events in the stadium were often scheduled in the evening hours to avoid the often oppressive afternoon heat and humidity
7.
Tampa, Florida
–
Tampa is a major city in, and the county seat of, Hillsborough County, Florida. It is located on the west coast of Florida on Tampa Bay, near the Gulf of Mexico, the city had a population of 346,037 in 2011. The current location of Tampa was once inhabited by peoples of the Safety Harbor culture. The area was explored by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, resulting in violent conflicts and the introduction of European diseases, which wiped out the original native cultures. In 1824, the United States Army established a frontier outpost called Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River, near the site of todays Tampa Convention Center. The first civilian residents were pioneers who settled near the fort for protection from the nearby Seminole population, today, Tampa is part of the metropolitan area most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area. For U. S. Census purposes, Tampa is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, the Greater Tampa Bay area has over 4 million residents and generally includes the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas. The Tampa Bay Partnership and U. S. Census data showed an annual growth of 2.47 percent. A2012 estimate shows the Tampa Bay area population to have 4,310,524 people, Tampa was ranked as the 5th best outdoor city by Forbes in 2008. Tampa also ranks as the fifth most popular American city, based on where people want to live, a 2004 survey by the NYU newspaper Washington Square News ranked Tampa as a top city for twenty-somethings. Tampa is ranked as a Gamma+ world city by Loughborough University, ranked alongside other world cities such as Phoenix, Charlotte, Rotterdam, and Santo Domingo. The word Tampa may mean sticks of fire in the language of the Calusa and this might be a reference to the many lightning strikes that the area receives during the summer months. Other historians claim the name means the place to gather sticks, toponymist George R. Stewart writes that the name was the result of a miscommunication between the Spanish and the Indians, the Indian word being itimpi, meaning simply near it. The name first appears in the Memoir of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda and he calls it Tanpa and describes it as an important Calusa town. While Tanpa may be the basis for the modern name Tampa, archaeologist Jerald Milanich places the Calusa village of Tanpa at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor, the original Bay of Tanpa. A later Spanish expedition did not notice Charlotte Harbor while sailing north along the west coast of Florida, the name was accidentally transferred north. Map makers were using the term Bay or Bahia Tampa as early as 1695, people from Tampa are known as Tampans or Tampanians. Latin Americans from Tampa are known as tampeños, or tampeñas for females and these terms of Spanish origin emerged after 1900 for the immigrant communities in West Tampa and Ybor City
8.
National Football League
–
The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
9.
NFL on Thanksgiving Day
–
The National Football League on Thanksgiving Day is a traditional series of games played during the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. It has been a regular occurrence since the inception in 1920. Currently, three NFL games are played every Thanksgiving, the first two are hosted by the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys, a third game, with no fixed opponents, has been played annually since 2006. The concept of American football games being played on Thanksgiving Day dates back to 1876, shortly after the game had been invented, in that year, the college football teams at Yale and Princeton began an annual tradition of playing each other on Thanksgiving Day. The University of Michigan also made it a tradition to play annual Thanksgiving games, the Thanksgiving Day games between Michigan and the Chicago Maroons in the 1890s have been cited as The Beginning of Thanksgiving Day Football. In some areas, high-school teams play on Thanksgiving, usually to wrap-up the regular-season, by the time football had become a professional event, playing on Thanksgiving had already become an institution. Records of pro football being played on Thanksgiving date back to as early as the 1890s, with the first pro–am team, members of the Ohio League, during its early years, usually placed their marquee matchups on Thanksgiving Day. For instance, in 1905 and 1906 the Latrobe Athletic Association and Canton Bulldogs, a rigging scandal with the Tigers leading up to the 1906 game led to severe drops in attendance for the Bulldogs and ultimately led to their suspension of operations. During the 1910s, the Ohio League stopped holding Thanksgiving games because many of its players coached high school teams and were unavailable. This was not the case in other circuits, in 1919. The game ended in a tie, leading to a rematch the next Sunday for the league championship. During the Franksgiving controversy in 1939 and 1940, the two teams to play the game were the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles, as both teams were in the same state. When the Thanksgiving games resumed in 1945, only the Lions annual home game would remain on the Thanksgiving holiday, in 1951, the Packers began a thirteen-season run as the perpetual opponent to the Lions each year through 1963. In 1966, the Dallas Cowboys, who had founded six years earlier. It is widely rumored that the Cowboys sought a guarantee that they would regularly host Thanksgiving games as a condition of their very first one, in 1975 and 1977, the St. Louis Cardinals replaced Dallas as a host team. This, combined with St. Louiss consistently weak attendance and opposition from the Kirkwood–Webster Groves Turkey Day Game led to Dallas resuming regular hosting duties in 1978. Notwithstanding the aforementioned St. Louis-hosted games in 1975 and 1977, thus, the AFC could showcase only one team on Thanksgiving, and the AFC team was always the visiting team. Since 2006, a third NFL game on Thanksgiving has been played at night and it originally aired on the NFL Network as part of its Thursday Night Football package until 2011, NBC began carrying the night game in 2012
10.
