1.
Quarterback
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A quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the team and line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is considered the leader of the offensive team. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually the leader of the offense, the quarterback touches the ball on almost every offensive play, and his successes and failures can have a significant impact on the fortunes of his team. Accordingly, the quarterback is among the most glorified and scrutinized positions in team sports, prior to each play, the quarterback will usually tell the rest of his team which play the team will run. After the team is lined up, the center will pass the ball back to the quarterback, usually on a running play, the quarterback will then hand or pitch the ball backwards to a half back or full back. On a passing play, the quarterback is almost always the responsible for trying to throw the ball downfield to an eligible receiver downfield. Depending on the scheme by his team, the quarterbacks role can vary. While quarterbacks in Canadian football need to be able to throw the ball often, in the NFL, quarterbacks are required to wear a uniform number between 1 and 19. In the CFL, the quarterback can wear any number from 0 to 49 and 70 to 99. Because of their numbering, quarterbacks are eligible receivers in the NCAA, NFHS, after a Super Bowl victory, the starting quarterback is the first player to be presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The starting quarterback of the victorious Super Bowl team is chosen for the Im going to Disney World. Campaign, whether they are the Super Bowl MVP or not, examples include Joe Montana, Trent Dilfer, Dilfer was chosen even though teammate Ray Lewis was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, due to the bad publicity from Lewis murder trial the prior year. In addition to their role, quarterbacks are occasionally used in other roles. Most teams utilize a backup quarterback as their holder on placekicks, in the Wildcat, a formation where a halfback lines up behind the center and the quarterback lines up out wide, the quarterback can be used as a receiving target or a blocker. A more rare use for a quarterback is to punt the ball himself, Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway was known to perform quick kicks occasionally, typically when the Broncos were facing a third-and-long situation. As Roger Staubachs back-up, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White was also the teams punter, ascending the starting role upon Staubachs retirement, White held his position as the teams punter for several seasons—a double duty he performed to All-American standard at Arizona State University. White also had two touchdown receptions as a Dallas Cowboy, both from the halfback option, if quarterbacks are uncomfortable with the formation the defense is using, they may call an audible change to their play
2.
Calgary
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Calgary is a city in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated at the confluence of the Bow River and the Elbow River in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, the city anchors the south end of what Statistics Canada defines as the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The city had a population of 1,239,220 in 2016, making it Albertas largest city, also in 2016, Calgary had a metropolitan population of 1,392,609, making it the fourth-largest census metropolitan area in Canada. The Calgary CMA is home to the second-highest number of head offices in Canada among the countrys 800 largest corporations. In 1988, Calgary became the first Canadian city to host the Winter Olympic Games, Calgary was named after Calgary on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. In turn, the name originates from a compound of kald and gart, similar Old Norse words, meaning cold and garden, alternatively, the name might be Gaelic Cala ghearraidh, meaning beach of the meadow, or Gaelic for either clear running water or bay farm. The Calgary area was inhabited by people whose presence has been traced back at least 11,000 years. Before the arrival of Europeans, the area was inhabited by the Blackfoot, Blood, Peigan, in 1787, cartographer David Thompson spent the winter with a band of Peigan encamped along the Bow River. He was a Hudsons Bay Company trader and the first recorded European to visit the area, John Glenn was the first documented European settler in the Calgary area, in 1873. The site became a post of the North-West Mounted Police, the NWMP detachment was assigned in 1875 to protect the western plains from US whisky traders, and to protect the fur trade. Originally named Fort Brisebois, after NWMP officer Éphrem-A, Brisebois, it was renamed Fort Calgary in 1876 by Colonel James Macleod. When the Canadian Pacific Railway reached the area in 1883, over a century later, the Canadian Pacific Railway headquarters moved to Calgary from Montreal in 1996. Calgary was officially incorporated as a town in 1884, and elected its first mayor, in 1894, it was incorporated as The City of Calgary in what was then the North-West Territories. The Calgary Police Service was established in 1885 and assumed municipal, local duties from the NWMP, the Calgary Fire of 1886 occurred on November 7,1886. Fourteen buildings were destroyed with losses estimated at $103,200, although no one was killed or injured, city officials drafted a law requiring all large downtown buildings to be built with Paskapoo sandstone, to prevent this from happening again. After the arrival of the railway, the Dominion Government started leasing grazing land at minimal cost, as a result of this policy, large ranching operations were established in the outlying country near Calgary. Already a transportation and distribution hub, Calgary quickly became the centre of Canadas cattle marketing and meatpacking industries. By the late 19th century, the Hudsons Bay Company expanded into the interior and established posts along rivers that later developed into the cities of Winnipeg, Calgary
3.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
4.
Shadle Park High School
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Shadle Park High School is a four-year public secondary school in Spokane, Washington, part of Spokane Public Schools. Northwest of downtown Spokane, Shadle Park was the first new school in the city in a quarter century when it opened its doors in 1957. It had an enrollment of 1,950 students in 2003, in 1954 it was very apparent that a new school was needed on the north side of Spokane. In the spring of that year the school board officials were presented with plans for a new Northwest High School to be named Shadle Park High. Once the plans were made, the dream became a reality. The generous amount of land was donated to the city by Jessie Comstock Shadle, only a small fraction of this land was taken to build Shadle Park High School. In May 1956, the firm of Culler, Gale, Martell, the structure was completed in 1957 with the total cost coming to $2,787,475. This building was the first high school built in Spokane since 1932, in September,1957, the first principal, William W. Taylor, with an excellent staff, was ready greet the very first enrollment of 1,331 students. During that first year, the group of students held an election and chose green and gold as their colors. In 1960, the very first class held their commencement exercise for a class of 403 Highlanders. The Henderson Clan Eugene Shadle was a descendant of the Scottish Clan Henderson and this clan plays a major role in the traditions of Shadle Park. The school colors, green and gold, are derived from the Henderson tartan, the Crest The crest, which represents Shadle throughout the school, was presented to Shadle by the class of 1964. Modernization and Addition In 2009, a project was completed to expand. The modernization of Shadle Park High School was funded through the support of the Spokane community in passing the $165.3 million facility improvement bond in March 2003, the total new size of Shadle Park High School is 267,264 square feet. The modernization of the facility included creating a public-friendly and efficient layout with many views towards the park to the west, the demolition of the vacant Field Elementary School, on the corner of Wellesley and Ash created additional parking spaces for visitors and staff. During construction, students remained on campus, the Spirit Potty The spirit potty is a green and gold toilet seat that a chosen senior student uses to motivate our students. The toilet seat is lifted to reveal a RAH, the senior lifts the seat and yells to a person or group of his choice Give me a RAH. Mascot Mr. McTavish is the mascot embodied as a mannequin, McTavish was created by Pat Fisk in 1960
5.
