1.
Thanksgiving (United States)
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Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a public holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. It originated as a harvest festival, Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789, after a proclamation by George Washington. Together with Christmas and the New Year, Thanksgiving is a part of the holiday season. The event that Americans commonly call the First Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621 and this feast lasted three days, and—as accounted by attendee Edward Winslow—it was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims. The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating thanksgivings—days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. Setting aside time to give thanks for blessings, along with holding feasts to celebrate a harvest, are both practices that long predate the European settlement of North America. The first documented thanksgiving services in territory belonging to the United States were conducted by Spaniards. Thanksgiving services were routine in what became the Commonwealth of Virginia as early as 1607, with the first permanent settlement of Jamestown, in 1619,38 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County, Virginia. The groups London Company charter specifically required that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned, in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God. Americans also trace the Thanksgiving holiday to a 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, autumn or early winter feasts continued sporadically in later years, first as an impromptu religious observance, and later as a civil tradition. Squanto, a Patuxet Native American who resided with the Wampanoag tribe, taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel and grow corn, squanto had learned the English language during his enslavement in England. The Wampanoag leader Massasoit had given food to the colonists during the first winter when supplies brought from England were insufficient, the Pilgrims celebrated at Plymouth for three days after their first harvest in 1621. Seventeenth-century accounts do not identify this as a thanksgiving observance, rather it followed the harvest and it included 50 persons who were on the Mayflower and 90 Native Americans. The feast was cooked by the four adult Pilgrim women who survived their first winter in the New World, along with young daughters, two colonists gave personal accounts of the 1621 feast in Plymouth. The Pilgrims, most of whom were Separatists, are not to be confused with Puritans, both groups were strict Calvinists, but differed in their views regarding the Church of England. Puritans wished to remain in the Anglican Church and reform it, for as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want, and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, and besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports
2.
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
3.
Detroit Lions
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The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. The team plays its games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit. Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and called the Portsmouth Spartans, despite success within the NFL, they could not survive in Portsmouth, then the NFLs smallest city. The team was purchased and relocated to Detroit for the 1934 season and they are one of four current teams and the only NFC team to have not yet played in the Super Bowl. Aside from a change to maroon in 1948 instituted by then head coach Bo McMillin. The design consists of silver helmets, silver pants, and either blue or white jerseys, the shade of blue used for Lions uniforms and logos is officially known as Honolulu blue, which is supposedly inspired by the color of the waves off the coast of Hawaii. The shade was chosen by Cy Huston in 1935, houston, the Lions first vice president and general manager, said of the choice, They had me looking at so many blues I am blue in the face, Huston said about the selection. But anyway, its the kind of blue, I am told, there have been minor changes to the uniform design throughout the years, such as changing the silver stripe patterns on the jersey sleeves, and changing the colors of the jersey numbers. White trim was added to the logo in 1970, in 1998, the team wore blue pants with their white jerseys along with grey socks but dropped that combination after the season. In 1999, the TV numbers on the sleeves were moved to the shoulders, in 1994, every NFL team wore throwback jerseys, and the Lions were similar to the jerseys used during their 1935 championship season. The helmets and pants were silver, the jerseys Honolulu blue with silver numbers. The team wore solid blue socks along with black shoes, the helmets also did not have a logo, as helmets were simple leather back then. The Lions also wore 50s-style jerseys during their traditional Thanksgiving Day games from 2001 to 2004 as the NFL encouraged teams to wear throwback jerseys on Thanksgiving Day, in 2003, the team added black trim to their logo and the jerseys. The face masks on the changed from blue to black with the introduction of the new color. Additionally, a home field jersey which makes black the dominant color was introduced in 2005. For 2008, the dropped the black alternate jerseys in favor of a throwback uniform to commemorate the franchises 75th anniversary. The throwback uniform became the teams permanent alternate jersey in 2009, the Lions officially unveiled new logo designs and uniforms on April 20,2009
4.
Dallas Cowboys
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The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and plays its games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season, the Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960. The teams national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive sell-outs, the Cowboys streak of 190 consecutive sold-out regular and post-season games began in 2002. This has also corresponded to eight NFC championships, most in the NFC, the Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons, in which they only missed the playoffs twice, an NFL record that remains unchallenged. In 2015, the Dallas Cowboys became the first sports team to be valued at $4 billion, making it the most valuable team in the world. The Cowboys also generated $620 million in revenue in 2014, a record for a U. S. sports team. Prior to the formation of the Dallas Cowboys, there had not been an NFL team south of Washington, D. C. since the Dallas Texans folded in 1952. Oilman Clint Murchison Jr. had been trying to get an NFL expansion team in Dallas, Murchison had tried to purchase the Washington Redskins from Marshall in 1958. An agreement was struck, but as the deal was about to be finalized and this infuriated Murchison and he called off the deal. Marshall then opposed any franchise for Murchison in Dallas, since NFL expansion needed unanimous approval from team owners at that time, Marshalls position would prevent Murchison from joining the league. Marshall had an out with the Redskins band leader Barnee Breeskin. Breeskin had written the music to the Redskins fight song Hail to the Redskins, Breeskin owned the rights to the song and was aware of Murchisons plight to get an NFL franchise. Angry with Marshall, Breeskin approached Murchisons attorney to him the rights to the song before the expansion vote in 1959. Murchison purchased Hail to the Redskins for $2,500, before the vote to award franchises in 1959, Murchison revealed to Marshall that he owned the song and Marshall could not play it during games. After a few Marshall expletives, Murchison gave the rights to Hail to the Redskins to Marshall for his vote, the one against Murchison getting a franchise at that time. From 1970 through 1979, the Cowboys won 105 regular season games, in addition, they appeared in 5 and won two Super Bowls, at the end of the 1971 and 1977 regular seasons
5.
American football on Thanksgiving
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American football is one of the many traditions in American culture that is associated with Thanksgiving Day. Virtually every level of football, from amateur and high school to college, Thanksgiving Day football games in the United States are nearly as old as the game—and the organized holiday—themselves. Princeton played Yale in the New York City area on Thanksgiving Day from 1876 through 1881, previously, the Champion was to be determined by a teams records over the entire season against all members of the association. For at least the three years, the championship had been a matter of dispute as a result of Yale. On November 25,1897, American students of the École des Beaux-Arts and this is considered the first American football game ever played in Europe. The tradition of playing games on Thanksgiving continues to this day. High school football played on Thanksgiving are often called a Turkey Day Game or a Turkey Bowl, as Americans typically eat turkeys on Thanksgiving. The custom dates back more than 100 years and is prevalent in the Northeast. In most cases, games are contested with kickoff times as early as 10 a. m. allowing the participants to have the rest of the holiday off. This list is sorted alphabetically, first by state, and then by school, State and regional championship tournaments are listed ahead of rivalries. If the rivalry involves two states, the rivalry is listed under the school whose state comes first alphabetically, the game pits Abraham Lincoln High School against San Jose High School. The Big Bone in question is the femur of a cow that was retrieved from a butcher shop, the game is preceded the week prior with the Little Bone Game, played between the two junior varsity teams. The Turkey Bowl is the public high school championship game. The most recent champion is Washington High School, Galileo High School has the most overall wins in the game after breaking Lincoln High Schools record four-game winning streak in 2009, Connecticut has at least 48 Thanksgiving games. Some of the known ones are as follows, Ansonia vs. Naugatuck Ansonia High School. The game is, as of 2015, broadcast on WATR, New Canaan This game is held each year at Boyle Stadium in Stamford. Hand is always favored, however Guilford always gets pumped up for final game. St. Bernard vs. Hamden vs. Notre Dame West Haven The annual Green Bowl game that takes place every Thanksgiving
6.
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
7.
