1.
Punter (football)
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This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a third down in the Canadian version. Punters may also take part in fake punts in those same situations. A punter must be skilled in angling the football and/or kicking it as high as possible to maximize his teammates’ ability to eliminate a punt returners forward progress. A standard is that for a 42-yard fair-caught or out-of-bounds punt, the hang time should be at least a tenth of it in seconds. However, a hang-time of 5 seconds and over are still considered great punts, also, the punter will try to make the ball spin in an unusual manner making it harder to catch, which could result in a muff and potentially lead to the punters team gaining possession. The most common punting strategy involves receiving the snap from the line of scrimmage,15 yards into a deep shotgun formation. A less-seen strategy is the kick, in which the punter moves to the left or right, outside the offensive tackle. Punters play a role in winning the field position battle. Punters have increasingly begun to pull double duty as the holder on field goal attempts and also being used on kickoffs in windy conditions. One of the reasons why punters are starting to take over the holder position is that the backup quarterback is usually busy with the rest of the offense and has little time to devote to holding. Likewise the punter has certain training in throwing, due to the possibility of faking a field goal or attempting a two-point conversion. The long snapper for field goals is usually the punt snapper as well, punters are usually on their own during team practices, allowing them the time to work with the kicker, so the punter and placekicker tend to develop a close rapport. Along with kicking, punters can run or throw the ball as well and this strategy is also known as the fake punt. Another common term is called the trick play, teams will often use this key strategy when it is 4th down with maybe 8 or less yards to the first down marker. The punter has the ability to receive the football and run or pass the ball to another teammate, when scrambling the punter is live to tackle. This strategy is used in a close game. Thus, punters tend to receive the most attention when teams are bad, a coffin corner refers to the corner of the playing field just in front of the end zone, usually from the 5-yard line to the goal line. A perfect coffin corner kick is one that goes out of bounds just before either orange pylon located in the front of the end zone and this type of kick can also be attempted in Canadian football
2.
End (gridiron football)
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An end in American and Canadian football is a player who lines up at either end of the line of scrimmage, usually beside the tackles. Rules state that an offensive formation must always consist of seven players on the line of scrimmage. The position was used in this sense until roughly the 1960s, on offense, an end who lines up close to the other linemen is known as a tight end and is the only lineman who aside from blocking can run or catch passes. One who lines up some distance from the line is known as a split end. In recent years and the proliferation of the pass, the generic term wide receiver has come to define both split ends and flankers. The terms “split end” and “flanker” are often ditched today for terms like X and Z receivers, bill Carpenter was the first Lonesome end. On defense, there is a commonly used position called the defensive end and its primary role is to rush the passer, as well as to stop offensive runs to the outer edges of the line of scrimmage. However, as there are no rules regulating the formation of the defense, players at this position commonly take on, don Hutson of the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Green Bay Packers was one of the sports greatest. The self described other end opposite Hutson in college at Alabama was legendary coach Bear Bryant, gaynell Tinsley was another prominent of Hutsons time. Amos Alonzo Stagg of Yale and Arthur Cumnock of Harvard were ends on the first All-America team, Stagg went on to a hall of fame coaching career, some called Cumnock the greatest Harvard player of all time. Mike Ditka and Ron Sellers were some of the last to play the position in college, glossary of American football History of American football positions Tight end Defensive end Wide receiver
3.
Roanoke, Alabama
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Roanoke is a city in Randolph County, which is in the Piedmont region of eastern Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 6,074 and this was an area of historic occupation by the Creek before treaties to persuade the Native Americans to cede their land, followed by forced migration under the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The area was part of a part of upland developed as cotton plantations worked by enslaved African Americans. The area is quite rural. Initially called High Pine in the 1830s after a nearby creek, renamed Chulafinee in 1840, it was later renamed again for the hometown of one of the early settlers, Roanoke, Virginia. The city was incorporated in December 1890. Roanoke is located at 33°8′56″N 85°22′11″W, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.1 square miles, of which 18.8 square miles is land and 0.3 square miles is water. The Mayor has been Mike Fisher since 2009, Roanoke has three schools served by Roanoke City Schools, Knight Enloe Elementary, Handley Middle School, and Handley High School. On December 1,2011, the Handley Tigers won the AHSAA Football Class 3A State Championship, Roanoke is served by a weekly newspaper, The Randolph Leader. As of the census of 2000, there were 6,563 people,2,467 households, the population density was 348.9 people per square mile. There were 2,792 housing units at a density of 148.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 58. 94% White,39. 77% Black or African American,0. 06% Native American,0. 26% Asian,0. 34% from other races,1. 19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 30. 2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13. 5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.12. In the city, the population was out with 26. 0% under the age of 18,8. 7% from 18 to 24,25. 3% from 25 to 44,20. 8% from 45 to 64. The median age was 37 years, for every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males, the median income for a household in the city was $26,946, and the median income for a family was $32,405. Males had an income of $29,594 versus $22,135 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,088, about 11. 9% of families and 18. 6% of the population were below 7% of those younger than 18 and 15. 8% of those age 65 or older
4.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
5.
Ohio State Buckeyes football
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Ohio State has played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio since 1922. Football was introduced to the university by George Cole and Alexander S. Lilley in 1890, Ohio State was a football independent from 1890 to 1901 before joining the Ohio Athletic Conference as a charter member in 1902. The Buckeyes won two conference championships while members of the OAC and in 1912 became members of the Big Ten Conference, Ohio State won their first national championship in 1942 under head coach Paul Brown. Following World War II, Ohio State saw sparse success on the field with three separate coaches and in 1951 hired Woody Hayes to coach the team. Under Hayes, Ohio State won over 200 total games,13 Big Ten championships and five national championships, following Hayes dismissal in 1978, Earle Bruce and later John Cooper coached the team to a combined seven conference championships between them. Jim Tressel was hired as coach in 2001 and led Ohio State to its seventh national championship in 2002 with a win in the Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State won seven Big Ten championships under Tressel and appeared in eight Bowl Championship Series games, on November 28,2011, two-time National Championship winning coach and Ohio native Urban Meyer became head coach. Meyer led his team to five championships in his first five seasons as well as a school record 24 straight victories. He led OSU to both the Big Ten and the first College Football Playoff National Championship of its kind in the 2014 season, giving Meyer his third title overall. In the spring of 1890, George Cole, an undergraduate, the Buckeyes first game, played on May 3,1890, at Delaware, Ohio, against Ohio Wesleyan University, was a victory. OSUs first home game took place at 2,30 p. m. on November 1,1890, the Ohio State University played the University of Wooster on this site, which was then called Recreation Park. Just east of historic German Village, the park occupied the side of Schiller between Ebner and Jaeger in what is now Schumacher Place. The weather was perfect, and the crowd cheered loudly, nonetheless, OSU lost to Wooster, 64–0. Wooster, physically fit for the game, showed OSU that training is critical to winning, thus, the tradition of training continues. Over the next eight years, under a number of coaches, the played to a cumulative record of 31 wins,39 losses. The first game against the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, was a 34–0 loss in 1897, a year that saw the low point in Buckeye football history with a 1–7–1 record. Jack Ryder was Ohio States first paid coach, earning $150 per season, in 1899 the university hired John Eckstorm to bring professional coaching skills to the program and immediately went undefeated. In 1901, however, center John Segrist was fatally injured in a game against Western Reserve University, although the schools athletic board let the team decide its future, Eckstorm resigned
6.