Washington (state)
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It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State or the State of Washington to distinguish it from Washington, Washington is the 18th largest state with an area of 71,362 square miles, and the 13th most populous state with over 7 million people. Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in the Western United States, Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the states highest elevation at almost 14,411 feet and is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. Washington is a leading lumber producer and its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa pine, white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals. Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, the Washington Territory was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. The area was part of a region called the Columbia District after the Columbia River. The area was renamed Washington in order to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia, Washington is the only U. S. state named after a president. To distinguish it from the U. S. capital, which is named for George Washington, Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State, or, in more formal contexts. Washingtonians and other residents of the Pacific Northwest refer to the state simply as Washington, calling the nations capital Washington, D. C. or, often, Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States. Washington is bordered by Oregon to the south, with the Columbia River forming the western part, to the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean. The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting the state, from the Cascade Mountains westward, Western Washington has a mostly marine west coast climate, with mild temperatures and wet winters, autumns and springs, and relatively dry summers. The Cascade Range contains several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains, from the north to the south, these major volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. Mount Rainier, the tallest mountain in the state, is 50 miles south of the city of Seattle and it is also covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous 48 states. Western Washington also is home of the Olympic Mountains, far west on the Olympic Peninsula and these deep forests, such as the Hoh Rainforest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States. Eastern Washington – the part of the state east of the Cascades – has a dry climate. It includes large areas of steppe and a few truly arid deserts lying in the rain shadow of the Cascades. Farther east, the climate becomes less arid, with annual rainfall increasing as one goes east to 21.2 inches in Pullman, the Okanogan Highlands and the rugged Kettle River Range and Selkirk Mountains cover much of the northeastern quadrant of the state
6.
Washington State Cougars football
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The Washington State Cougars football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Washington State University, located in the U. S. state of Washington. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference, known as the Cougars, the first football team was fielded in 1894. The Cougars play home games on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington, which opened in 1972 and its present seating capacity is 33,522. Their main rivals are the Washington Huskies, the Cougars and Huskies historically end each regular season with the Apple Cup rivalry game in late November. They are currently coached by Mike Leach, Washington States first head football coach was William Goodyear. That team played two games in its inaugural season in 1894, posting a 1–1 record. The teams first win was over Idaho, the first paid head football coach was William L. Allen, who served as head coach in 1900 and 1902, posting an overall record of 6–3–1. John R. Bender served as football coach from 1906–1907 and 1912–1914. William Henry Dietz was the Cougars head football coach from 1915–1917, dietzs 1915 team defeated Brown in the Rose Bowl, and finished with a 7–0 record. Dietz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2012, albert Exendine served as Washington States head football coach from 1923–1925, posting a 6–13–4 overall record. Babe Hollingbery was the Cougars head football coach for 17 seasons and his 93 wins are the most by any head football coach in Washington State football history. Hollingberys 1930 team played in the 1931 Rose Bowl, a game they lost to Alabama, the Cougars didnt lose a single home game from 1926–1935. Among the Cougar greats Holingbery coached were Mel Hein, Turk Edwards, the Holingbery Fieldhouse that serves many of Washington States athletics teams, was named in his honor in 1963. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1979, the Cougars did not field a football team from 1943 to 1944 because of World War II. After the war ended, Phil Sarboe was hired away from Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, sarboes Cougars posted a 17–26–3 record in his five seasons. Forest Evashevski took over the Cougars football program as the coach in late 1949. His 1951 team finished the season ranked #14 in the Coaches Poll and he posted an 11–6–2 record in his two seasons before leaving to take the Iowa head football coach position. Evashevski was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000, al Kircher, an assistant on Evashevskis staff, was promoted to head coach following Evashevskis departure
7.
Washington Redskins
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The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Redskins compete in the National Football League as a member of the National Football Conference East division. The Redskins have played more than 1,000 games since 1932, the Redskins have won five NFL Championships. The franchise has captured 14 NFL divisional titles and six NFL conference championships, the Redskins were the first team in the NFL with an official marching band, and also the first team to have a fight song, Hail to the Redskins. The team began play as the Boston Braves in 1932, based in Boston, before relocating to Washington, the Redskins won the 1937 and 1942 Championship games, as well as Super Bowls XVII, XXII, and XXVI. They also played in, and lost, the 1936,1940,1943 and they have made 24 postseason appearances, and have an overall postseason record of 23–18. All of the Redskins league titles were attained during two 10-year spans, from 1936 to 1945, the Redskins went to the NFL Championship six times, winning two of them. The second period lasted between 1982 and 1991 where the Redskins appeared in the seven times, captured four Conference titles. The Redskins have also experienced failure in their history, the most notable period of general failure was from 1946 to 1970, during which the Redskins posted only four winning seasons and did not have a single postseason appearance. During this period, the Redskins went without a winning season during the years 1956–1968. In 1961, the franchise posted their worst regular season record with a 1–12–1 showing, since 1992, the Redskins have only won the NFC East three times, made five postseason appearances, and had nine seasons with a winning record.85 billion. They also set the NFL record for attendance in 2007. The team name and logo have been the subject of controversy, with lawsuits being filed by Native American groups who consider the team name, polls conducted in the 2010s have shown a lack of major support among fans for a name change. The team originated as the Boston Braves, based in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1932, at the time the team played in Braves Field, home of the Boston Braves baseball team. The following year the club moved to Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, to round out the change, Marshall hired William Lone Star Dietz, who was part Sioux, as the teams head coach. However, Boston wasnt much of a town at the time. The Redskins relocated to Washington, D. C. in 1937, in their early years in Washington, the Redskins shared Griffith Stadium with the Washington Senators baseball team. The Redskins played and won their first game in Washington, D. C. on September 16,1937, on December 5,1937, they earned their first division title in Washington against the Giants, 49–14, for the Eastern Championship
8.
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
9.
1994 NFL season
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The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFLs 75th season, a special logo was designed. Also, a committee of media and league personnel named a special NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. The Phoenix Cardinals changed their name to Arizona Cardinals in an attempt to widen their appeal to the state of Arizona instead of just the Phoenix area. The name was initially resisted by Bill Bidwill, the Seattle Seahawks played their first three regular season home games at Husky Stadium because the Kingdome, the Seahawks regular home field, was undergoing repairs for damaged tiles on its roof. The Seahawks returned for the 2000 and 2001 seasons while their new stadium was under construction, the 1994 season marked the last one until 2016 that the city of Los Angeles had an NFL team and the last one until 2017 that the city had two. Both the Rams and the Raiders left the city following the season. The Rams moved east to St. Louis, Missouri, after being in Los Angeles for 49 years, while the Raiders left Los Angeles after 12 years to return to their previous home in Oakland, California. The Rams eventually returned to Los Angeles in 2016 after failing to reach an agreement with St. Louis on a new stadium and this was also the first season that the then-fledgling Fox Network televised NFL games. Fox took over the National Football Conference package from CBS, who would return to televising the NFL in 1998, today the package remains exclusive to DirecTV. The season ended with Super Bowl XXIX when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the San Diego Chargers 49–26 at Joe Robbie Stadium, both teams had met that regular season, the second straight season that had happened, and ninth time overall. This was also the first year of the current practice of whenever Christmas Day falls on a Sunday that most of that games were played on the Saturday afternoon of Christmas Eve. Every NFL season afterwards with Christmas Day on a Sunday has followed this same scheduling format, a package of changes were adopted to increase offensive production and scoring, The two-point conversion after touchdowns is adopted. The spot of the kickoff is moved from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line and this would remain intact through the 2010 season. The Neutral zone infraction foul is adopted, a play is automatically dead before the snap when a defensive player enters the neutral zone and causes an offensive player to react. After a field goal is missed, the team takes possession of the ball at the spot of the kick or the 30-yard line. During field goal attempts and extra point tries, players on the team cannot block below the waist. The league also honored its 75th season by having each team wear throwback uniforms during selected games, all jerseys displayed the players last names on the back, though this practice did not become standard until 1970
10.