Yale Bulldogs football
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The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Yales football program is one of the oldest in the world, with 890 wins, Yale ranks second in wins in college football history, trailing only the University of Michigan. The Bulldogs were the dominant team in the days of intercollegiate football, winning 27 college football national championships. Walter Camp, known as the Father of Football, graduated from Hopkins Grammar School in 1876 and he later served as the head football coach at Yale from 1888 to 1892. The team made the down and went on to win the game in one of Yales greatest victories in its history, laRoche went on to spearhead the creation of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame. When the Ivy League athletic conference was formed in 1955, conference rules prohibited post-season play in football. While Yale had always abstained from post-season play, other schools had participated in bowls before, and the new policy further insulated Yale. The NCAA decided to split Division I into two subdivisions in 1978, then called I-A for larger schools, and I-AA for the smaller ones. In 1982, the NCAA created a rule that stated an average attendance must be at least 15,000 to qualify for I-A membership. This forced the hand, as only some of the member schools met the attendance qualification. Choosing to stay rather than stand their ground separately in the increasingly competitive I-A subdivision. Since the formation of the Ivy League in 1956, Yale has won 14 Ivy League championships,1956,1960,1967,1968,1969,1974,1976,1977,1979,1980,1981,1989,1999,2006. Harvard and Yale have been competing against each other in football since 1875, the annual rivalry game between the two schools, known as The Game, is played in November at the end of the football season. As of 2016, Yale leads the series 66–59–8, the Game is the second oldest continuing rivalry and also the third most-played rivalry game in college football history, after the Lehigh–Lafayette Rivalry and the Princeton–Yale game. Sports Illustrated On Campus rated the Harvard–Yale rivalry the sixth-best in college athletics in 2003, Harvard had been unbeaten versus Yale from 2007 to 2015. The nine game winning streak was the longest during the rivalry, Yales 2016 victory over Harvard in Cambridge, 21-14, ended the streak. The Game is significant for historical reasons as the rules of The Game soon were adopted by other schools. Footballs rules, conventions, and equipment, as well as elements of such as the mascot and fight song, include many elements pioneered or nurtured at Harvard
8.
Princeton Tigers football
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Princeton’s football program—along with the football program at nearby Rutgers University—is the oldest in the world. The schools competed in American footballs first intercollegiate contest in 1869, students from The College of New Jersey traveled to New Brunswick, New Jersey on November 6,1869 to play Rutgers College in a new variant of rugby called football. Rutgers won the inaugural game 6 runs to 4 runs, a week later, Rutgers students traveled to Princeton, New Jersey for a rematch, which Princeton won. Due in part to their invention of the sport, the Tigers were one of the dominant forces in the days of intercollegiate football. The Tigers won their last national championship in 1950 when Dick Kazmaier, the policy further insulated Princeton and the Ivy League from the national spotlight. Despite an undefeated season in 1964, Princeton was not among the top 10 teams in the season-ending AP Poll, the NCAA split Division I collegiate football into two subdivisions in 1978, then called I-A for larger schools, and I-AA for the smaller ones. The NCAA had devised the split, in part, with the Ivy League in mind, unable to play competitively against long-time rival Rutgers anymore, Princeton stopped scheduling them as a football opponent after 1980. Then in 1982 the NCAA created a rule that stated an average attendance must be at least 15,000 to qualify for I-A membership. This forced the hand, as only some of the member schools met the attendance qualification. Choosing to stay rather than stand their ground separately in the increasingly competitive I-A subdivision. Despite often finishing its seasons ranked in the subdivision, Princeton cannot play in the NCAA Division I Football Championship per Ivy League rules. Most recently, Princeton instituted a coaching change as ten-year coach Roger Hughes was replaced by Cincinnati Bengals assistant offensive line coach Bob Surace. Surace was an All-Ivy league center at Princeton and graduated in 1990, beginning in 2018 Princeton will play Penn in their final game, intensifying the already heated rivalry between these two neighboring Ivy League schools. Conference championships,1957,1963,1964,1966,1969,1989,1992,1995,2006,2013, and 2016. In 1914, Princeton built Palmer Stadium, the college football stadium ever built. Palmer Stadium was modeled after the Greek Olympic stadium and seated 45,750 spectators, in the 1990s the university decided to demolish it for a new stadium rather than undertake a long and expensive renovation process, as Harvard had with its stadium in 1984. During the construction of the new stadium, the Tigers played a season of nine away games, Princeton University Stadium opened on September 19,1998 and seats 27,773. After eight years of grass fields, FieldTurf artificial playing surface was installed for the 2006 football season
9.
Allegheny Athletic Association
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The Allegheny Athletic Association was an athletic club that fielded the first ever professional American football player and later the first fully professional football team. The organization was founded in 1890 as an athletic club in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. The Allegheny team was assembled in 1890, in most sports, Allegheny provided very little competition for the more established East End Gymnasium Club, which in 1892 became the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Allegheny soon took up football largely when the club discovered that it could give them an edge over the East Enders. Many Allegheny club members had gone to colleges and played football. Members O. D. Thompson and John Moorehead, were teammates of Walter Camp, the inventor of the modern game. The team also immediately gave Allegheny a strong following since the East Enders did not have a team at the time. Alleghenys backfield during that year had A. S. Valentine, at quarterback. Allegheny won the game easily, 38-0, but the contest was significant since it marked the start of Pitts football program. Prior to the game, Allegheny was to play Shady Side Academy, Allegheny went on to defeat Shady Side Academy a week later, 32–0. Although the eleven players styled themselves the All-Pittsburghs, they were really a collection of local athletes masquerading as a team, significantly, several of the pick-ups were members of the East End Gym such as William Kirschner and Grant Dibert. This game foreshadowed the start of the upcoming rivailry between Allegheny and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, Allegheny would go on to defeat the inexperienced team by a score of 22–6. November 1,1890 Allegheny scheduled a game against the Princeton University Preparatory team, the prep team was a far cry from the Princetons varsity team. Allegheny would end up losing to the touring Princeton team, 44–6, the season concluded with a 6–6 tie with the Detroit Athletic Club and a 6–4 loss to the Cleveland Athletic Club, both amateur club squads. However the Allegheny Athletic Association was regarded as the champions that season. Allegheny began their 1891 season recognized as the football team in western Pennsylvania. However, by early October, the Pittsburgh club emerged onto the football scene, at this time, Harry Fry, who was in the line-up for Allegheny a year earlier, jumped to East End team. Allegheny finally began their 1891 season on October 24 and their line-up included veteran players A. S
10.
National Football League (1902)
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The National Football League was the first attempt at forming a national professional American football league in 1902. This league has no ties with the modern National Football League, in fact the league was only composed of teams from Pennsylvania, which meant it was actually regional, despite having locations in the two largest cities in Pennsylvania. Two of the teams were based in Philadelphia, while the third was based in Pittsburgh and this NFL was a curious mixture of football players and baseball players who adapted to playing football. Future Baseball Hall of Famer Rube Waddell was with the Philadelphia Athletics, two of the three teams were owned by the Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Athletics, with the third team suspected of being owned by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The league folded after the 1902 season, ironically the roots of the league lie with baseball, not football. It began as a part of the wars between the National League and the new American League that began in 1901. In Philadelphia the ALs Athletics lured several of the NLs Phillies from their contracts, when Phillies owner John Rogers decided to start a football team, the Athletics followed suit. As owner Ben Shibe fielded a team made-up of several players as well as some local football talent. He appointed his baseball manager Connie Mack as the general manager. Each Philadelphia team was named after their respective baseball clubs and became the Athletics, however, both Rogers and Shibe knew that to lay claim the World Championship, they had to play a team from Pittsburgh, which was the focal point of football at the time. They called on pro football promoter Dave Berry, and a Pittsburgh team was formed around a championship team from Homestead. This team was named the Stars, after the number of players on the team who were considered football stars during the era. The team was owned and operated by Berry, the manager of the Latrobe Athletic Association. The first league had no bylaws, no offices and no schedule-making powers, having three of the top professional football teams in country helped make up for those shortfalls. These three teams are all made up the 1902 NFL. Due to the animosity that existed between Philadelphias Shibe and Rogers, Dave Berry was picked to the leagues president, attempts were initially made to expand the league outside of Pennsylvania into other major cites like Chicago and New York City. Investors in neither city was interested in joining the league at the time, with all the baseball involvement, training did not get underway for the football teams until September 29,1902, with the season was scheduled to open a week later on October 4. However, most of the players were already in shape, besides the baseball players, many of the others had jobs that kept them in good condition
11.
