1.
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 The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of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
2.
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
3.
Tulane Stadium
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Tulane Stadium was an outdoor football stadium located in New Orleans, that stood from 1926 to 1980. Officially known as the Third Tulane Stadium, it replaced the Second Tulane Stadium where the Telephone Exchange Building is now located, the stadium hosted three of the first nine Super Bowls in 1970,1972, and 1975. The stadium was opened in 1926 with a capacity of roughly 35,000 on the sidelines of the field. Tulane Stadium was built on Tulane Universitys campus, since the institution of the annual Sugar Bowl game, Tulane Stadium itself was often informally referred to as the Sugar Bowl. It was also billed as The Queen of Southern Stadiums and it was in a portion of Tulane Universitys main campus in Uptown New Orleans fronting Willow Street, with parking stretching to Claiborne Avenue. The original 1926 structure was mostly of brick and concrete, the first Sugar Bowl game was played at the stadium on January 1,1935, matching host Tulane against the Temple Owls from Philadelphia. The term Sugar Bowl had been coined by Fred Digby, sports editor of the New Orleans Item, the stadium was eventually expanded to seat up to 80,985 fans. In its final configuration, the stadium included four concrete and steel sections, with a steel upper deck wrapping around the sides. The press box was located on the side of the field. It was the last installment of the LSU-Tulane rivalry played on the Tulane campus, almost exactly one year later, Tulane Stadium hosted its final Green Wave game, a 26–10 loss to Ole Miss on a miserably cold afternoon on November 30,1974. Tulane would not play another game until Yulman Stadium opened in 2014. One month after the Ole Miss–Tulane game, Nebraska won the college game in the stadium. In addition to hosting Tulane University football games and the Sugar Bowl, the Saints won their last game in the stadium, 14-0 over the St. Louis Cardinals on December 8,1974. Tulane Stadium was the site of three early Super Bowls, IV, VI, and IX, Super Bowl IX was the final professional league game ever played at the stadium. The stadium hosted the two coldest outdoor Super Bowls, Super Bowl VI on January 16,1972, at 39° F, Super Bowl IX was supposed to be played in the Superdome, but it wasnt finished yet. Aside from the bowls, the most memorable moment at the stadium might have been the Saints victory over the Detroit Lions on November 8,1970. In the NFL prior to the 1974 season, the posts were on the goal line instead of the end line. With seconds remaining, the Saints attempted a kick with the holder spotting at the Saints own 37-yard line
4.
New Orleans
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New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U. S. Census, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723, as it was established by French colonists and it is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music, and its celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is referred to as the most unique in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranks third in population, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish, La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded May 7,1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time and his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, during the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a campaign against the British from the city in 1779. New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French oversight, nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, the most notable exception being the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans, and Italians, Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The Haitian Revolution ended in 1804 and established the republic in the Western Hemisphere. It had occurred several years in what was then the French colony of Saint-Domingue
5.
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award
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The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football Leagues championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game, the media panels ballots count for 80 percent of the vote tally, while the viewers ballots make up the other 20 percent. The games viewing audience can vote on the Internet or by using cellular phones, Super Bowl XXXV, the Super Bowl MVP has been awarded annually since the games inception in 1967. Through 1989, the award was presented by SPORT magazine, bart Starr was the MVP of the first two Super Bowls. Since 1990, the award has been presented by the NFL, at Super Bowl XXV, the league first awarded the Pete Rozelle Trophy, named after the former NFL commissioner, to the Super Bowl MVP. Ottis Anderson was the first to win the trophy, Most award winners have received cars from various sponsors. The most recent Super Bowl MVP was New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Brady is the only player to have won four Super Bowl MVP awards, Joe Montana has won three and three others—Starr, Terry Bradshaw, and Eli Manning—have won the award twice. Starr and Bradshaw are the ones to have won it in back-to-back years. The MVP has come from the team every year except 1971. Harvey Martin and Randy White were named co-MVPs of Super Bowl XII, including the Super Bowl XII co-MVPs, seven Cowboys players have won Super Bowl MVP awards, the most of any NFL team. Quarterbacks have earned the honor 28 times in 51 games, mark Rypien and Hines Ward are the only players born outside the United States to earn the Super Bowl MVP, having been born in Canada and South Korea, respectively
6.
Len Dawson
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Leonard Ray Dawson is a former American football quarterback and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played 19 seasons for three teams, the last 14 seasons with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs, and played college football at Purdue University. Dawson led the Texans/Chiefs to three American Football League Championships, and a victory in Super Bowl IV, for which he won the games MVP award, Dawson retired from professional football after the 1975 season, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. He is sports director at KMBC-TV in Kansas City and color analyst for the Chiefs Radio Network, Dawson was the ninth of 11 children of Ohio native James and England-born Annie Dawson. He attended Alliance High School in Alliance, Ohio and he was MVP of the football team and was named outstanding Ohio back of the year by the International News Service. A three-sport athlete, Dawson set school records in football and in basketball, during the recruiting process, Dawson had to choose between Ohio State University in Columbus and Purdue University in Indiana. During three seasons with the Boilermakers, Dawson threw for over 3,000 yards, leading the Big Ten Conference in that category during each campaign, while at Purdue, Dawson was initiated into the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. As a sophomore in 1954, Dawson put together an outstanding first season as the NCAAs leader in pass efficiency, while playing defense. Despite his status as a first round pick in the 1957 NFL draft, following his rookie campaign, his status in the Steel City became even more tenuous when the Steelers acquired future Hall of Famer Bobby Layne early in the 1958 season. Failing to dislodge the colorful signal caller, Dawson was then traded after the 1959 season to the Cleveland Browns on December 31. After encountering similar problems in battling Browns quarterback Milt Plum, Dawson was released, having completed only 21 passes for 204 yards, however, he soon found his calling when he signed with the American Football Leagues Dallas Texans on June 30,1962. The move reunited him with Stram, who was beginning his third year as the Texans head coach, in that first season,1962, Dawson led the league in touchdowns and yards per attempt, and was The Sporting News selection as the AFL MVP. He also led Dallas to the first of three titles in a thrilling double-overtime victory over the two-time defending champion Oilers in Houston. Dawson ran an offense in the 20-17 win, and tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to halfback Abner Haynes. The team then moved north to Kansas City and were renamed The Chiefs in 1963, Dawson was also selected by his peers as a Sporting News 1966 AFL All-League player. A pinpoint passer, Dawsons mobility helped him flourish in Strams moving pocket offense and he would win four AFL passing titles and was selected as a league All-Star six times, ending the 10-year run of the league as its highest-rated career passer. From 1962 to 1969, Dawson threw more passes than any other professional football quarterback during that time. The NFL champion Green Bay Packers won easily, 35-10, but Dawson had a good performance in the game, completing 16 of 27 passes for 210 yards
7.
Quarterback
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A quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the team and line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is considered the leader of the offensive team. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually the leader of the offense, the quarterback touches the ball on almost every offensive play, and his successes and failures can have a significant impact on the fortunes of his team. Accordingly, the quarterback is among the most glorified and scrutinized positions in team sports, prior to each play, the quarterback will usually tell the rest of his team which play the team will run. After the team is lined up, the center will pass the ball back to the quarterback, usually on a running play, the quarterback will then hand or pitch the ball backwards to a half back or full back. On a passing play, the quarterback is almost always the responsible for trying to throw the ball downfield to an eligible receiver downfield. Depending on the scheme by his team, the quarterbacks role can vary. While quarterbacks in Canadian football need to be able to throw the ball often, in the NFL, quarterbacks are required to wear a uniform number between 1 and 19. In the CFL, the quarterback can wear any number from 0 to 49 and 70 to 99. Because of their numbering, quarterbacks are eligible receivers in the NCAA, NFHS, after a Super Bowl victory, the starting quarterback is the first player to be presented with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The starting quarterback of the victorious Super Bowl team is chosen for the Im going to Disney World. Campaign, whether they are the Super Bowl MVP or not, examples include Joe Montana, Trent Dilfer, Dilfer was chosen even though teammate Ray Lewis was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV, due to the bad publicity from Lewis murder trial the prior year. In addition to their role, quarterbacks are occasionally used in other roles. Most teams utilize a backup quarterback as their holder on placekicks, in the Wildcat, a formation where a halfback lines up behind the center and the quarterback lines up out wide, the quarterback can be used as a receiving target or a blocker. A more rare use for a quarterback is to punt the ball himself, Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway was known to perform quick kicks occasionally, typically when the Broncos were facing a third-and-long situation. As Roger Staubachs back-up, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White was also the teams punter, ascending the starting role upon Staubachs retirement, White held his position as the teams punter for several seasons—a double duty he performed to All-American standard at Arizona State University. White also had two touchdown receptions as a Dallas Cowboy, both from the halfback option, if quarterbacks are uncomfortable with the formation the defense is using, they may call an audible change to their play
8.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
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The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football. As of 2017, there are a total of 310 members of the Hall of Fame, groundbreaking for the building was held on August 11,1962. The original building contained just two rooms, and 19,000 square feet of interior space, in April 1970, ground was broken for the first of many expansions. This first expansion cost $620,000, and was completed in May 1971, the size was increased to 34,000 square feet by adding another room. The pro shop opened with this expansion and this was also an important milestone for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as yearly attendance passed the 200,000 mark for the first time. In November 1977, work began on another project, costing US$1,200,000. It was completed in November 1978, enlarging the shop and research library. The total size of the hall was now 50,500 square feet, the building remained largely unchanged until July 1993. The Hall then announced yet another expansion, costing US$9,200,000 and this expansion was completed in October 1995. The buildings size was increased to 82,307 square feet, the most notable addition was the GameDay Stadium, which shows an NFL Films production on a 20-foot by 42-foot Cinemascope screen. Through 2017, all inductees except one, played part of their professional career in the NFL. For CFL stars, there is a parallel Canadian Football Hall of Fame, only one player, the Chicago Bears have the most Hall of Famers among the leagues franchises with 32 enshrinees. Enshrinees are selected by a 46-person committee, largely made up of media members, each city that has a current NFL team sends one representative from the local media to the committee. A city with more than one franchise sends a representative for each franchise, there are also 13 at-large delegates, and one representative from the Pro Football Writers Association. Except for the PFWA representative, who is appointed to a term, all other appointments are open-ended and terminated only by death, incapacitation, retirement. To be eligible for the process, a player or coach must have been retired for at least five years. Any other contributor such as an owner or executive can be voted in at any time. Fans may nominate any player, coach or contributor by simply writing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame via letter or email
9.
