1.
San Francisco
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San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. It is the birthplace of the United Nations, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856, after three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, San Francisco was a port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. Politically, the city votes strongly along liberal Democratic Party lines, San Francisco is also the headquarters of five major banking institutions and various other companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. Dolby, Airbnb, Weebly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Lyft, Mozilla, Wikimedia Foundation, as of 2016, San Francisco is ranked high on world liveability rankings. The earliest archaeological evidence of habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the system gradually ended, and its lands became privatized. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first independent homestead, together with Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7,1846, during the Mexican–American War, montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco on January 30 of the next year, despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers, with their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor. Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons and hotels, many were left to rot, by 1851 the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870 Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land, buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings. California was quickly granted statehood in 1850 and the U. S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate, silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush
2.
American football positions
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In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time. The specific role that a player takes on the field is called his position, under the modern rules of American football, teams are allowed unlimited substitutions, that is, teams may change any number of players after any play. This has resulted in the development of three platoons of players, the offense, the defense, and the special teams, within those platoons, various specific positions exist depending on what each players main job is. In American football, the offense is the side in which the players have possession of the ball and it is their job to advance the ball towards the opponents end zone to score points. The backs and receivers are also known as skill position players or as eligible receivers. Offensive linemen are not usually eligible to advance the ball past the line of scrimmage during a play, the organization of the offense is strictly mandated by the rules, there must be at least seven players on the line of scrimmage and no more than four players behind it. The only players eligible to handle the ball during a play are the backs. The remaining players are considered ineligible, and may only block, within these strictures, however, creative coaches have developed a wide array of offensive formations to take advantage of different player skills and game situations. The following positions are standard in every game, though different teams will use different arrangements of them. The offensive line is responsible for blocking. The offensive line consists of, Center The center is the player who begins the play from scrimmage by snapping the ball to the quarterback. As the name suggests, the center usually plays in the middle of the offensive line, like all offensive linemen, the center has the responsibility to block defensive players. The center often also has the responsibility to call out blocking assignments, offensive guard Two guards line up directly on either side of the center. Like all interior linemen, their function is to block on both running and passing plays, in such cases, the guard is referred to as a pulling guard. Guards are typically shorter builds than tackles but taller than centers, offensive tackle Two tackles play outside of the guards. Their role is primarily to block on both running and passing plays, the area from one tackle to the other is an area of close line play in which blocks from behind, which are prohibited elsewhere on the field, are allowed. For a right-handed quarterback, the tackle is charged with protecting the quarterback from being hit from behind. Like a guard, the tackle may have to pull, on a running play, the six backs and receivers are those that line up outside or behind the offensive line
3.
Halfback (American football)
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A halfback is an offensive position in American football, whose duties involve lining up in the backfield and carrying the ball on most rushing plays, i. e. a running back. The halfback position is one of the more glamorous positions on the field, sometimes the halfback can catch the ball from the backfield on short passing plays as he is an eligible receiver. Occasionally, they line up as wide receivers. When not running or catching the ball, the responsibility of a halfback is to aid the offensive linemen in blocking. Before the emergence of the T-formation in the 1940s, all members of the backfield were legitimate threats to run or pass the ball. Most teams used four offensive backs on every play, a quarterback, the quarterback began each play a quarter of the way back, the halfbacks began each play side by side and halfway back, and the fullback began each play the farthest back. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the position was both an offensive and defensive position. There has also been a shift in most offense’s dependence on halfbacks, however, the average output of the halfback has not changed. Older systems require the halfback be proficient at throwing the ball downfield as well, many of the “scat backs” in the modern era produce more total yards and touchdowns than their ancestor “power backs” by breaking off big plays on outside runs and receptions. The spread offense and the hurry-up offense change the halfback’s role, the spread, the hurry-up, and the pro-style offenses dominate American football but the “smash-mouth” style of play is far from extinct. A power-running scheme is often utilized to counter an effective Spread attack, as it allows a team to control the clock and this strategy is utilized in NFL, college, and all other forms of American football. The need for “power backs is very prevalent, alongside the need for “scat backs”, in the past few decades the role of the halfback has gone through a great shift as most offensive game plans are now fueled by creativity and finesse instead of raw force. Stamina and durability is more important than ever in the hurry-up offense, on the other hand, speed is often valued over strength, and pass-catching ability is sometimes valued over blocking proficiency. Power was once the most desired trait in a halfback, but has been taken by the need for a diverse skill set. In the last few decades the running back’s individual share of output has declined as quarterbacks are generally treated as the cornerstone of the offense. The demands of an up-tempo offense also favor a multiple running back system, from the dawn of American football through the 1880s most offensive schemes focused on the running game. In a running based game plan the halfback was typically the cornerstone of the offense and this system focused on a physical run attack concentrated in the inside of the field, and therefore depended on a skilled “power back”. There were no forward passes, and pure speed took a backseat to tackle-breaking and bucking ability, there was a focus on physicality over finesse, as this type of playing style earned the moniker of “smash mouth” football
4.