Nevada Wolf Pack football
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The Nevada Wolf Pack football program represents the University of Nevada, Reno in college football. The Wolf Pack competes in the Mountain West Conference at the Football Bowl Subdivision level of the NCAA Division I. The Wolf Packs home field is Mackay Stadium, located at the end of its campus in Reno. The new Mackay Stadium saw its first game 51 years ago on October 1,1966 with a capacity of 7,500 and has undergone several renovations. The stadium currently seats 30,000 and has played to crowds in excess, the elevation of its playing field is 4,610 feet above sea level. Nevada has had three individuals inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and they are coach Chris Ault, running back Frank Hawkins and former coach Buck Shaw. Fullback Marion Motley is the only Nevada player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, three-time Super Bowl champion Charles Mann played for Nevada from 1979 to 1982 and was named Most Valuable Defensive Lineman in 1982. Mann was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995, another Nevada alumnus with a long career in the NFL was free safety Brock Marion. He was selected in the round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys where he played most of his career. Marion was selected to three Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team, Nevada has not fielded a Heisman Trophy winner, however, Stan Heath was fifth in Heisman voting in 1948 and Colin Kaepernick was eighth among 2010 candidates. Nevada footballs rich tradition has produced 40 All-Americans and 45 All-American selections, Nevadas only consensus All-American was Matt Clafton in 1991, which was Nevadas last year in the Division I-AA, the Wolf Pack is awaiting their first FBS consensus All-American. The Wolf Pack has also produced two Academic All-Americans, David Heppe and Erick Streelman Nevadas football history began on October 24,1896, however, there was no football program from 1906–14, in 1918 and in 1951. The result was a debacle as Belmont relentlessly thrashed the hapless Sagebrushers by the tally of 70–0. But, the University of Nevada yearbook Artemesia would report five years later, two weeks later and the Brushers met up with the Berkeley Second Eleven with much more favorable results (with NSU only giving up forty points. Thus the initial chapter of the history of the University was one of defeat. From 1901 to 1903, Allen Steckle served as the football coach at the University of Nevada. In 1903, he was appointed to the position as the universitys Physical Director. In his three seasons as the coach, he compiled a 6–9–2 record
7.
Cleveland Browns
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The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns compete in the National Football League as a club of the American Football Conference North division. The Browns play their games at FirstEnergy Stadium, which opened in 1999, with administrative offices and training facilities in Berea. The Browns official colors are brown, orange and white and they are unique among the 32 member franchises of the NFL in that they do not have a logo on their helmets and are the only team named after a specific person, original coach Paul Brown. The franchise was founded in 1945 by businessman Arthur B, McBride and coach Paul Brown as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference. The Browns dominated the AAFC, compiling a 47–4–3 record in the four active seasons. When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, the Browns joined the National Football League along with the San Francisco 49ers, from 1965 to 1995, they made the playoffs 14 times, but did not win another championship or appear in the Super Bowl in that period. In 1995, owner Art Modell, who had purchased the Browns in 1961, announced plans to move the team to Baltimore, Maryland. The Browns intellectual property, including name, logos, training facility, and history, were kept in trust. A new team would be established by 1999 either by expansion or relocation, the Browns were announced as an expansion team in 1998 and resumed play in 1999. Since resuming operations in 1999, the Browns have struggled to find success and they have had only two winning seasons, one playoff appearance, and no playoff wins. The franchise has also noted for a lack of stability with quarterbacks. To date, the Browns overall win-loss record since 1999 is 88–200, the Browns origins date to 1944, when taxicab magnate Arthur B. Mickey McBride secured the rights to a Cleveland franchise in the newly formed All-America Football Conference. S, early in 1945, McBride named 36-year-old Ohio State Buckeyes coach Paul Brown as the teams head coach and general manager and gave him a share in its profits. The move surprised and upset Buckeye fans, who had hoped he would resume his successful run at the school after the war, the name of the team was at first left up to Paul Brown, who rejected calls for it to be christened the Browns. The franchise and the Cleveland Plain Dealer then held a naming contest to publicize the team, in June 1945, a committee selected Panthers as the new teams name, named after a failed American Football League franchise in Cleveland which only lasted a single season in 1926. It is unclear whether Panthers was the highest vote-getter, or if it was second-highest behind Browns, however, the owner of the failed AFL Panthers franchise, General C. X. Zimmerman, indicated that he owned the name Cleveland Panthers, at this point, Paul Brown bowed to popular sentiment and agreed to the Browns name
8.
Pro Bowl
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The Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League. Between 2014 and 2016, the NFL experimented with an unconferenced format, the players were picked in a televised schoolyard pick prior to the game. Unlike most major leagues, which hold their all-star games roughly midway through their respective regular seasons. Between 1970 and 2009, it was held the weekend after the Super Bowl. Since 2010, the Pro Bowl has been played the weekend before the Super Bowl, Players from the two teams competing in the Super Bowl do not participate. Observers and commentators expressed their disfavor with the Pro Bowl in its current state and it draws lower TV ratings than its regular-season games, although the game draws similar ratings to other major all-star games, such as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. However, the biggest concern of teams is to avoid injuries to the star players, the Associated Press wrote that players in the 2012 game were hitting each other as though they were having a pillow fight. Between 1980 and 2016, the game was played at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii, on June 1,2016, the NFL announced that they reached a multi-year deal to move the game to Orlando, Florida as part of the leagues ongoing efforts to make the game more relevant. For years, the game has suffered from lack of interest due to perceived low quality, the 2017 Pro Bowl will also mark a return to the AFC–NFC format. The first Pro All-Star Game, featuring the all-stars of the 1938 season, was played on January 15,1939 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The NFL All-Star Game was played again in Los Angeles in 1940 and then in New York, although originally planned as an annual contest, the all-star game was discontinued after 1942 because of travel restrictions put in place during World War II. During the first five games, an all-star team would face that years league champion. The league champion won the first four games before the all-stars were victorious in the game of this early series. The concept of a game was not revived until June 1950. The game was sponsored by the Los Angeles Publishers Association and it was decided that the game would feature all-star teams from each of the leagues two conferences rather than the league champion versus all-star format which had been used previously. This was done to avoid confusion with the Chicago College All-Star Game, the teams would be led by the coach of each of the conference champions. The first 21 games of the series were played in Los Angeles, the site of the game was changed annually for each of the next seven years before the game was moved to Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii for 30 straight seasons from 1980 through 2009. With the new rule being that the teams do not include players from the teams that will be playing in the Super Bowl
9.
All-America Football Conference
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The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946–1949. One of the NFLs most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nations best players, However, the AAFC was ultimately unable to sustain itself in competition with the NFL. Three of its teams were admitted to the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Browns were the AAFCs most successful club, having won every annual championship in the leagues four years of operation. The AAFC was founded by Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward on June 4,1944, Ward was also the originator of baseballs All-Star Game and footballs College All-Star Game. Ward brought together a number of pro football enthusiasts, some of whom had previously attempted to purchase NFL franchises. Ward had previously encouraged the NFL to expand, but now he hoped to bring about a permanent second league, on November 21,1944, the AAFC chose Jim Crowley, one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, as its commissioner. Not coincidentally, the NFL commissioner at this time was Elmer Layden, during the next months, the AAFCs plans solidified. The league initially issued franchises for Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Brooklyn and Miami were later added. A group representing Baltimore was considered for admission, but could not secure a stadium, the league planned to begin play in 1945, but postponed its opening for a year as World War II continued. As the eight franchises built their teams, no move was more far-reaching than Clevelands choice of Paul Brown as its head coach, as coach of the Cleveland franchise, Brown would become one of American footballs greatest innovators. As might be expected, the NFL did not welcome its new rival, in 1945, Layden remarked that the AAFC, still a year from its first game, should first get a ball, then make a schedule, and then play a game. This insult, often paraphrased as Tell them to get a ball first, Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall was perhaps the NFLs hardest-liner regarding the AAFC. In 1945, he commented I did not realize there was another league, Later he declared, The worst team in our league could beat the best team in theirs. After the AAFC put a team in Baltimore, Marshalls opposition to it would be an obstacle to interleague peace. Not coincidentally, his team was badly hurt by the AAFC, a top team from 1936–1945, the Redskins began a decades-long title drought after coach Ray Flaherty and many key players defected in 1946. Laydens successor, Bert Bell, pursued a policy of official non-recognition, in 1947, Pro Football Illustrated previewed both leagues in its annual publication and was banned from NFL stadiums. The AAFC posed a formidable challenge, in most interleague sports wars, the established league has major advantages over the challenger in prestige, finance, size, and public awareness. The NFL-AAFC war differed in several respects, the NFL was just emerging from its wartime retrenchment
10.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
11.
