October 18 Football History

Lombardi’s “Finest Player” and the Birth of a Legend: The Historic Football of October 18th

October 18th is a colossal date for football royalty, celebrating the birthdays of multiple Hall of Famers across eras! We honor the birth of Forrest Gregg (born 1933), the legendary offensive tackle who Vince Lombardi called the “finest player I ever coached.” We also celebrate the iconic “Iron Mike” Mike Ditka (born 1939), the first-ever tight end enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Adding to the legacy is Charlie Berry (born 1902), a College Hall of Fame pioneer who later became a dual MLB umpire and NFL official! Beyond these giants, this date saw Red Grange‘s most famous college performance in 1924. Dive into the milestones that make October 18th unforgettable!

Our Podcast for October 18

October 18 Football History Headlines

• On October 18, 1880, Walter Camp presented rules revisions to set a limit of 11 players on the field for each team and to create the snap to prevent the chaos of teams fighting for the ball in a scrum. Before that, some colleges played games with 12 to 25 players per side participating on the field, and the ball was put in play with a scrum, much like rugby!
  
• October 18, 1902 – Birmingham, Alabama – The famous Iron Bowl is played for the seventh time as Auburn defeats its longtime rival Alabama 23-0. The term “Iron Bowl” comes almost as a tribute to the City of Birmingham’s involvement in the steel industry. The Crimson Tide holds the advantage at the time of this writing with 45 wins compared to 36 victories for the Auburn Tigers over the history of the series. There was only one tie in the series between these two founding members of the SEC, and that occurred in 1907.
  
• October 18, 1924 – Urbana, Illinois – Harold “Red” Grange, also known as the “Galloping Ghost,” may have played his best collegiate football game on this day.
  http://pigskindispatch.com/2025/10/18/red-grange-sets-the-standard-of-greatness/
  
  October 18, 1924 – The Polo Grounds in New York – Journalist Grantland Rice attended the Notre Dame vs Army football game and was inspired to dub the most famous quartet in Football History as the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame in an article on the contest.

• October 18, 1953 – Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois – Willie Thrower had the perfect name for an NFL quarterback. What was truly remarkable was that a pioneer in American professional football history. A chicagobears.com article shares how Willie overcame unbelievable obstacles when he became the first NFL quarterback in modern times to be of African-American descent.  The contest pitted the Chicago Bears against the San Francisco 49ers, and the Bears’ starting quarterback, George Blanda, was struggling. Papa Bear, George Halas, could not watch any more of Blanda’s ineffective play in the contest, so, looking for an offensive spark, he sent in the promising backup QB Willie Thrower. Thrower was a collegiate quarterback with the National Champion Michigan State Spartans of 1952. The Niners rendered Willie ineffective, allowing him to throw for a mere completion rate of 3 of 8 for 27 yards. Halas returned Blanda to the game, but the San Fran squad had the Bears’ number that day, resulting in a close 35-28 Niners victory. Willie played in only one more game for the Bears in 1953 before being released by Halas. Although his playing career was short, it certainly had a tremendous impact. Thrower helped to pave a path that many others followed. NFL legend Warren Moon mentioned Willie Thrower in his Pro Football Hall of Fame acceptance speech, thanking him for inspiring Moon’s football journey.

• October 18, 1981 – Kingdome, Seattle, Washington – NY Giant kicker, Joe Danelo, tied an NFL record of 6 field goals in a game, per pro-football-reference.com, as the G-men cruised to a comfortable 32-0 shutout of the Seahawks. Successful Danelo kicks from 29, 54, 21, 47, 31, and 37 yards helped pad the Giants’ score in the rout.
• October 18, 1981 – Do you remember this gem? The Saints’ star runner, George Rogers, had a 79-yard touchdown run against the Cleveland Browns.

• On October 18, 1992, Philadelphia Eagle Randall Cunningham set the NFL quarterback career scramble yardage record of 3,683 yards.
  
• October 18, 1997- Liz Heaston became the first woman to score in a college-level football game as she kicked two extra points for NAIA’s Willamette University. The school’s wubearcats.com website recounts the event with a story that Heaston was a women’s soccer player for the University and that she was in one of Head Football Coach Dan Hawkins’ classes during the fall semester. When the starting kicker, Gordon Thomson, suffered an injury, with no backup on the roster and the men’s soccer schedule conflicting with the football team’s, Coach Hawkins turned to another resource: one of his students on the women’s soccer team, Liz Heaston. Heaston was an honorable mention in NCAA Division III All-American selections, and she helped the ladies of Willamette win four conference titles in soccer. Liz had 3 weeks of practice on the gridiron before she stepped onto the football field, weighing 5-foot-5-inch, 135 pounds. The schedule for that October Saturday timed out just right for Liz. She played a home soccer game at noon, and as soon as the clock hit zero, she tore off to slip on the shoulder pads and helmet and scurried over to the football field to play in the Willamette Football team’s home game against Linfield University. Then it happened, with little clock remaining in the first half, Liz Heaton strolled out onto the field and knocked through an extra point. The crowd went wild, but then there was a pause…a flag had been thrown by one of the officials. Could history just be undone? Offsides…Liz Heaston of Linfield had just become the first woman to score points in an organized regular collegiate football game! The season for the Willamette Bearcat football team was truly memorable, not only because of Liz’s great milestone accomplishment but also because the team went undefeated until they lost to Findlay, Ohio, in the NAIA Championship game by the score of 14-7. Liz’s other team, the women’s soccer team of Willamette, played well too, finishing 18-3-1. Liz Heaston was a part of each of their successes and broke through a barrier by making her mark in a place that had traditionally been a place where only men had tread.
  
• October 18, 2009 – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts – New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady threw five second-quarter touchdown passes against the Tennessee Titans, setting an NFL record for touchdown passes in one quarter. Brady finished with six scoring strikes in the game as the Patriots shelled the Titans 59-0.

October 18 Football Hall of Fame Birthdays

• Charlie Berry

• Joe Routt

• Mike Ditka

• Forrest Gregg

Conclusion

October 18 is a cornerstone date in football history, defining moments of legendary offensive and defensive excellence across the game’s various eras. It is a day to celebrate Hall of Fame legends Forrest Gregg and Mike Ditka, who collectively embody the toughness and championship pedigree of the NFL. Their careers, alongside that of versatile pioneer Charlie Berry, are woven into the fabric of the sport. From Vince Lombardi’s highest praise for an individual player to Red Grange’s breathtaking college performance, the events of October 18 solidify its status as a day steeped in the tradition of gridiron greatness and lasting legacy.

You may be interested in the gridiron events of October 17.