By Darin On December 24, football made history. This date stands out as one of the most explosive on the sports calendar, delivering seminal moments across three centuries. We start in 1892 with the painful, inaugural defeat of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks (0-44 against Furman). We then flash forward to the 1950 NFL Championship, where the newly absorbed Cleveland Browns, led by Otto Graham, defeated the Los Angeles Rams 30-28 on a last-second field goal, securing the title in their very first season in the NFL. We also celebrate the birthdays of two legends: the “Miracle Man” Charlie Gelbert and the multi-level MVP, “Bullet” Bill Dudley. Dive into these and other historic Christmas Eve clashes, including AFL and NFL playoff battles!
December 24 Football History Timeline
- December 24, 1892 – Charleston, South Carolina – The University of South Carolina Gamecocks played the school’s first football game. The outcome, unfortunately for USC, was a 0-44 loss to Furman, according to a correspondence from the SC Athletic Department.
- December 24, 1950 – Cleveland Municipal Stadium – The NFL Championship Game is played as the Los Angeles Rams face the Cleveland Browns. This game had some extremely interesting storylines. The first one is that, if you remember, our December 16 edition of this series, we talked about how the Rams played their last game, calling Cleveland their home city, as they won the 1945 NFL Championship there. I would venture to guess that there was some deep interest on one side of the fence or the other on the team returning a bit over 5 years later to vie for another NFL Title in the same stadium they once called home. The second interesting item of the game was that this was the first season that the Cleveland Browns participated in the NFL. They had spent the previous four seasons as the best team in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), and in fact, they won all four championships during the league’s existence. At the end of the 1949 AAFC season, the fledgling football conference disbanded but made an agreement with the NFL to absorb their three most successful franchises, so Cleveland, the Baltimore Colts, and the San Fran 49ers all joined the NFL for the 1950 season. The Browns’ success had probably healed any unrest among fans about the Rams’ move to the West Coast. The contest was evenly matched on the slick turf of Cleveland Stadium. It all came down to Cleveland’s final drive. There was 1:48 left in regulation with LA up by a single point, and the game rested in the hands of veteran Browns signal caller Otto Graham. Using both his legs and a short passing game, Graham engineered a drive down the field as the Rams’ defenders had to sit back due to the slippery conditions. With 20 seconds remaining, Cleveland kicker Lou Groza nailed a 16-yard field goal to put the Browns up by two. The Rams gave everyone a scare on the kickoff as return man Jerry Williams took the Groza kick and weaved through traffic, racing 35 yards before Groza tackled him to secure the victory. The Cleveland Browns defeated the LA Rams, 30-28, per the website story on GoldenRankings.com. Cleveland’s defense provided five interceptions of the Rams offense, often regarded as one of the most prolific in league history to that point.
- December 24, 1961 – Balboa Stadium, San Diego – The AFL Championship Game took place as the San Diego Chargers entertained the Houston Oilers, per the Medium.com website story. It was the second season in a row that the Stout defense of San Diego would battle against the offensive Juggernaut of the Oilers. Houston’s high-flying offense was quite subdued by the Charger D for most of the contest. Houston’s defenders were no slouches, though, in the contest as they sacked quarterback Jack Kemp 6 times and intercepted four of his throws. It was a rough game all around, as 13 players were assisted off the field. The Oilers Billy Cannon scored the game’s only touchdown on a 35-yard pass play from George Blanda as the Oilers outlasted the Chargers 10-3.
- December 24, 1967 – The NFL Divisional Rounds were played, and the Dallas Cowboys put a hurting on the Cleveland Browns 52-14 to advance. Pro-Football-Reference.com informs us that Dandy Don Meredith tossed 2 TD passes with 212 yards, but the Cowboys’ ground game of Don Perkins and Craig Baynham, with two touchdowns each, powered the scoring for Dallas.
- December 24, 1967 – The Green Bay Packers won their Divisional Playoff with the LA Rams 28-7. Travis Williams fueled the Packers’ scoring with two rushing touchdowns and 88 yards, keeping the Rams offense off the field. (source)
- December 24, 1977 – The famous Ghost to the Post play when Oakland’s QB Ken Stabler found TE Dave Casper on a TD pass to end a marathon playoff game against the Baltimore Colts.
December 24 Football Hall of Fame Birthdays
- Charlie Gelbert
Conclusion
From the painful, inaugural loss by the USC Gamecocks in 1892 to the high-stakes, last-minute 1950 NFL Championship decided by Lou Groza’s 16-yard field goal, December 24th proves to be one of the most electric dates in football history. It’s a day that celebrates the birth of College and Pro Football Hall of Famers like Gelbert and Dudley, while delivering professional championships, including the Houston Oilers’ 10-3 victory over the Chargers in the 1961 AFL Title Game. To ensure you never miss an edition of this deep dive into pigskin history, click that subscribe button on your podcast player and crush it like an empty Gatorade cup in the hands of an angry linebacker! You can also find all episodes on PigskinDispatch.com or SportsHistoryNetwork.com.
Special thanks to all of our sources used to tell the story of football today, including Pro-Football-Reference.com and Newspapers.com