College football
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It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. No minor league farm organizations exist in American football and it is in college football where a players performance directly impacts his chances of playing professional football. The best collegiate players will declare for the professional draft after 3 to 4 years of collegiate competition. Those not selected can still attempt to land an NFL roster spot as a free agent. Even after the emergence of the professional National Football League, college football remained extremely popular throughout the U. S, in many cases, college stadiums employ bench-style seating, as opposed to individual seats with backs and arm rests. This allows them to more fans in a given amount of space than the typical professional stadium. College athletes, unlike players in the NFL, are not permitted by the NCAA to be paid salaries, colleges are only allowed to provide non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books. Modern North American football has its origins in various games, all known as football, by the 1840s, students at Rugby School were playing a game in which players were able to pick up the ball and run with it, a sport later known as Rugby football. The game was taken to Canada by British soldiers stationed there and was soon being played at Canadian colleges, the first documented gridiron football match was a game played at University College, a college of the University of Toronto, November 9,1861. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was William Mulock, a football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College, also a college of the University of Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland, modern Canadian football is widely regarded as having originated with a game played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, early games appear to have had much in common with the traditional mob football played in England. The games remained largely unorganized until the 19th century, when games of football began to be played on college campuses. Each school played its own variety of football, Princeton University students played a game called ballown as early as 1820. A Harvard tradition known as Bloody Monday began in 1827, which consisted of a mass ballgame between the freshman and sophomore classes, in 1860, both the town police and the college authorities agreed the Bloody Monday had to go. The Harvard students responded by going into mourning for a figure called Football Fightum. The authorities held firm and it was a dozen years before football was again played at Harvard. Dartmouth played its own version called Old division football, the rules of which were first published in 1871, all of these games, and others, shared certain commonalities
5.
Washington Huskies football
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The Washington Huskies football team represents the University of Washington in college football. Washington competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference, the team is currently led by head coach Chris Petersen. Husky Stadium, located on campus, has served as the field for Washington since 1920. Washington has won sixteen Pac-12 championships, seven Rose Bowls, Washingtons all-time record ranks 21st by win percentage and 19th by total victories among FBS schools. The school holds the Division I FBS record for the longest unbeaten streak at 64 consecutive games, there have been a total of twelve unbeaten seasons in school history, including seven perfect seasons. Washington is one of four members of what became the Pac-12 Conference and. From 1977 through 2003, Washington had 27 consecutive non-losing seasons—the most of any team in the Pac-12, through the 2011 season, its 357 conference victories rank second in conference history. Washington is often referred to as one of the top Quarterback Us due to the history of quarterbacks playing in the National Football League. All but three of the last 20 starting quarterbacks dating back to 1970 have gone on to the NFL, Washington played its first 26 seasons of college football from 1889 to 1915 as an independent. The Pac-12 claims the history of each of these preceding conferences as its own, Washington and Cal are the only founding and continuous members in each of these successive conferences. *Member of College Football Hall of Fame Ten different men served as Washington head coaches during the first 18 seasons, while still an independent, the team progressed from playing 1 to 2 games per season to 10 matches per season as the sport grew in popularity. The school initially used a variety of locations for its home field, home attendance grew from a few hundred to a few thousand per home game, with on-campus Denny Field becoming home from 1895 onward. The 1900 team played in-state rival Washington State College to a 5–5 tie, gil Dobie left North Dakota Agricultural and became Washingtons head coach in 1908. Dobie coached for nine seasons at Washington, posting a 58–0–3 record. Dobies career comprised virtually all of Washingtons NCAA all-time longest 64-game unbeaten streak and included a 40-game winning streak, in 1916, Washington and three other schools formed the Pacific Coast Conference, predecessor to the modern Pac-12 Conference. In Dobies final season at Washington, his 1916 team won the PCCs inaugural conference championship, Dobie was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 as a charter member. Following Dobies tenure, Washington turned to a succession of coaches with mixed results, claude J. Hunt went a cumulative 6–3–1 highlighted by the schools second PCC championship in 1919, Tony Savage 1–1, and Stub Allison 1–5. This era concluded with the move from Denny Field to its permanent home field of Husky Stadium in 1920
6.