Jim Finks
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James Edward Finks was an American football and Canadian football player, coach, and executive. Finks was born in St. Louis, Missouri, attended school in Salem, Illinois. After being selected as a 12th-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1949 NFL Draft, he played for years as a defensive back and quarterback. Finks turned the Stampeders into a winning team and he signed many of the players that made Calgary the winningest team in the CFL during the 1960s, though the team did not win a Grey Cup title until 1971. He also signed quarterback Joe Kapp, who would later play under Finks in the NFL. In 1964, Finks was named the manager of the Minnesota Vikings. In 1969, the Vikings won 12 of 14 games and claimed the NFL championship before losing to the American Football Leagues Kansas City Chiefs 23–7 in Super Bowl IV. The Vikings team that Finks put together was powered by a defensive front four. The first member of the unit, defensive end Jim Marshall, in 1964, the new general manager added two potential stars to the line, end Carl Eller as a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, and tackle Gary Larsen in a trade. He completed The Purple People Eaters in 1967 by picking Alan Page in the draft, in 1967, Norm Van Brocklin resigned as head coach and Finks immediately hired Bud Grant, who had been a successful coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL for 10 seasons. That year, Finks also brought in a new quarterback, Joe Kapp, Kapp had played for the Calgary Stampeders when Finks was its General Manager. During the 1969 NFL championship season, Kapp passed for a record seven touchdowns against the Baltimore Colts and was a contributor to his teams success. In 1972, Finks made another daring trade with the New York Giants, this time to bring back Fran Tarkenton, in 1973, the Vikings defeated the Dallas Cowboys for the NFC championship but lost to the Miami Dolphins 24–7 in Super Bowl VIII. It turned out to be the last game with the Vikings for Finks, Finks, who had been named a club vice-president in 1972 as a reward for his brilliant work, resigned in May,1974. Finks joined the Chicago Bears, as manager and executive vice-president. He spent the remainder of the 1974 season studying the Bears player talent as well as players from all around the NFL. The next year, he began employing the same formula he used so well in Minnesota to improve the Bears talent pool, by 1977, they reached the playoffs for the first time since 1963. They were a team again in 1979 with a 10–6 record
10.
Bud Grant
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Harry Peter Bud Grant, Jr. is a former coach and player of American football and Canadian football. Grant served as the coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for eighteen seasons, he was the teams second. Before coaching the Vikings, he was the coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League for ten seasons. Grant is the most successful coach in Vikings history, and the third most successful football coach overall. Grant was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and he was the first coach in the history of professional football to guide teams to the Grey Cup finals and the Super Bowl. Grant attended the University of Minnesota and was an athlete, in football, basketball. After college, he played for the Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association, the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL, on October 23,2014, a statue of Grant was unveiled in front of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers new stadium, Investors Group Field. Bud Grant was born on May 20,1927, in Superior, Wisconsin to Harry Peter Sr. and his mother called him Buddy Boy, which later became Bud. As a child, Grant was diagnosed with poliomyelitis and a doctor suggested he become active in sports to strengthen his leg muscles over time. He started with baseball, adding basketball and football as he got older, due to a lack of organized school teams, he arranged football games between neighborhoods and contacted kids from other schools to participate. During weekends, he would spend time outdoors alone hunting rabbits, in his late teens and college years, he played organized baseball in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Bud married Pat in 1950, and they had six children and their son Mike Grant has been the football head coach for Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minnesota since 1992. Mike Grant has coached Eden Prairie to ten state championships since 1996, Bud Grants grandson Ryan Grant was a quarterback and linebacker at Eden Prairie and played at the University of Minnesota as a linebacker. Buds granddaughter Jenny is married to former NFL quarterback Gibran Hamdan, Pat Grant died in 2009, of Parkinsons Disease. Grant played football, basketball, and baseball at Superior Central High School and he graduated from high school in 1945 and enlisted in the Navy during World War II. He was assigned to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois, using an acceptance letter from the University of Wisconsin–Madison to be discharged from the service, Grant decided to attend the University of Minnesota instead. He was a three-sport, nine-letterman athlete in football, basketball, after leaving the University of Minnesota, Grant was selected in both the NFL and NBA Draft. He was selected in the first round of the 1950 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and he played thirty-five games during the 1949–50 NBA season and signed with the Lakers for the 1950–51 NBA season
11.
Carl Eller
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Carl Eller is a former professional American football player in the National Football League who played from 1964 through 1979. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and attended the University of Minnesota and he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004. As a sophomore, Eller helped lead the Gophers to a Rose Bowl victory, while Eller shared the starting position as a sophomore he became a full-time, two-way player as a junior and senior and was voted All-America both years. During his time in college the Gophers were National Champions as well as Big Ten champions, as a senior Eller was the runner-up for the Outland Trophy. Following each football season, the Carl Eller Award is given to the University of Minnesotas Defensive Player of the Year and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. At the University of Minnesota Eller joined Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, in the 1990s, he graduated from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota with a bachelors degree in human services. As the left end in the Vikings front four, he was a major factor in the unit known as the Purple People Eaters. Starting in 1968, Ellers fifth campaign, Minnesota won 10 Central Division titles in the next 11 seasons. The Vikings won the 1969 NFL championship and NFC crowns in 1973,1974 and he was selected to play in six Pro Bowls. In his career, Moose only missed three games and started 209 out of the 225 he played, Eller is credited as the Vikings all-time sack leader with 130½. He also had 3 sacks with Seahawks in 1979 for a total of 133½. He set career-high 15 sacks in 1969 and then matched that total in 1977, Eller was First-team All-NFL from 1968–71, and again in 1973. He was also Second-team All-Pro in 1967 and 1972 and was All-NFC by AP and he was voted the George S. Halas Trophy in 1971 as the NFLs Defensive Player of the Year as awarded by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. In 2004 Eller was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in 2003, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the associations inaugural HOVG class. In 2000 Eller was named to the Vikings 40th Anniversary Team and in 2010, as a licensed drug and alcohol counselor, Eller founded a group of substance-abuse clinics in the Twin Cities called Triumph Life Centers in 1986. Eller was arrested in 2006 for DUI and pleaded guilty, Eller was arrested in 2008 for fourth-degree assault of a police officer and second-degree refusal to submit to chemical testing, both gross misdemeanors. He was sentenced and served 60 days in the county workhouse, Carl Eller at Pro-Football-Reference. com Carl Eller at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
12.