Deacon Jones
–
Deacon Jones was an American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, Jones specialized in quarterback sacks, a term which he coined. Nicknamed the Secretary of Defense, Jones is considered one of the greatest defensive players ever, the Los Angeles Times called Jones most valuable Ram of all time, and former Redskins head coach George Allen called him the greatest defensive end of modern football. Jones was born in Eatonville, Florida, and lived in a house with his family of ten. Jones attended Hungerford High School, where he played football, baseball, during high school, Jones developed a lump in his thigh and learned that it was a tumor, he had surgery to remove it. When he was 14 years old, he witnessed a carload of white teenagers laughingly hit a black church woman with a watermelon. The woman died later from the injury, and there was never a police investigation. Unlike many black people then, I was determined not to be what society said I was, thank God I had the ability to play a violent game like football. It gave me an outlet for the anger in my heart, Jones college football career consisted of a year at South Carolina State University in 1958, followed by a year of inactivity in 1959 and a final season at Mississippi Vocational College in 1960. South Carolina State revoked Jones scholarship after they learned that he participated in a protest during the Civil Rights Movement. While he was playing at Mississippi Vocational, he and his African-American teammates had to sleep in cots in the opposing teams gym because motels would not take them on numerous occasions, Jones was drafted in the 14th round of the 1961 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He then earned a role as a defensive end and teamed with tackle Merlin Olsen to give Los Angeles a perennial All-Pro left side of the defensive line. He became a part of the Fearsome Foursome defensive line of the Rams, Jones won consensus All-Pro honors five straight years from 1965 through 1969 and was second-team All-Pro in 1964,1970, and 1972. He was also in seven straight Pro Bowls, from 1964 to 1970 and he was voted the teams Outstanding Defensive Lineman by the Los Angeles Rams Alumni in 1962,64,65, and 66. In 1971, Jones suffered a severely sprained arch, which caused him to four starts. In 1972, Jones was included in a trade with the San Diego Chargers. He was named San Diegos defensive captain and led all Chargers defensive linemen in tackles and he concluded his career with the Washington Redskins in 1974. In the final game of his NFL career, the Redskins allowed him to kick the point-after-touchdown for the games last score
11.