Major League Baseball
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Major League Baseball is a professional baseball organization, the oldest of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. A total of 30 teams now play in the National League and American League, the NL and AL operated as separate legal entities from 1876 and 1901 respectively. After cooperating but remaining legally separate entities since 1903, the merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000. The organization also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises about 240 teams affiliated with the Major League clubs, with the World Baseball Softball Confederation, MLB manages the international World Baseball Classic tournament. Baseballs first professional team was founded in Cincinnati in 1869,30 years after Abner Doubleday supposedly invented the game of baseball, the first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one team or league to another. The period before 1920 in baseball was known as the dead-ball era, Baseball survived a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series, which came to be known as the Black Sox Scandal. The sport rose in popularity in the 1920s, and survived potential downturns during the Great Depression, shortly after the war, baseballs color barrier was broken by Jackie Robinson. The 1950s and 1960s were a time of expansion for the AL and NL, then new stadiums, Home runs dominated the game during the 1990s, and media reports began to discuss the use of anabolic steroids among Major League players in the mid-2000s. In 2006, an investigation produced the Mitchell Report, which implicated many players in the use of performance-enhancing substances, today, MLB is composed of thirty teams, twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada. Baseball broadcasts are aired on television, radio, and the Internet throughout North America, MLB has the highest season attendance of any sports league in the world with more than 73 million spectators in 2015. MLB is governed by the Major League Baseball Constitution and this document has undergone several incarnations since 1875, with the most recent revisions being made in 2012. Under the direction of the Commissioner of Baseball, MLB hires and maintains the sports umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, MLB maintains a unique, controlling relationship over the sport, including most aspects of Minor League Baseball. This ruling has been weakened only slightly in subsequent years, the weakened ruling granted more stability to the owners of teams and has resulted in values increasing at double-digit rates. There were several challenges to MLBs primacy in the sport between the 1870s and the Federal League in 1916, the last attempt at a new league was the aborted Continental League in 1960. The chief executive of MLB is the commissioner, Rob Manfred, the chief operating officer is Tony Petitti. There are five other executives, president, chief officer, chief legal officer, chief financial officer. The multimedia branch of MLB, which is based in Manhattan, is MLB Advanced Media and this branch oversees MLB. com and each of the 30 teams websites. Its charter states that MLB Advanced Media holds editorial independence from the league, MLB Productions is a similarly structured wing of the league, focusing on video and traditional broadcast media
12.
Pennsylvania
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Pennsylvania /ˌpɛnsᵻlˈveɪnjə/, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle, Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest, the 5th most populous, and the 9th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The states five most populous cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, the state capital, and its ninth-largest city, is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has 140 miles of shoreline along Lake Erie and the Delaware Estuary. The state is one of the 13 original founding states of the United States, it came into being in 1681 as a result of a land grant to William Penn. Part of Pennsylvania, together with the present State of Delaware, had earlier been organized as the Colony of New Sweden and it was the second state to ratify the United States Constitution, on December 12,1787. Independence Hall, where the United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were drafted, is located in the states largest city of Philadelphia, during the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, was fought in the south central region of the state. Valley Forge near Philadelphia was General Washingtons headquarters during the winter of 1777–78. Pennsylvania is 170 miles north to south and 283 miles east to west, of a total 46,055 square miles,44,817 square miles are land,490 square miles are inland waters, and 749 square miles are waters in Lake Erie. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States, Pennsylvania has 51 miles of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Cities include Philadelphia, Reading, Lebanon and Lancaster in the southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, the northeast includes the former anthracite coal mining communities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston City, and Hazleton. Erie is located in the northwest, the state has 5 regions, namely the Allegheny Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and the Erie Plain. Straddling two major zones, the majority of the state, with the exception of the corner, has a humid continental climate. The largest city, Philadelphia, has characteristics of the humid subtropical climate that covers much of Delaware. Moving toward the interior of the state, the winter climate becomes colder, the number of cloudy days increase. Western areas of the state, particularly locations near Lake Erie, can receive over 100 inches of snowfall annually, the state may be subject to severe weather from spring through summer into fall. Tornadoes occur annually in the state, sometimes in large numbers, the Tuscarora Nation took up temporary residence in the central portion of Pennsylvania ca. Both the Dutch and the English claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their lands in America
13.
Latrobe Athletic Association
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The Latrobe Athletic Association was a professional football team located in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, from 1895 until 1909. In 1895, teams quarterback, John Brallier, also became the first football player to turn professional, by accepting $10. In 1895 the local Latrobe YMCA organized a football team. With the decision, Russell Aukerman, an instructor at the club, meanwhile, David Berry, an editor-publisher of a local newspaper, the Latrobe Clipper, was chosen as the teams manager. Harry Ryan, a tackle from West Virginia University, was then elected as the teams captain. The team was formed and began to conduct daily practices in early August, since many of the players held jobs unrelated to football, those men working different shifts were accommodated with evening practices, when they could not attend regular sessions in the afternoon. The teams practices were held on a vacant Pennsylvania Railroad lot at the corner of Depot and Alexandria Streets, just before the start of the season, Latrobes quarterback, Eddie Blair, found himself in a scheduling conflict. Blair, who played baseball in nearby Greensburg, discovered that the teams first football game against the Jeannette Athletic Club conflicted with a prior baseball commitment. Berry was now given the task for replacing Blair, for the game and he heard of a quarterback at Indiana Normal named John Brallier and contacted him at his home in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Berry offered Brallier expenses to play for Latrobe, however Brallier was reluctant to play since he would be playing for Washington & Jefferson College within just a few weeks. This led Berry to offer Brallier $10 to play for Latrobe against Jeannette, plus expenses, Brallier, accepted the offer and became the first player to openly admit to being paid to play football player. The quarterback arrived in Latrobe the night before the game and practiced with the team, william Pudge Heffelfinger of the Allegheny Athletic Association is now considered the first professional player. The first game of Latrobes 1895 season was played on a Tuesday afternoon on September 3,1895, before the game, a parade formed on newly paved Ligonier Street. The parade was led by Billy Showalter’s Cornet Band, followed by both the Latrobe and Jeannette teams in full uniforms, the Latrobe team colors of Orange and Maroon were displayed in store windows and hotels, and on street corner poles. Stores were closed, and steel mines, coal and coke works declared a half-holiday for the occasion, the game began at 4,00 pm with Latrobe coming out as the victor over Jeannette. Latrobes coach, Russell Auckerman, scored two touchdowns, while Brallier kicked two points for a final score of 12–0. After the initial game, Brallier played a game with Latrobe. The game was held on September 14, against a squad from Altoona, Pennsylvania, while at Washington & Jefferson, Braillier became the colleges varsity quarterback
14.
Canton Bulldogs
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The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917,1918 and 1919 Ohio League championships. They were the NFL champions in 1922 and 1923, in 1921–1923, the Bulldogs played 25 straight games without a defeat, which as of 2016 remains an NFL record. As a result of the Bulldogs early success along with the league being founded in the city, Jim Thorpe, the Olympian and renowned all-around athlete, was Cantons most-recognized player in the pre-NFL era. In 1924, Sam Deutsch, the owner of the NFLs Cleveland Indians, bought the Canton Bulldogs and took the Bulldogs name and its players to Cleveland and named his franchise the Cleveland Bulldogs. He then offered to sell the Canton franchise back to the city of Canton to play in the 1924 season, however there were no interested in the team. The Canton Bulldogs were however re-established in 1925, and the NFL considers the 1925 to 1926 Canton Bulldogs to be the team as the 1920 to 1923 incarnation. All in all, this version of the Cleveland-Canton-Philadelphia Bulldogs played from 1961 to 1966, another Canton Bulldogs team was slated to begin play in the Stars Football League in 2012, although that team never materialized. The Bulldogs name is also in use at Canton McKinley High School, prior to the debut of professional football in the city, an amateur team from Canton was mentioned as being a superior team in Stark County, Ohio. Until about 1902, this team competed with the Akron East Ends for the Ohio Independent Championship, when the Massillon Tigers arrived on the scene and went professional, Canton, as an amateur team, was no longer competitive. The Canton Bulldogs were officially established on November 15,1904 as the Canton Athletic Club, the statement stated that the football team was to be a professional organization, complete with a professional coach. The team was given the goal of beating the rival Massillon Tigers, to do this, Canton went out and offered money to the best players on all the other Ohio League teams. Bill Laub, a player, team captain and coach of the Akron East Ends, was hired as the teams first-ever coach, the team began its 1905 season, with a 7–0 record. The Bulldogs then traveled to Latrobe, Pennsylvania to play the Latrobe Athletic Association, Latrobe was not only the current Pennsylvania champions, but had gone undefeated for the last three seasons. Latrobe were also considered the only pro team capable of competing with Canton and Massillon, Canton would go on to lose its 1905 game to Latrobe, 6–0. However, the worst part of the loss came when coach Bill Laub became injured and was unable to finish the season, Blondy Wallace, a former All-American for the Penn Quakers, was then named as Laubs successor and team captain. Two weeks later, the team would lose the Ohio League championship game to the Massillon Tigers, sometime during the 1906 season, the Canton team became known as the Bulldogs although no one is quite sure how it came to be affixed to the Canton team. It wasnt called that in 1905, nor through most of the 1906 season, as late as November 4, R. C
15.