Paul Krause
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Paul James Krause is a former American football safety who played in the National Football League. He set the NFL record for interceptions with 81, which he picked off from 45 different quarterbacks, Krause attended and played high school football at Bendle High School in Burton, Michigan and earned all-state honors in basketball, football, baseball and track. Known for once scoring 54 points in a game, he was one of the few in his high school to ever receive an athletic scholarship. Krause attended and played football at the University of Iowa. He was a starter as a wide receiver and defensive back. Krause also played baseball at Iowa, as a sophomore, he earned All-American honors and was drafted into the major leagues, but he turned down the offer. Krauses chances to play professional baseball were ended when he injured his shoulder in his year playing football against the University of Michigan. Krause was drafted in the round of the 1964 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. In his rookie season, he led the NFL in interceptions with 12, including interceptions in seven straight games and he was named to his first of eight Pro Bowls and was second only to teammate Charley Taylor for the NFL Rookie of the Year award. Krause played with the Vikings until he retired after the 1979 season, during that time, he was one of 11 players to play in all four of the Vikings Super Bowl appearances. Krause recorded an interception in Super Bowl IV and a recovery in Super Bowl IX. Krause was often referred to as the Vikings Center fielder because of his success as a baseball player. He currently holds the all-time interception record in the NFL with 81 and he set the record in 1979 against the Los Angeles Rams, in the second quarter of a 27-21 overtime loss with his 81st interception coming in the final quarter. The previous record of 79 was held by Emlen Tunnell, another former Hawkeye who played for the New York Giants, Krause recovered 19 fumbles, returning them for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Krause only missed two games due to injuries in 16 seasons, in 1994, Krause was elected to the Board of County Commissioners for Dakota County, Minnesota. He served for twenty years he did not seek re election in 2014, currently, Krause is involved in real estate development and insurance, and he owns several restaurants, including the Dairy Delite in Lakeville, Minnesota. He previously owned a golf course in Elk River, Minnesota. Krause was named to the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998, Krause is married to his wife, Pam, and has three children, two daughters and one son
13.
Alan Page
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Alan Cedric Page is a jurist and former professional American football player. Page first gained fame as a tackle for the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970s. He served as a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1993 until he reached the courts mandatory retirement age of 70 in 2015. Page is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and is considered one of the greatest defensive linemen ever to play the game, Page graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1963. He received a B. A. in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 1967 and he is married to Diane Sims Page and is the father of four children. Page graduated from Canton Central Catholic High School, in Canton, Ohio and he starred in several sports and excelled in football. Page also worked on a team that erected the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After high school, Page attended the University of Notre Dame and that same year, Page was named a college football All-American. Page was presented one of the 1992 Silver Anniversary Awards for achieving personal distinction since his graduation. In 1993 he was inducted into College Football Hall of Fame, in 2005 he was awarded the National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award. In 1967, Page participated in the East-West Shrine Game and 25 years later received the Babe Hollingbery Award for his performance as he was inducted to that games Hall of Fame, named to the Academic All-American Hall of Fame in 2001 and as such received the Dick Enberg Award. Also a winner of the Walter Camp Alumni of the Year in 1988, after graduating from Notre Dame, Page was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, for whom he played from 1967 until 1978. In 1978 Page joined the Chicago Bears, with whom he played through the 1981 season and he is one of 11 players to have played for the Vikings in all four Super Bowls in which they appeared. As a right tackle, he had an unusual 3-point stance. During Page’s 15-year NFL tenure, the Vikings won an impressive four conference titles, Page was a member of the Vikings Purple People Eaters, a defensive line adept at sacking or hurrying the quarterback. Page played in 218 consecutive games without an absence, during which he recovered 22 fumbles, made 148½ sacks and he also had three safeties, the second most in NFL history. He set a high with 18 sacks in 1976 and is unofficially credited with five other seasons of 10 sacks or more. While in the NFL, Page earned All-Pro honors six times and he was voted to nine consecutive Pro Bowls
14.
Lamar Hunt
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Lamar Hunt was an American sportsman and promoter of American football, soccer, basketball, tennis and ice hockey in the United States. He was the founder of the American Football League and Major League Soccer, as well as MLSs predecessor, the North American Soccer League. He was also the founder and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League, the Kansas City Wizards of MLS, in Kansas City, Hunt also helped establish the Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun theme parks. The oldest ongoing soccer tournament in the United States, the U. S. Open Cup. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972, into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1982, the National Soccer Hall of Fame bestowed upon Hunt their Medal of Honor in 1999, an award given to only three recipients in history thus far. He was married for 42 years to his second wife Norma, and had four children, Sharron, Lamar Jr. Daniel, and Clark Hunt. Hunt was born in El Dorado, Arkansas, the son of oil tycoon H. L. Hunt and younger brother of tycoons Nelson Bunker Hunt, Lamar was raised in Dallas, Texas. He attended Culver Military Academy and graduated from The Hill School in Pennsylvania in 1951 and Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1956, Hunt was a college football player who rode the bench but was still an avid sports enthusiast during his time in college and throughout his entire childhood. While attending SMU in 1952, Hunt joined the Kappa Sigma fraternity, in 1972 he was selected as Kappa Sigmas Man of the Year. On the strength of his great inherited oil wealth, Hunt applied for a National Football League expansion franchise but was turned down, Hunt also attempted to purchase the NFLs Chicago Cardinals franchise in 1959 with the intent to move them to Dallas, but was again turned down. The group of the eight founders of the AFL teams was referred to as the Foolish Club, Hunts goal was to bring professional football to Texas and to acquire an NFL team for the Hunt family. Hunt became owner of the Dallas Texans and hired future hall-of-famer Hank Stram as the teams first head coach. As a response to the newly formed league and the presence of an AFL franchise in Dallas, the NFL quickly placed a new franchise of their own in Dallas, in 1963 Hunt began to consider moving the team. Kansas City became one of the cities for the franchise. In order to convince Hunt to move the team to Kansas City, Hunt finally agreed to move the team to Kansas City and in 1963 the Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs. In 1966, the NFL and AFL agreed to merge, with a game between the two leagues to be played after that season. In a July 25,1966, letter to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, Hunt wrote, I have kiddingly called it the Super Bowl, Hunt would later say the name was likely in his head because his children had been playing with a Super Ball toy. In the Chiefs first two seasons attendance did not match the levels Mayor Bartle had promised, but in 1966 average home attendance at Chiefs games increased and reached 37,000, by 1969 Chiefs average home attendance had reached 51,000
15.
Hank Stram
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Henry Louis Hank Stram was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League, Stram won three AFL championships, more than any other coach in the leagues history. He then won Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs, thus earning the 1969 World Championship of Professional Football, Stram never had an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, or special teams coach during his career with the Texans and Chiefs. Stram was born in Chicago in 1923 and his Polish-born father, Henry Wilczek, wrestled professionally under the name Stram and the family name was changed accordingly. He later grew up in Gary, Indiana, and graduated from Lew Wallace High School class of 1941 and he earned seven letters playing football and baseball and joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity at Purdue in the 1940s, playing in 1942 and again in 1946 and 1947. Stram served in the US military during World War II interrupting his university career and he was an assistant football coach for the Boilermakers from 1948 to 1955 and the head baseball coach from 1951 to 1955. In 1996, Stram and Len Dawson were inducted into the Purdue Athletic Hall of Fame, after coaching at Purdue, Stram was an assistant at Notre Dame, Southern Methodist University, and Miami. Stram was an innovator, a judge of talent. He helped develop Hall of Famers Len Dawson, Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanan, Curley Culp, Willie Lanier, Jan Stenerud, and Emmitt Thomas, and many others like Johnny Robinson, Ed Budde and Otis Taylor. He was also the first coach in football to use Gatorade on his sidelines. On defense, the Chiefs employed a triple-stack defense, hiding the three linebackers behind defensive linemen. Stram was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003, ironically, nine years after Bud Grant, at the Hall of Fame ceremonies, Stram was so weakened by the effects of diabetes that Len Dawson pushed his former coach onto the stage in a wheelchair. Strams induction speech was played from a previously recorded videotape. Strams contributions to the game, like those of other AFL pioneers, in 1959, Lamar Hunt recruited Stram to coach his Dallas Texans in the new AFL, which commenced play in 1960. The Texans played their first game in the new AFL in September 1960, in 1962, the Texans won the AFL Western Division and the AFL championship. The Texans won the championship against the Houston Oilers 20-17 in what was the longest professional football game ever played. Tommy Brooker kicked a goal at 17,54 of overtime to win the game for the Texans. The Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963 and continued their success, in 1966, they won the AFL title again on the back of one of the best defensive teams in the history of professional football featuring three hall of famers and eight all star players
16.