Los Angeles Rams
–
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team that play in the National Football League. The Rams franchise was founded in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams in the short-lived second American Football League before joining the NFL the next year, in 1946, the franchise moved to Los Angeles. The Rams franchise remained in the area until 1994, when they moved to St. Louis. The Rams franchise returned to Los Angeles in 2016, Reeves threatened to end his relationship with the NFL and get out of the professional football business altogether unless the Rams transfer to Los Angeles was permitted. A settlement was reached and, as a result, Reeves was allowed to move his team to Los Angeles, consequently, the NFL became the first professional coast-to-coast sports entertainment industry. From 1933, when Joe Lillard left the Chicago Cardinals, through 1946, after the Rams had received approval to move to Los Angeles, the Rams entered into negotiations to lease the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Rams were advised that a precondition to them getting a lease was that they would have to integrate the team with at least one African-American, subsequently, the Rams signed Kenny Washington on March 21,1946. The signing of Washington caused all hell to break loose among the owners of the NFL franchises, the Rams added a second black player, Woody Strode, on May 7,1946, giving them two black players going into the 1946 season. The Rams were the first team in the NFL to play in Los Angeles, the upstart All-America Football Conference had the Los Angeles Dons compete there as well. Reeves was taking a gamble that Los Angeles was ready for its own football team –. Reeves was proved to be correct when the Rams played their first pre-season game against the Washington Redskins in front of a crowd of 95,000 fans, the team finished their first season in L. A. with a 6–4–1 record, second place behind the Chicago Bears. At the end of the season Walsh was fired as head coach, the Coliseum would be the home of the Rams for more than 30 years, but the facility was already over 20 years old on the day of the first kickoff. In 1948, halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Rams helmets, Kelley had an early evening talk show on L. A. radio station KMPC, that was considered by most sports enthusiasts as highly entertaining. Kelley was generally considered a Legend and a professional, one of the great radio. At the beginning of the 1951 World Championship game after the kickoff, Kelley was able to cite every player on the prior to the first snap from scrimmage. The Rams first heyday in Southern California was from 1949 to 1955, during this period, they had the best offense in the NFL, even though there was a quarterback change from Bob Waterfield to Norm Van Brocklin in 1951. The defining Offensive players of this period were wide receiver Elroy Hirsch, Van Brocklin, teamed with fellow Hall of Famer Tom Fears, Hirsch helped create the style of Rams football as one of the first big play receivers. During the 1951 Championship season, Hirsch posted a then stunning 1,495 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns, the popularity of this wide-open offense enabled the Los Angeles Rams to become the first pro football team to have all their games televised in 1950
12.
Defensive end
–
Defensive end is a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, early formations, with six- and seven-man lines, used the end as a containment player, whose job was first to prevent an end run around his position, then secondarily to force plays inside. Some teams would use both styles of end play, depending on game situations, some defensive ends play the position due to their size, they close down their gap so the running back has no hole to run through. Other ends play the position due to their speed and agility and these ends can time the snap of the ball in order to get a jump on the rush, and stop the play. Most of the time it is the job of the end to keep outside or contain. The defensive ends are fast for players of their size, often the fastest and smallest players on the defensive line and they must be able to shed blockers to get to the ball. Defensive ends are often used to cover the outside area of the line of scrimmage, to tackle ball carriers running to the far right or left side. Since the creation of zone blitz defenses in the late 1990s, defensive ends have sometimes used in pass coverages. In the 3–4 defense, defensive ends are used primarily as run stoppers and are much larger, often, the position is played by a more agile or slightly undersized defensive tackle. Because of the popularity of the 3–4 defense, the value of a defensive tackle prospect that can possibly be used in this manner has increased. They are used to distract the offensive lineman on pass rushing plays to let the outside linebackers get a sack and they block screen passes and are put outside of the offensive tackles to get a sack. Some say you might as well convert a nose tackle into a 3–4 end
13.
Tom Dempsey
–
Thomas John Dempsey is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills. He attended high school at San Dieguito High School and played football at Palomar College. Unlike the soccer style approach which was becoming more and more widely used during his career, Dempseys kicking style was the standard straight-toe style. Dempsey is most widely known for kicking a 63-yard field goal as time expired to give the Saints a 19–17 win over the Detroit Lions on November 8,1970 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. With time running out in the game, the Saints attempted a field goal with holder Joe Scarpati spotting at the Saints own 37-yard line, the snap from Jackie Burkett was good, and Dempsey nailed the field goal with a couple of feet to spare. The win was one of two for the Saints in that dismal season. With the kick, Dempsey broke Bert Rechichars NFL record for longest field goal by seven yards and that record was equaled by Jason Elam in 1998, Sebastian Janikowski in 2011, and David Akers in 2012. On December 8,2013, Matt Prater topped Dempseys mark by hitting a 64-yard field goal, Dempsey was born without toes on his right foot and no fingers on his right hand. He wore a modified shoe with a flattened and enlarged toe surface and this generated controversy about whether such a shoe gave a player an unfair advantage. When reporters would ask him if he thought it was unfair, he said, Unfair, how bout you try kickin a 63 yard field goal to win it with 2 seconds left an yer wearin a square shoe, oh yeah, and no toes either. The league made two changes in the subsequent years to discourage further long field goal attempts. The first was in 1974, which moved the posts from the goal line to the back of the end zone. Career high/best bolded In 1983, Dempsey was inducted into the American Football Associations Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame. Dempsey has since retired from football and currently resides with his wife Carlene, who teaches history at Kehoe-France, a school in Metairie, Louisiana. His house was flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, in January 2013, Dempsey revealed he is suffering from dementia. Psychiatrist Daniel Amen made the diagnosis of damage to Dempseys brain. During medical examinations and scans, Amen found three holes in the brain, along with other damage
14.