Wide receiver
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A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. They get their name because they are split out wide, furthest away from the rest of the team, wide receivers are among the fastest players on the field. The wide receiver functions as the pass-catching specialist, the wide receivers principal role is to catch passes from the quarterback. On passing plays, the attempts to avoid, outmaneuver. If the receiver becomes open, or has a path to the destination of a catch. Once a pass is thrown in his direction, the goal is to first catch the ball. A receivers height and weight also contribute to his expected role, a wide receiver has two potential roles during running plays. Particularly in the case of draw plays and other trick plays, alternatively, he may block normally for the running back. Well-rounded receivers are noted for blocking defensive backs in support of teammates in addition to their pass-catching abilities, sometimes wide receivers are used to run the ball, usually in some form of end-around or reverse. This can be effective because the defense usually does not expect them to be the carrier on running plays. For example, wide receiver Jerry Rice rushed the ball 87 times for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns in his 20 NFL seasons, in even rarer cases, receivers may pass the ball as part of a trick play. Despite the infrequency of these plays, some receivers have proven to be capable passers, wide receivers may also serve on special teams as kick returners or punt returners, as gunners on kick coverage teams, or as part of the hands team during onside kicks. Finally, on errant passes, receivers must frequently play a role by attempting to prevent an interception. If a pass is intercepted, receivers must use their speed to chase down, in the NFL, wide receivers can use the numbers 10–19 and 80–89. The wide receiver out of a position known as the end. Originally, the played on the offensive line, immediately next to the tackles. By the rules governing the forward pass, ends and backs are eligible receivers, most early football teams used the ends as receivers sparingly, their position often left them in heavy traffic with many defenders around. By the 1930s, some teams were experimenting with moving one end far out near the sideline and these split ends became the prototype for the modern wide receiver
12.
National Football League
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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
13.
Paul Brown
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Paul Eugene Brown was an American football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League. Brown was both the co-founder and first coach of the Cleveland Browns, a named after him. His teams won seven championships in a professional coaching career spanning 25 seasons. Brown began his career at Severn School in 1931 before becoming the head football coach at Massillon Washington High School in Massillon, Ohio. His high school teams lost only 10 games in 11 seasons and he was then hired at Ohio State University and coached the school to its first national football championship in 1942. After World War II, he became coach of the Browns. Brown coached the Browns to three NFL championships – in 1950,1954 and 1955 – but was fired in January 1963 amid a power struggle with team owner Art Modell, Brown in 1968 co-founded and was the first coach of the Bengals. He retired from coaching in 1975 but remained the Bengals team president until his death in 1991, the Bengals named their home stadium Paul Brown Stadium in honor of Brown. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967, Brown is credited with a number of American football innovations. He was the first coach to use film to scout opponents, hire a full-time staff of assistants. He invented the modern face mask, the squad and the draw play. He also played a role in breaking professional footballs color barrier, despite these accomplishments, Brown was not universally liked. He was strict and controlling, which brought him into conflict with players who wanted a greater say in play-calling. These disputes, combined with Browns failure to consult Modell on major personnel decisions, Brown grew up in Massillon, Ohio, where he moved with his family from Norwalk when he was nine years of age. His father, Lester, was a dispatcher for the Wheeling, Massillon was a shipping and steel town obsessed with its high school and professional football teams, both called the Tigers. Massillons main rival at both levels was nearby Canton, at the time a bigger and richer town, when the professional teams folded in the 1920s, the rivalry between the high school teams took center stage. Brown entered Massillon Washington High School in 1922, although he played football as a child, Brown was undersized for the game at less than 150 pounds and at first focused his athletic energies on the pole vault. Harry Stuhldreher, who went on to be one of Notre Dames legendary Four Horsemen, was then the school quarterback
14.
Ohio
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Ohio /oʊˈhaɪ. oʊ/ is a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Ohio is the 34th largest by area, the 7th most populous, the states capital and largest city is Columbus. The state takes its name from the Ohio River, the name originated from the Iroquois word ohi-yo’, meaning great river or large creek. Partitioned from the Northwest Territory, the state was admitted to the Union as the 17th state on March 1,1803, Ohio is historically known as the Buckeye State after its Ohio buckeye trees, and Ohioans are also known as Buckeyes. Ohio occupies 16 seats in the United States House of Representatives, Ohio is known for its status as both a swing state and a bellwether in national elections. Six Presidents of the United States have been elected who had Ohio as their home state, Ohios geographic location has proven to be an asset for economic growth and expansion. Because Ohio links the Northeast to the Midwest, much cargo, Ohio has the nations 10th largest highway network, and is within a one-day drive of 50% of North Americas population and 70% of North Americas manufacturing capacity. To the north, Lake Erie gives Ohio 312 miles of coastline, Ohios southern border is defined by the Ohio River, and much of the northern border is defined by Lake Erie. Ohios neighbors are Pennsylvania to the east, Michigan to the northwest, Ontario Canada, to the north, Indiana to the west, Kentucky on the south, Ohio is bounded by the Ohio River, but nearly all of the river itself belongs to Kentucky and West Virginia. Ohio has only that portion of the river between the rivers 1792 low-water mark and the present high-water mark, the border with Michigan has also changed, as a result of the Toledo War, to angle slightly northeast to the north shore of the mouth of the Maumee River. Much of Ohio features glaciated plains, with a flat area in the northwest being known as the Great Black Swamp. Most of Ohio is of low relief, but the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau features rugged hills, in 1965 the United States Congress passed the Appalachian Regional Development Act, at attempt to address the persistent poverty and growing economic despair of the Appalachian Region. This act defines 29 Ohio counties as part of Appalachia, the worst weather disaster in Ohio history occurred along the Great Miami River in 1913. Known as the Great Dayton Flood, the entire Miami River watershed flooded, as a result, the Miami Conservancy District was created as the first major flood plain engineering project in Ohio and the United States. Grand Lake St. Marys in the west central part of the state was constructed as a supply of water for canals in the era of 1820–1850. For many years this body of water, over 20 square miles, was the largest artificial lake in the world and it should be noted that Ohios canal-building projects were not the economic fiasco that similar efforts were in other states. Some cities, such as Dayton, owe their emergence to location on canals. Summers are typically hot and humid throughout the state, while winters generally range from cool to cold, precipitation in Ohio is moderate year-round
15.
Linebacker
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A linebacker is a playing position in American football and Canadian football. Linebackers are members of the team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen, and therefore back up the line. Linebackers generally align themselves before the ball is snapped by standing upright in a two point stance, the goal of the linebacker is to provide either extra run protection or extra pass protection based on the particular defensive play being executed. Another key play of the position is blitzing. A blitz occurs when a linebacker acts as a pass rusher running into any exposed gap. When a blitz is called by the defense, it is mainly to sack or hurry the opposing offenses quarterback. Linebackers are often regarded as the most important position in defence, due to their versatility in providing hard hits on running plays or a layer of pass protection. Similar to the safety position, linebackers are required to use their judgment on every snap. Before the advent of the two platoon system with units for offense and defense, the player who was the teams center on offense was often, though not always. Hence today one usually sees four defensive linemen to the five or more. Most sources claim coach Fielding H. Yost and center Germany Schulz of the University of Michigan invented the position, Schulz was Yosts first linebacker in 1904 when he stood up from his usual position on the line. Yost was horrified at first, but came to see the wisdom in Schulzs innovation, william Dunn of Penn St. was another Western linebacker soon after Schulz. However, there are historical claims tied to the linebacker position. For example, Percy Given of Georgetown is another center with a claim to the title first linebacker, despite Given, most sources have the first linebacker in the South as Frank Juhan of Sewanee. In the East, Ernest Cozens of Penn was one of the first of the centers, another, archaic term for the position. Walter E. Bachman of Lafayette was said to be the developer of the roving center concept, edgar Garbisch of Army was credited with developing the roving center method of playing defensive football in 1921. In professional football, Cal Hubbard is credited with pioneering the linebacker position and he starred as a tackle and end, playing off the line in a style similar to that of a modern linebacker. The middle or inside linebacker, sometimes called Mike or Mohr, is referred to as the quarterback of the defense
16.