Bobby Bell
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Bobby Lee Bell, Sr is a former professional American football linebacker and defensive end. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame and he excelled in several sports at a then-segregated Cleveland High School in Shelby, North Carolina, where his first two years he played six-man football at halfback. During his junior year, his school converted to playing a team where Bell served as quarterback. The Gophers with Bell were the 1960 National Champions, played in the 1961 Rose Bowl, Bell was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He joined Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, via the Mu Chapter while at the University of Minnesota, at age 74 he completed his college degree at Minnesota by finishing the three remaining courses required. He graduated on May 14,2015, some 50 years after leaving college to professional football. He played for the Kansas City Chiefs, first in the American Football League from 1963 through 1969, Bell was an AFL All-Star for six consecutive years,1964 through 1969, and then an NFL Pro Bowler for three straight years. He was on two AFL Championship teams and a World Championship team and he was named to the All-Time All-AFL Team in 1970. He was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1980, the Chiefs retired his uniform number 78. In 1999, he was ranked number 66 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, one of Bells finest moments came in the 1969 AFL divisional playoff game against the New York Jets. In a critical goal line stand, his key coverage on Jets running back Matt Snell stopped the drive, the 13-6 victory over the Jets propelled Kansas City to its only Super Bowl triumph. Bell was noted for his one-of-a-kind athleticism at 64 and 230 pounds and was reported to have run a 4.5 40-yard dash. Bell was possibly the most physically gifted linebacker in football history. He was noted as one of the finest open-field tacklers in Professional Football history and he was also a great blitzer from the linebacker position. Chiefs records show Bell had 40 career quarterback sacks and he might have had if he had played right linebacker. In that era, more often not the right-side linebacker got the call to dog or blitz since more often than not the tight end would be lined up on the right side. Since Bell was on the left, he covered more than he blitzed. He scored 9 touchdowns in his career,6 off interceptions,2 more touchdowns off fumble recoveries, coach Hank Stram said that, He could play all 22 positions on the field, and play them well
17.
Buck Buchanan
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Junious Buck Buchanan was a professional American football defensive tackle with the Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League and in the National Football League. Buchanan attended A. H. Parker High School in Birmingham, Alabama, Buchanan attended Grambling College in Louisiana and was a letterman in football and an NAIA All-America selection. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and he is one of four Grambling State players, Willie Brown, Willie Davis, and Charlie Joiner coached by Eddie Robinson enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For the 1963 NFL Draft, Buchanan was selected 265th overall in the 19th round by the NFL champion Green Bay Packers, the 6 ft 7 in 287 lb Buchanan was the first overall selection in the AFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Eddie Robinson, his coach at Grambling State, where he had been an NAIA All-American in 1962, Buchanan was the first black number one draft choice in Professional Football. Others who had watched Buchanan in action were equally enthusiastic, Buchanan had the physical size plus the athletic instincts to be exceptionally successful at his job of foiling opposing offenses. He was particularly effective at intimidating the passer and in one season alone he batted down 16 passes at or behind the line of scrimmage. He was clocked at 4.9 in the 40-yard dash and 10.2 in the 100-yard dash at Grambling State, in spite of the weekly pounding he took on the line of scrimmage, Buchanan was extremely durable. He played in 182 career games that included a string of 166 straight, after dabbling briefly at defensive end as a rookie, Buchanan settled down to his permanent job as the Chiefs defensive right tackle. He was named to his first AFL All-Star Game after his season and played in six AFL All-Star games. He was selected to the team of the AFL All-Time Team, and was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1987. Two years after he was inducted to the Pro Hall of Fame, in 1999, he was ranked number 67 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, right behind his former Chiefs teammate Bobby Bell at number 66. The Chiefs also retired his uniform number 86, Buchanan once appeared on ABCs The American Sportsman hosted by Grits Gresham of Natchitoches, Louisiana. The program featured Gresham taking celebrities on hunting trips, fishing tournaments. After his football career Buck started the construction company All Pro Construction, Inc. in Olathe and they specialized in interior renovations and miscellaneous bridge work. Buchanans widow, Georgia continued to run the company after his death until 2006 when she sold, Buchanan was diagnosed with lung cancer a week before his Hall of Fame induction and died at age 51 in his Kansas City home on July 16,1992. Buck Buchanan Award List of American Football League players
18.
Jan Stenerud
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Jan Stenerud is a former professional football player for the American Football Leagues Kansas City Chiefs, and the NFLs Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings. He is the first pure placekicker to be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Stenerud is distinguished as being the first Norwegian to play in the National Football League. Born in Fetsund, in the county of Akershus, Norway, Stenerud came to the United States as a college student, on a ski jumping scholarship to Montana State University in Bozeman. In the fall of 1964, Stenerud was training for the ski season by running the stadium steps of Gatton Field. That day, he was cooling down from a workout by kicking a football with injured halfback Dale Jackson, Stenerud had played soccer as a youth in Norway, and his right legs prowess was observed by basketball head coach Roger Craft, while he walked to the nearby Fieldhouse. Craft notified football head coach Jim Sweeney of the Norwegian ski jumpers kicking abilities, and Sweeney offered him a tryout and he was named an All-American by The Sporting News as a senior in 1966, and was also an All-American in ski jumping and a three-time Big Sky champion. Stenerud was one of the first professional players to be used as a dedicated kicker. He was one of the first placekickers to use the soccer style, during his first three years as professional, the last seasons for the AFL, Stenerud hit 70% of his field goals, compared with a 53% average for the other kickers in the AFL and NFL. The Chiefs were the final AFL champions in 1969, and they met the NFL Champion Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV in New Orleans, the underdog Chiefs won 23-7, and Stenerud kicked three field goals, scoring the first nine points of the game. His first, a 48-yarder, was the longest field goal in a Super Bowl for 24 years, on Christmas Day 1971, the Chiefs hosted the Miami Dolphins in an AFC divisional playoff game. The Dolphins won 27–24 in double overtime on a 37-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian, through 2013, the game remains the longest in NFL history at 82 minutes,40 seconds of playing time, and was also the final football game in Municipal Stadium. Stenerud retired after the 1985 season, his 19th and he converted 373 out of 558 field goals and 580 out of 601 extra points for a total of 1,699 points scored. At the time of his retirement, he was the professional football player to have played in the AFL. The last former AFL player was Charlie Joiner, who retired from the San Diego Chargers after the 1986 season, the Chiefs retired Steneruds jersey number 3 in his honor. In 1994, he was selected to the NFLs 75th Anniversary Team, in recent years, Stenerud has been involved in a Kansas City firm involved in designing stadiums and sports arenas. He also worked as a commentator for Scandinavian TV channel TV3s Super Bowl Sunday coverage in the 1990s, the street where he grew up, in the municipality Fetsund, was renamed in his honor
19.
Doc Severinsen
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Carl Hilding Doc Severinsen is an American pop and jazz trumpeter. He is best known for leading the NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, the son of Minnie Mae Severinsen and Carl Severinsen, a dentist. He was nicknamed Little Doc after his father and his father, a gifted amateur violinist, wanted his son to play the violin. He gave his young son lessons, Little Doc insisted on playing the trombone. Eventually, their neighbor, Herb Clark, had a trumpet at his house the boy could play, within a week, Doc was good enough to play in public. Soon, he was invited to play with the school band. At the age of twelve, Severinsen won the Music Educators National Contest, while still in high school, he was hired to go on the road with the Ted Fio Rito Orchestra. However, his stay with the group was cut short by the World War II draft, after serving in the U. S. Army, Severinsen made his broadcasting debut playing live popular music on KODL radio in The Dalles, Oregon. Starting in 1954 during Steve Allens tenure as host of NBC-TVs Tonight and he actually joined The Tonight Show Band several months before Johnny Carsons becoming host in October 1962. Severinsen took over as bandleader in 1967 and soon became noted for his flashy fashions, under Severinsens direction, The Tonight Show NBC Orchestra became the most visible big band in America. The band played music for sketch comedy, guest introductions. Severinsen took the opportunity to many well known swing music and jazz standards, including classics by Cole Porter, Dizzy Gillespie. Adept at comic interplay, Severinsen occasionally substituted for Ed McMahon as Johnny Carsons announcer, Severinsen campaigned for the band to get featured slots during the show. The show introduced a Stump the Band segment in which audience members challenged the band to play obscure song titles, Severinsen often cried key of E, his signal for the band to strike up a western theme, whereupon he would enthusiastically sing a country music-flavored nonsense song. Tommy Newsom was frequently the bands director, whenever Severinsen was away from the show or filling in for announcer Ed McMahon. Severinsen continued as bandleader until Carsons retirement in 1992, Severinsen appeared on Jimmy Fallons Tonight Show in February 2015 when the show traveled to Los Angeles for a week. He played for the evening with the Roots, the appearance helped to promote the 87-year-olds 2015 nationwide tour with his band. During the 1950s and 1960s, Severinsen put out a number of albums of jazz standards and he served as lead trumpet on many of Enoch Lights Command Records LPs of that era, and his soloing was featured in Tito Puente’s Night Ritual from Puentes classic 1957 album Top Percussion
20.