2001 NFL season
–
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the NFLs week 2 games were postponed and re-scheduled to the weekend of January 6–7, in order to retain the full playoff format, all playoff games, including Super Bowl XXXVI, were re-scheduled one week later. The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, defeating the St. Louis Rams 20–17 at the Louisiana Superdome, following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day. With Super Bowls XXXVI-XXXVII already scheduled for fixed dates, the league decided to eliminate the Super Bowl bye weeks for 2001 and 2002 to adjust. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the originally scheduled for September 16–17 were postponed and re-scheduled to the weekend of January 6–7. In order to retain the full playoff format, all playoff games, the season-ending Pro Bowl was also moved to one week later. This was the last season in each conference had 3 divisions. Canceling the games scheduled for September 16–17 was considered and rejected since it would have canceled a game for half the teams of the league. As a result of rescheduling Week 2 as Week 17, the Pittsburgh Steelers ended up not playing a game for the entire month of September. The ESPN Sunday Night Football game for that week was also changed and it was originally scheduled to be Cleveland at Pittsburgh, but it was replaced with Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, which was seen as a more interesting matchup. Ironically, the Eagles and the Buccaneers would both rest their starters that night, and they would meet one week later in the playoffs. This way of flexible scheduling would not be utilized at all in 2007, the games that eventually made up Week 17 marked the latest regular season games to be played during what is traditionally defined as NFL season. Another scheduling change took place in October, when the Dallas Cowboys-Oakland Raiders game was moved from October 21 to 7 to accommodate a possible Oakland Athletics home playoff game on the 21st. The rescheduling ended up being unnecessary as the Athletics would not make it past the Division Series round. Also, this was the only NFL season where every jersey had a patch to remember those who died on 9/11, the season ended with Super Bowl XXXVI when the New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams. Fumble recoveries will be awarded at the spot of the recovery, taunting rules and roughing the passer will be strictly enforced. New Orleans Saints – Replaced their gold pants with black pants, Pittsburgh Steelers – New stadium, Heinz Field. San Diego Chargers – White pants with road uniforms, denver Broncos – New stadium, Invesco Field
15.
National Football League Players Association
–
The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is the labor organization representing the professional American football players in the National Football League. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D. C. is led by president Eric Winston, founded in 1956, the NFLPA was established to provide players with formal representation to negotiate compensation and the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. The NFLPA is a member of the AFL–CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States, in the early years of the NFL, contractual negotiations took place between individual players and management, team owners were reluctant to engage in collective bargaining. A series of strikes and lockouts have occurred throughout the unions existence largely due to monetary, however, the organization was not recognized by the NFL as the official bargaining agent for the players until 1968, when a CBA was signed. The most recent CBA negotiations took place in 2011, the union also ensures that the terms of the collective bargaining agreement are adhered to by the league and the teams. It negotiates and monitors retirement and insurance benefits and enhances and defends the image of players, the establishment of the National Football League in 1920 featured early franchises haphazardly formed and often saddled with financial difficulties, poor player talent and attendance rates. As the league expanded through the years, players were provided with no formal representation and received few, if any, in 1943, Roy Zimmermans refusal to play an exhibition game without compensation resulted in his trade from the Washington Redskins to the Philadelphia Eagles. Subsequently, Radovich was blacklisted by the NFL and was denied a tryout with the NFL-affiliated San Francisco Seals baseball team of the Pacific Coast League, unable to attain a job in either league, Radovich filed a lawsuit against the NFL in 1957. In 1964, Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl and All-Pro center Jim Ringo approached head coach Vince Lombardi to negotiate a raise. Lombardi was angered by the presence of Ringos agent, and excused himself, the players grew tired of incidents such as these and complained to one another. One sore point was playing in training camp and preseason exhibition games without pay, Miller was initially reluctant but accepted in 1956. He contacted Don Shula, John Gordy of the Detroit Lions, Frank Gifford and Sam Huff of the New York Giants, the first meeting took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in November where players decided on demands to be submitted to league commissioner Bert Bell. The NFLPA hoped to meet with Bell during the meeting in January 1957 to discuss the demands, however. Miller continued to represent the NFLPA in their early days, unable to win the owners attention by forming the union, the NFLPA threatened to bring an antitrust lawsuit against the league. The antitrust laws are meant to free and fair competition in the marketplace. Jarett Bell of USA Today noted in 2011, the Radovich ruling set the foundation for a series of battles that have continued to present times largely over disagreements in compensation. Rather than face another lawsuit, the agreed to a league minimum salary of $5,000, $50 for each exhibition game played. From the inception of the NFLPA, its members were divided whether it should act as a professional association or a union
16.
