April 9, 1871 - Clearfield County, Pennsylvania - The great Penn Quakers fullback from 1894 to 1897, John “Jack” Minds was born. Jack is credited with one of the most influential in game innovators in football. The National Football Foundation states that Minds came up with the concept that kicking a stationary ball at the goal posts for points was a heck of a lot more accurate than using the somewhat unpredictable dropkick approach. Historians tell us Jack Minds converted the first kick from placement, a feat he often repeated during his illustrious career at Pennsylvania. When Minds was a starter at Penn the team was 55-1, losing only to Lafayette, 6-4, in an 1896 contest. The Penn teams of 1894 and 1895 were undefeated National Champions. Minds was a master of the game and actually played five positions at different points during his collegiate career. He operated at guard, tackle, end, halfback and fullback. Jack Minds collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1962.
April 9, 1898 - Green Bay, Wisconsin - Earl Curly Lambeau the great Notre Dame full back and co-founder/coach of the Packers was born per the NFL.com Archives.
April 9, 1898 - Princeton, New Jersey - The fantastic End from Rutgers in the 1915 to 1918 seasons, Paul Robeson arrived for his date of birth. Robeson was a powerful contributor to the excellent record of Rutgers in that time frame of 22-6-3 under their legendary coach G. Foster Sanford according to the FootballFoundation.org. Paul had some fantastic plays that he made such as in the 1915 contest against Rensselaer he recovered an opponent's fumble and set up a touchdown. In 1917 he scored on 40-yard and 37-yard pass plays against Fort Wadsworth. That same season against Syracuse Robeson caught passes on two key plays and, on defense, intercepted a pass. One of Robeosn’s greatest games was in 1917 against Newport Naval Reserve played Nov. 24. Newport was undefeated and heavily favored because it had an all-star line- up of former college stars. Paul rose above all of the stars that day as he caught a touchdown pass, and was outstanding on defense leading Rutgers to a 14-0 victory. Frank Menke named him All- America in 1917 and 1918. Walter Campfor some reason did not recognize him in 1917 but agreed with Menke the next year and picked him to the Walter Camp All-America team in 1918. The National Football Foundation selected Paul Robeson for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
April 9, 1921 - Detroit, Michigan - Vince “Bananas” Banonis the University of Detroit’s great center from 1939 to 1941 set his born on date. The NFF preserves the legacy of Banonis by sharing Staying in his hometown he went to the University of Detroit where he was named a 1941 All- American by Grantland Rice, the Associated Press, United Press and others. During his three years in college his teams went 19-7-1. In a game against Villanova he made seven consecutive tackles. His greatest play of all was against Oklahoma State. Banonis centered the ball, ran down-field, took a lateral pass from a teammate, then threw a lateral pass himself, and blocked out two men so another teammate could score a touchdown. The College Football Hall of Fame proudly placed a display in honor of Vince Banonis into their legendary museum in 1986. Vince had a great 10 year pro career as he played on three world championship teams, first with the 1947 Chicago Cardinals and later with the 1952 and 1953 Detroit Lions.
April 9, 1966 - Atlanta, Georgia - The standout defensive tackle from 1985 to 1988 of the Auburn Tigers Tracy Rocker was born. Rockers was a dominant beast on the field as he earned the honor of a unanimous First Team All-America selection in 1988 and consensus pick in 1987. Rocker earned First Team All-Conference honors three times and became the first SEC player ever to win both the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award in the same season, in 1988. Rocker's 354 career tackles are the most by any down lineman in school history and got him recognized by placing him on Auburn's Team of the Century and Team of the Decade for the 1980s. According to the NFF Tracy also recorded 48 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and 21 career sacks. Tracy Rocker’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 2004. Rocker played for three seasons in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and after he hung up the helmet he has been found in the coaching profession as a defensive line coach.