Pat O'Brien (actor)
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William Joseph Patrick Pat OBrien was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits. Of Irish descent, he often played Irish and Irish-American characters and was referred to as Hollywoods Irishman in Residence in the press, one of the best-known screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s, he played priests, cops, military figures, pilots, and reporters. He is especially well-remembered for his roles in Knute Rockne, All American, Angels with Dirty Faces and he was frequently paired onscreen with Hollywood legend James Cagney. OBrien also appeared on stage and television, Pat OBrien was born in 1899 to an Irish-American Roman Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All four of his grandparents had come from Ireland, the OBriens were originally from County Cork. His grandfather, Patrick OBrien, for whom he was named, was an architect who was killed trying to break up a saloon fight in New York City. His mothers parents, the McGoverns, immigrated from County Galway in the west of Ireland in the mid- to late-19th century, as a child, OBrien served as an altar boy at Gesu Church, while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets in Milwaukee. He attended Marquette Academy with fellow actor Spencer Tracy, who became a lifelong friend, during World War I, OBrien and Tracy joined the United States Navy. They both attended boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, but the war ended before their training had finished, Jack Benny was also at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center at the same time as OBrien and Tracy. According to his autobiography, Benny performed a number on the violin at a one evening. OBrien walked on stage and whispered in his ear, For heavens sake, Ben, put down the damn fiddle, Benny stopped playing his violin and made a series of comments that got laughs from the audience. In this way, OBrien indirectly helped to start Bennys career in comedy, after the war, OBrien finished his secondary schooling at Marquette Academy and later attended Marquette University. While still at college, he decided to work as an actor. He moved to New York, where he lived for a while with Tracy, after a decade in plays on Broadway and in the New York City area, OBrien began appearing in movies in 1930. Often playing fast-talking smart alecs or romantic leads at first, he progressed to playing a string of authority figures, especially cops. His first starring role was as ace reporter Hildy Johnson in the original 1931 version of The Front Page with Adolphe Menjou, Warner Brothers hired OBrien as a contract player in 1933. He remained with the studio until 1940, when he left after a dispute over the terms of his contract renewal and he appeared with James Cagney, also under contract to Warner Brothers, in nine feature films, including Angels with Dirty Faces and Cagneys last film, Ragtime. The two originally met in 1926 and remained friends for almost six decades, after OBriens death, Cagney referred to him as his dearest friend
21.
Battle of New Orleans
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The Battle of New Orleans was an engagement fought between January 8 and January 18,1815, constituting the final major battle of the War of 1812, and the most one-sided battle of that war. Preventing access to the lakes was an American flotilla, commanded by Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones, on December 14, around 1,200 British sailors and Royal Marines under Captain Nicholas Lockyer set out to attack Jones force. Lockyers men sailed in 42 longboats, each armed with a small carronade, Lockyer captured Jones vessels in a brief engagement known as the Battle of Lake Borgne. 17 British sailors were killed and 77 wounded, while 6 Americans were killed,35 wounded, the wounded included both Jones and Lockyer. On the morning of December 23, Keane and a vanguard of 1,800 British soldiers reached the east bank of the Mississippi River,9 miles south of New Orleans. During the afternoon of December 23, after he had learned of the position of the British encampment, Andrew Jackson reportedly said and this intelligence had been provided by Colonel Thomas Hinds Squadron of Light Dragoons, a militia unit from the Mississippi Territory. That evening, attacking from the north, Jackson led 2,131 men in a brief three-pronged assault on the unsuspecting British troops, then Jackson pulled his forces back to the Rodriguez Canal, about 4 miles south of the city. The Americans suffered 24 killed,115 wounded, and 74 missing, while the British reported their losses as 46 killed,167 wounded, historian Robert Quimby says, the British certainly did win a tactical victory, which enabled them to maintain their position. However, Quimby goes on to say, It is not too much to say that it was the battle of December 23 that saved New Orleans, the British were disabused of their expectation of an easy conquest. The unexpected and severe attack made Keane even more cautious. he made no effort to advance on the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth, as a consequence, the Americans were given time to begin the transformation of the canal into a heavily fortified earthwork. On Christmas Day, General Edward Pakenham arrived on the battlefield and that evening, General Pakenham met with General Keane and Admiral Cochrane for an update on the situation, angry with the position that the army had been placed in. General Pakenham wanted to use Chef Menteur Road as the route, but he was overruled by Admiral Cochrane. Admiral Cochrane believed the veteran British soldiers would easily destroy Jacksons ramshackle army, whatever Pakenhams thoughts on the matter, the meeting settled the method and place of the attack. When the British reconnaissance-in-force withdrew, the Americans immediately began constructing earthworks to protect the artillery batteries and these defenses were then christened Line Jackson. The Americans installed eight batteries, which included one 32-pound gun, Jackson also sent a detachment to the west bank of the Mississippi to man two 24-pounders and two 12-pounders on the grounded warship USS Louisiana. Even so, Jacksons force was outnumbered by the attacking forces. The main British army arrived on New Years Day 1815, and this began an exchange of artillery fire that continued for three hours. Several of the American guns were destroyed or silenced, including the 32-pounder, a 24-pounder, the British artillery finally exhausted its ammunition, which caused Pakenham to cancel the attack
22.
NFL on CBS
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The NFL on CBS is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League games that are produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States. The network has aired NFL game telecasts since 1956, since 2014, CBS has also broadcast Thursday Night Football games during the first half of the NFL season, through a production partnership with the NFL Network. CBS coverage began on September 30,1956, before the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, prior to 1968, CBS had an assigned crew for each NFL team. As an result, CBS became the first network to broadcast some NFL regular season games to selected markets across the country. From 1970 until the end of the 1993 season, when Fox won the broadcast television contract to that particular conference, since 1975, game coverage has been preceded by pre-game show The NFL Today, which features game previews, extensive analysis and interviews. CBSs first attempts to broadcast the NFL on television were notable for there being no broadcasting contract with the league as a whole. Instead, CBS had to strike deals with individual teams to broadcast games into the teams own markets, often the games would be broadcast with split audio – that is, a game between two franchises would have the same picture in both teams networks. Each teams network had different announcers, chris Schenkel was their play-by-play announcer in that early era when each team was assigned its own network voice on its regional telecasts. At the time, there were few if any true national telecasts until the NFL championship game, Schenkel was joined by Jim McKay, later Johnny Lujack through the 1950s and the early 1960s. As Giants players retired to the broadcast booth in the early and 1960s, first Pat Summerall, as the 1970 merger of the NFL and AFL approached, CBS moved to a more generic announcer approach while Schenkel left to join ABC Sports. From 1956 to 1959, the Baltimore Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, when these three played at home, there was no need for the usage of split audio. Instead, the teams telecasts were produced in a simple singular audio-video feed. In 1959,1960 and 1961, NBC had the rights to televise Colts, while the game broadcasts were blacked out in those cities, they were available to other NBC-affiliated stations. The Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals only produced home telecasts for their vast network. Because of this, if the Bears played the Colts in Baltimore or the Cardinals visited Forbes Field to play the Steelers during this period, meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns had their own network, part of Sports Network Incorporated and Carling Beer. In 1961, then-CBS affiliate WISN-TV in Milwaukee opted not to carry that years annual telecast of The Wizard of Oz, running a Green Bay Packers football game instead. In contrast to the infamous Heidi telecast in 1968, the popularity of The Wizard of Oz as a television event at that time was such that the station ran the movie locally at a later date. In 1962, the NFL followed the American Football Leagues suit with its own revenue sharing plan after CBS agreed to telecast all regular season games for a fee of US$4.65 million
23.
Jack Buck
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John Francis Jack Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. His play-by-play work earned him recognition from numerous Halls of Fame, such as the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he has also been inducted as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum. Buck was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts but moved to the Cleveland, after graduating from high school, he worked on large shipping boats that traveled the Great Lakes. Buck was drafted into the United States Army in June 1943, after completion of his military service in 1946, Buck enrolled at Ohio State University. His early sportscasting career included work for the minor league affiliates of the St. Louis Cardinals, in 1954, Buck was promoted to radio play-by-play of Cardinal games on KMOX, a position that he maintained for nearly all of the next 47 years. He was known in St. Louis for his trademark phrase Thats a winner, which was said after every game that the Cardinals had won. In addition to his work with the Cardinals, Buck also earned assignments on many national sportscasts, including radio coverage of 18 Super Bowls and 11 World Series. In the final years of his life, Buck also became recognized for writing poetry, culminating in national attention for his poem For America, written after the terrorist attacks of September 11,2001. The later part of his career found him working side-by-side in the Cardinals booth with his son Joe Buck, Buck was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts as the 3rd of 7 children by Earle and Kathleen Buck. His father was an accountant who commuted weekly to New Jersey. From an early age, Buck dreamed of becoming an announcer with his early exposure to sports broadcasting coming from listening to Boston Red Sox baseball games announced by Fred Hoey. In 1939 his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio to join their father, soon after though, Bucks father died at the age of 49 due to uremic poisoning related to high blood pressure. Buck planned to quit school in 1941 to take a full-time job in an effort to support his family. Dissuaded by one of his teachers, Buck decided to finish high school, after graduation, he followed one of his friends and began working on an iron ore freight boat operated on the Great Lakes by the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company. Buck served on a 700 foot steamer named The Sheadle, where he began as porter and was promoted to night cook. After performing various other shipping related jobs, Buck attempted to become a deck watch, a physical examination related to the deck watch application process revealed Buck was color blind, unable to differentiate between the colors green and brown. Ineligible for the promotion to watch, Buck subsequently became eligible for the military draft. The physicality of Bucks work on the Great Lakes left in him good physical condition at the time he entered the Army, Buck, who was 19 years old, stood 511 tall, and weighed 165 pounds at the time
24.