1977 Chicago Bears season
–
The 1977 Chicago Bears season was their 58th regular season completed in the National Football League. This was their first postseason appearance since winning the 1963 championship and they secured this by winning their last six games, including among others the last of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ record run of twenty-six losses. A week after the Dallas playoff loss, Coach Pardee stunned the team by resigning to take the coaching position of the Washington Redskins. Walter Payton 20 Rush,137 Yds,4 Rec,107 Yds Safety Charlie Waters led the Cowboys to a 37–7 victory by setting an NFL playoff record of 3 interceptions. Dallas built a 17–0 halftime lead, with the aid of running back Doug Dennison’s 2-yard touchdown run, in the second half, running back Tony Dorsett recorded two rushing touchdowns and Efren Herrera added two more field goals. The Bears were limited to 224 total yards and did not score until the quarter when the game was already out of reach
17.
1977 Los Angeles Rams season
–
The 1977 Los Angeles Rams season was the teams 40th year with the National Football League and the 32nd season in Los Angeles. Hobbled by chronic knee woes, quarterback Joe Namath was waived by the New York Jets after the 1976 season, Namath signed with the L. A. Rams in May 1977. Hope of a Rams revival sprung when Los Angeles won two of their first three games, but Namath was hampered by low mobility, after a poor performance in a Monday Night loss to the Bears, Namath never saw NFL game action again. After a playoff loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Rams head coach Chuck Knox was fired due to frustration that Knox had not been able to reach the Super Bowl
18.
AFC East
–
The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is a division of the National Football League s American Football Conference. There are currently four teams that reside in the division, the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots, and the New York Jets. Since the divisions enfranchisement in 1960, with the creation of the American Football League, the most recent appearance and championship in the Super Bowl won by an AFC East team was the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. Entering 2017 the Patriots had the most wins in the history, with a record of 476-383-9. The Dolphins were second at 439-341-4 with a record of 20-21. The Bills were at 400-460-8 with a record of 14-15. The Jets held a record of 392-468-8, with a record of 12-13 including victory in Super Bowl III. The Bills have won ten titles, and the Jets have won four. The American Football League Eastern Division was formed during the season of the American Football League in 1960. The divisional alignment consisted of the Buffalo Bills, Boston Patriots, New York Titans, the Miami Dolphins entered the AFL in 1966 as part of its Eastern division. The division was absorbed nearly intact with the AFL–NFL Merger in 1970, none of the AFC East teams currently plays within the central city of their metropolitan area, The Bills play in Orchard Park, New York. They played in the city of Buffalo from 1960–72, the Jets play in East Rutherford, New Jersey The Dolphins play in Miami Gardens, Florida, a suburb of Miami The Patriots play in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Jets are now coached by Todd Bowles and the Bills were coached by Rex Ryan for 31 games, parcells himself coached the Patriots and the Jets and was Vice President of Football Operations for the Dolphins until the summer of 2010. ESPNs Chris Berman often calls this division the AFC Adams due to its similarity to the old Adams Division of the NHL. Along with the AFC West, the AFC East is the oldest NFL division in terms of creation date, place cursor over year for division champ or Super Bowl team. A Boston Patriots renamed to New England Patriots, B Houston Oilers move to newly created AFC Central division and later are renamed the Tennessee Oilers, then Tennessee Titans. Moved to AFC South in 2002, moved to AFC South in 2002. + – A players strike in 1982 reduced the season to nine games