Ohio State University
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The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State or OSU, is a large, primarily residential, public university in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and ninth university in Ohio with the Morrill Act of 1862, Hayes, and in 1878 the Ohio General Assembly passed a law changing the name to The Ohio State University. It has since grown into the third-largest university campus in the United States, along with its main campus in Columbus, Ohio State also operates a regional campus system with regional campuses in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark, and Wooster. Ohio State athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are known as the Ohio State Buckeyes, athletes from Ohio State have won 100 Olympic medals. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference for the majority of sports, the Ohio State mens ice hockey program competes in the Big Ten Conference, while its womens hockey program competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. In addition, the OSU mens volleyball team is a member of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, OSU is one of only 14 universities that plays Division I FBS football and Division I ice hockey. As of August 2015, the university had awarded a total of 714,512 degrees, alumni and former students have gone on to prominent careers in government, business, science, medicine, education, sports, and entertainment. Championed by the Republican stalwart Governor Rutherford B, Hayes, the Ohio State University was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university under the Morrill Act of 1862 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The school was originally within a community on the northern edge of Columbus. The university opened its doors to 24 students on September 17,1873, in 1878, the first class of six men graduated. The first woman graduated the following year, also in 1878, in light of its expanded focus, the Ohio legislature changed the name to the now-familiar The Ohio State University, with The as part of its official name. Ohio State began accepting students in the 1880s, and in 1891. It would later acquire colleges of medicine, dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine, commerce, in 1916, Ohio State was elected into membership in the Association of American Universities. Michael V. Drake, former chancellor of the University of California, Irvine, in an attack against the campus on November 28,2016, an unrelated fluorine leak was called in for Watts Hall, resulting in the evacuation of the building to an outside courtyard. As firetrucks began to depart, Abdul Razak Ali Artan drove into the crowd, then emerged, the attack was stopped in under two minutes by OSU Police Officer Alan Horujko, who witnessed the attack after responding to the reported gas leak, and who shot and killed Artan. The universitys Buckeye Alert system was triggered and the campus was placed on lockdown, Ten were transported to local hospitals and one suspect was killed according to multiple sources. Local law enforcement and the FBI launched an investigation, according to authorities, Artan was inspired by terrorist propaganda from the Islamic State and radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. Ohio States 1, 764-acre main campus is about 2.5 miles north of the citys downtown, the historical center of campus is the Oval, quad of about 11 acres
17.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
18.
University of Nevada, Reno
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The University of Nevada, Reno is a public research university located in Reno, Nevada. Founded October 12,1874, Nevada is the land grant institution for the state of Nevada. According to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, the University of Nevada is a university with high research activity. It is home to the School of Medicine, with campuses in both of Nevadas major urban centers, Las Vegas and Reno, and a network that extends to much of rural Nevada. The faculty are considered worldwide and national leaders in areas such as environmental literature, journalism, Basque studies. The school includes 16 clinical departments and five nationally recognized basic science departments and it is also home to the School of Journalism, which has produced six Pulitzer Prize winners. The Nevada State Constitution established the State University of Nevada in Elko, Nevada, in 1881, it became Nevada State University. In 1885, the Nevada State University moved from Elko to Reno, in 1906, it was renamed the University of Nevada and finally, University of Nevada, Reno in 1969 soon after University of Nevada, Las Vegas was granted full autonomy. The University of Nevada remained the only academic institution in the state of Nevada until 1965. Bachelors, masters and doctoral programs are offered through, Nevada sponsors a center dedicated to Basque studies due to the large Basque population in Northern Nevada, in addition, the university maintains and sponsors many centers, institutes & facilities. The university and surrounding community is served by several campus libraries, the libraries are, Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center. Opened on August 11,2008 it was a $75.3 million project began in September 2005. Basque Library Special Collections and University Archives DeLaMare Library Mary B, within the College of Business at the University of Nevada, the part-time MBA program was ranked 24th in the United States in 2014 by Bloomberg Businessweek. The University of Nevada, Reno is the institution of Nevada. The campus is located just north of downtown Reno overlooking Truckee Meadows, the universitys first building, Morrill Hall, was completed in 1887 and still stands on the historic quad at the campus southern end. The hall is named after U. S, senator Justin Morrill, author of the 1862 Land-Grant College Act. Lincoln Hall and Manzanita Hall were both opened in 1896, the Quad is located in the southern part of the campus, surrounded by Morrill Hall and the Mackay School of Mines. This quadrangle is modeled after Thomas Jefferson’s at the University of Virginia, the northern end of the Quad contains a statue of John William Mackay, created by Mount Rushmore designer Gutzon Borglum
19.
Punt (gridiron football)
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In American and Canadian football, a punt is a drop kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and then kicking the ball before it hits the ground. The result of a punt, barring any penalties or extraordinary circumstances, is a first down for the receiving team. The type of punt leads to different motion of the football, alex Moffat invented the now-common spiral punt, as opposed end-over-end. A punt in football is a drop kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands. In football, the offense has a number of downs, or plays. A punt play involves the kicking team lining up at the line of scrimmage with the kicker, or punter, the receiving team lines up with one or two players downfield to catch the ball. The center makes a snap to the kicker who then drops the ball. The player who catches the ball is then entitled to attempt to advance the ball, other possible results include the punt being blocked behind the line of scrimmage, and the ball being touched, but not caught or possessed, downfield by the receiving team. In both cases the ball is free and live and will belong to whichever team recovers it. If the kicked ball is blocked and fails to cross the line of scrimmage, it may be picked up, the official rules regulate when and how the receiving team may hit the kicker before, during, and after the kick. If the receiving team drops the ball or touches the ball beyond the line of scrimmage without catching it then it is considered a live ball, if the receiving team never had full possession, it is considered to be a muffed punt rather than a fumble. However, the player must be actively pursuing the ball. If the receiving player is blocked into the ball, it is not considered touching the ball, a field goal cannot be scored on a punt kick. The player attempting to catch the ball may attempt a fair catch. If caught, the ball dead and the receiving team gets the ball at the spot of the catch. The receiving team gets the ball at its own 20-yard line, since there is no further yardage penalty awarded, the kicking team is often said to have downed the ball when this occurs. The net punting yardage is taken by calculating the total punting yardage and subtracting any yardage earned by the team on returns. Under no circumstance can the kicking team score points as the result of a punt
20.
New York Jets
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The New York Jets are a professional American football team located in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The team is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, in a unique arrangement for the league, the Jets share MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey with the New York Giants. The franchise is legally and corporately registered as New York Jets, the team was founded in 1959 as the Titans of New York, an original member of the American Football League, later, the franchise joined the NFL in the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The team began to play in 1960 at the Polo Grounds, under new ownership, the current name was adopted in 1963 and the franchise moved to Shea Stadium in 1964 and then to the Meadowlands Sports Complex in 1984. Since 1968, the Jets have appeared in the playoffs 13 times, however, the Jets have never returned to the Super Bowl, making them one of three NFL teams to win their lone Super Bowl appearance, along with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The teams training facility, Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, which opened in 2008, is located in Florham Park, the first organizational meeting of the American Football League took place on August 14,1959. Wismer was granted the franchise later dubbed the Titans of New York as Wismer explained. He secured the Titans home field at the decrepit Polo Grounds, by 1962, the debt continued to mount for Wismer, forcing the AFL to assume the costs of the team until seasons end. A five-man syndicate, headed by Sonny Werblin, saved the team from certain bankruptcy, Werblin renamed the team the New York Jets since the team would play in Shea Stadium near LaGuardia Airport. The new name was intended to reflect the approach of his team. The Jets owners hired Weeb Ewbank as the manager and head coach. The early 1990s saw New York struggling, after firing coach Bruce Coslet, owner Leon Hess hired Pete Carroll who struggled to a 6–10 record and was promptly fired at the end of the season. Thereafter, Rich Kotite was selected to lead the team to victory, Kotite stepped down at the end of his second season forcing the Jets to search for a new head coach. Hess lured then-disgruntled New England Patriots head coach Bill Parcells to New York in 1997, Parcells led the team back to relevance and coached them to the AFC Championship Game in 1998. Hess died in 1999 while the team, plagued by injuries, produced an eight win record, the franchise obtained a new owner in Woody Johnson in 2000. Additionally, through the 2000s the Jets visited the five times. Rex Ryan was hired in January 2009, Ryan led the team to back-to-back AFC Championship appearances during his first two years but the team never made the playoffs again during his tenure
21.