History of the St. Louis Rams
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The professional American football franchise now known as the Los Angeles Rams played in St. Louis, Missouri, as the St. Louis Rams from the 1995 through the 2015 seasons. The Rams franchise relocated from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995 and their last game played at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 17,2015, which they won, 31–23. The Rams last game as a St. Louis-based club was on January 3,2016, against the San Francisco 49ers at Levis Stadium, but the overall mediocrity of the Cardinals, combined with stadium issues, caused game attendance to dwindle. And once again the Bidwills, the family owned the Cardinals. The cities they looked at included Baltimore, Phoenix, New York City, nonetheless, Cardinals fans were unhappy at losing their team, and Bill Bidipll, fearing for his safety, stayed away from several of the 1987 home games. Their last home game was on December 13,1987, in which the Cardinals won 27–24 over the New York Giants in front of 29,623 fans on a late Sunday afternoon. Not long after the 1987 season, Bidipll agreed to move to the Phoenix area on a deal with state and local officials. They planned to play at Arizona State Universitys Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe on a basis while a new stadium was being built. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the savings and loan crisis derailed financing for the stadium, prior to the Rams 1979 Super Bowl season, owner Carroll Rosenbloom drowned in an accident. His widow, Georgia Frontiere, inherited 70% ownership of the team, Frontiere fired her step-son, Steve Rosenbloom, and assumed total control of the franchise. As had been planned prior to Carroll Rosenblooms death, the Rams moved from their home at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to Anaheim Stadium in nearby Orange County in 1980. Also, Southern Californias population patterns were changing, there was growth in L. A. s affluent suburbs. Anaheim Stadium was originally built in 1966 as the home of the California Angels Major League Baseball franchise, to accommodate the Rams move, the ballpark was reconfigured with luxury suites and enclosed to accommodate crowds of about 65,000 for football. In 1982 the Coliseum was occupied by the Los Angeles Raiders, the combined effect of these two factors was to force the Rams traditional fan base to be split between two teams. Making matters even worse, at time the Rams were unsuccessful on the field. Although it was not apparent at the time, the Rams loss in the 1989 NFC Championship Game marked the end of an era, the Rams would not have another winning season in Los Angeles for the remainder of the century, and beyond. The first half of the 1990s featured four straight 10-loss seasons, no playoff appearances, the return of Chuck Knox as head coach would not boost the Rams fortunes. Knoxs run-oriented offense brought about the end of offensive coordinator Ernie Zampeses tenure in 1993, general manager John Shaw was perceived by some to continually squander NFL Draft picks on sub-standard talent
11.
Philadelphia Eagles
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The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football franchise based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The franchise was established in 1933 as a replacement for the bankrupt Frankford Yellow Jackets, when a group led by Bert Bell secured the rights to an NFL franchise in Philadelphia. Bell, Chuck Bednarik, Bob Brown, Reggie White, Steve Van Buren, Tommy McDonald, Greasy Neale, Pete Pihos, Sonny Jurgensen, the team has an intense rivalry with the New York Giants. This rivalry is the oldest in the NFC East and is among the oldest in the NFL and they also have a historic rivalry with the Washington Redskins, as well as their bitter rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys, which has become more high-profile in the last three decades. The team consistently ranks in the top three in attendance and has sold out every game since the 1999 season, in a Sports Illustrated poll of 321 NFL players, Eagles fans were selected the most intimidating fans in the NFL. Midway through the 1931 season, the Frankford Yellow Jackets went bankrupt, the Bell-Wray group had to pay an entry fee of $3,500 and assumed a total debt of $11,000 that was owed to three other NFL franchises. Neither the Eagles nor the NFL officially regard the two franchises as the same, citing the period of dormancy. Furthermore, almost no Yellow Jackets players were on the Eagles first roster, the Eagles, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the now-defunct Cincinnati Reds, joined the NFL as expansion teams. To accommodate football at Shibe Park during the winter, management set up stands in right field, some 20 feet high, these east stands had 22 rows of seats. The goalposts stood along the first base line and in left field, the uncovered east stands enlarged capacity of Shibe Park to over 39,000, but the Eagles rarely drew more than 25 to 30,000. The Eagles struggled over the course of their first decade, enduring repeated losing seasons, soon after, Bell and Rooney traded the Eagles franchise to Thompson and moved it to Pittsburgh, while Thompson moved the Steelers franchise to Philadelphia. By the late 1940s, head coach Earle Greasy Neale and running back Steve Van Buren led the team to three consecutive NFL Championship Games, winning two of them in 1948 and 1949. After the 1957 season, the Eagles moved from Connie Mack Stadium to Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania, Franklin Field would seat over 60,000 for the Eagles, whereas Connie Mack had a capacity of 39,000. The stadium switched from grass to AstroTurf in 1969 and it was the first NFL stadium to use artificial turf. In 1960, the Eagles won their third NFL championship, under the leadership of future Pro Football Hall of Famers Norm Van Brocklin and Chuck Bednarik, the head coach was Buck Shaw. The 1960 Eagles, by a score of 17–13, became the team to defeat Vince Lombardi. The Eagles had a good 1961 season and then fell on hard times in 1962
12.
1996 NFL season
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The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXI when the Green Bay Packers defeated the New England Patriots 35-21 at the Louisiana Superdome, either way, the beloved Cleveland Browns would continue, while the Baltimore Ravens began their new history when the 1996 season started. The season was also the season for the Houston Oilers before leaving Texas for Memphis for the following season. This move left Houston with no football team until the 2002 debut of the Texans. For that, and his excellent performance on kick-off and punt returns throughout the game, Howard was named Super Bowl MVP, the only time that a special teams player has earned that distinction. In the event, Parcells did not even return with the players, and telephone records showed he was talking to the Jets in the days before, New Orleans Saints – New numbers on uniforms. On home uniform old gold numbers with white trim, and road uniforms old gold numbers with black trim, similar to teams original jerseys worn from 1967–69, 30th anniversary patch worn on the left chest. New uniforms, with green color. Dallas Cowboys – New color road uniforms, Baltimore Ravens – New team in new city. Purple jerseys with white numbers trimmed in black and gold at home, white jerseys with black numbers trimmed in purple, black pants worn with both jerseys. San Francisco 49ers – New uniforms, darker red, white pants, and updated team logo. Minnesota Vikings – Changes in uniforms, Vikings logo on sleeve ends of home uniforms. Arizona Cardinals - New road jerseys, black trim removed from numbers, logo removed from sleeves, and Arizona state flag moved above sleeve stripes. Arizona Cardinals - Vince Tobin new head coach, replaced Buddy Ryan, who was fired after the 1995 season. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Tony Dungy new head coach, replaced Sam Wyche who was fired after the 1995 season. Miami Dolphins – Jimmy Johnson new head coach, replaced Don Shula who retired after the 1995 season. Indianapolis Colts – Lindy Infante new head coach, replaced Ted Marchibroda who was offered a job from the Baltimore Ravens. Cincinnati Bengals – Dave Shula was fired by mid season and was replaced by head coach Bruce Coslet
13.