Los Angeles Wildcats
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The Los Angeles Wildcats was a traveling team of the first American Football League that was not based in its nominal home city but in Chicago, Illinois. Coached by Jim Clark, the team was designed to be a showcase for University of Washington star back George “Wildcat” Wilson. Compared to most traveling teams in football, the Wildcats were successful, compiling a 6-6-2 record in the only season of the team’s –. The existence of the Wildcats began with the 1926 formation of the American Football League by C. C, Pyle, a sports agent who represented star back Red Grange. Pyle’s application for a National Football League franchise in New York was rejected as Tim Mara, armed with a five-year lease at Yankee Stadium, Pyle subsequently announced the formation of the American Football League as a showcase for his client. The league was also a showcase for another Pyle client who was an All-American on the West Coast and his solution was novel, establish a traveling team nominally representing Los Angeles and headed by Wilson. The team would be based in Moline, Illinois and would have no home stadium, virtually all of the players of the team attended colleges sited west of the Rocky Mountains. The team was owned by C. C, Pyle and Red Grange, who also owned another AFL team and had stock in a third. The three teams and league champion Philadelphia Quakers were the four teams still in existence at the end of league play on December 12,1926. Upon the completion of a tour, the Wildcats closed up shop after only one year of existence. As the team began play, it became evident that Wilson was not the only weapon that the Wildcats had. Furthermore, no fewer than four Wildcats handled the job at one time or another. Immediately after tying the Chicago Bulls in Comiskey Park, the team trekked to Toronto’s Maple Leaf Stadium for a game with the New York Yankees, which also played games on back-to-back days. It was not the first weekend in which the Wildcats played on consecutive days, only two official AFL games were left to play in December 1926. With the dissolution of the American Football League, the Wildcats ceased to exist after the game in San Francisco, wildcat Wilson joined the Providence Steam Roller for the 1927 NFL season. He became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976
7.
Providence Steam Roller
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The Providence Steam Roller was a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football League from 1925 to 1931. Providence was the first New England team to win an NFL championship, the Steam Roller won the leagues championship in 1928. They are the last team to win a championship and no longer be in the league, Most of their home games were played in a 10, 000-seat stadium that was built for bicycle races called the Cycledrome. The Steam Roller was established in 1916 by members of the Providence Journal, sports-editor Charles Coppen, three men shared in the ownership and management of the team, Coppen, James Dooley, and Peter Laudati. Meanwhile, Johnson stayed on as the manager for each year of its existence. The team soon became a power and by the mid-1920s was known as the best independent team in the country. By 1919 the team was drawing in more spectators than Brown University by a margin of 2–1, however it seemed unlikely since the Steam Roller crowd was on average 3,000 spectators a game. The players wages were lower than those of Indiana and Ohio, several college football players did play for the Steam Roller, but under aliases, so as to not jeopardize their amateur status. In 1924, Providences schedule featured several NFL teams, the Steam Roller posted a 3–2–1 record against those teams, defeating the Rochester Jeffersons, Minneapolis Marines and Dayton Triangles. Both of their two losses came against the Frankford Yellow Jackets and, the team also posted a scoreless tie against the Columbus Tigers. The 1924 Steam Roller then went on to win the undisputed championship of the Northeast. The teams success that season was enough to make Steam Roller management, Providence joined the NFL in time for the 1925 season. By that time three players from the 1924 team were still in the line-up when the teams first practice of 1925 was held on September 17. In fact, only about a dozen of them wore Steam Roller colors for the debut in the NFL. The Steam Roller had played football in their first two NFL seasons, but posted a strong 8–5–1 record in 1927 with Jim Conzelman as the teams head coach. For his per game salary of $292, Conzelman not only coached the team, Providence opened its 1928 season against Red Grange and the New York Yankees, Wilsons rival from the AFL. The Steam Roller led the Yankees 20–7 at halftime and held that score throughout the second half, however the teams next game resulted in a 10–6 loss to the Frankford Yellow Jackets. However the team rebounded with a four-game winning streak over the Dayton Triangles, Yankees, Pottsville Maroons