Pat Summerall
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George Allen Pat Summerall was an American football player and television sportscaster, having worked at CBS, Fox, and ESPN. In addition to football, he announced major golf and tennis events. In total, he announced 16 Super Bowls on network television,26 Masters Tournaments and he also contributed to 10 Super Bowl broadcasts on CBS Radio as a pregame host or analyst. Summerall played football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and then in the National Football League from 1952 through 1961 and he was drafted by the Detroit Lions and played with Bobby Layne. The best playing time in his career was with the New York Giants as a kicker, after retiring as a player, he joined CBS as a color commentator the next year. He worked with Tom Brookshier and then John Madden on NFL telecasts for CBS, although retired since 2002, he continued to announce games on occasion, especially those near his Texas home. He was named the National Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in 1977 and that year, he also received the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 1999, at Columbia High School, Lake City, Florida, Summerall played football, tennis, baseball, and basketball. Although basketball was his favorite sport, he was recognized as an All-State selection in basketball and football and he was inducted into the FHSAA Hall of Fame and was later named to the FHSAAs All-Century Team. Summerall played college football from 1949 to 1951 at the University of Arkansas, where he played end, tight end. He graduated in 1953 majoring in Russian history, according to CBS News, Summerall spent ten years as a professional football player in the National Football League, primarily as a placekicker. The Detroit Lions drafted Summerall as a draft choice in the 1952 NFL Draft. Summerall played the pre-season with the Lions before breaking his arm and his best professional year statistically was 1959, when Summerall scored 90 points on 30-for-30 extra-point kicking and 20-for-29 field goal kicking. Summeralls most memorable moment may well have been at the very end of the December 14,1958 regular season finale between his Giants and the Cleveland Browns at Yankee Stadium. Going into the game, the Browns were in first place in the Eastern Conference, in that era, there was no overtime during regular season games, standings ties were broken by a playoff, and there were no wild-card teams. The Browns, on the hand, needed only a tie to clinch the Eastern championship. As time was running out, the Giants and Browns were tied, 10–10, the Giants got barely into Cleveland territory, then sent out Summerall to try for a tiebreaking 49-yard field goal. To add to the drama, there were swirling winds and snow, Summerall, a straight-ahead kicker, made the field goal with just two minutes to play, keeping the Giants alive for another week
25.
Super Bowl III
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Super Bowl III was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the name Super Bowl. The game, played on January 12,1969, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, the heavy underdog American Football League champion New York Jets defeated the National Football League champion Baltimore Colts by a score of 16–7. This was the first Super Bowl victory for the AFL, before the start of the game, most sports writers and fans believed that AFL teams were less talented than NFL clubs, and expected the Colts to defeat the Jets by a wide margin. Baltimore posted a 13–1 record during the 1968 NFL season before defeating the Cleveland Browns, 34–0, the Jets finished the 1968 AFL season at 11–3, and defeated the Oakland Raiders, 27–23, in the 1968 AFL Championship Game. Undaunted, Jets quarterback Joe Namath made a three days before the Super Bowl at the Miami Touchdown Club and brashly guaranteed a victory. His team backed up his words by controlling most of the game, building a 16–0 lead by the quarter off of a touchdown run by Matt Snell. Colts quarterback Earl Morrall threw three interceptions before being replaced by Johnny Unitas, who then led Baltimore to its only touchdown during the last few minutes of the game, with the victory, the Jets remain the only winning Super Bowl team to only score one touchdown. This was the first Super Bowl to feature famous celebrities during its ceremonies instead of just college bands, after the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, the Colts were one of three teams that moved to the newly formed American Football Conference, the same conference as the Jets. This thus remains the only Super Bowl contested by teams now in the same Conference, the game was awarded to Miami on May 14,1968 at the owners meetings held in Atlanta. The National Football League had dominated professional football from its origins after World War I, rival leagues had crumbled or merged with it, and when the American Football League began to play in 1960, it was the fourth to hold that similar name to challenge the older NFL. The junior league proved successful enough, in fact, to make offers to players. As the two leagues had an number of teams, realignment was advocated by some owners, but was opposed. Eventually, three NFL teams agreed to move over to join the original AFL franchises of 1960 in what became the American Football Conference, despite the ongoing merger, it was a commonly held view that the NFL was a far superior league. The Baltimore Colts had won the 1958 and 1959 NFL championships under Coach Weeb Ewbank, in the following years, however, the Colts failed to make the playoffs, and the Colts dismissed Ewbank after a 7–7 record in 1962. He was soon hired by New Yorks new AFL franchise, which had just changed its name from the Titans to the Jets. In Ewbanks place, Baltimore hired a young head coach, Don Shula. A. won the championship as it had better net points in the two games the teams played. The Colts finished 11–1–2, out of the playoffs, the NFL champion, in both cases the Green Bay Packers, had easily won the first two Super Bowls over the AFL winner, establishing for a while then the superiority of the older NFL circuit
26.
Super Bowl
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The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League. The game is the culmination to a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. Normally, Roman numerals are used to each game, rather than the year in which it is held. For example, Super Bowl I was played on January 15,1967, the single exception to this rule is Super Bowl 50, which was played on February 7,2016, following the 2015 regular season. The next game, Super Bowl LII, scheduled for February 4,2018, the game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League. It was agreed that the two champion teams would play in the AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a conference, currently, the National Football Conference leads the league with 26 wins to 25 wins for the American Football Conference. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl championship titles, with six, the New England Patriots have the most Super Bowl appearances, with nine. The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered by some as an unofficial American national holiday, is called Super Bowl Sunday and it is the second-largest day for U. S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year, in 2015, Super Bowl XLIX became the most-watched American television program in history with an average audience of 114. The NFL restricts the use of its Super Bowl trademark, it is called the Big Game or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcasts commercials has become a significant aspect of the event, for four decades after its 1920 inception, the NFL successfully fended off several rival leagues. However, in 1960, it encountered its most serious competitor when the American Football League was formed. The AFL vied heavily with the NFL for both players and fans, but by the middle of the decade the strain of competition led to merger talks between the two leagues. Prior to the 1966 season, the NFL and AFL reached an agreement that was to take effect for the 1970 season. As part of the merger, the champions of the two agreed to meet in a world championship game for professional American football until the merger was effected. A bowl game is a college football game. Exploiting the Rose Bowl Games popularity, post-season college football contests were created for Miami, New Orleans, and El Paso, Texas in 1935, by the time the first Super Bowl was played, the term bowl for any major American football game was well established
27.
Super Bowl V
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The Colts defeated the Cowboys by the score of 16–13. The game was played on January 17,1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida and this was the first Super Bowl played after the completion of the AFL–NFL merger. As per the agreement, all 26 AFL and NFL teams were divided into two conferences with 13 teams in each of them. Along with the Colts, the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to join the 10 AFL teams to form the AFC, the remaining 13 NFL teams formed the NFC. This explains why the Colts represented the NFL in Super Bowl III, meanwhile, the Cowboys were making their first Super Bowl appearance after posting a 10–4 regular season record. The game is called the Blunder Bowl or the Stupor Bowl because it was filled with poor play, a missed PAT, penalties, turnovers. The two teams committed a Super Bowl record 11 combined turnovers in the game, and the Colts seven turnovers are currently the most ever committed by a team in a Super Bowl. Dallas also set a Super Bowl record with 10 penalties, costing them 133 yards and it was finally settled with nine seconds left when Colts rookie kicker Jim OBrien kicked a 32-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in the game. In order to win the game, Baltimore had to overcome a 13–6 deficit after three quarters, and losing their starting quarterback Johnny Unitas in the second quarter. It is the only Super Bowl in which the Most Valuable Player Award was given to a member of the team, Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley. Howley was the first non-quarterback to win the MVP award, along this theme, Colts defensive end Bubba Smith would later refuse to wear his Super Bowl V ring because of the sloppy play. The NFL awarded hosting rights for Super Bowl V to the city of Miami on March 17,1970, the Colts were an unspectacular but well-balanced veteran team, led by 37-year-old quarterback Johnny Unitas. Unitas had regained his spot on the team in 1969 upon recovering from an injury that led him to miss the majority of the 1968 season. Unitas played inconsistently during the 1970 regular season, he threw for 2,213 yards, Unitas also had injury problems, causing him to miss two regular season games and thus giving Earl Morrall more significant playing time. Morrall put up better statistics than Unitas, but head coach Don McCafferty decided to start Unitas for the playoffs, in the backfield, running back Norm Bulaich was the teams top rusher with 426 yards and 3 touchdowns, while also catching 11 passes for another 123 yards. The Colts main strength was their defense, Pro Bowl defensive tackle Bubba Smith anchored the line. Behind him, the Colts had two outstanding linebackers, Pro Bowler Mike Curtis, who recorded 5 interceptions, and Ted Hendricks. In the secondary, Pro Bowl safety Jerry Logan recorded 6 interceptions for 92 return yards and 2 touchdowns, Don Klosterman, formerly with San Diego, Kansas City and Houston in the AFL, became the Colts General Manager in 1970
28.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
29.