Atlanta Falcons
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The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference South division. The Falcons joined the NFL in 1965 as an expansion team, the AFL instead granted a franchise to Miami. The Falcons are tied with the Dolphins for being the second-oldest NFL franchise in the Deep South, the Falcons played their home games at the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta from the 1992 to 2016 NFL seasons. Construction began on Mercedes-Benz Stadium in May 2014, with play projected to begin there during the 2017 season and their headquarters and practice facilities are located at a 50-acre site in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Two years later, the AFL held another exhibition, this time with the New York Jets taking on the San Diego Chargers, in 1965, after the Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium was built, the city of Atlanta felt the time was right to start pursuing professional football. Another group reported it had deposited earnest money for a team in the AFL and he forced the city to make a choice between the two leagues. By June 30, the city picked Rankin Smith and the NFL, former commissioner Pete Rozelle and Smith made the deal in about five minutes and the Atlanta Falcons brought the largest and most popular sport to the city of Atlanta. The Atlanta expansion franchise became the 15th NFL franchise, and they were awarded the first pick in the 1966 NFL draft as well as the pick in each of the first five rounds. The Falcons drafted All-American linebacker Tommy Nobis from the University of Texas with the first pick of the draft, the league also held the 1966 NFL Expansion Draft six weeks later in which the Falcons selected unprotected players from existing franchises. Although the Falcons selected many players in those drafts, they still were not able to win right away. The Atlanta Falcons Football Club received its nickname on August 29,1965, miss Julia Elliott, a school teacher from Griffin, Georgia, was singled out from many people who suggested Falcons as the nickname for the new franchise. Elliott wrote, the Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and it is deadly and has a great sporting tradition. The Falcons had their first season in 1966, and their first preseason game on August 1,1966, under Head Coach Norb Hecker they lost their first nine regular-season games in 1966 and secured their first victory on the road against the New York Giants. The team finished the 1960s with only 12 wins, the Falcons had their first Monday Night Football game in Atlanta during the 1970 season. The only two winning seasons in this period were 1971 and 1973. In the 1978 season, the Falcons qualified for the playoffs for the first time, the following week, they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 27–20 in the Divisional Playoffs. In the 1980 season, after a winning streak, the Falcons posted a franchise then-best record of 12–4
14.
Indianapolis Colts
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The Indianapolis Colts are an American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference South division. Since the 2008 season, the Colts have played their games in Lucas Oil Stadium, previously, the team had played for over two decades at the RCA Dome. Since 1986, the Colts have been the host team for the NFL Scouting Combine, the Colts have been a member club of the NFL since their founding in 1953 in Baltimore. The Colts were one of three NFL teams to join the teams of the American Football League to form the AFC following the 1970 merger. While in Baltimore, the team advanced to the playoffs 10 times, the Colts played in two Super Bowl games while it was based in Baltimore, losing to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III, while defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V. The Colts relocated to Indianapolis in 1984 and have appeared in the playoffs 16 times. Following World War II, a professional football league was organized known as the All America Football Conference which began play in the 1946 season. These Colts played for the three seasons in the old AAFC. With the organization in 1920 of the original American Professional Football Conference, the NFL considers the Texans and Colts to be separate teams, although many of the earlier teams shared the same colors of blue and white. Thus, the Indianapolis Colts are legally considered to be a 1953 expansion team, the third version of the Colts football team played their first season in Baltimore in 1953, where the team compiled a 3–9 record under first year head coach Keith Molesworth. The franchise struggled during the first few years in Baltimore, with the team not achieving their first winning record until the 1957 season. The Colts faced the New York Giants in the 1958 NFL Championship Game in what is considered to be among the greatest contests in professional football history. The Colts defeated the Giants 23–17 in the first game ever to utilize the overtime rule, a game seen by 45 million people. Following the two championships in 1958 and 1959, the Colts did not return to the NFL Championship for four seasons, in Shulas second season the Colts compiled a 12–2 record, but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship. However, in 1968 the Colts returned with the leadership of Unitas and Shula and went on to win the Colts third NFL Championship. The Colts, however, were stunned by the Jets, who won the game 16–7 in the first Super Bowl victory for the young AFL. The Colts immediately went on a rampage in the new league, as new head coach Don McCafferty led the 1970 team to an 11–2–1 regular season record, winning the AFC East title
15.
2001 NFL season
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The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the NFLs week 2 games were postponed and re-scheduled to the weekend of January 6–7, in order to retain the full playoff format, all playoff games, including Super Bowl XXXVI, were re-scheduled one week later. The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, defeating the St. Louis Rams 20–17 at the Louisiana Superdome, following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day. With Super Bowls XXXVI-XXXVII already scheduled for fixed dates, the league decided to eliminate the Super Bowl bye weeks for 2001 and 2002 to adjust. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the originally scheduled for September 16–17 were postponed and re-scheduled to the weekend of January 6–7. In order to retain the full playoff format, all playoff games, the season-ending Pro Bowl was also moved to one week later. This was the last season in each conference had 3 divisions. Canceling the games scheduled for September 16–17 was considered and rejected since it would have canceled a game for half the teams of the league. As a result of rescheduling Week 2 as Week 17, the Pittsburgh Steelers ended up not playing a game for the entire month of September. The ESPN Sunday Night Football game for that week was also changed and it was originally scheduled to be Cleveland at Pittsburgh, but it was replaced with Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, which was seen as a more interesting matchup. Ironically, the Eagles and the Buccaneers would both rest their starters that night, and they would meet one week later in the playoffs. This way of flexible scheduling would not be utilized at all in 2007, the games that eventually made up Week 17 marked the latest regular season games to be played during what is traditionally defined as NFL season. Another scheduling change took place in October, when the Dallas Cowboys-Oakland Raiders game was moved from October 21 to 7 to accommodate a possible Oakland Athletics home playoff game on the 21st. The rescheduling ended up being unnecessary as the Athletics would not make it past the Division Series round. Also, this was the only NFL season where every jersey had a patch to remember those who died on 9/11, the season ended with Super Bowl XXXVI when the New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams. Fumble recoveries will be awarded at the spot of the recovery, taunting rules and roughing the passer will be strictly enforced. New Orleans Saints – Replaced their gold pants with black pants, Pittsburgh Steelers – New stadium, Heinz Field. San Diego Chargers – White pants with road uniforms, denver Broncos – New stadium, Invesco Field
16.
Seattle Seahawks
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The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football franchise based in Seattle, Washington. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference West division. The Seahawks joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, the Seahawks are owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and are currently coached by Pete Carroll. Since 2002, the Seahawks have played their games at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks previously played games in the Kingdome and Husky Stadium. Seahawks fans have referred to collectively as the 12th Man, 12th Fan. Largent, Kennedy, Jones, and Easley have been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame primarily or wholly for their accomplishments as Seahawks. Brown, Easley, Green, Jones, Kennedy, Krieg, Largent, Warner, the Seahawks have won ten division titles and three conference championships. They are the team to have played in both the AFC and NFC Championship Games. They are also the first, and to date only, post-merger expansion team in NFL history to play in consecutive Super Bowls, as per one of the agreed parts of the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, the NFL began planning to expand from 26 to 28 teams. In June 1972, Seattle Professional Football Inc. a group of Seattle business and community leaders, in June 1974, the NFL gave the city an expansion franchise. That December, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced the signing of the franchise agreement by Lloyd W. Nordstrom. In March 1975, John Thompson, former Executive Director of the NFL Management Council, the name Seattle Seahawks was selected on June 17,1975 after a public naming contest which drew more than 20,000 entries and over 1,700 different names. Thompson recruited and hired Jack Patera, a Minnesota Vikings assistant coach, to be the first head coach of the Seahawks, the hiring was announced on January 3,1976. The expansion draft was held March 30–31,1976, with Seattle, the Seahawks were awarded the 2nd overall pick in the 1976 draft, a pick they used on defensive tackle Steve Niehaus. The team took the field for the first time on August 1,1976 in a game against the San Francisco 49ers in the then newly constructed Kingdome. The Seahawks are, to date, the only NFL team to switch conferences twice in the post-merger era, the franchise began play in 1976 in the aforementioned NFC West but switched conferences with the Buccaneers after one season and joined the AFC West. The Seahawks won both matchups against the Buccaneers in their first two seasons, the former of which was the Seahawks first regular season victory, in 1983, the Seahawks hired Chuck Knox as head coach
17.
