April 2

In this edition of the Football History Headlines, we discuss Arnie Herber, Ma Newell, and Harold Weekes as well as many more HOF Legendary stories.

The picture in the banner above is from the US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by photographer Horydczak, Theodor, circa 1940 and is titled " Charlotte Hall Military Academy ."

April 2, 1871 - Clifton, New Jersey - The great tackle of Harvard University from 1890 to 1893 Marshall Newell was born. 

April 2, 1880 - Oyster bay, New York - Harold Weekes Columbia University’s halfback from 1899 to 1902 arrived to celebrate his birth. The NFF says Weekes was like a bullet, as he took part in a very dangerous play called the “flying hurdle.” According to his bio from the NFF Weekes would get on the shoulders of his offensive teammates and they would launch him catapult -style, head-long across the line of scrimmage, landing on his feet and streaking away from the stunned defenders. That had to put defenders in shock to see something like that attempted! Harold was often credited with long gainers such as in his freshman season of 1899, he broke away from the pack and streaked 55 yards to a touchdown that proved the winning points in a 5-0 upset of previously unbeaten Yale. It was Columbia's first win over the team from New Haven in 18 years.  Weekes befuddled opposing defenses for three more seasons, earning All-America honors each one. Walter Camp claimed Weekes "was powerful and fast, and had that certain burst of speed at just the right moment.” Harold Weekes was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 after the National Football Foundation tallied their votes.

April 2, 1910 - Arnie Herber the outstanding early quarterback of the Green Bay Packers franchise was born. The website Packer.com shares that Arnie was a Green Bay native who joined the Packers only two years after graduating from Green Bay West High School, Herber developed into pro football's first great long-ball passer. He also was part of the game's first famous passing combination: Herber to Hutson. It is interesting how the Herber-to-Don Hutson combination started. It  was unleashed like gang busters on Sept. 22, 1935, in a 7-0 victory over the Chicago Bears. On the first play from scrimmage, Herber hit Hutson, a rookie playing his second game, on an 83-yard bomb to account for the game's only touchdown.He is credited with being the first NFL thrower to pass for more than 1000 yards in a season when he racked up 1239 yards in the 1936 season alone. Herber was the leader of the offense on the Green Bay Championship teams of 1932, 1934 and that special season of 1936. Arnie Herber was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.

 

April 2, 1917 - Detroit, Michigan - The great Stanford Cardinal halfback  of 1938 to 1940, Hugh Gallarneau was born. His friends called him “Duke” and he was a very well rounded athlete according to the FootballFoundation.org but he never played football until he attended Stanford. The first two seasons that Hugh played for Stanford the team suffered through horrible losing seasons but that all changed in 1940. A new head coach, Clark Shaughnessy, joined the team and he brought with him the powerful T-formation offense. Stanford went 10-0 in 1940 and Gallarneau was co-captain and was selected as an All-American halfback. Gallarneau scored two touchdowns, on a 10-yard run and a 40-yard pass reception to aid Stanford in defeating Nebraska 21-13 in the Rose Bowl. Hugh Gallarneau received the great honor of being selected for inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982. Gallarneau played with the Chicago Bears 1941-1942. He joined the Marines in World War II and rose to the rank of major. He was in 7 island invasions by Marines in the Pacific theater. He rejoined the Bears 1945-1947.

April 2, 1930 - San Diego, California - Another Stanford player, Bill McColl arrived into this life and he later went on to play end for the Cardinal football team from 1949 to 1951. Bill is described as being one of the top gridiron players ever to put on the Cardinal uniform as he finished fourth in the Heisman vote of 1941 and then signed a contract with the Chicago Bears so that he could pay his way through Graduate school at the University of Chicago to train to become a doctor. Bill McColl was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973 after the National Football Foundation tallied their votes. He became an orthopedic surgeon and then soon decided to leave the comfort of the U.S. and serve as a missionary  physician in Korea serving the country’s leper and deformed children.

April 2, 1947 - Chicago, Illinois - Arizona State running back Ron Pritchard was born. Ron led the Sun Devils in tackles and interceptions in the season of 1968 and earned the team’s MVP award. The National Football Foundation selected Ron Pritchard for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003. He was the 15th player selected in the 1969 NFL draft by the Houston Oilers. His nine-year pro career with the Oilers and Cincinnati Bengals was cut short by a knee injury.

April 2, 1965 - Brooklyn, New York - The great Syracuse QB Don McPherson arrived into this life. According to the National Football Foundation McPherson won over 18 national Player of the Year honors during his collegiate career. McPherson’s many honors included the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, the Maxwell Player of the Year and the inaugural Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He also garnered unanimous First Team All-America laurels and finished second in the 1987 Heisman balloting. Don McPherson received the great honor of being selected for inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. played four years in the NFL and three seasons in the Canadian Football League. He later founded the Sports Leadership Institute at Adelphi University and created the John Mackey Award, which annually recognizes college football’s most outstanding tight end.