By Darin Some days of the year ooze more history than others, and December 5 is one of them. From a few memorable title games to stunning upsets, and Hall of Fame birthdays, the gridiron nostalgia is overflowing with info to enjoy.
December 5 Football History Headlines
December 5, 1914 – Varsity Stadium, Toronto – At the 6th Grey Cup, the Toronto Argonauts won the franchise’s first Championship as they beat the University of Toronto Blues, 14-2. Our friends at Ninety-nine Yards have a few tidbits on this game.
December 5, 1925, Landsdowne Park, Ottawa – Ottawa Senators won their first Grey Cup title by knocking out Winnipeg’s Tammany Tigers, 24-1 at the 13th Cup game.
December 5, 1931 – Molson Stadium, Montreal – At the 19th Grey Cup, it was the Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers blanking the Regina Roughriders, 22-0, to take home their first Grey Cup Championship.
December 5, 1936 – Varsity Stadium, Toronto – It was a close one at the 24th Grey Cup as the Sarnia Imperials defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders, 26-20, for Sarnia’s 2nd Championship banner.
December 5, 1942 – Varsity Stadium, Toronto – We assure that the score of the 30th Grey Cup game is indeed a football score and not one from the Hockey realm. With WWII in progress, the Cup had a military flavor, as the Toronto RCAF Hurricanes took the Grey Cup title, edging out the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers, 8-5.
December 5, 1943, The Merger of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL, referred to by many as the “Steagles,” dissolved as the season came to an end. The Football History Dude, Arnie Chapman, has a fantastic podcast dedicated to this merged team; you can find it by clicking FootballHistoryDude-Steagles. The two organizations combined their resources to survive and field a team, as many men of playing age were overseas fighting in World War II. Packershistory.net serves up the story of how, in the last game of the merged teams from Pennsylvania’s two largest cities, the Green Bay Packers beat them. Green Bay gave the Steagles an inhospitable farewell party with a 38-28 victory for the Pack. Don Hutson of the Packers scored 20 of his team’s points.
December 5, 1948 – New York Giant Charley Conerly completed 36 passes to set an NFL record for the most completions in an NFL game. The website footballperspective.com has an interesting article that touches on Conerly’s time in the NFL.
December 5, 1970 – Memorial Coliseum, LA – F64Sports reports that the fine running back of the Los Angeles Rams, Willie Ellison, rushed for an NFL record of 247 yards in a game against the New Orleans Saints. Ellison started the game off with a bang as he took a handoff on the third play from scrimmage and raced around the end for an 80-yard touchdown sprint. The Rams powered their way to a 45-28 victory, charged by the yards on the ground provided by Willie Ellison.
On December 5, 1972, Johnny Rodgers, the flanker from the University of Nebraska, claimed the 38th Heisman Trophy Award.
On December 5, 1974, the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks franchise was officially announced. Historylink.org has an excellent presentation with all of the details. Pete Rozelle gave the go-ahead to a consortium called “Seattle Professional Football,” and that group, led by Lloyd W. Nordstrom, cut a cool $16 million check to make NFL football in Seattle a reality. You should check out the Historylink article because it also answers the question of what came first, the Team or the Dome? https://historylink.org/File/7633
December 4, 1974 – The World Bowl. Soon after the AFL/NFL merger in the late 1960s, another group decided it would be a good idea to go head-to-head in competition with the NFL, the World Football League. A group headed by Gary Davidson assembled a band of wealthy individuals and threw cash at the League to sign big names from the NFL’s best team at the time, the Miami Dolphins, such as Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield, and Jim Kiick. Many other teams lost star players to the WFL’s allure of high pay. Well, the NFL’s popularity was still strong, and it crushed the WFL like a bug. However, in their 1-½ seasons, they did have one championship game, the 1974 World Bowl. In the game, the Birmingham Americans claimed the title, defeating the Florida Blazers 22-21 in a great lone championship game for the League. You can learn more about the WFL from the Deadfootball.com website. https://deadfootball.com/
On December 5, 1981, Marcus Allen, the graceful running back from the University of Southern California, won the 47th Heisman Trophy Award. The voters could not look past the fact that Allen was the first player in NCAA history to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing in a season, according to Heisman.com. In the eleven games that the Trojans played in 1981’s magical season, Marcus went over the 200-yard mark in eight of them! His gaudy total of 2342 yards rushing went into the NCAA record books, and he added 29 receptions and 23 touchdowns to his Heisman resume.
December 5, 1982 – Cleveland Municipal Stadium – Cleveland Browns’ Quarterback Brian Sipe set a new franchise record when he had 33 pass completions on 48 attempts for 338 yards with one touchdown and 2 interceptions. The Chargers backfield tandem of Chuck Muncie and James Brooks though each had two touchdown runs as San Diego stole this one 30-13 per Pro-Football-reference.com.
December 5, 1985 – The first Polycarbonate helmet was introduced. The helmet prevented player injuries because it was lighter than plastic and stronger, according to a story on Atavus.com.
On December 5, 1987, the 53rd Heisman Trophy was awarded to Notre Dame’s wide receiver Tim Brown. Heisman.com tells us that Brown’s 1987 game against Michigan State, where he took back-to-back Spartan punts to the house, was the game that put him over the edge in the Heisman voting that season. “Touchdown,” Tim Brown finished his career as the Fighting Irish’s all-time leader in pass reception yards with his lofty 2493, and also returned six kicks for touchdowns.
December 5, 1992 – The very first SEC Championship Game is played, with #2 Alabama outscoring #12 Florida 28-21.
December 5, 1998 – It took two overtime sessions, but the ’98 Big 12 Championship belonged to #10 Texas A&M, as they got past #2 Kansas State, 36-33, after the smoke cleared.
December 5, 1998 – Big win for the Miami Hurricanes ended title aspirations for UCLA
December 5, 2002 – The NFL and NFLPA got quite a buzz when they decided to invest in the lower levels of the Gridiron by introducing the new product, USA Football. USA Football was the first organization to represent all levels of amateur football, according to the SportsBusiness Daily website story.
Onthisday.com Rapid Fire 2009 Conference Championships
December 5, 2009 – This season featured a big-ticket matchup in the SEC Title Game as the #2 Crimson Tide of Alabama faced off against the top-ranked Florida Gators. That ranking got moved around in the aftermath, as it was all Tide in a 32-13 one-sided game.
December 5, 2009, The ACC Championship Game was a doozie as #12 Georgia Tech beat #25 Clemson, 39-34.
December 5, 2009 – Had the Cincinnati Bearcats stun the Pitt Panthers in a last-second comeback
December 5, 2009, and even better was the 2009 Big 12 Championship Game, where #3 Texas nipped #21 Nebraska, 13-12.
December 5 Football Hall of Fame Birthdays
Conclusion
From the inaugural championships of Canadian football heavyweights like the Toronto Argonauts and Montreal AAA, to the crowning of three Heisman Trophy legends—Johnny Rodgers, Marcus Allen, and Tim Brown—December 5 stands as a remarkably pivotal date in gridiron history. This day not only saw the official birth of the Seattle Seahawks franchise and the dissolution of the wartime Steagles but also showcased incredible NFL records, like Willie Ellison’s massive rushing performance. Across leagues, borders, and eras, December 5th has consistently delivered milestones that define the evolution of the sport.
