Football History of August 12

From historic international gridiron clashes to major administrative shockwaves, August 12 holds a legendary place in football history. This date witnessed the NFL’s very first venture across international borders in 1950, a monumental TV broadcasting debut on Fox in 1994, and one of the most explosive academic scandals in college sports that sidelined half the Pac-10. Add in the birth of iconic Hall of Famers and Super Bowl heroes, and August 12 becomes an unforgettable chapter in the story of American football.

August 12 American Football History Timeline

• August 12, 1949 – The 16th annual NFL-Chicago College All-Star game was played at Soldier Field as the champion Philadelphia Eagles blanked the All-Stars 38-0 in front of 93,780 paying fans. The most valuable player, always given to the college player team, happened to be Bill Fisher, the offensive lineman from Notre Dame.
• August 12, 1950 – The first time an NFL team played outside of the United States as the New York Football Giants defeated the CFL’s Ottawa Rough Riders 20-6 at Ottawa’s Lansdowne Stadium.
• August 12, 1955 – The 24th annual NFL-Chicago All-Star game was played at Soldier Field as the champion Cleveland Browns fell to the All-Stars 27-30, with 75,000 in paid attendance watching on. And the most valuable player of this game, well, another college player happened to be Ralph Guglielmin, the quarterback of Notre Dame.
• August 12, 1960 – The 27th NFL-Chicago All-Star game was played at Soldier Field as the champion, Baltimore Colts, this time flattened the All-Stars 32-7 with over 70,000 in paid attendance. And the MVP award? Yeah, another college team player happened to be Jim Leo, the end from the University of Cincinnati.
• August 12, 1967 – The New Orleans Saints earned their very first franchise win in the preseason game against the St. Louis Cardinals 23-14. Then we come to the headline: USC and UCLA barred from the 81st Rose Bowl. Five Pac-10 schools cited for violations of academic rules.
• August 12, 1980 – Newspapers.com shares that it was written in the Los Angeles Times. Five Pac-10 schools were ruled to be ineligible to participate in postseason play or for conference titles as punishment for transcript and school curriculum abuses. According to the article, in addition to USC, UCLA, Oregon, Oregon State, and Arizona State, each was also called out by the presidents and chancellors of the Pac-10 conference. All would be ineligible for postseason and any bowl games connected with the 1980 season in football. Falsified transcripts and unwarranted intrusions of the athletic department interests were violated as they were found in rulings by the conference for the punishments that were handed down.
• August 12, 1994 – The first NFL game to appear on the Fox broadcasting networks is a preseason tilt between the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos. And we still love to watch those Fox games to this day, these many decades later.
• August 12, 1995 – The Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills met at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, for a high-profile international preseason exhibition. The game drew over 55,000 fans as part of the league’s ongoing effort to expand the global footprint of professional football across North America.

August 12 Hall of Fame Birthdays

Happy Birthday to these outstanding gridiron icons! As we look forward to August 12, we celebrate a lineup featuring two-way Hall of Fame legends, collegiate national stars, and clutch Super Bowl wideouts.

Here is the list in order of birth:

• Alex Wojciechowicz [1915] A fierce two-way star at center and linebacker, “Wojohof” was one of Fordham’s famous “Seven Blocks of Granite” before playing eight seasons for the Detroit Lions and winning two NFL championships (1948, 1949) with the Philadelphia Eagles. Enshrined in both the College (1951) and Pro Football (1968) Halls of Fame, he later served as the founder and first president of the NFL Alumni Association. He became only the third recipient of the prestigious Order of the Leather Helmet.

• Jack Scarbath [1930] An elite signal-caller for the Maryland Terrapins, Scarbath earned consensus All-American honors and finished as the runner-up for the 1952 Heisman Trophy after leading Maryland to an undefeated 1951 season and a Sugar Bowl victory. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983, he was selected third overall in the 1953 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins and went on to play for both the Ottawa Rough Riders and Pittsburgh Steelers.

A significant player who is not yet in either Hall of Fame:

• Plaxico Burress [1977] A towering 6-foot-5 wide receiver out of Michigan State, Burress was selected eighth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. He later joined the New York Giants and secured his place in football lore by catching the iconic, game-winning 13-yard touchdown pass in Super Bowl XLII to shatter the New England Patriots’ undefeated season, capping off a 12-year career that yielded 553 receptions, 8,499 yards, and 64 touchdowns.

Conclusion

Whether charting the growth of the game through international exhibitions in Ottawa and Toronto or reflecting on the hard-hitting legacy of two-way legends like Alex Wojciechowicz, August 12 showcases the full spectrum of gridiron history. It serves as a reminder of how the sport has continuously evolved—navigating tough institutional penalties, breaking new ground on network television, and crafting unforgettable moments like Plaxico Burress’s championship-winning snare. These milestones remind us that the roots of modern football are deeply intertwined with the trials, triumphs, and icons of the past.