Massillon Tigers
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The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the Ohio League, the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs, the Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903,1904,1905, and 1906, then merged to become All-Massillons to win another title in 1907. The team returned as the Tigers in 1915 but, with the reemergence of the Bulldogs, pro football was popularized in Ohio when the amateur Massillon Tigers, hired four Pittsburgh pros to play in the season-ending game against Akron. At the same time, pro football declined in the Pittsburgh area, the team opted not to join the APFA in 1920, it remained an independent club through 1923, when the Tigers folded. During their time as an independent, the Tigers never played against any team in the NFL, the Massillon Tigers team name was transferred to Massillon Washington High School, who still uses it today. The Massillon area had fielded several amateur football teams featuring only local players since the early 1890s, however while some had performed well, the others were more likely to be defeated when they played their cross-county arch-rival, Canton. Therefore, a group of 35 area businessmen met on September 3,1903, Jack Goodrich, who expected to play halfback for the new team, was named manager. Meanwhile, Ed J. Stewart, a young and ambitious editor of the city newspaper The Evening Independent, was named as the teams first coach, Stewart had playing experience while attending Western Reserve College and Mount Union College. Apart from being the coach, he later appointed himself as the teams quarterback. Wise, who was the Massillon Clerk of City Council, led a committee to secure the funds for a new football. The local venders only had a sufficient quantity of one style to outfit an entire team. Those jerseys imitated the orange and black striped attire of the Princeton Tigers, when the Tigers began play in 1903, several of the expected starters hadnt touched a football in eight or more years. According to locals belief, Baldy Wittman, 32-year-old proprietor of a cigar store. Charles Cy Rigler, who became a famous major league baseball umpire started at tackle. Wittman opened at an end and was elected the team captain, meanwhile, Stewart lined himself up at quarterback. The Tigers first game against Wooster College ended in a 6-0 defeat, a biased official was the excuse for the loss. The Tigers followed their first ever game with a 16-0 victory over Stewarts alma mater, Mount Union College, a 6-0 victory over the Akron Imperials, after a 34-0 victory over the Dennison Panhandles, the Tigers prepared for their cross-county rivals, a sandlot team from Canton. Betting on the games, during the early 1900s was common and it is believed that over $1000 was risked on the games outcome
16.
Buffalo (NFL)
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Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under multiple names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s. The franchise, which was experiencing problems in 1928, did not participate in league play that season. Buffalo operated a professional football circuit from at least the late 1800s onward. Among notable predecessors to the team discussed here were the Buffalo Oakdales, whose heyday was in the years 1908 and 1909 and these teams played each other and teams from nearby cities. The All-Stars played from 1915 to 1917 under the leadership of Eugene F. Dooley, in 1917, Dooley, along with Barney Lepper, took the team on a barnstorming tour of midwestern pro football teams. In 1918, the teams were not allowed to play outside the area because of the 1918 flu pandemic, Dooley. Shoe salesman Warren D. Patterson, at the time as this, formed a new team known as the Buffalo Niagaras. As the Niagaras, the team won a championship in 1918, going undefeated with a 6–0–0 record. The two teams tied the Thanksgiving Day game, but Buffalo handily defeated Rochester 20–0 the following Sunday, Patterson held on to the Prospects name and put together a lower quality team that played through 1923, including a 1922 game against the All-Americans themselves. Like the 1990s-era Buffalo Bills seven decades later, the 1918–21 All-Americans team is considered one of the best professional teams to have never won an NFL championship. Even though they didnt officially win any championships, there are two championships that are disputable, in 1920 and 1921, unique for a professional football team, the All-Americans had a sharing agreement with the Union Club of Phoenixville, a side project managed by All-Americans player Heinie Miller. Miller would take himself and seven other All-Americans to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania to play games on Saturdays, five All-Americans left the team to play for the Quakers full-time, Buffalo had the pickings of the then-defunct Detroit Tigers to replenish their roster. In 1920, the Akron Pros held the Buffalo All-Americans to a tie in front of only 3,000 fans. At the game, Akron owners, Frank Nied and Art Ranney agreed to sell Bob Nash to Buffalo for $300 and five per cent of the gate, along with the Decatur Staleys and Akron Pros, Buffalo claimed a share of the 1920 league title. That same season the Pros held the best record in the league, meanwhile, Buffalo and the Staleys had to win in order to capture the AFPA Championship. The Pros were able to hold the Staleys to a tie at Cub Park. However the Pros still had to play the All-Americans who were fresh from a 7–3 win over the Canton Bulldogs at New York Citys Polo Grounds, despite Buffalos confidence going into the match, the Pros also held the All-Americans to scoreless tie. Both the All-Americans and the Staleys complained about the championship, arguing that Akron had only tied, however, Joseph Carr moved at the leagues meeting in April 1921 to give Akron the sole title and the rights to the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup
17.
Chicago Bears
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The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. The Bears have won nine NFL Championships and one Super Bowl and hold the NFL record for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Bears have also recorded more victories than any other NFL franchise. The franchise was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919 and it is one of only two remaining franchises from the NFLs founding. The team played games at Wrigley Field on Chicagos North Side through the 1970 season, they now play at Soldier Field on the Near South Side. The Bears have a rivalry with the Green Bay Packers. The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, the Bears practice at adjoining facilities there during the season. They hold their training camp from late July to mid-August at Ward Field on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Originally named the Decatur Staleys, the club was established by the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur and this was the typical start for several early professional football franchises. The company hired George Halas and Edward Dutch Sternaman in 1920 to run the team, the 1920 Decatur Staleys season was their inaugural regular season completed in the newly formed American Professional Football Association. Full control of the team was turned over to Halas and Sternaman in 1921, official team and league records cite Halas as the founder as he took over the team in 1920 when it became a charter member of the NFL. The team relocated to Chicago in 1921, where the club was renamed the Chicago Staleys, under an agreement reached by Halas and Sternaman with Staley, Halas purchased the rights to the club from Staley for US$100. In 1922, Halas changed the name from the Staleys to the Bears. The team moved into Wrigley Field, which was home to the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise, as with several early NFL franchises, the Bears derived their nickname from their citys baseball team. Halas liked the bright colors of his alma mater, the University of Illinois. The Staleys/Bears dominated the league in the early years and their rivalry with the Chicago Cardinals, the oldest in the NFL, was key in four out of the first six league titles. During that span, the Bears posted 34 shutouts, the Bears rivalry with the Green Bay Packers is one of the oldest and most storied in American professional sports, dating back to 1921. The franchise was a success under Halas, capturing the NFL Championship in 1921
18.
History of the Chicago Cardinals
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The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois. This article chronicles the history during their time as the Chicago Cardinals from 1920 to 1959. In 1898, Chicago painting and building contractor Chris OBrien established an amateur Chicago-based athletic club football team named the Morgan Athletic Club, OBrien later moved them to Chicagos Normal Park and renamed them the Racine Normals, since Normal Park was located on Racine Avenue in Chicago. In 1901, OBrien bought used maroon uniforms from the University of Chicago and it was then that the team changed its name to the Racine Cardinals. The original Racine Cardinals team disbanded in 1906 mostly for lack of local competition, a professional team under the same name formed in 1913, claiming the previous team as part of their history. As was the case for most professional teams in 1918, the team was forced to suspend operations for a second time due to World War I. They resumed operations later in the year, and have operated continuously. At the time of the founding of the modern National Football League, in 1920, the team became a charter member of the American Professional Football Association, for a franchise fee of $100. The person keeping the minutes of the first league meeting, unfamiliar with the nuances of Chicago football, recorded the Cardinals as from Racine, the team was renamed the Chicago Cardinals in 1922 after a team actually from Racine, Wisconsin entered the league. That season the team moved to Comiskey Park, the Staleys and Cardinals played each other twice in 1920 as the Racine Cardinals and the Decatur Staleys, making their rivalry the oldest in the NFL. They split the series, with the team winning in each. In the Cardinals 7-6 victory over the Staleys in their first meeting of the season, each scored a TD on a fumble recovery. The Cardinals defeat of the Staleys proved critical, since George Halass Staleys went on to a 10-1-2 record overall, 5-1-2 in league play. The Akron Pros were the first ever champions, they finished with an 8-0-3 record, 6-0-3 in league play. Since the Pros merely had to tie the game in order to win the title, had the Staleys not lost to the Cardinals, they would have gone into that fateful game with an 11-0-1 record, 6-0-1 in league play. As it was, it all but assured that the Staleys/Bears, in 1922, the Staleys, now renamed the Bears, went 9-3-0, losing to the Cardinals twice. The Bears still edged the Cardinals for 2nd place in the league, in 1923 and 1924, the Bears got the better of the Cardinals all three times the two teams played. But in 1925, the Bears went 0-1-1 against the Cardinals with the tie meaning the Cardinals were only a ½ game in front of the Pottsville Maroons heading into their fateful 1925 showdown
19.