American Football League
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The American Football League was a major professional American football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when it merged with the National Football League. The upstart AFL operated in competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. The AFL was created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had shares of NFL franchises. The league first gained attention by signing 75% of the NFLs first-round draft choices in 1960, the transformation of the struggling Titans into the New York Jets under new ownership further solidified the leagues reputation among the major media. As fierce competition made player salaries skyrocket in both leagues, especially after a series of raids, the agreed to a merger in 1966. Among the conditions were a common draft and a game played between the two league champions, which would eventually become known as the Super Bowl. The AFL and NFL operated as separate leagues until 1970, with regular season. During this time the AFL added the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals, in 1970, the AFL was absorbed into the NFL, and the ten AFL franchises along with the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers became the American Football Conference. During the 1950s, the National Football League had grown to rival Major League Baseball as one of the most popular sports leagues in the United States. One franchise that did not share in this success of the league was the Chicago Cardinals, owned by the Bidwill family. The Bidwills hoped to relocate their franchise, preferably to St. Louis, needing cash, the Bidwills began entertaining offers from would-be investors, and one of the men who approached the Bidwills was Lamar Hunt, son and heir of millionaire oilman H. L. Hunt. Hunt offered to buy the Cardinals and move them to Dallas, while Hunt negotiated with the Bidwills, similar offers were made by Bud Adams, Bob Howsam, and Max Winter. When Hunt, Adams, and Howsam were unable to secure a controlling interest in the Cardinals, they approached NFL commissioner Bert Bell, Bell, wary of expanding the 12-team league and risking its newfound success, rejected the offer. On his return flight to Dallas, Hunt conceived the idea of a new league. He contacted Adams, Howsam, and Winter to gauge their interest in starting a new league, hunts first meeting with Adams was held in March 1959. Hunt, who felt a regional rivalry would be critical for the success of the new league, convinced Adams to join, Hunt next secured an agreement from Howsam to bring a team to Denver. After Winter and Boyer agreed to start a team in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Hunt then approached Willard Rhodes, who hoped to bring pro football to Seattle. With no place for his team to play, Rhodes effort came to nothing, Hunt also sought franchises in Los Angeles, Buffalo and New York City
22.
Center (gridiron football)
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Center is a position in American football and Canadian football. The center is the innermost lineman of the line on a football teams offense. The center is also the player who passes the ball between his legs to the quarterback at the start of each play, in recent years, the importance of centers for a football team has increased, due to the re-emergence of 3-4 defenses. According to Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome, you need to have somebody who can neutralize that nose tackle, if you dont, everything can get screwed up. Your running game wont be effective and youll also have somebody in your quarterbacks face on every play, the centers first and primary role is to pass the football to the quarterback. This exchange is called a snap, most offensive schemes make adjustments based on how the defensive line and linebackers align themselves in relation to the offensive line, and what gaps they line up in. Because the center has a view of the defensive formation before the snap. This call is typically based on the position of the linemen or linebackers in his gaps. In some cases the center may call an adjustment for the offensive line. This was taken to an extreme by the Indianapolis Colts in the early 21st century, the center is therefore usually the most intelligent player on the offensive line, which is critical to a centers success. After the snap, the center performs blocking assignments, the blocking assignments vary by offense but typically consist of the following, Run blocking assignments will vary based on the current play and the defensive formation when the ball is snapped. Typically, these assignments consist of the following, Blocking middle or backside linebackers in certain formations, assisting guards in their blocking assignments. This may be a center/guard double-team where the center and guard are assigned to the target to get extra push or drive. Assistance may also be just a quick hit or chip to throw the player off balance and help the guard to execute his block. Backside blocking of defensive tackles for pulling guards, in some offensive schemes, certain plays will involve pulling an offensive lineman to block for the ball carrier. If a guard needs to pull for a block, the center will typically block the defensive tackle in order to fill the guards void, pass blocking for a center is similar to run blocking for a center. The center will initially help guards based on the position of the defensive linemen, in the case of a blitz, the center may need to pick up a rushing linebacker, safety or corner. A good center also needs to stay vigilant during pass blocking to protect against defensive stunts and twists, on most plays, the center will snap the ball directly into the quarterbacks hands
23.
Massillon, Ohio
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Massillon is a city in Stark County in the U. S. state of Ohio, approximately 8 miles west of Canton,20 miles south of Akron, and 50 miles south of Cleveland. The population was 32,149 at the 2010 census, which makes it the 44th largest city in Ohio, Massillon is the second largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the area had a population of 404,422 and includes all of Stark. The village of Navarre borders the city to the south, the original settlement of Kendal was founded in 1812 by Thomas Rotch, a Quaker originally of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Hartford, Connecticut. James Duncan of New Hampshire first settled in Kendal before recording the plot for Massillon on December 6,1826, Duncan, known as the citys founder, named the town after Jean Baptiste Massillon, a French Catholic bishop, at the request of his wife. The town plat was established along the east bank of the Tuscarawas River, the canal section spanning from Cleveland to Massillon was completed in 1828. Massillon quickly became a port town along the canal route, known as the Port of Massillon. The first telegraph lines would reach Massillon in 1847, and the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad would extend its rails to Massillon in 1852, Massillon incorporated as a village in 1853. In 1868, Massillon incorporated as a city when the populated reached 5,000, the C. M. Russell & Company, formed in 1842 by Charles. M. Russell and his brothers, Nahum Russell and Clement Russell, manufactured threshing machines, the company began producing train cars in 1852 and incorporated in 1864 as Russell & Company Inc. In 1884, Russell & Company begain producing its famed steam traction engines, a merger with the Griscom-Spencer company in 1912 created the Griscom-Russell Company. Griscom-Russell produced heat exchangers for the United States Navy during World War II, the Massillon Iron Bridge Company was founded by Joseph Davenport in 1869 after moving to Massillon from Boston to work at the C. M. Russell & Company. Davenport also invented and built the first locomotive cowcatcher and cab in Massillon, the company incorporated in 1887 as The Massillon Bridge Company. The Massillon Bridge Company designed and built steel truss bridges up through the mid-1900s, the Massillon State Hospital for the Insane opened in 1898 on 240 acres of land given to the state of Ohio for the purpose of constructing the hospital. The hospital was established by Ohio governor William McKinley, by 1950 there were 3,100 patients in the hospital. Today it is known as Heartland Behavioral Healthcare, the Forest City Motor Company was founded in Cleveland in 1906 but relocated to Massillon that same year. Forest City produced approximately 1,000 of their Jewel automobiles in Massillon between 1906 and 1909, the name of the company was changed to the Jewel Motor Car Company but the company eventually ceased production in 1909. Massillon Rolling merged into the Central Steel Company in 1914, Central Steel eventually became known as the Central Alloy Steel Company
24.
Dante Lavelli
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Dante Bert Joseph Gluefingers Lavelli was an American football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League from 1946 to 1956. Lavelli was known for his hands and improvisations on the field. He was also renowned for making catches in critical situations, earning the nickname Mr. Clutch, Lavelli had one of the strongest pairs of hands Ive ever seen, Browns coach Paul Brown once said of him. When he went up for a pass with a defender, you could almost always count on him coming back down with the ball, Lavelli grew up in Hudson, Ohio and played football, baseball and basketball at his local high school. After graduating, he enrolled at Ohio State University, where he played only a handful of games before he was drafted for service in the U. S. Army during World War II. Returning in 1945 after serving in Europe, he joined the Browns in the teams season in the AAFC. Helped by Lavellis play, the Browns won each of the AAFCs championships before the league dissolved in 1949, Cleveland continued to succeed in the NFL, winning championships in 1950,1954 and 1955. Lavelli, who helped found the National Football League Players Association toward the end of his career, after retiring from football, Lavelli held a variety of coaching and scouting jobs and was active in NFL alumni affairs. He also ran a store in Rocky River, Ohio. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975 and he died in a Cleveland hospital in 2009. Lavelli was born and grew up in Hudson, Ohio, a town in the northeastern part of the state. Both of his parents were Italian immigrants and his father Angelo Lavelli was a blacksmith who made shoes for horses on nearby farms. As a child, he practiced catching by throwing baseballs against walls and he liked to have friends throw ping-pong balls at him to see if he could catch them. Lavelli was a standout as a back at Hudson High School. Lavellis Hudson High Explorers football team had three undefeated seasons and won three county championships and he also played baseball and basketball in high school. Notre Dame offered Lavelli a scholarship, and he committed to attend the school, after he had a chance encounter with Eddie Prokop, however, an able running back who was a fifth-string player for Notre Dame, Lavelli was convinced to look elsewhere. If Eddie Prokop were a player, I was not one to sit on anyones bench. Lavelli enrolled at Ohio State University in 1941 after learning that Paul Brown was appointed the teams new head coach
25.
