April 13

In this episode of the Football History Headlines, we discuss a finger amputation just before a season started, ground breaking on a stadium that would host an NFL Championship as well as many more Hall of Fame Legendary stories.

April 13, 1908 - Groundbreaking on Philadelphia's Shibe Park home of A's & Phillies as well as the Eagles and Steagles too! Shibe Park is also often referred to as Connie Mack Stadium, named after the legendary player /manager of the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1950. From 1940 through 1948 according to an article on Philly.curbed.com, the Eagles called Shibe Park, a steel and concrete stadium that sat 40,000 people home. The French Renaissance-style stadium was the venue in 1948 of  the NFL Championship during a blizzard where the Eagles hosted and defeated the Chicago Cardinals to claim the League title.

April 13, 1897 - Collierville, Virginia - Virginia Military Institute’s standout halfback from 1917, 1919 and 1920 Jimmy Leech was born. Leech left the school for a year in 1918 to join the Marines and fight in World War I. The National Football Foundation has a nice biography sketch on Leech that says that in 1920 he made 26 touchdowns and drop-kicked extra points and field goals. His 210 points led the nation. VMI won all nine games, whipping major foes such as Pennsylvania 27-7, Virginia 22-6, North Carolina 23-0, and North Carolina State 14-0. VMI out-scored its nine opponents 431-20. Jimmy Leech received the great honor of being selected for inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956.

April 13, 1918 - Rice Lake, Wisconsin - The Minnesota Golden Gopher halfback from 1932 to 1934, Francis “Pug” Lund was born. Lund is described as a well rounded back by his bio on the National Football Foundation’s website as not only was he an efficient runner but he was willing to serve out crushing blocks to keep defenders away from offensive teammates too. The DailyGopher.com website shares that Pug was a tough guy too. In the 1933 against Pitt he hurt his pinky finger and because he kept playing the injury didn’t heal correctly therefore just before the beginning of the 1934 season Lund had the finger amputated in an effort to not slow him down. During an early season game against the Nebraska Corn Huskers Pug had his low moment of his career when he fumbled 7 times as he tried to get used to holding a ball with 4 fingers on his left hand. Losing the finger worked out though as he was the hero of the 1934 rematch against Pitt where he had one of the shining moments of his collegiate career. The two teams met that day each carrying in the moniker of being undefeated for the season. The Gophers trailed the Panthers team by six as the clock was winding down on the game. Minnesota had managed to move the ball down the field in one last gasp attempt to obtain at least a tie. But they were faced with a fourth and four deep in Pittsburgh territory at the 17 yard line. It all came down to this play. Lund took the pitch and surveyed the field, looking for a glimpse of daylight to escape through. At the last moment he spotted end Bob Tenner in the open field, fired a strike to the rangy receiver and Minnesota suddenly had the touchdown which beat Pitt, 13-7, and ignited a Gopher charge to a perfect eight-game record and the National Championship. Pug was a key player in this run as he averaged just about 6 yards per carry and threw some very accurate passes that kept defensive opponents at bay. Lund was also a true ironman of the game, in fact Minnesota coach Bernie Bierman stated. "He was our spark plug," Bierman said. "He was battered and broken up, teeth knocked out, finger amputated, thumb broken, and through all that he carried on. Our opponents might break him in two, but they couldn't stop him." The Gophers coach would go on to say that Pug was the greatest player he had ever witnessed on the field. Lund was versatile as he handled the punting, passing, rushing, and blocking. Pug’s career total of  2098 rushing yards is twice as many as the next most prolific rusher of his time. Add to that some pretty good passing stats for the era 85 attempts, 29 completions, and 10 interceptions. The National Football Foundation selected Pug Lund for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1958.

The architect renedering in the banner above is from the US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by Charles Morgan circa 1922 and is titled " Stadium University of Illinois."