Green Bay Packers
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The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference North division. They are also the third-oldest franchise in the NFL, organized and it is the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team based in the United States. Home games are played at Lambeau Field, the Packers are the last vestige of small town teams common in the NFL during the 1920s and 1930s. Founded in 1919 by Earl Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun, between 1919 and 1920, the Packers competed against other semi-pro clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest. They joined the American Professional Football Association, the forerunner of todays NFL, the Packers have won 13 league championships, the most in NFL history, with nine NFL titles before the Super Bowl era and four Super Bowl victories. They won the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968 and were the only NFL team to defeat the American Football League prior to the AFL–NFL merger. The Vince Lombardi Trophy is named after the Packers head coach of the same name and their two further Super Bowl wins came in 1997 and 2011. The Packers are long-standing adversaries of the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions, the Bears–Packers rivalry is one of the oldest in NFL history, dating back to 1921. The Green Bay Packers were founded on August 11,1919 by former high-school football rivals Earl Curly Lambeau, Lambeau solicited funds for uniforms from his employer, the Indian Packing Company. He was given $500 for uniforms and equipment, on the condition that the team be named for its sponsor, the Green Bay Packers have played in their original city longer than any other team in the NFL. On August 27,1921, the Packers were granted a franchise in the new pro football league that had been formed the previous year. Financial troubles plagued the team and the franchise was forfeited within the year, before Lambeau found new financial backers and these backers, known as the Hungry Five, formed the Green Bay Football Corporation. After a near-miss in 1927, Lambeaus squad claimed the Packers first NFL title in 1929 with an undefeated 12–0–1 campaign, among the many impressive accomplishments of these years was the Packers streak of 29 consecutive home games without defeat, an NFL record which still stands. The arrival of end Don Hutson from Alabama in 1935 gave Lambeau, credited with inventing pass patterns, Hutson would lead the league in receptions eight seasons and spur the Packers to NFL championships in 1936,1939 and 1944. An iron man, Hutson played both ways, leading the league in interceptions as a safety in 1940, Hutson claimed 18 NFL records when he retired in 1945, many of which still stand. In 1951, his number 14 was the first to be retired by the Packers, after Hutsons retirement, Lambeau could not stop the Packers slide. He purchased a large lodge near Green Bay for team members, rockwood Lodge was the home of the 1946-1949 Packers, though the 1947 and 1948 seasons produced a record of 12-10-1, and 1949 was even worse at 3-9
20.
Frankford Yellow Jackets
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The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926. The team played its games from 1923 in Frankford Stadium in Frankford. The Frankford Athletic Association was organized in May 1899 in the parlor of the Suburban Club, the cost of purchasing a share in the association was $10. However, there were also contributing memberships, ranging from $1 to $2.50, the Association was a community-based non-profit organization of local residents and businesses. In keeping with its charter, which stated that all profits shall be donated to charity, the beneficiaries of this generosity included Frankford Hospital, the Frankford Day Nursery, the local Boy Scouts, and the local American Legion Post 211. The officers of the Association never received a salary or compensation for their work on behalf of the team, the associations clubhouse was originally located at the current site of Frankford High School. The field at this site, known as Wistar Field, became the first official home of the Yellow Jackets, several years later, when the construction of the current high school was proposed, the team moved to Browns Field. The Association initially fielded a team, however soccer and football clubs were also formed. The original Frankford Athletic Association apparently disbanded prior to the 1909 football season, several of the original players from the 1899 football team kept the team together, and they became known as Loyola Athletic Club. In keeping with Yellow Jackets tradition, they carried the Frankford name again in 1912, in the early 1920s, the Frankford Athletic Associations Yellow Jackets gained the reputation as being one of the best independent football teams in the nation. In 1922, Frankford absorbed the Philadelphia City Champion team, the Union Quakers of Philadelphia and that year Frankford captured the unofficial championship of Philadelphia. During the 1922 and 1923 seasons the Yellow Jackets compiled a 6–2–1 record against teams from the National Football League and this led to the Association being granted an NFL franchise in 1924. The Yellow Jackets assembled in September 1924 under coach Punk Berryman to begin preparing for the upcoming season, the team included players Harry Dayhoff, Russ Stein, Joe Spagna, Whitey Thomas, Al Bedner, and Bob Jamison. The team often played 15 to 20 games a season, frequently, they would schedule two games on the same weekend, typically one at home on Saturday and, because of Pennsylvanias blue laws, an away game on Sunday. In their very first game as a member of the NFL, Frankford finished the season with an overall record of 17–3–1, with an 11–2–1 record in league play. They finished third in league standings only behind the Cleveland Bulldogs and Chicago Bears, under modern standings tabulation procedures, after a 9–0–1 start, Frankford lost several key players, including Chamberlin, to injuries. After a 49–0 defeat to the Pottsville Maroons, Frankfords captain Bull Behman was suspended indefinitely from the team for indifferent play and he was accused of not giving his best during the past few weeks because of some dissension with other players. The move helped improve the team, which posted a 13–7 record in league play, the Yellow Jackets had a part in the 1925 NFL Championship controversy
21.
Pottsville Maroons
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The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they played in the National Football League from 1925 to 1928, in 1929 they relocated to Boston, where they played one season as the Boston Bulldogs. The team was founded as the Pottsville Eleven, an independent team playing in the local eastern Pennsylvania circuit, home games were played at Minersville Park, a high school stadium in nearby Minersville. They joined the local Anthracite League in 1924, the year they adopted the Maroons nickname. The next season they joined the NFL under owner John G. Streigel, though dominant on the field, a controversial suspension cost them the 1925 NFL Championship. They were reinstated the year, but after two successive losing seasons in 1927 and 1928, Streigel sold the Maroons to a group in Boston. The 1928 roster included three future Pro Football Hall of Fame members – Johnny Blood McNally, Walt Kiesling, and coach Wilbur Pete Henry – but posted the worst record in franchise history. Writer John OHara, who would go on to become a world-famous novelist with Appointment in Samarra, like other coal towns in eastern Pennsylvania, Pottsville had been fielding football teams from at least the 1910s. The team that became the Maroons was established in 1920 as the Pottsville Eleven, the team was initially unaffiliated with any league, playing on the independent circuit against other teams from the coal mining towns of eastern Pennsylvania. Still, the team maintained a local presence by recruiting many Pottsville natives to its roster. The result was a team with consistent winning records and strong crowds, in 1924 local surgeon John G. Doc Striegel purchased the Pottsville Eleven for $1,500. That year teams in the local circuit decided to form a league, zacko sent them twenty-five maroon jerseys, giving birth to the name. During the 1924 Anthracite League season, the Maroons added three members of the NFLs 1923 Canton Bulldogs championship team to their roster and these players were Larry Conover, Harry Robb and future Hall of Fame inductee Wilbur Pete Henry. A suit filed by Henrys former NFL team was out on a technicality by a Pennsylvania judge. The Maroons then posted a 6–0–1 record against Anthracite League teams, when neither team accepted, Striegel scheduled a game with the NFLs Rochester Jeffersons, who had not beaten an NFL opponent since 1921. These two teams met in a finale on the last Sunday of November. Rochester managed to defeat Pottsville 10–7, giving the Maroons their only loss of the season, however Pottsville ended its 1924 season with an overall record of 12–1–1, scoring 288 points and allowing only 17 while capturing the Anthracite League title. The Anthracite League collapsed after the season, but Striegel and the Maroons were undeterred and they applied for, and received, a franchise in the NFL
22.
New York Giants
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The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues National Football Conference East division. The team plays its games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Giants hold their training camp at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The Giants were one of five teams that joined the NFL in 1925 and their championship tally is surpassed only by the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. Throughout their history, the Giants have featured 28 Hall of Fame players, including NFL Most Valuable Player award winners Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Y. A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor. The teams heated rivalry with the Philadelphia Eagles is the oldest of the NFC East rivalries, dating all the way back to 1933, the Giants played their first game as an away game against All New Britain in New Britain, Connecticut, on October 4,1925. They defeated New Britain 26–0 in front of a crowd of 10,000, the Giants were successful in their first season, finishing with an 8–4 record. In its third season, the finished with the best record in the league at 11–1–1 and was awarded the NFL title. In 1930, there were many who questioned the quality of the professional game. In December 1930, the Giants played a team of Notre Dame All Stars at the Polo Grounds to raise money for the unemployed of New York City and it was also an opportunity to establish the skill and prestige of the pro game. Knute Rockne reassembled his Four Horsemen along with the stars of his 1924 Championship squad and told them to score early, Rockne, like much of the public, thought little of pro football and expected an easy win. But from the beginning it was a one-way contest, with Friedman running for two Giant touchdowns and Hap Moran passing for another, when it was all over, Coach Rockne told his team, That was the greatest football machine I ever saw. I am glad none of you got hurt, the game raised $100,000 for the homeless, and is often credited with establishing the legitimacy of the professional game for those who were critical. It also was the last game the legendary Rockne ever coached, in a 14-year span from 1933 to 1947, the Giants qualified to play in the NFL championship game 8 times, winning twice. During this period the Giants were led by Hall of Fame coach Steve Owen, the period also featured the 1944 Giants, which are ranked as the #1 defensive team in NFL history. a truly awesome unit. They gave up only 7.5 points per game and shut out five of their 10 opponents, though they lost 14-7 to the Green Bay Packers in the 1944 NFL Championship Game. The famous Sneakers Game was played in this era where the Giants defeated the Chicago Bears on an icy field in the 1934 NFL Championship Game, the Giants played the Detroit Lions to a scoreless tie on November 7,1943
23.