2002 NFL season
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The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League. The league went back to a number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each, also, the Chicago Bears played the 2002 season in Champaign, Illinois at Memorial Stadium because of the reconstruction of their home stadium Soldier Field. The NFL title was won by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they defeated the Oakland Raiders 48–21 in Super Bowl XXXVII, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. With the Houston Texans joining the NFL, the teams were realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each division. In creating the new divisions, the tried to maintain the historical rivalries from the old alignment. The major changes were, The Seattle Seahawks became the team to switch conferences twice. The Arizona Cardinals moved from the NFC East to the NFC West and they had originally played in Chicago and then St. Louis before moving to Phoenix in 1988. The Indianapolis Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Tennessee Titans, the Atlanta Falcons, the Carolina Panthers, the New Orleans Saints, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were placed into the newly formed NFC South. Both the AFC Central and the NFC Central were renamed AFC North and NFC North and they retained their team placement, minus the Titans, Jaguars and Buccaneers of their respective conferences. From 1999 to 2001, at least one team sat out each week because of an odd number of teams in the league. Under the new scheduling formula, only two of a teams games each season are based on the previous record, down from four under the previous system. All teams play four interconference games, an analysis of win percentages in 2008 showed a statistical trend upwards for top teams since this change, the top team each year then averaged 14.2 wins, versus 13.4 previously. The playoff format was modified, four division winners and two wild cards from each conference now advance to the playoffs, instead of three division winners and three wild cards. In each conference, the winners are now seeded 1 through 4. In the current system, the way a wild card team can host a playoff game is if both teams in the conferences championship game are wild cards. Since 1990, the number of teams is still 12. A player who touches a pylon remains in-bounds until any part of his body touches the ground out-of-bounds, continuing-action fouls now become dead-ball fouls and will result in the loss of down and distance
18.
Rochester Raiders
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The Rochester Raiders were a professional indoor football team based in the Rochester, New York area. They played their games at Bill Grays Regional Iceplex in Rochester. The Raiders were previously a member of the Continental Indoor Football League from 2006 to 2008, in 2014, the Raiders came back and played as a member of American Indoor Football. The Raiders played in the CIFL championship game twice, both times against the Port Huron / Michigan Pirates and they lost to Port Huron in 2006 but defeated Michigan in 2007. Rochester finished the 2008 regular season undefeated at 12–0, however, the team resigned after their regular season opponent. The Rochester Raiders were founded in 2006 as a member of the newly created Great Lakes Indoor Football League. The Raiders derived their name from a flag football team. There have been a number of fans concerned with copyright between the teams logo and the National Football Leagues Oakland Raiders. However, since the Rochester team never plays in California, this is not believed to be of real concern, the Raiders were one of two 2006 teams in the GLIFL that held a television contract, at the time with WBGT-CA, a local low-power station. Games have since moved to Time Warner Cable SportsNet. The Raiders first home venue was the ESL Sports Centre in Brighton, Rochester went 8–4 under head coach Dennis Greco during the 2006 regular season and advanced to the postseason. However, they would fall to the Port Huron Pirates by a score of 40–34 in Great Lakes Bowl I. After the season, the Raiders moved from the 2, 500-seat ESL Sports Centre to the 5, 000-seat Main Street Armory in downtown Rochester. In 2007, ultimately the Raiders only season in the Armory, they finished the season with a 10–2 record under new head coach Eddie Long. In the playoffs, Rochester won the CIFL championship by defeating the previously-unbeaten Michigan Pirates 37–27 in the CIFL Indoor Championship Game on July 28,2007, mike Condello was named the games Most Valuable Player. The game was held at the Blue Cross Arena due to a pro wrestling show which was being held at The Armory, the Raiders moved to the Blue Cross Arena full-time beginning with the 2008 season. The mix of holdovers from the 2007 club with players free agency proved to be a winning combination as the team was wildly successful in 2008. They finished the season undefeated and won their second straight division title
19.
Super Bowl
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The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League. The game is the culmination to a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. Normally, Roman numerals are used to each game, rather than the year in which it is held. For example, Super Bowl I was played on January 15,1967, the single exception to this rule is Super Bowl 50, which was played on February 7,2016, following the 2015 regular season. The next game, Super Bowl LII, scheduled for February 4,2018, the game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League. It was agreed that the two champion teams would play in the AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a conference, currently, the National Football Conference leads the league with 26 wins to 25 wins for the American Football Conference. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl championship titles, with six, the New England Patriots have the most Super Bowl appearances, with nine. The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered by some as an unofficial American national holiday, is called Super Bowl Sunday and it is the second-largest day for U. S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year, in 2015, Super Bowl XLIX became the most-watched American television program in history with an average audience of 114. The NFL restricts the use of its Super Bowl trademark, it is called the Big Game or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcasts commercials has become a significant aspect of the event, for four decades after its 1920 inception, the NFL successfully fended off several rival leagues. However, in 1960, it encountered its most serious competitor when the American Football League was formed. The AFL vied heavily with the NFL for both players and fans, but by the middle of the decade the strain of competition led to merger talks between the two leagues. Prior to the 1966 season, the NFL and AFL reached an agreement that was to take effect for the 1970 season. As part of the merger, the champions of the two agreed to meet in a world championship game for professional American football until the merger was effected. A bowl game is a college football game. Exploiting the Rose Bowl Games popularity, post-season college football contests were created for Miami, New Orleans, and El Paso, Texas in 1935, by the time the first Super Bowl was played, the term bowl for any major American football game was well established
20.
Super Bowl XXII
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The Redskins defeated the Broncos by the score of 42–10, winning their second ever Super Bowl. The game was played on January 31,1988 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego and this Super Bowl came at the end of a season that was shortened by a players strike. Each team only missed one regular season due to the labor dispute. The Broncos were making their second consecutive Super Bowl, and third appearance, after posting a 10–4–1 regular season record, largely through the strength of their quarterback. This would be the last time that a team with a tie in their season record would play in a Super Bowl until the 2012 San Francisco 49ers played in Super Bowl XLVII with an 11–4–1 record. The Redskins, who were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance after posting an 11–4 regular season record, were led by quarterback Doug Williams, after Williams entered the season as a backup, he was promoted to starter midway through the season and led Washington to two playoff victories. In games not started by Williams, the team was 11-2, Williams was 0-2 as a starter during the regular season. Williams, who was named the Super Bowl MVP, completed 18 of 29 passes for a Super Bowl record 340 yards and four touchdowns and he also became the first player in Super Bowl history to pass for four touchdowns in a single quarter, and four in a half. Williams was the first African American starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl, the 10-point deficit was the largest deficit overcome by a team to win the Super Bowl in any given season until Super Bowl LI. NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXII to San Diego on May 24,1984 during their May 23–25,1984 meetings in Washington and this was the first Super Bowl to be played at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California. Fourteen cities were part of the process, which was scheduled to award four Super Bowls. The bidding cities included, Anaheim, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Pasadena, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa, and Tempe. The Philadelphia host committee assembled what was considered a strong, but long-shot bid, Jacksonville had no NFL team at the time, the Jacksonville Jaguars were founded in 1993 and would not start play until 1995. After the balloting for XXI took over two hours to complete, XXII was also voted on, but the voting for XXIII, San Diego was awarded the game, marking the second time consecutive Super Bowls were played in the same state, with Pasadena hosting Super Bowl XXI. This has now happened three times in NFL history, Super Bowls II and III were both played at the Miami Orange Bowl and Super Bowls XLIII and XLIV were played in Florida, Williams had taken a rather unconventional route to the Super Bowl. He began his career as the first round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1978. After five seasons, a dispute caused him to leave the team. When that league folded a few later, Williams found himself out of a job until Redskins coach Joe Gibbs asked him to join the team to be the backup for quarterback Jay Schroeder
21.