Louisiana
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Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the state in the U. S. with political subdivisions termed parishes. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Much of the lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh. These contain a rich southern biota, typical examples include birds such as ibis, there are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a process in the landscape. These support a large number of plant species, including many species of orchids. Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other state, including four that are federally recognized, ten that are state recognized. Before the American purchase of the territory in 1803, the current Louisiana State had been both a French colony and for a period, a Spanish one. In addition, colonists imported numerous African people as slaves in the 18th century, many came from peoples of the same region of West Africa, thus concentrating their culture. Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715, when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane. The suffix -ana is a Latin suffix that can refer to information relating to an individual, subject. Thus, roughly, Louis + ana carries the idea of related to Louis, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist 250 million years ago when there was but one supercontinent, Pangea. As Pangea split apart, the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico opened, Louisiana slowly developed, over millions of years, from water into land, and from north to south. The oldest rocks are exposed in the north, in such as the Kisatchie National Forest. The oldest rocks date back to the early Tertiary Era, some 60 million years ago, the history of the formation of these rocks can be found in D. Spearings Roadside Geology of Louisiana. The sediments were carried north to south by the Mississippi River
30.
New York Jets
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The New York Jets are a professional American football team located in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference East division. The team is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, in a unique arrangement for the league, the Jets share MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey with the New York Giants. The franchise is legally and corporately registered as New York Jets, the team was founded in 1959 as the Titans of New York, an original member of the American Football League, later, the franchise joined the NFL in the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. The team began to play in 1960 at the Polo Grounds, under new ownership, the current name was adopted in 1963 and the franchise moved to Shea Stadium in 1964 and then to the Meadowlands Sports Complex in 1984. Since 1968, the Jets have appeared in the playoffs 13 times, however, the Jets have never returned to the Super Bowl, making them one of three NFL teams to win their lone Super Bowl appearance, along with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The teams training facility, Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, which opened in 2008, is located in Florham Park, the first organizational meeting of the American Football League took place on August 14,1959. Wismer was granted the franchise later dubbed the Titans of New York as Wismer explained. He secured the Titans home field at the decrepit Polo Grounds, by 1962, the debt continued to mount for Wismer, forcing the AFL to assume the costs of the team until seasons end. A five-man syndicate, headed by Sonny Werblin, saved the team from certain bankruptcy, Werblin renamed the team the New York Jets since the team would play in Shea Stadium near LaGuardia Airport. The new name was intended to reflect the approach of his team. The Jets owners hired Weeb Ewbank as the manager and head coach. The early 1990s saw New York struggling, after firing coach Bruce Coslet, owner Leon Hess hired Pete Carroll who struggled to a 6–10 record and was promptly fired at the end of the season. Thereafter, Rich Kotite was selected to lead the team to victory, Kotite stepped down at the end of his second season forcing the Jets to search for a new head coach. Hess lured then-disgruntled New England Patriots head coach Bill Parcells to New York in 1997, Parcells led the team back to relevance and coached them to the AFC Championship Game in 1998. Hess died in 1999 while the team, plagued by injuries, produced an eight win record, the franchise obtained a new owner in Woody Johnson in 2000. Additionally, through the 2000s the Jets visited the five times. Rex Ryan was hired in January 2009, Ryan led the team to back-to-back AFC Championship appearances during his first two years but the team never made the playoffs again during his tenure
31.
1969 NFL season
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The 1969 NFL season was the 50th regular season of the National Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger. To honor the NFLs fiftieth season, a special logo was designed. This was the last awarding of the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy to the NFL champion, as was the case the previous season, the NFL Champion was not crowned as the world champion because of the Vikings 23-7 loss to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Like the previous two seasons, the Eastern Conference was split into the Capitol and Century Divisions, and the Western Conference had the Coastal and Central Divisions. Through 1966, if two teams were tied for the lead at seasons end, a one-game playoff was conducted to break the tie. As such, only one team in a division would be the division winner, the 1969 division races were largely uneventful. All four division winners assumed 1st place by week 5 and never gave up their lead. A. in a week 12 loss to the Vikings, 20–13. The Cowboys had won in 1967 in Dallas and the Browns in 1968 in Cleveland, the Cowboys were favored as they featured the best offense in the NFL, a better record than Cleveland, and were at home. However, the Browns jumped on the Cowboys early and often in cruising to a surprising 38–14 win at the Cotton Bowl, in the Western Conference, the Vikings were four-point favorites over the Rams in Minnesota. Three weeks earlier, the Vikings met the Rams in Los Angeles and won and this time, the Rams broke out on top and led 17–7 at halftime. After the Vikings scored to make it 17–14, the Rams settled for another field goal to make it 20–14. Joe Kapp led the Vikings to the go ahead touchdown early in the 4th quarter, viking receiver John Henderson caught a pass and ran to the Rams 20 yard line where he was tripped up by Eddie Meador. Not sure if the defender made contact and not hearing a whistle, Henderson got up and starting running, Nettles claimed he never heard a whistle and asked what was I supposed to do, stand there and watch him run into the end zone. With the ball moved inside the 10 yard, Kapp eventually put the Vikings ahead 21-20 with a touchdown run. Shortly thereafter, Vikings DE Carl Eller sacked Ram QB Roman Gabriel in the end zone to make it 23–20. After starting the season with victories, the Rams lost all four games in December, they won the last edition of the third place Playoff Bowl. In the NFL final in Minnesota on January 4, the Browns were thoroughly dominated for the year in a row. In 1968, the Colts beat them 34–0 in Cleveland, in game the Vikings won 27–7
32.
Cleveland Browns
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The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns compete in the National Football League as a club of the American Football Conference North division. The Browns play their games at FirstEnergy Stadium, which opened in 1999, with administrative offices and training facilities in Berea. The Browns official colors are brown, orange and white and they are unique among the 32 member franchises of the NFL in that they do not have a logo on their helmets and are the only team named after a specific person, original coach Paul Brown. The franchise was founded in 1945 by businessman Arthur B, McBride and coach Paul Brown as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference. The Browns dominated the AAFC, compiling a 47–4–3 record in the four active seasons. When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, the Browns joined the National Football League along with the San Francisco 49ers, from 1965 to 1995, they made the playoffs 14 times, but did not win another championship or appear in the Super Bowl in that period. In 1995, owner Art Modell, who had purchased the Browns in 1961, announced plans to move the team to Baltimore, Maryland. The Browns intellectual property, including name, logos, training facility, and history, were kept in trust. A new team would be established by 1999 either by expansion or relocation, the Browns were announced as an expansion team in 1998 and resumed play in 1999. Since resuming operations in 1999, the Browns have struggled to find success and they have had only two winning seasons, one playoff appearance, and no playoff wins. The franchise has also noted for a lack of stability with quarterbacks. To date, the Browns overall win-loss record since 1999 is 88–200, the Browns origins date to 1944, when taxicab magnate Arthur B. Mickey McBride secured the rights to a Cleveland franchise in the newly formed All-America Football Conference. S, early in 1945, McBride named 36-year-old Ohio State Buckeyes coach Paul Brown as the teams head coach and general manager and gave him a share in its profits. The move surprised and upset Buckeye fans, who had hoped he would resume his successful run at the school after the war, the name of the team was at first left up to Paul Brown, who rejected calls for it to be christened the Browns. The franchise and the Cleveland Plain Dealer then held a naming contest to publicize the team, in June 1945, a committee selected Panthers as the new teams name, named after a failed American Football League franchise in Cleveland which only lasted a single season in 1926. It is unclear whether Panthers was the highest vote-getter, or if it was second-highest behind Browns, however, the owner of the failed AFL Panthers franchise, General C. X. Zimmerman, indicated that he owned the name Cleveland Panthers, at this point, Paul Brown bowed to popular sentiment and agreed to the Browns name
33.