Crosstown rivalry
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A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, the intensity of the rivalry varies from a friendly competition on one end to serious violence on the other that, in one case, was suggested to have led to military conflicts. Simple geographic proximity as well as frequent meetings in important games can lead to rivalries and it was renowned as the site of a chaotic and exuberant game that involved the whole town and often resulted in fatalities. The goals were at Nuns Mill in the north and the Gallows Balk in the south of the town, nominally the players came from All Saints and St Peters parishes, but in practice the game was a free-for-all with as many as 1,000 players. A Frenchman who observed the match in 1829 wrote in horror, if Englishmen call this play, the traditional Shrovetide football match is commonplace in the town of Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Saraperos de Saltillo vs. Vaqueros Laguna on a game named Coahuilas Metropolitan Derby, pericos de Puebla vs. Rojos del Águila de Veracruz on a game named Center rivalry. Diablos Rojos del México vs. Péricos de Puebla on a game named Anahuac Derby, naranjeros de Hermosillo vs. Tomateros de Culiacán on a game named Derby of the Pacific Coast. Charros de Jalisco vs. Venados de Mazatlán on a game named Rivalry of the west, real Madrid Basque derby, Baskonia vs. Alpla HC Hard Minsk derbies, Dinamo Minsk vs. SKA Minsk vs. Arkatron Minsk Liège derbies, ROC Flémalle vs. Union Beynoise ROC Flémalle vs. Jeunesse Jemeppe, union Beynoise vs. HC Visé BM. Germanophone derby, HC Eynatten-Raeren vs. KTSV Eupen 1889 Limburg derbies, sporting Neerpelt-Lommel vs. Kreasa HB Houthalen vs. DHC Meeuwen. Anvers derbies, KV Sasja HC Hoboken vs. Olse Merksem HC vs. DHW Antwerpen vs. HV Uilenspiegel Wilrijk
24.
WJR
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The abbreviation WJR may also refer to World Junior Records in athletics or World Jewish Relief, a British charitable organisation. For the former WJR-FM, see WDVD, WJR is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a News/Talk format and its studios are located in the Fisher Building in the New Center neighborhood of Detroit, while its transmitter is located in the Downriver community of Riverview. Its daytime signal provides at least secondary coverage as far as Dayton, Ohio and Erie, under the right conditions, its daytime signal reaches as far west as South Bend, Indiana and as far east as Toronto, Ontario. The station can also be heard clearly at all times within the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, WJR airs a mix of local and syndicated talk shows, and local sports. Weekdays feature WJR morning personality Paul W. Smith, afternoon personality Mitch Albom and it is the Detroit outlet for Westwood One syndicated talk shows Michael Savage, Mark Levin, John Batchelor and Red Eye Radio. WJR for many years has aired Rush Limbaugh from the Premiere Networks in early afternoons, WJR is also the flagship station of the Michigan State Spartans and Detroit Lions. WJRs transmitter building and broadcast tower are located in Riverview, Michigan and its studios are located in the Fisher Building in Detroits New Center area. A tower atop the Fisher Building is used for transmitting WJRs audio to the transmitter, WJR began as WCX on May 4,1922, owned by the Detroit Free Press newspaper, operating at 580 kHz from the Free Press Building. It shared this frequency with WWJ, another station owned by The Detroit News, on December 8,1924, WCX opened studios atop the new Book-Cadillac Hotel in downtown Detroit, with transmitter facilities on the roof. Guest and the Jean Goldkette orchestra participated in the program, in 1925, the Jewett Radio & Phonograph Company of Pontiac, Michigan purchased WCX. Sometime thereafter the station known as WCX/WJR. Also by 1925, WWJ was at 850 kHz, and both stations were broadcasting at 5000 watts of power, on November 11,1928, it moved to 750 AM as a result of the FRCs General Order 40. On December 16,1928, the station moved from the offices to its current location in the Fisher Building. It began identifying as WJR Detroit, from the Golden Tower of the Fisher Building, Goodwill Stations Inc. formed by George A. Richards, acquired WJR in 1929, and it became known as The Goodwill Station. WCX ceased to exist, and WJR acquired all its assets, in 1931, the station raised its power to 10,000 watts, four years later, it would broadcast with 50,000 watts. On March 29,1941, WJR moved from 750 to 760 kHz in accordance with the NARBA frequency reallocations, before North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement of 1941,750 kHz was a clear channel under 1928 rules. WJR became a CBS affiliate on September 29,1935, after having been affiliated with NBC-Blue, on the same date, WJRs officials formally dedicated the stations new 50,000 W transmitter
25.
Blue Network
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The Blue Network, and its immediate predecessor, the NBC Blue Network, were the on-air names of the now defunct American radio production and distribution service, which ran from 1927 to 1945. The Blue Network can be dated to 1923, when the Radio Corporation of America acquired WJZ, Newark from Westinghouse and moved it to New York City in May of that year. When RCA commenced operations of WRC, Washington on August 1,1923, Radio historian Elizabeth McLeod states that it would not be until 1924 that the Radio Group formally began network operations. The core stations of the Radio Group were RCAs stations WJZ and WRC, the Westinghouse station WBZ, then in Springfield, Massachusetts, and WGY, RCAs principal rival prior to 1926 was the radio broadcasting department of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company. AT&T, starting in 1921, had been using this department as a test-bed for equipment being designed and manufactured by its Western Electric subsidiary, nevertheless, the WJZ network sought to compete toe-to-toe with the AT&T network, which was built around WEAF. For example, both stations sent announcer teams to cover the 1924 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City. RCA were to receive a break in 1926, when AT&T made a decision to exit the broadcasting business. The first step by AT&T was to create the Broadcasting Company of America on May 15,1926, the Oakland Tribune stated that 4/5ths of the purchase price of WEAF could be attributed to good-will and the line access. On July 28,1926, the Washington Post reported in a story that RCA had acquired WCAP. The Oakland Tribune reported the day that WCAP had departed the field, and WRC would be operating on the frequency that they had shared. It is also announced that this opening Victor program inaugurates a new system to be operated by the National Broadcasting Company. This new chain, which will be known as the network, will allow simultaneous broadcasting from WJZ through WBZ, Springfield and Boston, KDKA, Pittsburgh. For broadcasting of the first program, therefore, the network will be joined with the red network, as the WEAF chain is designated. The Red and Blue Networks shared a pool of engineers and facilities. There are two examples, from the biggest news events of 1927. On May 20,1927, both of the NBC networks covered the return of Charles Lindbergh to America from his trans-Atlantic flight, star announcer Graham McNamee doing the honors. Three months later, a combined hookup of 67 stations on the two presented the second Dempsey–Tunney fight, broadcast by McNamee and NBC colleague Phillips Carlin. See Elizabeth McLeods discussion of surviving NBC broadcast material from this era, during the 1932–1933 season, Standard Oil of New Jersey sponsored an unusual program, the Five-Star Theater, which each weeknight presented a show in a different format
26.