Super Bowl XXVI
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The Redskins defeated the Bills by the score of 37–24, becoming the fourth team after the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Oakland Raiders, and the San Francisco 49ers to win three Super Bowls. The Bills became the team, after the Minnesota Vikings. The game was played on January 26,1992, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, both teams finished the regular season with the best record in their respective conference. The Redskins posted a 14–2 regular season record, and led the league during the season with 485 points. Washington head coach Joe Gibbs entered the game seeking his third Super Bowl victory with the team, the Bills finished the regular season with a 13–3 record and advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl, largely through the play of quarterback Jim Kelly and their K-Gun no-huddle offense. However, their defense ranked second to last in the league in yards allowed. The Redskins jumped to a 24–0 lead early in the third quarter, Washington also sacked Kelly four times and intercepted him four times. Rypien, who completed 18 of 33 passes for 292 yards, the telecast of the game on CBS was seen by an estimated 79.6 million viewers. NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXVI to Minneapolis during their May 24,1989 meeting in New Orleans, indianapolis, Pontiac and Seattle also made bids for the game. Super Bowl XXVI became the second Super Bowl to be played in a cold, the first one was Super Bowl XVI on January 24,1982 at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Temperatures in Minneapolis on game day were a high of 26F/-3C and low of 9F/-13C, the Metrodome also hosted the 1992 NCAA Mens Basketball Final Four, making it the only stadium to host both events in the same calendar year. It also hosted the 1991 World Series as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Atlanta Braves, Minneapolis is the only city and the Metrodome is the only arena to host all three events in a 12-month span. The attendance mark of 63,130 was second lowest only to the first Super Bowls attendance of 61,946, to date, this is the northernmost Super Bowl ever played. Washington entered Super Bowl XXVI leading the league during the season in scoring with 485 points. The team was led by Mark Rypien, head coach Joe Gibbs third different starting Super Bowl quarterback, Rypien led the NFC during the regular season in passing yards and touchdown passes. With 249 out of 421 completions and only 11 interceptions, he earned the second-highest passer rating in the league, Rypien had several great targets to whom he could throw. Wide receiver Gary Clark was the deep threat on the team. On the other side of the field, wide receiver Art Monk, playing in his 12th NFL season, was just as reliable, Monks 71 receptions in 1991 gave him a career total of 801, just 18 behind the all-time record held by Steve Largent
22.
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award
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The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football Leagues championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game, the media panels ballots count for 80 percent of the vote tally, while the viewers ballots make up the other 20 percent. The games viewing audience can vote on the Internet or by using cellular phones, Super Bowl XXXV, the Super Bowl MVP has been awarded annually since the games inception in 1967. Through 1989, the award was presented by SPORT magazine, bart Starr was the MVP of the first two Super Bowls. Since 1990, the award has been presented by the NFL, at Super Bowl XXV, the league first awarded the Pete Rozelle Trophy, named after the former NFL commissioner, to the Super Bowl MVP. Ottis Anderson was the first to win the trophy, Most award winners have received cars from various sponsors. The most recent Super Bowl MVP was New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Brady is the only player to have won four Super Bowl MVP awards, Joe Montana has won three and three others—Starr, Terry Bradshaw, and Eli Manning—have won the award twice. Starr and Bradshaw are the ones to have won it in back-to-back years. The MVP has come from the team every year except 1971. Harvey Martin and Randy White were named co-MVPs of Super Bowl XII, including the Super Bowl XII co-MVPs, seven Cowboys players have won Super Bowl MVP awards, the most of any NFL team. Quarterbacks have earned the honor 28 times in 51 games, mark Rypien and Hines Ward are the only players born outside the United States to earn the Super Bowl MVP, having been born in Canada and South Korea, respectively
23.
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
24.
Associated Press
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The Associated Press is an American multinational nonprofit news agency headquartered in New York City that operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. The AP is owned by its contributing newspapers and radio and television stations in the United States, all of which stories to the AP. Most of the AP staff are members and are represented by the Newspaper Guild, which operates under the Communications Workers of America. As of 2007, news collected by the AP was published and republished by more than 1,700 newspapers, in addition to more than 5,000 television, the photograph library of the AP consists of over 10 million images. The AP operates 243 news bureaus in 120 countries and it also operates the AP Radio Network, which provides newscasts twice hourly for broadcast and satellite radio and television stations. Many newspapers and broadcasters outside the United States are AP subscribers, as part of their cooperative agreement with the AP, most member news organizations grant automatic permission for the AP to distribute their local news reports. The AP employs the inverted pyramid formula for writing that enables the news outlets to edit a story to fit its available publication area without losing the storys essentials. Cutbacks at rival United Press International in 1993 left the AP as the United States primary news service, although UPI still produces and distributes stories and photos daily. Other English-language news services, such as the BBC, Reuters, some historians believe that the Tribune joined at this time, documents show it was a member in 1849. The New York Times became a member shortly after its founding in September 1851, initially known as the New York Associated Press, the organization faced competition from the Western Associated Press, which criticized its monopolistic news gathering and price setting practices. The revelations led to the demise of the NYAP and in December 1892, when the AP was founded, news became a salable commodity. The invention of the press allowed the New York Tribune in the 1870s to print 18,000 papers per hour. During the Civil War and Spanish–American War, there was a new incentive to print vivid, Melville Stone, who had founded the Chicago Daily News in 1875, served as AP General Manager from 1893 to 1921. He embraced the standards of accuracy, impartiality, and integrity, the cooperative grew rapidly under the leadership of Kent Cooper, who built up bureau staff in South America, Europe and, the Middle East. He introduced the telegraph typewriter or teletypewriter into newsrooms in 1914, in 1935, AP launched the Wirephoto network, which allowed transmission of news photographs over leased private telephone lines on the day they were taken. This gave AP a major advantage over other media outlets. While the first network was only between New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, eventually AP had its network across the whole United States, in 1945, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Associated Press v. The decision facilitated the growth of its main rival United Press International, AP entered the broadcast field in 1941 when it began distributing news to radio stations, it created its own radio network in 1974
25.