European theatre of World War II
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The Allied forces fought the Axis powers on two major fronts as well as in the adjoining Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre. Germany was humiliated in front of the world and had to pay very large war reparations, many Germans blamed their countrys post-war economic collapse and hyperinflation on the treatys conditions. After Hitler took Germany out of the League of Nations, Mussolini of Fascist Italy and Hitler formed the Rome-Berlin axis, later, Empire of Japan, under the government of Hideki Tojo, would also join as an Axis power. Japan and Germany had already signed the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1939, other smaller powers also later joined the Axis throughout the war. On September 17, the Soviet forces joined the invasion of Poland, the Polish government evacuated the country for Romania. Poland fell within five weeks, with its last large operational units surrendering on October 5 after the Battle of Kock, as the Polish September Campaign ended, Hitler offered to Britain and France peace on the basis of recognition of German European continental dominance. On October 12, the United Kingdom formally refused, despite the quick campaign in the east, along the Franco-German frontier the war settled into a quiet period. This relatively non-confrontational and mostly non-fighting period between the major powers lasted until May 10,1940, and was known as the Phoney War, several other countries, however, were drawn into the conflict at this time. By September 28,1939, the three Baltic Republics felt they had no choice but to permit Soviet bases and troops on their territory, the Baltic Republics were occupied by the Soviet army in June 1940, and finally annexed to the Soviet Union in August 1940. The Soviet Union wanted to annex Finland and offered an agreement, but Finland rejected it. In the Moscow Peace Treaty of March 12,1940, Finland ceded 10% of her territory, the Finns were embittered over having lost more land in the peace than on the battlefields, and over the perceived lack of world sympathy. Meanwhile, in western Scandinavia, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway in April 1940, sweden was able to remain neutral. Most Allied forces were in Flanders, anticipating a re-run of the World War I Schlieffen Plan, as a result of this, and also the superior German communications and tactics, the Battle of France was shorter than virtually all pre-war Allied thought could have conceived. It lasted six weeks, including the Luftwaffe bombing of Paris June 3, on June 10 Italy declared war on both France and the United Kingdom, but did not gain any significant success in this campaign. French government fled Paris, and soon, France surrendered on June 22, many French soldiers, as well as those of other occupied countries, escaped to Britain. The General de Gaulle proclaimed himself the leader of Free France. Following the unexpected victory, Hitler promoted 12 generals to the rank of field marshal during the 1940 Field Marshal Ceremony. Later, on April 24,1941, the USSR gave full recognition to the Vichy government situated in the non-occupied zone in France
26.
Battle of the Bulge
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The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign of World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, the surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war, the battle also severely depleted Germanys armoured forces on the Western Front, and they were largely unable to replace them. German personnel and later, Luftwaffe aircraft, also sustained heavy losses, the Germans officially referred to the offensive as Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein, while the Allies designated it the Ardennes Counteroffensive. The phrase Battle of the Bulge was coined by contemporary press to describe the bulge in German front lines on wartime news maps, once that was accomplished, the German dictator Adolf Hitler believed he could fully concentrate on the Soviets on the Eastern Front. The offensive was planned by the German forces with utmost secrecy, with minimal radio traffic and movements of troops, intercepted German communications indicating a substantial German offensive preparation were not acted upon by the Allies. The Germans achieved total surprise on the morning of 16 December 1944, due to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance. The Germans attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, columns of armor and infantry that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This, and terrain that favored the defenders, threw the German advance behind schedule, improved weather conditions permitted air attacks on German forces and supply lines, which sealed the failure of the offensive. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, the Germans initial attack involved 406,000 men,1,214 tanks, tank destroyers, and assault guns, and 4,224 artillery pieces. These were reinforced a couple of later, bringing the offensives total strength to around 450,000 troops. Between 67,200 and 125,000 of their men were killed, missing, for the Americans, out of 610,000 troops involved in the battle,89,000 were casualties. While some sources report that up to 19,000 were killed, British historian Antony Beevor reports the number killed as 8,407. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II, after the breakout from Normandy at the end of July 1944 and the Allied landings in southern France on 15 August 1944, the Allies advanced toward Germany more quickly than anticipated. The Allies were faced with several military logistics issues, - troops were fatigued by weeks of continuous combat supply lines were stretched extremely thin supplies were dangerously depleted. General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his staff chose to hold the Ardennes region which was occupied by the U. S, the Allies chose to defend the Ardennes with as few troops as possible due to the favorable terrain and limited Allied operational objectives in the area. They also had intelligence that the Wehrmacht was using the area across the German border as an area for its troops. The speed of the Allied advance coupled with a lack of deep-water ports presented the Allies with enormous supply problems
27.
Bronze Star Medal
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Civilians serving with U. S. military forces in combat are also eligible for the award. For example, UPI reporter Joe Galloway was awarded the Bronze Star with V Device during the Vietnam War for rescuing a wounded soldier under fire in the Battle of la Drang. The Bronze Star Medal was established by Executive Order 9419,4 February 1944, the acts of heroism are of a lesser degree than required for the award of the Silver Star. The acts of merit or acts of valor must be less than required for the Legion of Merit but must nevertheless have been meritorious. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded only to members in combat zones who are receiving imminent danger pay. For this purpose, the US Armys Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge award is considered as a citation in orders, effective 11 September 2001, the Meritorious Service Medal may also be bestowed in lieu of the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in a designated combat theater. The Bronze Star Medal was designed by Rudolf Freund of the jewelry firm Bailey, the medal is a bronze star 1 1⁄2 inches in circumscribing diameter. In the center is a 3⁄16 inch diameter superimposed bronze star, the reverse bears the inscription HEROIC OR MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT with a space for the name of the recipient to be engraved. The star hangs from its ribbon by a metal loop with rounded corners. The Bronze Star Medal with the V device to denote heroism is the fourth highest military decoration for valor, 5/16 Inch Star – In the Navy and Marine Corps and Coast Guard, the 5/16 inch star is worn to denote additional awards. V Device – In the Army, the V is worn solely to denote participation in acts of heroism involving conflict with an armed enemy, in the Air Force, the V is worn to denote heroism in combat. Red Reeder conceived the idea of the Bronze Star Medal in 1943, Reeder felt another medal was needed as a ground equivalent of the Air Medal, and suggested calling the proposed new award the Ground Medal. The idea eventually rose through the bureaucracy and gained supporters. Marshall, in a memorandum to President Franklin D, the Air Medal had been adopted two years earlier to raise airmens morale. President Roosevelt authorized the Bronze Star Medal by Executive Order 9419 dated 4 February 1944 and this authorization was announced in War Department Bulletin No. President John F. Kennedy amended Executive Order 9419 per Executive Order 11046 dated 24 August 1962 to expand the authorization to include serving with friendly forces. This allowed for awards where US service members become involved in a conflict where the United States was not a belligerent. At the time of the Executive Order, for example, the US was not a belligerent in Vietnam, since the award criteria state that the Bronze Star Medal may be awarded to any person
28.