Pittsburgh Steelers
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers compete in the National Football League, as a club of the leagues American Football Conference North division. Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC, Pittsburgh has won more Super Bowl titles and hosted more conference championship games than any other NFL team. The Steelers have won 8 AFC championships, tied with the Denver Broncos and they share the record for most conference championship games played in with the San Francisco 49ers. The Steelers share the record for second most Super Bowl appearances with the Broncos, and Dallas Cowboys, the Steelers lost their most recent championship appearance, Super Bowl XLV, on February 6,2011. The Steelers were founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 8,1933, by Art Rooney, taking its name from the baseball team of the same name. The ownership of the Steelers has remained within the Rooney family since its founding, the current owner is Arts son, Dan Rooney, who has given much control of the franchise to his son Art Rooney II. The Steelers enjoy a large, widespread fanbase nicknamed Steeler Nation, the Steelers currently play their home games at Heinz Field on Pittsburghs North Side in the North Shore neighborhood, which also hosts the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. Built in 2001, the stadium replaced Three Rivers Stadium which hosted the Steelers for 31 seasons, prior to Three Rivers, the Steelers had played their games in Pitt Stadium and Forbes Field. The Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL first took to the field as the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 20,1933, through the 1930s, the Pirates never finished higher than second place in their division, or with a record better than.500. Prior to the 1940 season, the Pirates renamed themselves the Steelers, during World War II, the Steelers experienced player shortages. They twice merged with other NFL franchises to field a team, during the 1943 season, they merged with the Philadelphia Eagles forming the Phil-Pitt Eagles and were known as the Steagles. In 1944, they merged with the Chicago Cardinals and were known as Card-Pitt and this team finished 0–10, marking the only winless team in franchise history. The Steelers made the playoffs for the first time in 1947 and this forced a tie-breaking playoff game at Forbes Field, which the Steelers lost 21–0. The Steelers also received a $3 million relocation fee, which was a windfall for them, the Steelers history of bad luck changed with the hiring of coach Chuck Noll for the 1969 season. The Pittsburgh Steelers 1974 draft was their best ever, no team has ever drafted four future Hall of Famers in one year. They also enjoyed a regular season streak of 49 consecutive wins against teams that would finish with a record that year. The Steelers suffered a rash of injuries in the 1980 season, the 1981 season was no better, with an 8–8 showing
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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
28.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known as FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. A Democrat, he won a record four presidential elections and emerged as a figure in world events during the mid-20th century. He directed the United States government during most of the Great Depression and he is often rated by scholars as one of the three greatest U. S. Presidents, along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Roosevelt was born in 1882 to an old, prominent Dutch family from Dutchess County and he attended the elite educational institutions of Groton School, Harvard College, and Columbia Law School. At age 23 in 1905, he married Eleanor Roosevelt, and he entered politics in 1910, serving in the New York State Senate, and then as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson. In 1920, Roosevelt was presidential candidate James M. Coxs running mate and he was in office from 1929 to 1933 and served as a reform governor, promoting the enactment of programs to combat the depression besetting the United States at the time. In the 1932 presidential election, Roosevelt defeated incumbent Republican president Herbert Hoover in a landslide to win the presidency, Roosevelt took office while in the United States was in the midst of the worst economic crisis in its history. Energized by his victory over polio, FDR relied on his persistent optimism and activism to renew the national spirit. He created numerous programs to support the unemployed and farmers, and to labor union growth while more closely regulating business. His support for the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 added to his popularity, the economy improved rapidly from 1933–37, but then relapsed into a deep recession in 1937–38. The bipartisan Conservative Coalition that formed in 1937 prevented his packing the Supreme Court, when the war began and unemployment ended, conservatives in Congress repealed the two major relief programs, the WPA and CCC. However, they kept most of the regulations on business, along with several smaller programs, major surviving programs include the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Wagner Act, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security. His goal was to make America the Arsenal of Democracy, which would supply munitions to the Allies, in March 1941, Roosevelt, with Congressional approval, provided Lend-Lease aid to Britain and China. He supervised the mobilization of the U. S. economy to support the war effort, as an active military leader, Roosevelt implemented a war strategy on two fronts that ended in the defeat of the Axis Powers and initiate the development of the worlds first atomic bomb. His work also influenced the creation of the United Nations. Roosevelts physical health declined during the war years, and he died 11 weeks into his fourth term. One of the oldest Dutch families in New York State, the Roosevelts distinguished themselves in other than politics. One ancestor, Isaac Roosevelt, had served with the New York militia during the American Revolution, Roosevelt attended events of the New York society Sons of the American Revolution, and joined the organization while he was president
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Great Depression
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The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, in most countries it started in 1929 and it was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how far the economy can decline. The depression originated in the United States, after a fall in stock prices that began around September 4,1929. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide GDP fell by an estimated 15%, by comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s, however, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. The Great Depression had devastating effects in both rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%, unemployment in the U. S. rose to 25% and in some countries rose as high as 33%. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries, farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most. Even after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 optimism persisted for some time, john D. Rockefeller said These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come, prosperity has always returned and will again. The stock market turned upward in early 1930, returning to early 1929 levels by April and this was still almost 30% below the peak of September 1929. Together, government and business spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the period of the previous year. On the other hand, consumers, many of whom had suffered losses in the stock market the previous year. In addition, beginning in the mid-1930s, a severe drought ravaged the agricultural heartland of the U. S, by mid-1930, interest rates had dropped to low levels, but expected deflation and the continuing reluctance of people to borrow meant that consumer spending and investment were depressed. By May 1930, automobile sales had declined to below the levels of 1928, prices in general began to decline, although wages held steady in 1930
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All-America Football Conference
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The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946–1949. One of the NFLs most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nations best players, However, the AAFC was ultimately unable to sustain itself in competition with the NFL. Three of its teams were admitted to the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Browns were the AAFCs most successful club, having won every annual championship in the leagues four years of operation. The AAFC was founded by Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward on June 4,1944, Ward was also the originator of baseballs All-Star Game and footballs College All-Star Game. Ward brought together a number of pro football enthusiasts, some of whom had previously attempted to purchase NFL franchises. Ward had previously encouraged the NFL to expand, but now he hoped to bring about a permanent second league, on November 21,1944, the AAFC chose Jim Crowley, one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame, as its commissioner. Not coincidentally, the NFL commissioner at this time was Elmer Layden, during the next months, the AAFCs plans solidified. The league initially issued franchises for Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Brooklyn and Miami were later added. A group representing Baltimore was considered for admission, but could not secure a stadium, the league planned to begin play in 1945, but postponed its opening for a year as World War II continued. As the eight franchises built their teams, no move was more far-reaching than Clevelands choice of Paul Brown as its head coach, as coach of the Cleveland franchise, Brown would become one of American footballs greatest innovators. As might be expected, the NFL did not welcome its new rival, in 1945, Layden remarked that the AAFC, still a year from its first game, should first get a ball, then make a schedule, and then play a game. This insult, often paraphrased as Tell them to get a ball first, Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall was perhaps the NFLs hardest-liner regarding the AAFC. In 1945, he commented I did not realize there was another league, Later he declared, The worst team in our league could beat the best team in theirs. After the AAFC put a team in Baltimore, Marshalls opposition to it would be an obstacle to interleague peace. Not coincidentally, his team was badly hurt by the AAFC, a top team from 1936–1945, the Redskins began a decades-long title drought after coach Ray Flaherty and many key players defected in 1946. Laydens successor, Bert Bell, pursued a policy of official non-recognition, in 1947, Pro Football Illustrated previewed both leagues in its annual publication and was banned from NFL stadiums. The AAFC posed a formidable challenge, in most interleague sports wars, the established league has major advantages over the challenger in prestige, finance, size, and public awareness. The NFL-AAFC war differed in several respects, the NFL was just emerging from its wartime retrenchment
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American Football League