Touchdown
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A touchdown is a means of scoring in both American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, to score a touchdown, one team must take the football into the opposite end zone. The touchdown is scored the instant the ball crosses the plane of the line while in possession of a player whose team is trying to score in that end zone. The play is dead and the scores the moment the ball crosses the goal line in possession of a player. The slightest part of the ball being over the line is sufficient for a touchdown to score. However, only the ball counts, not a players helmet, foot, touching one of the pylons at either end of the goal line with the ball constitutes breaking the plane as well. Touchdowns are usually scored by the offense by running or passing the ball, however, the defense can also score a touchdown if they have recovered a fumble or made an interception and return it to the opposing end zone. Special teams can score a touchdown on a kickoff or punt return, in short, any play in which a player legally carries the ball across the goal line scores a touchdown, and the manner in which he gained possession is inconsequential. A touchdown is worth six points, the scoring team is also awarded the opportunity for an extra point or a two-point conversion. Afterwards, the team scored the touchdown kicks off to the opposing team. This rule was changed to the iteration in 1889. If the teammate could fair catch the ball, he could follow with a try for goal from the spot of the catch, the governing rule at the time read, A match shall be decided by a majority of touchdowns. A goal shall be equal to four touchdowns, but in the case of a tie, in 1881, the rules were modified so that a goal kicked from a touchdown took precedence over a goal kicked from the field in breaking ties. In 1882, four touchdowns were determined to take precedence over a goal kicked from the field, two safeties were equivalent to a touchdown. In 1883, points were introduced to football, and a touchdown counted as four points, a goal after a touchdown also counted as four points. In 1889, the provision requiring the ball to actually be touched to the ground was removed, a touchdown was now scored by possessing the ball beyond the goal line. In 1897, the touchdown scored five points, and the goal after touchdown added another point, in 1900, the definition of touchdown was changed to include situations where the ball becomes dead on or above the goal line. In 1912, the value of a touchdown was increased to six points, the end zone was also added
26.
Interception
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In American or Canadian football, an interception occurs when a forward pass is caught by a player of the opposing team. This leads to a change of possession during the play. Following the stoppage of play, if the interceptor retained possession of the ball, interceptions are predominantly made by the secondary or the linebackers, who are usually closest to the quarterbacks intended targets, the wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends. Less frequently, a defensive lineman may get an interception from a ball, a near sack, a shovel pass, or a screen pass. For example, on December 4,2016, the Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Eric Berry scored the winning points via a pick two in a 29-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Berry also achieved an ordinary pick six earlier in the same game, if the intercepting team can run out the clock, the intercepting player may down the ball immediately and not attempt to gain any yardage. This eliminates the chance of a fumble that could be recovered by the other team, there are also player safety implications, when the ball is turned over, the play is now suddenly and unexpectedly moving in the opposite direction. All of the players on offense are instantly susceptible to unexpected blocks, even if not attempting to stop the ball carrier, additionally, offensive players, particularly the quarterback, are often inexperienced tacklers and are at risk of injuring themselves while tackling the ball carrier. Only the interception of a pass is recorded statistically as an interception. The interception of a pass is recorded as a fumble by the passer. Lester Hayes of the Oakland Raiders was one of the National Football Leagues leaders at interceptions in the late 1970s and he was known for covering his chest, shoulders and forearms with a copious amount of the adhesive Stickum to help him hold on to the ball. He continued to use the substance, which he called pick juice, paul Krause holds the record for most career interceptions, with 81, and is tied for third place for most interceptions by an NFL rookie in his first season, with 12. He played his first three years in the NFL from 1964 to 1967 with the Washington Redskins but was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Krause played until 1979 and appeared in four Super Bowls with the Vikings. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998, Rod Woodson played 16 seasons with Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Baltimore, and Oakland, and holds the NFL record for most interception returns for touchdown in an NFL career with 12. Also, he holds the NFL record for most total defensive TD returns in a career with 13, Woodson, who is third on the NFL all-time career interception list with 71, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. Sharper holds the NFL record for return yardage in a single season with 376 yards in 2009. He is also tied with Rod Woodson for most total defensive TD returns career with 13, charles Woodson, formerly with the Green Bay Packers and Oakland Raiders has 65 career interceptions and tied Rod Woodson for most defensive touchdowns with 13. Woodson and Sharper are tied for all time in interceptions returned for touchdowns with 11
27.
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
28.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
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Spokane, Washington
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Spokane is a city in the state of Washington, in the northwestern United States. It is the seat of Spokane County, and the economic and cultural center of the Spokane Metropolitan Area, the Greater Spokane Area, the city, along with the whole Inland Northwest, is served by Spokane International Airport,5 miles west of downtown Spokane. According to the 2010 Census, Spokane had a population of 208,916, making it the second largest city in Washington and the 102nd largest city in the United States. The first humans to live in the area, the Spokane people, known as the birthplace of Fathers Day, Spokane is officially nicknamed the Lilac City. David Thompson explored the area with the expansion and establishment of the North West Companys Spokane House in 1810. This trading post was the first long-term European settlement in Washington, completion of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1881 brought settlers to the Spokane area, and that same year it was officially incorporated as a city with the name of Spokan Falls. In the late 19th century, gold and silver were discovered in the Inland Northwest, the local economy depended on mining, timber, and agriculture until the 1980s. Spokane hosted the first environmentally themed Worlds Fair at Expo 74, many of the older Romanesque Revival-style buildings in the downtown area were designed by architect Kirtland Kelsey Cutter after the Great Fire of 1889. The city also features Riverfront and Manito parks, the Smithsonian-affiliated Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, the Davenport Hotel, and the Fox and Bing Crosby theaters. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane, the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist represents the Anglican community. Gonzaga University was established in 1887 by the Jesuits, and the private Presbyterian Whitworth University opened three years later in north Spokane, in sports, the Gonzaga Bulldogs collegiate basketball team competes at the Division I level. Professional and semi-professional sports teams include the Spokane Indians in Minor League Baseball, Spokane Empire in arena football, as of 2010, Spokanes only major daily newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, has a daily circulation of over 76,000. The first humans to live in the Spokane area arrived between 13,000 and 8,000 years ago and were hunter-gatherer societies that lived off plentiful game. The Spokane tribe, after which the city is named, are believed to be either their direct descendants, when asked by early white explorers, the Spokanes said their ancestors came from up North. Early in the 19th century, the Northwest Fur Company sent two white fur trappers west of the Rocky Mountains to search for fur. These were the first white men met by the Spokanes, who believed they were sacred, the explorer-geographer David Thompson, working as head of the North West Companys Columbia Department, became the first European to explore the Inland Empire. Crossing what is now the Canada–US border from British Columbia, Thompson wanted to expand the North West Company further south in search of furs, after establishing the Kullyspell House and Saleesh House trading posts in what are now Idaho and Montana, Thompson then attempted to expand further west. He sent out two trappers, Jacques Raphael Finlay and Finan McDonald, to construct a fur trading post on the Spokane River in Washington and trade with the local Indians
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College football