Fullback (gridiron football)
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A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback. Examples of players who have excelled at the hybrid running-blocking-pass catching role include Mike Alstott, in the days before two platoons, the fullback was usually the teams punter and drop kicker. In modern play, the fullback is a misnomer. Before the emergence of the T-formation in the 1940s, most teams used four offensive backs on every play, a quarterback, two halfbacks, and a fullback. The quarterback began each play a quarter of the way back, the halfbacks began each play side by side and halfway back, and the fullback began each play the farthest back. In the modern game, when the quarterback is under center, fullbacks are typically known less for speed and agility and more for muscularity and the ability to shed tackles. In the modern NFL, fullbacks, while deployed as ball carriers, are often primarily a lead blocker to allow running backs to get to the secondary of the opposing teams defense. In the early 2000s, many NFL teams used blocking fullbacks, such as Tony Richardson and Lorenzo Neal and these backs cleared the way for some of the decades great running backs. There are still fullbacks who remaining prominent in the NFL, among them Aaron Ripkowski, Jamize Olawale, James Develin, John Kuhn, Patrick DiMarco, Mike Tolbert, Kyle Juszczyk, and Marcel Reece. However, in spite of their usually infrequent carries in modern NFL offenses, notably LeRon McClain was the rushing leader for the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 and Tony Richardson led the Kansas City Chiefs in rushing in 2000. Giants running back Peyton Hillis started his NFL career as a fullback before being reverted into a halfback, although technically a running back, typically fullbacks are primarily valued for their blocking in most modern day offenses. The most common and simple runs, the Dive and the Blast, in the flexbone formation, however, the fullback can often be used as the primary rushing threat. In many other schemes, the fullback is used as a receiver. In selected plays, some teams will have a defensive lineman report as a receiver to line up as a fullback or tight end in a Miami package in goalline formation. Defensive Tackle William The Refrigerator Perry scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XX from the fullback position, most teams in the NFL do not have a substitute fullback, though there are exceptions. The role can be filled by backup or number three or four tight ends or bigger and less-frequently-used running backs. In modern offenses, fullbacks in an I-formation can be motioned into a 2-TE formation or H-back formation, the position is less frequently used in Canadian football, which focuses more on passing than running the ball
29.
Marion Motley
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Marion Motley was an American Football fullback and linebacker who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League. He was a leading pass-blocker and rusher in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and ended his career with an average of 5.7 yards per carry, a versatile player who possessed both quickness and size, Motley was a force on both offense and defense. Fellow Hall of Fame running back Joe Perry once called Motley the greatest all-around football player there ever was, Motley was also one of the first African-Americans to play the professional game in the modern era. Motley grew up in Canton, Ohio and he played football through high school and college in the 1930s before enlisting in the military during World War II. While training in the U. S. Navy in 1944, following the war, he went back to work in Canton before Brown invited him to try out for the Cleveland Browns, a team he was coaching in the newly formed AAFC. Motley made the team in 1946 and became a cornerstone of Clevelands success in the late 1940s, the team won four AAFC championships before the league dissolved and the Browns were absorbed by the more established NFL. Motley was the AAFCs leading rusher in 1948 and the NFL leader in 1950, Motley and fellow black teammate Bill Willis contended with racism throughout their careers. Although the color barrier was broken in all major American sports by 1950 and they found out that while they were calling us niggers and alligator bait, I was running for touchdowns and Willis was knocking the shit out of them, Motley once said. So they stopped calling us names and started trying to catch up with us, focused exclusively on winning, Brown did not tolerate racism within the team. Slowed by knee injuries, Motley left the Browns after the 1953 season and he attempted a comeback in 1955 as a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers but was released before the end of the year. He then pursued a career, but was turned away by the Browns. He attributed his trouble finding a job in football to racial discrimination, Motley was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968. Motley was born in Leesburg, Georgia and raised in Canton, Ohio, after going to elementary and junior high schools in Canton, Motley attended Canton McKinley High School, where he played on the football and basketball teams. He was especially good as a fullback, and the McKinley Bulldogs posted a win-loss record of 25–3 during his tenure there. The teams three losses all came against Cantons chief rivals, a Massillon Washington High School team led by coach Paul Brown, after he graduated, Motley enrolled in 1939 at South Carolina State College, a historically black school in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He transferred before his year to the University of Nevada, Reno. As a punishing fullback for the Wolf Pack, Motley played against powerful West Coast teams including USF, Santa Clara and he suffered a knee injury in 1943 and returned to Canton to work after dropping out of school. As Americas involvement in World War II intensified, Motley joined the U. S. Navy in 1944 and was sent to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Motley played fullback and linebacker at Great Lakes, and was an important component of the teams offense and defense
30.
Canton, Ohio
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Canton is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1805 alongside the Middle and West Branches of Nimishillen Creek, however, its status in that regard began to decline during the late 20th century, as shifts in the manufacturing industry led to the relocation or repositioning of many factories. After this decline, the industry diversified into the service economy, including retailing, education, finance. Canton is located approximately 24 miles south of Akron, and 60 miles south of Cleveland, Canton lies on the outskirts of the greater northeast Ohio metropolitan area anchored by Cleveland, and is also a short distance away from the periphery of the greater Pittsburgh area. The city lies on the edge of Ohios extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and Wayne counties to the citys west and southwest. Canton is located along Interstate 77, U. S. Route 62, and the historic Lincoln Highway, the present-day U. S. Route 30, and is also the terminus of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Canton is the largest incorporated area in the Canton-Massillon, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, as of the 2010 Census, the population was 404,422. Cantons city population declined 9. 7%, down to 73,007 residents, despite this decline, the 2010 figure actually moved Canton from ninth to eighth place among Ohio cities. Nearby Youngstown in Mahoning County, once more populous than Canton. Canton is chiefly notable for two reasons, the first is football, especially the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the formation in 1920 of what became the National Football League. The second is William McKinley, who conducted from his home in Canton the famed front porch campaign which won him the presidency of the United States in the 1896 election, the McKinley National Memorial and the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum commemorate his life and presidency. Canton was chosen as the site of the First Ladies National Historic Site largely in honor of his wife, Canton is currently experiencing an urban renaissance, anchored by its growing and thriving arts district centrally located in the downtown area. Several historic buildings have been rehabilitated and converted into upscale lofts, Canton was founded in 1805, incorporated as a village in 1822, and re-incorporated as a city in 1838. Bezaleel Wells, the surveyor who divided the land of the town, named it after Canton, the name was a memorial to a trader named John ODonnell, whom Wells admired. ODonnell had named his Maryland plantation after the Chinese city, as he had been the first person to transport goods from there to Baltimore, Canton was the adopted home of President William McKinley. Born in Niles, McKinley first practiced law in Canton around 1867, the city was his home during his successful campaign for Ohio governor, the site of his front-porch presidential campaign of 1896 and the campaign of 1900. Canton is now the site of the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, Cantons street layout forms the basis for the system of addresses in Stark County. Canton proper is divided into quadrants by Tuscarawas Street and Market Avenue
31.
Jim Aiken
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James Wilson Aiken was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the football coach at the University of Akron, the University of Nevada, Reno. Aiken was also the basketball coach at Nevada for a season in 1944–45. The son of a farmer, Aiken was born near Wheeling, West Virginia and he attended Martins Ferry High School and was a standout athlete. Following the First World War, Aiken enrolled at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania and he was a senior on the 1921 team under head coach Greasy Neale which played California to a scoreless tie in the Rose Bowl. After graduation from college in 1922, Aiken was a high school football coach in Pennsylvania and Ohio, notably at Scott in Toledo. From 1936 to 1938 at Akron, Aikens teams posted a 19–7–1 record, from 1939 to 1946, at Nevada in Reno, he posted a 38–26–3 record. He moved to Oregon in 1947, and compiled a 21–20 record, in his first year in Eugene, he led the Ducks to a 7–3 record, followed by an undefeated conference record in 1948 and an appearance in the Cotton Bowl. In those first two seasons, the team was led on the field by quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Halfback John McKay, future head coach at USC and the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after four seasons in Eugene, Aiken resigned as head coach at Oregon in June 1951, and entered the lumber business in Roseburg. Aiken had several heart attacks in the late 1950s and was later the athletic director at Roseburg High School. After giving a speech at a dinner in 1961 in Medford, he suffered a heart attack. Oregon–Washington football rivalry Jim Aiken at the College Football Data Warehouse Jim Aiken at College Basketball at Sports-Reference. com Jim Aiken at Find a Grave
32.
