By Darin What do the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ perfect season, O.J. Simpson‘s historic 2,000-yard rushing mark, and Drew Brees’s career touchdown record all share? The date is December 16th. Travel through history as we explore the day the Providence Steam Roller won a championship, the Cleveland Rams departed for LA with a title, and legends like Y. A. Tittle and Roger Staubach cemented their legacies. From Heisman winners like Jameis Winston to the birth of College Football Hall of Famers, this date is packed with unforgettable gridiron milestones.
December 16 Football History Timeline
- December 16, 1923, the Chicago Bears and the Milwaukee Badgers tied in the final game of the season, 7-7. The significance of this was that it was officially announced that the Canton Bulldogs would repeat as NFL champions, as Canton finished the season 11-0-1 per Scorum.com. The Bulldogs technically locked up the title in their final game on December 9, but it became official with the season’s closing game of the Badgers and the Bears.
- On December 16, 1928, the Providence Steam Roller franchise won the National Football League Championship Title, posting an 8-1-2 record. That era of NFL football had the team with the best record at the end of the season being declared the champs. The Steam Roller, according to an NFL.com article, had plenty of star players from that era of football on its roster. Men like Jimmy Conzelman, the Cronin brothers Bill and Jack, Heavyweight Champ Gus Sonnenberg at running back, and one of my personal favorites, tailback George “Wildcat” Willson. Providence had an awesome defense, too, allowing only 42 points all season, including 5 complete shutouts.
- December 16, 1945 – Cleveland Municipal Stadium – With temperatures at near zero and the field covered with snow, the Cleveland Rams played their last game before moving out to Los Angeles. It happened to be the 1945 NFL Championship game against the Washington Redskins. In preparation for the weather before the game, Cleveland brass had nearly 9,000 bales of straw covering the field to protect it, per an LA Times archived article. With an army of volunteers, the Cleveland faithful removed the straw covered in ice and snow from the frozen turf. Washington had an interesting predicament before the game started: the NFL’s leading passer on the season, Sammy Baugh, had a nagging rib injury from a prior game, but as a backup QB, they had Frank Filchock, who was the passing leader the year before. Baugh fumbled the first offensive play for the Redskins and threw an errant pass from his own endzone in desperation, which was ruled a safety for committing the foul from behind his own goal line. The Rams gave their fans a great memory as they edged out the Washington Redskins, 15-14. What a way for a franchise to leave a city! It almost makes one think: Is it better to leave Cleveland as they did, or to move the Browns away to Baltimore as Art Modell did when they won a Super Bowl within five seasons of leaving Cleveland? (source)
- On December 16, 1946, Bob Fenimore, from the University of Notre Dame, was the first pick in the 1947 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.
- December 16, 1962, New York Giants Quarterback Y. A.Tittle set the NFL’s passing touchdowns in a season record when he threw 6 scoring strikes in one game against the Dallas Cowboys to put his season total at 33. The Giants’ signal caller had a total of 346 yards passing on the day with 2 interceptions as New York outscored Dallas 41-31 per Pro-Football-Refernce.com. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196212160nyg.htm#all_player_offense
- December 16, 1972 – The Miami Dolphins closed out the 1972 regular season with a 16-0 blanking of the Baltimore Colts. The significance of the course is that they became the first undefeated NFL team with a perfect 14-0 record per ESPN.com. The Dolphins went on to defeat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII on January 14, 1973, to go undefeated in the postseason, a feat they have since matched only once, by the 2007 Patriots. The 2007 New England Patriots got close with a 16-0 regular season but lost the Super Bowl to the Giants. https://www.espn.com/blog/playbook/visuals/print/_/id/10748
- On December 16, 1973, O.J. Simpson became the first NFL running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, and he did it in a 14-game regular season.
- December 16, 1979 – Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas – Legendary quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, Roger Staubach, threw 3 touchdown passes for a total of 336 yards in his last NFL regular season game with the Cowboys. DFW.CBSlocal.com reports that the Cowboys trailed the Redskins by 17 points at halftime. Dallas needed every bit of Roger the Dodgers’ efforts for the comeback, too, as the Cowboys edged out a 35-34 win over the Washington Redskins.
- On December 16, 2013, the 79th Heisman Trophy Award went to Jameis Winston, Florida State’s talented quarterback. Heisman.com tells us that Jameis was the first freshman to have his team win the national Championship and win a Heisman in the same season. In the year Winston threw for 3,820 yards and 38 touchdowns.
- On December 16, 2019, Drew Brees went 29 of 30 for 307 yards & 4 TDs, setting a record 96.7% completion rate against the Indianapolis Colts. In doing so, Brees also broke former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning‘s NFL record of 539 career touchdown passes as the New Orleans Saints buried the Indianapolis 34-7.
December 16 Football Hall of Fame Birthdays
- Steve Reid
Conclusion
December 16 is a day defined by record-breaking brilliance and championship drama. Whether it was the Canton Bulldogs repeating as champions, the Cleveland Rams winning a frosty championship before heading west, or the Miami Dolphins achieving regular-season perfection, this date proved a critical turning point in history. With the iconic achievements of O.J. Simpson and Drew Brees, combined with the memorable careers of Hall of Famers like Gust Zarnas and Jerry Gray, December 16th captures the full scope of football’s evolution, from the leather-helmet era to the modern game.
