April 10

In this episode of the Football History Headlines, we discuss Dandy Don Meredith, Mel Blount and John Madden as well as many more Hall of Fame Legendary stories.

April 10, 1945 - NFL's Boston Yanks & Brooklyn Tigers merge. According to an article on the American Football Fandom pages the merger occurred because of a shortage of players caused by World War II, the Yanks were merged with the Brooklyn Tigers for the 1945 season, and styled as the Boston Yanks. The merged team played four home games in Boston and one in New York. But fans from neither city cared as they finished with a 3-6-1 record. The Boston Yanks were a NFL team based in Boston, Massachusetts that played from 1944 to 1948 playing their home games at Fenway Park and when the Red Sox baseball team needed the field they went over to the Manning Bowl in nearby Lynn, Mass.
 

April 10, 1909 -  Toronto, Ohio - The stud fullback of 1929 to 1931 from Bucknell University and later the Green Bay Packers, Clarke Hinkle arrived into this life.  In 1964 Clarke Hinkle was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  

April 10, 1918 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Jim Daniell the great Ohio State tackle from 1939 to 1941 was born. Big Jim had one of his most memorable plays on October 19, 1941 in a game against Purdue. The mudfest led to a scoreless tie early on in the game with the Boilermakers set up to punt. The NFF says that Daniell exploded across the scrimmage line, evaded blockers and leapt with out-stretched arms. The punted ball was swatted back-beyond the goal line, then beyond the end line. Safety! Ohio State led, 2-0. These were important points too as the Buckeyes escaped with a 16-14 victory! The National Football Foundation selected Jim Daniell for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1977. Jim after school served his country and was awarded the a Presidential Citation, as well as a Bronze and a Silver Star. Daniell played pro football with the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns, serving as Cleveland's captain in 1946 in the AAFC.

April 10, 1936 - Hall of Famer John Madden was born per the NFL.com. Madden was 103-32-7 in 10 seasons  from 1969 through the 1978 season as the Oakland Raiders head coach.  John Madden was chosen to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his contributions of being a coach and I am sure the things he brought to televeision braodcasts are not overlooked.

April 10, 1938 - Mount Vernon, Texas - Don Meredith the fun loving Southern Methodist University Quarterback from 1957 to 1959 was born. He was known by many as “Dandy Don” as he was a fun loving guy! The NFF tells how Don got his shot in college football by earning it. Meredith started his sophomore year in 1957 as the third string quarterback, and completed only four of six passes in the first four games. Then, against favored Texas, he carried the ball 10 times for 72 yards, and, throwing short but straight, completed six of nine pass attempts including two scoring strikes for an unexpected 19-12 victory. All the young QB did the  rest of the year was to have had completed 71 of 102 attempts for 912 yards, seven touchdowns and a .696 completion average. Opening the 1958 season against top-ranked Ohio State, Meredith completed 20 throws out of 27 attempts for 204 yards, but the Mustangs fell by three to the Buckeyes. Don went on to become an All-American in both 1958 and 1959. Don Meredith was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982 after the National Football Foundation tallied their votes. Dandy Don had a great NFL career as he played quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys 1960-68 and then became a sports announcer with ABC-TV most notably on Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford.

April 10, 1948 - Pittsburgh Steelers legendary cornerback,Mel Blount was born. Blount was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.

The picture in the banner above is from the US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by photographer Harris and Ewing circa 1913 and is titled " Football ."