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The American Football League was a major professional American football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when it merged with the National Football League. The upstart AFL operated in competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. The AFL was created by a number of owners who had been refused NFL expansion franchises or had shares of NFL franchises. The league first gained attention by signing 75% of the NFLs first-round draft choices in 1960, the transformation of the struggling Titans into the New York Jets under new ownership further solidified the leagues reputation among the major media. As fierce competition made player salaries skyrocket in both leagues, especially after a series of raids, the agreed to a merger in 1966. Among the conditions were a common draft and a game played between the two league champions, which would eventually become known as the Super Bowl. The AFL and NFL operated as separate leagues until 1970, with regular season. During this time the AFL added the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals, in 1970, the AFL was absorbed into the NFL, and the ten AFL franchises along with the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers became the American Football Conference. During the 1950s, the National Football League had grown to rival Major League Baseball as one of the most popular sports leagues in the United States. One franchise that did not share in this success of the league was the Chicago Cardinals, owned by the Bidwill family. The Bidwills hoped to relocate their franchise, preferably to St. Louis, needing cash, the Bidwills began entertaining offers from would-be investors, and one of the men who approached the Bidwills was Lamar Hunt, son and heir of millionaire oilman H. L. Hunt. Hunt offered to buy the Cardinals and move them to Dallas, while Hunt negotiated with the Bidwills, similar offers were made by Bud Adams, Bob Howsam, and Max Winter. When Hunt, Adams, and Howsam were unable to secure a controlling interest in the Cardinals, they approached NFL commissioner Bert Bell, Bell, wary of expanding the 12-team league and risking its newfound success, rejected the offer. On his return flight to Dallas, Hunt conceived the idea of a new league. He contacted Adams, Howsam, and Winter to gauge their interest in starting a new league, hunts first meeting with Adams was held in March 1959. Hunt, who felt a regional rivalry would be critical for the success of the new league, convinced Adams to join, Hunt next secured an agreement from Howsam to bring a team to Denver. After Winter and Boyer agreed to start a team in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Hunt then approached Willard Rhodes, who hoped to bring pro football to Seattle. With no place for his team to play, Rhodes effort came to nothing, Hunt also sought franchises in Los Angeles, Buffalo and New York City
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History of the Cleveland Rams
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The professional American football team now known as the Los Angeles Rams was established in Cleveland, and played there from 1936 to 1945. This article chronicles the history during their time as the Cleveland Rams. The move of the team to Los Angeles helped to jump-start the reintegration of pro football by African-American players, after being based in Los Angeles for 49 years, the Rams franchise moved again after the 1994 NFL season to St. Louis. In 2016, the team moved back to Los Angeles after 21 seasons in St. Louis. Coached by Wetzel, and featuring future Hall-of-Fame coach Sid Gillman as a receiver, the team might have hosted an AFL championship game at Clevelands League Park, however, the Boston team canceled because its unpaid players refused to participate. The Rams then moved from the poorly managed AFL to the National Football League in February 1937, marshman and the other Rams stockholders paid $10,000 for an NFL franchise, then put up $55,000 to capitalize the new club, and Wetzel became general manager. After the team dropped its first three games of 1938, Wetzel was fired, then Bezdek, art Lewis became coach, and guided the team to four victories in its last eight games and a 4-7 record. The franchise began to rebound in 1944 under the direction of general manager Chile Walsh and head coach Aldo Donelli, Donelli was drafted into the Navy, but Chile Walshs brother Adam Walsh quickly took over as head coach. Waterfield-to-Benton became a threat to opposing teams, with Benton becoming the NFLs first 300-yard receiver by hauling in 10 passes for 303 yards against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day 1945. Benton’s performance shattered the mark set by Green Bay Packers legend Don Hutson two years earlier in a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers, the record stood for a remarkable 40 years, until it was broken by the Kansas City Chiefs Stephone Paige in 1985. It still stands as the fourth-most receiving yards in a single game, the only loss on the Rams 9-1 regular-season record came to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Rams, led by Waterfield, who was married to Hollywood star Jane Russell, were described as sport’s first spectacular postwar team. Only one month after winning the championship, Reeves overcame initial objections of his fellow NFL owners and he cited financial losses and poor attendance in Cleveland, but just as likely he had had his eye on the booming L. A. market since buying the team in 1941. The Rams move opened up the Cleveland market to the new Browns, who would meet with a degree of initial success in the AAFC. Once in L. A. the Rams were forced to integrate their team with African-American players as a condition for renting the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
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Pete Rozelle
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Alvin Ray Pete Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. He is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful leagues in the world. Born in South Gate, California, Rozelle grew up in neighboring Lynwood during the Great Depression and he graduated from Compton High School in 1944, with Duke Snider, lettering in baseball and basketball. He was drafted into the U. S. Navy in 1944, Rozelle entered Compton Community College in 1946. While there he worked as the student athletic news director and also worked part-time for the Los Angeles Rams as a public relations assistant, Pete Newell, head coach for the University of San Francisco Dons basketball team, came to Compton in 1948 for a recruiting visit. Impressed by Rozelle, Newell helped arrange for him to get a scholarship to work in a similar capacity at USF. Rozelle enrolled at USF that year and worked as a student publicist for the USF Dons athletic department, in addition to promoting the schools football team he was able to draw national attention to the Dons 1949 National Invitation Tournament championship basketball team. After graduating from USF in 1950 he was hired by the school as the full-time athletic news director, in 1952, he re-joined the Rams as a PR specialist. Leaving after three years, he held a series of public jobs in southern California, including marketing the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. In 1957, he returned to Rams, a disorganized, unprofitable team, lost in the growing L. A. market, as their general manager. In spite of continued struggles on the field, including a league-worst 2–10 record in 1959, after Bert Bells death in October 1959, the 33-year-old Rozelle was the surprise choice for his replacement as NFL commissioner. According to Howard Cosell in his book I Never Played the Game, when he took office following the 1959 season, there were twelve teams in the NFL playing a twelve-game schedule to frequently half-empty stadiums, and only a few teams had television contracts. The NFL in 1960 was following a model that had evolved from the 1930s. One of Rozelles early accomplishments was helping the league adopt profit-sharing of gate, the revenue-sharing was a major factor in stabilizing the NFL and guaranteeing the success of its small-market teams. Another important contribution was Rozelles success in negotiating large television contracts to broadcast every NFL game played each season, in doing so he deftly played one television network against the other. In 1962, Rozelle was re-elected to a contract to remain as commissioner. When President Kennedy was assassinated on Friday, November 22,1963, Rozelle and White House press secretary Pierre Salinger had been classmates at the University of San Francisco, so Rozelle consulted with him. Salinger urged Rozelle to play the games, so he agreed for the schedule to proceed, Rozelle felt that way, saying, It has been traditional in sports for athletes to perform in times of great personal tragedy
34.
History of the St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)
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The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in St. Louis, Missouri from 1960 to 1987. This article chronicles the history during their time as the St. Louis Cardinals. Chicago Cardinals owner Violet Bidwill had married St. Louis businessman Walter Wolfner in 1949, when it became obvious that the Cardinals could no longer hope to compete with the Chicago Bears, a move to St. Louis seemed to make sense. The NFL conducted a survey of St. Louis, and concluded that it was capable of supporting a team, the leagues 12 owners unanimously approved the move, ending their 62-year stay in Chicago. During the Cardinals tenure in St. Louis, they were called the Big Red or the Football Cardinals in order to avoid confusion with the baseball team They shared Sportsmans Park with the baseball team. However, St. Louis had not had a football team since the early days of the NFL. The Cardinals initially held practices in the city park and their first home game was a loss to the Giants on October 2,1960, and they finished the year at 6–5–1. In 1961, they even at 7–7–0 and fell to 4–9–1 in 1962. Improving to 9–5–0 in 1963, the Cardinals almost reached the playoffs, during the Cardinals 28-year stay in St. Louis, they advanced to the playoffs just three times, never hosting or winning in any appearance. The new St. Louis football Cardinals were competitive for much of the 1960s, New stars emerged in Larry Wilson, Charley Johnson, Jim Bakken, Sonny Randle, and Jim Hart. Violet Bidwill Wolfner died in 1962, and her sons, Bill and Charles, although the Cardinals were competitive again in the 60s, they failed to achieve a playoff appearance during the decade. Only four teams qualified during this period, in 1964, the Bidwills, unsatisfied with St. Louis, considered moving the team to Atlanta. They wanted a new stadium, and that city was planning the construction of one, however, St. Louis persuaded them to stay with the promise of a stadium—what would become Busch Memorial Stadium. The Cardinals got off to a start, and tied the Cleveland Browns 33–33 on the road. They finished 9–4–1 and second in the Eastern Conference, but a victory by the Browns over the New York Giants denied them a playoff berth, the team finished the year with a meaningless win over the Packers. A 4–1–0 start to the 1965 season evaporated into a 5–9–0 finish, another middling season followed in 1967, with six wins, seven losses, and one tie. In 1970, the Cardinals were placed in the new NFC East division following the merger with the AFL. They posted three shutouts in November, blanking the Houston Oilers, Boston Patriots, and the Cowboys
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High school football
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High school football is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular sports in both countries. It is also popular amongst American High school teams in Europe, High school football began in the late 19th century, concurrent with the start of many college football programs. In the late 19th and early 20th century, many college, other traditions of high school football such as pep rallies, marching bands, mascots, and homecomings are mirrored from college football. No true minor league farm organizations exist in American football, therefore, high school football is generally considered to be the third tier of American football in the United States, behind professional and college competition. The National Federation of State High School Associations establishes the rules of high school football in the United States, two states, Texas and Massachusetts, use NCAA playing rules except as shown below. Kickoffs take place at the kicking teams 40-yard line, as opposed to the 35 in college, if an attempted field goal is missed it is treated as a punt, normally it would be a touchback and the opposing team will start at the 20-yard line. However, if it not enter the end zone, it can be downed or returned as a normal punt. Any kick crossing the line is automatically a touchback, kicks cannot be returned out of the end zone. Pass interference by the results in a 15-yard penalty. Pass interference by the results in a 15-yard penalty, from the previous spot. The defense cannot return an extra-point attempt for a score, any defensive player that encroaches the neutral zone, regardless of whether the ball was snapped or not, commits a dead ball foul for encroachment. 5-yard penalty from the previous spot, prior to 2013, offensive pass interference resulted in a 15-yard penalty AND a loss of down. The loss of down provision has been deleted from the rules starting in 2013, in college and the NFL, offensive pass interference is only 10 yards. The use of overtime, and the type of overtime used, is up to the state association. The NFHS offers a suggested overtime procedure based on the Kansas Playoff, intentional grounding may be called even if the quarterback is outside the tackle box. The home team must wear dark-colored jerseys, and the team must wear white jerseys. In the NFL, the team has choice of jersey color, and in the NCAA
