1.
Camden, New Jersey
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Camden is a city in Camden County, New Jersey. Camden is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 77,344. Camden is the 12th most populous municipality in New Jersey, the city was incorporated on February 13,1828. On March 13,1844, Camden became a county seat in New Jersey, the city derives its name from Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden. Camden is made up of twenty different neighborhoods. By the end of the nineteenth century Camden began to industrialize with the foundation of the Campbell Soup Company by Joseph Campbell, other companies such as the New York Shipbuilding Corporation and the Victor Talking Machine Company opened their operations and helped Camden move into an industrial economy. At the beginning of the twentieth century Camdens population consisted mostly of European immigrants, german, British, and Irish immigrants, as well as African Americans from the south made up the majority of the city in the mid nineteenth century. Around the turn of the twentieth century Italian and Eastern European immigrants had become the majority of the population, the city was consistently prosperous throughout the Great Depression and World War II. After World War II Camden manufacturers began closing their factories and moving out of the city, Camdens cultural history has been greatly affected by both its economic and social position over the years. With the loss of manufacturing jobs came a decline in population numbers. Suburbanization also had an effect on the drop in population, Civil unrest and crime became common in Camden with the decline in population. In 1971, civil unrest reached its peak with riots breaking out in response to the death of Horacio Jimenez, Camdens industrial and post-industrial history gave rise to distinct neighborhoods and cultural groups that have affected the status of the city over the course of the 20th century. Over the years Camden has made attempts to restore its economic stature. In the 1980s Mayor Randy Primas campaigned for the city to two different nuisance industries, a prison and a trash-to-steam incinerator. Despite opposition from Camden residents, the Riverfront State Prison was opened in 1985, with the addition of the trash-to-steam plant Camden has faced numerous air and water pollution issues. Camden is also the home of a treatment facility. In the 1970s, dangerous pollutants were found in the wells from which many Camden citizens received their household water and these pollutants decreased property values in Camden and caused health problems among the citys residents. Pollution is an issue that local nonprofits are trying to solve
2.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
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The Nebraska Cornhuskers is the name given to the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Division I, early nicknames for the universitys athletic teams included the Hawkeyes, the Antelopes, the Old Gold Knights, the Bugeaters and the Mankilling Mastodons. The name Cornhuskers first appeared in the newspaper as We Have Met The Cornhuskers And They Are Ours referring to a 20–18 upset victory over Iowa in 1893. The term Cornhuskers was referring to Iowa in that instance, the name would be used again, this time to refer to Nebraska by Cy Sherman in The Nebraska State Journal during the 1899 season and would replace all other names by 1900. Sherman tired of referring to the Nebraska teams with such a term as Bugeaters. Iowa had, from time to time, been called the Cornhuskers, the Cornhuskers have two official mascots, Herbie Husker and Lil Red. The Cornhuskers participate in 21 sports sponsored by the Big Ten Conference, in addition the Huskers field varsity teams in two sports not sponsored by the Big Ten, namely rifle and bowling. The rifle team is a member of the single-sport Great America Rifle Conference, Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011. † = Rifle is technically a mens sport, but mens, womens, * = Beach volleyball is a fully sanctioned NCAA sport which had its first national championship in the spring of 2016. Nebraska currently competes as an independent, the Nebraska Cornhuskers field both a male and female cross country team coached by David Harris. They currently run on a course through Pioneers Park in Lincoln, the mens team started in 1938 and the womens team started in 1975 as a result of Title IX. The Nebraska Cornhuskers have never won a Big 12 conference championship, the only mens conference championship was in 1940 Big Six meet. The women have won the conference championship 5 times, the latter three mark one of only three times that a team has won three NCAA Division I-A/FBS national football championships in four seasons. The other two were Notre Dame in 1946,1947 and 1949, and Alabama in 2009,2011 and 2012, the Cornhuskers won three national titles under Osborne, including one in his final season. Nebraskas home games always open with the Tunnel Walk, which signifies the entry of the team onto the field, when the Cornhuskers play at home in Memorial Stadium, the stadium holds more people than Bellevue. The current attendance record was set on Saturday, September 20,2014 and they currently hold the NCAA record for the most consecutive sold out home games, the sellout streak dates back to November 3,1962. On December 2,2007, athletic director Tom Osborne named Bo Pelini head football coach at Nebraska, Pelini left his previous position as defensive coordinator at LSU after the 2008 National Championship win against Ohio State. Pelini was defensive coordinator at Nebraska in 2003 and was head coach for the 2003 Alamo Bowl game
3.
History of the Houston Oilers
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The professional American football team now known as the Tennessee Titans previously played in Houston, Texas, from 1960 to 1996. This article chronicles the history during their time as the Houston Oilers during that period. The Oilers began play in 1960 as a member of the American Football League. The team won two AFL championships before joining the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in the late 1960s, the Oilers competed in the East Division of the AFL before the merger, after which they joined the newly formed AFC Central. The Oilers throughout their existence were owned by Bud Adams and played their games at the Astrodome for the majority of their time in Houston. The Oilers were the first champions of the American Football League, winning the 1960 and 1961 contests, from 1978 to 1980, the Oilers, led by Bum Phillips and in the midst of the Luv Ya Blue campaign, appeared in the 1978 and 1979 AFC Championship Games. For the rest of the Oilers time in Houston, however, they were generally in the division of the league. The Oilers main colors were Columbia blue and white, with scarlet trim, Oilers jerseys were always Columbia blue for home and white for away. The Oilers played the 1997 season in Memphis before moving to Nashville in 1998, the NFL would return to Houston in 2002 with a new franchise, the Houston Texans. The Houston Oilers began in 1960 as a member of the American Football League. They were owned by Bud Adams, a Houston oilman, who had several previous unsuccessful bids for an NFL expansion team in Houston. The Oilers appeared in the first three AFL championships and they scored an important victory over the NFL when they signed LSUs Heisman Trophy winner, All-America running back Billy Cannon. Cannon joined other Oiler offensive stars such as quarterback George Blanda, flanker Charlie Hennigan, running back Charlie Tolar, after winning the first-ever AFL championship over the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960, they repeated over the same team in 1961. They lost to the Dallas Texans in the classic 1962 double-overtime AFL championship game, in 1962, the Oilers were the first AFL team to sign an active NFL player away from the other league, when wide receiver Willard Dewveall left the Bears to join the champion Oilers. Dewveall that year caught the longest pass reception for a touchdown in professional American football history,99 yd, from Jacky Lee, previously, the Oilers had played at Jeppesen Stadium at the University of Houston from 1960 to 1964, and Rice Universitys stadium from 1965 to 1967. Adams had intended the play at Rice from the first. After the Astrodome opened for business, Adams attempted to move there, the 1969 season, the last as an AFL team, saw Houston begin 3–1, but tumble afterwards. They qualified for the playoffs, but were defeated by the Raiders 56–7, the years immediately after the AFL-NFL Merger were not as kind to the Oilers, who sank to the bottom of the AFC Central division
4.
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
5.
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
6.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