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It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. No minor league farm organizations exist in American football and it is in college football where a players performance directly impacts his chances of playing professional football. The best collegiate players will declare for the professional draft after 3 to 4 years of collegiate competition. Those not selected can still attempt to land an NFL roster spot as a free agent. Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League, college football remained extremely popular throughout the U. S, in many cases, college stadiums employ bench-style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests. This allows them to more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium. College athletes, unlike players in the NFL, are not permitted by the NCAA to be paid salaries, colleges are only allowed to provide non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books. Modern North American football has its origins in various games, all known as football, by the 1840s, students at Rugby School were playing a game in which players were able to pick up the ball and run with it, a sport later known as Rugby football. The game was taken to Canada by British soldiers stationed there and was soon being played at Canadian colleges, the first documented gridiron football match was a game played at University College, a college of the University of Toronto, November 9,1861. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was William Mulock, a football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College, also a college of the University of Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, modern Canadian football is widely regarded as having originated with a game played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional mob football played in England. The games remained largely unorganized until the 19th century, when games of football began to be played on college campuses. Each school played its own variety of football, Princeton University students played a game called ballown as early as 1820. A Harvard tradition known as Bloody Monday began in 1827, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes, in 1860, both the town police and the college authorities agreed the Bloody Monday had to go. The Harvard students responded by going into mourning for a figure called Football Fightum. The authorities held firm and it was a dozen years before football was again played at Harvard. Dartmouth played its own version called Old division football, the rules of which were first published in 1871, all of these games, and others, shared certain commonalities
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Pullman, Washington
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Pullman is the largest city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington state within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 29,799 at the 2010 census, estimated to have reached 31,682 in 2014, originally incorporated as Three Forks, the city was later renamed after industrialist George Pullman. Pullman is noted as a fertile agricultural area known for its many miles of rolling hills. It is best known as the home to Washington State University, Pullman is located eight miles from Moscow, Idaho, home to the University of Idaho, and is served by the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport. In 2011 Bloomberg Businessweek selected Pullman as the Best Place to Raise Kids in Washington, factors included affordability, safety, a family-friendly lifestyle, the quality of Pullman High School, the presence of Washington State University, and the natural beauty of the area. Within the year, Dan McKenzie and William Ellsworth arrived to stake claims for adjoining land and they named the first post office located here as Three Forks. In the spring of 1881, Orville Stewart opened a general store, Pullman was incorporated 131 years ago in 1886 with a population of about 200 people. It was originally named Three Forks, after the three rivers that converge there, Missouri Flat Creek, Dry Fork, and the South Fork of the Palouse River. In 1884, Dan McKenzie and Charles Moore replatted the site, on March 28,1890, the Washington State Legislature established the states land grant college, but did not designate a location. Pullman leaders were determined to secure the new college and offered 160 acres of land for its campus, Idaho Territory had established its land grant college in 1889, the University of Idaho was to be located in neighboring Moscow. On April 18,1891, the site selection commission appointed by Washingtons governor chose Pullman, on January 13,1892, the institution opened with 59 students under the name Washington Agricultural College and School of Science. It was renamed the State College of Washington in 1905, more known as Washington State College. In 1961, Pullman became a code city under the Mayor-Council form of government. The city has a mayor with an elected seven-member council and an appointed administrative officer. The WSU campus is located on College Hill, and part of the area is a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic character of College Hill is manifest in its many early-twentieth century craftsman-style bungalows, see Red Brick Roads of Pullman, Washington. Companies associated with an expanding high-tech industry are located at the end of the city. The lab company was founded by Edmund Schweitzer, a Ph. D. graduate of WSU, SEL and other firms are located within the 107-acre Pullman Industrial Park, run by the Port of Whitman County
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Delta Tau Delta
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Delta Tau Delta is a United States-based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany and it currently has around 140 student chapters nationwide, as well as few regional alumni groups. Its national philanthropic partner is the research organization JDRF. Delta Tau Delta Fraternity was founded in 1858, though some early documents reference the founding in 1859 or 1860, at Bethany College in Bethany, the social life on campus at that time centered around the Neotrophian Society, a literary society. The underlying controversy was that the Neotrophian Society, in the opinion of the eight men who formed Delta Tau Delta, had awarded a prize after a rigged vote. A constitution, name, badge, ritual and motto were devised, member Henry King Bell of Lexington, Kentucky, heard of the Civil Wars effects on Bethany College and the membership of Delta Tau Delta. After riding to Bethany and realizing that the longevity of Delta Tau Delta was at risk, Bell traveled to Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. On February 22,1861 Bell rode to Jefferson College from Bethany to bring the designation of the Alpha Chapter, in response to Jefferson College merging with the Washington Academy, an election was held at the General Convention. Ohio Wesleyan then assumed the Alpha designation, before the Alpha designation was finally transferred to Allegheny College, the Ohio Wesleyan chapter dissolved temporarily because of a lack of membership. After the Ohio Wesleyan chapter disappeared in 1875, the Allegheny College chapter, Allegheny College member James S. Eaton, traveled to Delaware, Ohio, to collect what remained of the organizations records and to investigate what had happened the Ohio Wesleyan chapter. Eaton brought the Alpha designation back with him to Allegheny College, during that time a magazine was established and 15 chapters were founded, of which eight survive. In 1886, Delta Tau Delta merged with the society known as the Rainbow Fraternity. The Delta Tau Delta Founders House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, members of Delta Tau Delta are informally referred to as Delts. The eight men considered to be the Founders of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity are, In 2017, in 2016, the chapter at West Virginia University was kicked off campus for filming an inappropriate audition for the Real World TV series. In 2015, the chapter at the University of Arizona was kicked off campus for hazing pledges, in February 2015, the chapter at Boston University lost its recognition status on campus due to facilitating underage drinking on two separate occasions. The chapter was reinstated that September year, in 2014, the chapter at the University of South Carolina was closed by the fraternitys national leadership for multiple alcohol citations. In 2014, the chapter was closed at Western Kentucky University for repeated poor academic performance, in 2012, the chapter at the University of Oklahoma was temporarily suspended for hazing pledges. In 2011, the chapter at Lehigh University was suspended for three years for hazing pledges, list of social fraternities and sororities Official Delta Tau Delta page Official Delta Tau Delta Educational Foundation
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Fraternities and sororities
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Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities. A form of the fraternity, they are prominent in the United States, and the Philippines, with smaller numbers existing in France, the United Kingdom, Canada. Similar organizations exist in countries as well, including the Studentenverbindungen of German-speaking countries. Similar, but much less common, organizations also exist for secondary school students, in modern usage, the term Greek letter organization is often synonymous with the terms fraternity and sorority. Traditional fraternities of the type described in this article are often called social fraternities, generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained while an undergraduate student but continues, thereafter, for life. Some of these organizations can accept graduate students as well as undergraduates, the first fraternity in North America to incorporate most of the elements of modern fraternities was Phi Beta Kappa, founded at the College of William and Mary in 1775. The founding of Phi Beta Kappa followed the establishment of two other secret student societies that had existed at that campus as early as 1750. In 1779 Phi Beta Kappa expanded to include chapters at Harvard, by the early 19th century, the organization transformed itself into a scholastic honor society and abandoned secrecy. In 1825 Kappa Alpha Society, the oldest extant fraternity to retain its characteristic, was established at Union College. In 1827, Sigma Phi and Delta Phi were also founded at the same institution, the foundation of this triad established Union College as the Mother of Fraternities. Fraternities represented the intersection between dining clubs, literary societies, and secret initiatory orders such as Freemasonry, as fraternity membership was punishable by expulsion at many colleges at this time, the house was located deep in the woods. The first residential home to be built by a fraternity is believed to have been Alpha Delta Phis chapter at Cornell. Alpha Tau Omega became the first fraternity to own a house in the South when, in 1880. Chapters of many fraternities followed suit, purchasing and less often, Phi Sigma Kappas chapter home at Cornell, completed in 1902, is the oldest such house still occupied by its fraternal builders. The term sorority was invented by a professor of Latin who felt the word fraternity was inappropriate for a group of ladies, the first organization to use the term sorority was Gamma Phi Beta, established in 1874. The development of fraternities for women during this time was an accomplishment in the way of womens rights. By mere existence these organizations were defying the odds, the women were able to advance their organizations despite many factors working against them. Today both social and multicultural sororities are present on more than 650 college campuses across the United States, the National Panhellenic Conference serves as the umbrella organization for 26 national sororities, representing over 4 million women at both the collegiate level and in alumni associations