Super Bowl I
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The National Football League champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American Football League champion Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 35–10. Coming into this game, considerable animosity remained between the AFL and NFL, thus the teams representing the two rival leagues felt pressure to win. The Chiefs posted an 11–2–1 record during the 1966 AFL season, the Packers finished the 1966 NFL season at 12–2, and defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 34–27, in the 1966 NFL Championship Game. Still, many writers and fans believed any team in the older NFL was vastly superior to any club in the upstart AFL. The first half of Super Bowl I was competitive, as the Chiefs out-gained the Packers in total yards, 181–164, early in the third quarter, Green Bay safety Willie Wood intercepted a pass and returned it 50 yards to the five-yard line. The turnover sparked the Packers to score 21 unanswered points in the second half, Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr, who completed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns, with 1 interception, was named MVP. When the NFL began its 40th season in 1960, it had a new and unwanted rival, but unlike the NFLs prior rivals, the AFL survived and prospered, in part by signing NFL rejects who turned out to be highly talented players the older league had badly misjudged. Soon the NFL and AFL found themselves locked in a bidding war for the top free agents and prospects coming out of college. Originally, there was an agreement between the two not to raid each other by signing players who were already under contract with a team from an opposing league. This policy broke down in early 1966 when the NFLs New York Giants signed Pete Gogolak, the AFL owners considered this an act of war and immediately struck back, signing several contracted NFL players, including eight of their top quarterbacks. Eventually the NFL had enough and started negotiations with the AFL in an attempt to resolve the issue, as a result of the negotiations, the leagues signed a merger agreement on June 9,1966. Among the details, both agreed to share a common draft in order to end the bidding war for the top college players. Los Angeles was not awarded the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game until December 1,1966 six weeks prior to the kickoff, likewise, the Green Bay Packers played the Kansas City Chiefs, with the Packers winning 35–10. The Chiefs entered the game after recording an 11–2–1 mark during the regular season, in the AFL Championship Game, they beat the Buffalo Bills, 31–7. Kansas Citys high-powered offense led the AFL in points scored and total rushing yards and their trio of running backs, Mike Garrett, Bert Coan, and Curtis McClinton all ranked among the top-ten rushers in the AFL. Quarterback Len Dawson was the passer in the AFL, completing 159 of 284 of his passes for 2,527 yards and 26 touchdowns. Wide receiver Otis Taylor provided the team with a deep threat by recording 58 receptions for 1,297 yards. The Chiefs also had a defense, with All-AFL players Jerry Mays
34.
Oakland Raiders
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The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football franchise based in Oakland, California. The Raiders currently compete in the NFL as a club of the leagues American Football Conference West division. At the end of the NFLs 2015 season, the Raiders boasted a lifetime record of 444 wins,397 losses. The Raiders plan to remain in Oakland through 2018 – and possibly 2019 –, the Raiders off-field fortunes have varied considerably over the years. The teams first three years of operation were marred by poor performance, financial difficulties, and spotty attendance. In 1963, however, the Raiders fortunes improved dramatically with the introduction of head coach Al Davis, in 1967, after several years of improvement, the Raiders reached the postseason for the first time. The team would go on to win its first AFL Championship that year, in doing so, the Raiders advanced to Super Bowl II, the Raiders run of success intensified during the 1970s. From 1970 to 1977, the team won six division titles, in 1976, the team captured its first NFL Championship with a convincing victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. In 1982, amidst much controversy, the Raiders relocated to Los Angeles, the team finished with the NFLs best regular season record that year, one year later, the Raiders beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII to capture their third Super Bowl championship. The Raiders fortunes declined following the 1985 season, they would win just one division title. In 1995, the Raiders returned to Oakland, after several years of continued mediocrity, the team entered a brief period of pronounced success in the early 2000s. From 2000 to 2002, the Raiders won three division titles and four playoff games, their renaissance culminated with a lopsided 2002 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. The Super Bowl loss marked the beginning of a period of futility for the Raiders, from 2003 through 2015. In 2016, the Raiders finally ended their postseason drought with a victory over the division rival San Diego Chargers. At the end of the 2016 NFL season, the finished with a 12–4 record. The Raiders are known for their fan base and distinctive team culture. Since 1963, the team has won 15 division titles, four AFC Championships, one AFL Championship, fourteen former members of the team have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Having enjoyed a successful coaching career at Navy during the 1950s
35.
NFL Films
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Founder Ed Sabol was a World War II veteran who worked selling topcoats after returning to the United States. In his spare time, he used a motion picture camera, received as a wedding gift. Inspired by his own work, Sabol founded a film company called Blair Motion Pictures. Sabol won the bidding for the rights to film the 1962 NFL championship game for $5,000, the film of that game impressed NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who asked the owners of the NFL to agree to buy out Sabols company. Although the owners rejected Rozelles proposal in 1964, they agreed a year later and he received $20,000 in seed money from each of the leagues 14 owners, and in return would shoot all NFL games and produce a highlight film for each team. Ed Sabol died on Monday, February 9,2015, at his home in Arizona, on August 6,2011, Ed Sabol was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a major contributor to the National Football League. Much has been made of the Films style, salon. com television critic Matt Zoller Seitz has called NFL Films the greatest in-house P. R. machine in pro sports history. An outfit that could make even a tedius stalemate seem as momentous as the battle for the Alamo, NFL Films productions follow certain patterns. J. K. Simmons was tapped to narrate the companys one-hour recap of the 16-0 regular season of the 2007 New England Patriots, team-specific films such as year-in-review films have occasionally been narrated by broadcasters or personalities involved with the team in question. Examples include the 2000 and 2001 Oakland Raiders season reviews being narrated by actor, the style has been called tight on the spiral, a reference to the frequently-used slow-motion shot of the spinning football as it travels from the quarterbacks hand to the receiver. NFL Films also dubs sound bites of local radio broadcasts over key plays, in addition, NFL Films often uses multiple camera angles. The company also makes use of footage of players and coaches in the locker room after the game. With these techniques NFL Films turns football games into events that mimic ballet, opera, among the companys most famous creations is the poem and accompanying music cue The Autumn Wind, which have become official themes for the Oakland Raiders. One of NFL Films most popular series is Hard Knocks, Hard Knocks won consecutive Outstanding Edited Sports Series Emmys in 2009 &2010. They appear on either ESPN or the NFL Network, NFL Films also produces the NFL Game of the Week, which showcases a previous-weeks game of the current season. ION Television has purchased the rights to air Game of the Week, Saturdays at 6PM ET beginning September 15, ESPN Classic has been known to air classic episodes of Game of the Week. Among other television programs NFL Films is credited for producing include NFL Total Access and much of the NFL Networks programming output. NFL Films game highlights were also a staple of HBOs Inside the NFL for its entire run, NFL Films is famous for producing an annual highlight film for each team every season
36.
Jim Marshall (American football)
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James Lawrence Marshall is a retired American gridiron football player who played defensive end for the Cleveland Browns and the Minnesota Vikings. At the time of his retirement, he owned the career records for most consecutive starts and he was born in Wilsonville, in Boyle County, Kentucky, near Parksville. Marshall played college football at Ohio State University and he left school before his senior year, and played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was then drafted in the round of the 1960 NFL Draft with the 44th overall pick by the Cleveland Browns. Marshall played the 1960 season with the Browns before being traded along with five players to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for two draft picks in the 1961 NFL Draft. He then played from 1961 to 1979 with the Vikings and finished with a then-record 282 consecutive games and he started 270 consecutive games while playing for the Vikings, an NFL record since surpassed by Brett Favre. He played in 2 Pro Bowls from 1968 to 1969 and he recovered 30 fumbles, an NFL record. The Vikings credit Marshall with 127 career quarterback sacks, second most in Viking History behind Eller and he is one of 11 players to have played in all four of the Vikings Super Bowl appearances in the 1970s. Jim Marshall is also a member of The Pigskin Club Of Washington, national Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll. During his time with the Minnesota Vikings, Marshall was involved in what is considered by many, including SI. com author John Rolfe, to be the most embarrassing moment in NFL history. On October 25,1964, in a game against the San Francisco 49ers, Marshall recovered a fumble, thinking that he had scored a touchdown for the Vikings, Marshall then threw the ball away in celebration. The ball landed out of bounds, resulting in a safety for the 49ers, according to Marshall, when he approached Vikings head coach Norm Van Brocklin afterwards, Van Brocklin, after a pause, said, Jim, you did the most interesting thing in this game today. Despite the gaffe, the Vikings won the game 27–22, with the margin of victory provided by a Carl Eller touchdown return of a fumble caused by a Marshall sack. Marshall later received a letter from Roy Riegels, infamous for a run in the 1929 Rose Bowl, stating
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