Bill Willis
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William Karnet Willis was an American football defensive lineman who played eight seasons for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference and the National Football League. Known for his quickness and strength despite his stature, Willis was one of the dominant defensive football players of the 1940s. He was named an All-Pro in every season of his career and his techniques and style of play were emulated by other teams, and his versatility as a pass-rusher and coverage man influenced the development of the modern-day linebacker position. When he retired, Cleveland coach Paul Brown called him one of the outstanding linemen in the history of professional football, born in Columbus, Ohio, Willis attended Ohio State University, where he joined the track and football teams. He was part of a Buckeyes football team won the schools first national championship in 1942. After graduating in 1944, Willis heard about a new AAFC club in Cleveland led by his old Ohio State coach and he got a tryout and made the team. With Willis as an anchor, the Browns won all four AAFC championships between 1946 and 1949, when the league dissolved. The Browns were then absorbed by the NFL, where Willis continued to succeed, Cleveland won the NFL championship in 1950. Willis retired in 1954 to focus on helping troubled youth, first as Clevelands assistant recreation commissioner and later as the chairman of the Ohio Youth Commission and he remained in that position until his death in 2007. Willis was inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame in the 1970s and he married Odessa Porter and had three sons, William, Jr. Clement and Dan. Willis was born in Georgia, the son of Clement and Williana Anna Willis, the family moved to Columbus, Ohio about 1922. His father died of pneumonia on April 10,1923, and he ran dashes and threw the shot put on the track team and played on the football team at Columbus East High School. Worried about being compared to his older brother Claude, who had been an All-State fullback at the school a few years earlier, Willis eschewed the backfield to play tackle. He had a three years on the high school team, winning Honorable Mention All-State honors as a senior. After graduating from school, Willis took a year off. He enrolled at Ohio State in 1941, Willis was small for a lineman at 202 pounds, and despite signing up to play for Brown he was initially expected to focus on track and the 60-yard and 100-yard dashes. Brown, however, brought him onto the team as a sophomore in 1942. Willis played middle guard, a position opposite the center
33.
Chicago College All-Star Game
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It was also known as the College All-Star Football Classic. Thus, the New York Jets played in the 1969 edition, the second game in 1935 involved the hometown Chicago Bears, runner-up in 1934, instead of the defending champion New York Giants. The game was the idea of Arch Ward, the editor of the Chicago Tribune. The Chicago game was one of several pro vs, because of this, the game survived far longer than its contemporaries. The inaugural game in 1934, played before a crowd of 79,432 on August 31, was a tie between the all-stars and the Chicago Bears. The following year, in a game that included University of Michigan graduate and future president Gerald Ford, the first all-star team to win was the 1937 squad, coached by Gus Dorais, which won 6–0 over Curly Lambeaus Green Bay Packers. The only score came on a 47-yard touchdown pass from future Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh to Gaynell Tinsley, baughs Washington Redskins lost to the All-Stars the next year, he did not play due to injury. In the 1940s, the games were competitive affairs that attracted crowds to Soldier Field. As the talent level of pro football improved, the pros came to dominate the series, the all-stars last won consecutive games in 1946 and 1947 but won just four of the final 29 games. The Philadelphia Eagles fell in 1950, the Cleveland Browns in 1955, the last all-star win came in 1963, when a college team coached by legendary quarterback Otto Graham beat Vince Lombardis Green Bay Packers, 20–17. By the 1970s, enthusiasm for the game started to erode, additionally, NFL coaches had become increasingly reluctant to let their new draftees play in the exhibition. Not only would miss part of training camp, but the draftees would have been at considerable risk for injury. The finale took place in 1976 during a downpour at Soldier Field on July 23, despite featuring stars such as Chuck Muncie, Mike Pruitt, Lee Roy Selmon, and Jackie Slater, the all-stars were hopelessly outmatched by the Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of Super Bowl X. The star quarterback for the College All-Stars was Steeler draft pick Mike Kruczek, late in the third quarter, with the Steelers leading 24–0, high winds prompted all-star coach Ara Parseghian to call time out. Fans began pouring out onto the field and sliding on the turf, with the rain getting harder, the officials ordered both teams to their locker rooms. All attempts to clear the field failed, the fans even tore down the goalposts, however, by this time the rain had become so heavy that the field would have been unplayable even if order had been restored. Finally, at 11,01 pm NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, the news was greeted with jeers, and numerous brawls broke out on the flooded field before order was finally restored. Joe Washington of Oklahoma was selected MVP of this final College All-Star game, Chicago Tribune Charities had every intention of staging a 1977 game
34.
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
35.
Running back
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A running back is an American and Canadian football position, a member of the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a play, to catch passes from out of the backfield. There are usually one or two running backs on the field for a play, depending on the offensive formation. A running back may be a halfback or a fullback, a running back will sometimes be called a feature back if he is the teams starting running back. The halfback or tailback position is responsible for carrying the ball on the majority of running plays, in the modern game, an effective halfback must have a blend of both quickness and agility as a runner, as well as sure hands and good vision up-field as a receiver. Quarterbacks depend on halfbacks as a safety valve receiver when primary targets downfield are covered or when they are under pressure, occasionally, halfbacks line up as additional wide receivers. As a trick play, running backs are used to pass the ball on a halfback option play or halfback pass. The difference between halfback and tailback is the position of the player in the offensive formation. In historical formations, the lined up approximately halfway between the line of scrimmage and the fullback. Because the halfback is usually the main ball carrier, modern offensive formations have positioned the halfback behind the fullback. As a result, some systems or playbooks will call for a tailback as opposed to a halfback, in most modern college and professional football schemes, fullbacks carry the ball infrequently, instead using their stronger physiques as primary lead blockers. On most running plays, the leads the halfback, attempting to block potential tacklers before they reach the ball carrier. When fullbacks are called upon to carry the ball, the situation calls for gaining a short amount of yardage. Fullbacks are technically running backs, but today the term running back is used in referring to the halfback or tailback. Although modern fullbacks are rarely used as carriers, in previous offensive schemes fullbacks would be the designated ball carriers. In high school football, where player sizes vary greatly, fullbacks are still used as ball carriers. In high school and college offenses, the triple option uses the fullback as a primary ball carrier. The fullback plays a role by establishing an inside running threat on every play
36.
New York Giants
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The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The team plays its games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants hold their training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The Giants were one of five teams that joined the NFL in 1925 and their championship tally is surpassed only by the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. Throughout their history, the Giants have featured 28 Hall of Fame players, including NFL Most Valuable Player award winners Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Y. A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor. The teams heated rivalry with the Philadelphia Eagles is the oldest of the NFC East rivalries, dating all the way back to 1933, the Giants played their first game as an away game against All New Britain in New Britain, Connecticut, on October 4,1925. They defeated New Britain 26–0 in front of a crowd of 10,000, the Giants were successful in their first season, finishing with an 8–4 record. In its third season, the finished with the best record in the league at 11–1–1 and was awarded the NFL title. In 1930, there were many who questioned the quality of the professional game. In December 1930, the Giants played a team of Notre Dame All Stars at the Polo Grounds to raise money for the unemployed of New York City and it was also an opportunity to establish the skill and prestige of the pro game. Knute Rockne reassembled his Four Horsemen along with the stars of his 1924 Championship squad and told them to score early, Rockne, like much of the public, thought little of pro football and expected an easy win. But from the beginning it was a one-way contest, with Friedman running for two Giant touchdowns and Hap Moran passing for another, when it was all over, Coach Rockne told his team, That was the greatest football machine I ever saw. I am glad none of you got hurt, the game raised $100,000 for the homeless, and is often credited with establishing the legitimacy of the professional game for those who were critical. It also was the last game the legendary Rockne ever coached, in a 14-year span from 1933 to 1947, the Giants qualified to play in the NFL championship game 8 times, winning twice. During this period the Giants were led by Hall of Fame coach Steve Owen, the period also featured the 1944 Giants, which are ranked as the #1 defensive team in NFL history. a truly awesome unit. They gave up only 7.5 points per game and shut out five of their 10 opponents, though they lost 14-7 to the Green Bay Packers in the 1944 NFL Championship Game. The famous Sneakers Game was played in this era where the Giants defeated the Chicago Bears on an icy field in the 1934 NFL Championship Game, the Giants played the Detroit Lions to a scoreless tie on November 7,1943
37.
Los Angeles Rams
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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
