Football History of August 31

The final day of August is a busy time for NFL front offices as they try to put the final pieces in place for the upcoming season. This can lead to surprise cuts, trades, and the rise of young stars. From historic exhibition clashes to barrier-breaking pioneers and modern blockbuster trades, August 31 holds a storied place in football history. On this date, over 79,000 fans witnessed the birth of the Chicago Charities College All-Star Game in 1934, Eddie George fueled the Oilers’ electric overtime debut in Tennessee in 1997, and the Texans radically shifted the AFC landscape in 2019. Combined with the birthdays of legendary icons like NFL trailblazer Kenny Washington and Hall of Fame architect Jim Finks, August 31 showcases the defining transitions, games, and personalities that built the gridiron.

August 31 American Football History Timeline

• August 31, 1934 – The first Chicago Charities College All-Star game is played in Chicago, Illinois. Over 79,000 fans watched as the champion Chicago Bears and the All-Stars of College tied in a scoreless game. This would set a tradition of an annual game that would last for over four decades. And we’ve talked about those over the last month or so. Also, Joe Ziemba has had a great history of this Chicago Charities College All-Star game on his When Football Was Football podcast. Be sure to check it out on sportshistorynetwork.com.  
• August 31, 1938 – The College All-Star game was played. The College All-Stars beat the Washington Redskins, the NFL champions that year, in the fifth annual Chicago Charities College All-Star game, 28 to 16, with a paid attendance of 74,250. Looking at the game, Cecil Isbell, the running back from Purdue, becomes the very first crowned most valuable player of the exhibition series for the collegians. Now, that tradition of ranking a most valuable player of the college team was never for pro players, always for the college team. Starting with that game in 1938, it continued through the 1970s as a Most Valuable Player award.
• August 31, 1997 – The National Football League’s Oilers franchise played their first game in Tennessee after leaving Houston. The team’s running back, Eddie George, rushed for 216 yards and a touchdown as the Oilers overcame the Oakland Raiders in overtime 24 to 21 at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. What a way to welcome themselves to a new state, Tennessee, by having an overtime win over the Oakland Raiders. You know, we know eventually they would move to Nashville, and instead of being called the Tennessee Oilers, they would become the Tennessee Titans, which they are today.
• August 31, 1997 – Steve Mariucci Debuts Amid Chaos in Tampa Bay: Head coach Steve Mariucci made his NFL regular-season head coaching debut leading the San Francisco 49ers against Tony Dungy’s emerging Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In a punishing 13–6 Buccaneers upset, the 49ers suffered catastrophic injuries when Steve Young sustained a concussion, and Jerry Rice tore his ACL. Despite the opening-day disaster, Mariucci rallied the 49ers to an impressive 13–3 record and an NFC Championship Game appearance.
• August 31, 2019 – Cutdown Weekend Blockbusters Reshape AFC Contenders: The traditional final cutdown deadline triggered two massive, simultaneous blockbuster trades orchestrated by the Houston Texans. In a span of hours, Houston traded franchise-tagged three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney to the Seattle Seahawks, and immediately turned around to acquire Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wideout Kenny Stills from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for two first-round draft picks. The deal stood as one of the most aggressive, high-stakes trade maneuvers in modern cutdown day history.

August 31 Hall of Fame Birthdays

Happy Birthday to these remarkable gridiron icons! As we close out the month on August 31, we celebrate a lineup featuring early collegiate titans, barrier-breaking pioneers, championship-building executives, and dominant trench defenders.

• Bill Spears [1906] – Known as “Bounding Bill,” Spears was a brilliant, low-turnover quarterback for Dan McGugin’s Vanderbilt Commodores and a consensus First-Team All-American in 1927. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1962, he was widely considered the nation’s premier signal-caller of his era. He would have been a top Heisman contender had the award existed during his collegiate days.
• Kenny Washington [1918] – A trailblazing powerhouse out of UCLA, Washington became the Bruins’ first consensus All-American in 1939 after setting a school rushing record that stood for decades. Enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956, he broke the modern color barrier in professional football when he signed with the Los Angeles Rams in 1946, permanently altering the landscape of the NFL.
• Jim Finks [1927] – After playing quarterback and defensive back for the University of Tulsa and Pittsburgh Steelers, Finks crafted a legendary, architect-level career as an NFL general manager and executive. A Class of 1995 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, he built the Minnesota Vikings’ dominant “Purple People Eaters” era, which yielded four Super Bowl appearances, before revitalizing the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints.
• Dennis Byrd [1946] – A ferocious, white-shoe defensive tackle for NC State, Byrd was the ACC’s first three-time First-Team selection and the school’s first consensus All-American in 1967. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010, the sixth overall pick in the 1968 draft had his No. 77 retired by the Wolfpack after anchoring one of the most dominant defenses in collegiate history.
• Gary “Big Hands” Johnson [1952] – A dominant, game-wrecking defensive tackle out of Grambling State, Johnson was selected eighth overall in 1975. He became a four-time Pro Bowler as a cornerstone of San Diego’s famed “Bruise Brothers” front line. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997, he capped his stellar pro career with a Super Bowl XIX championship with the San Francisco 49ers, where Sports Illustrated named him the game’s unofficial defensive MVP for relentlessly disrupting Dan Marino.

Conclusion

The events of August 31 capture the rich evolution of American football across nearly a century. Whether remembering the early dominance of the Chicago College All-Star tradition, the high-stakes drama of franchise relocations and roster cutdowns, or the enduring legacy of Kenny Washington breaking the modern color barrier, this date reflects the sport’s greatest milestones. Honoring these historical turning points and Hall of Fame icons ensures that the deep heritage of college football and the NFL continues to inspire each new season.