December 12

In this edition of the Football History Headlines, we discuss how the Kansas Comet took the NFL by storm in one game in his Rookie year as well as many more Gridiron Legendary stories.

Football history enthusiasts, delve into the gridiron's past! On this very date, history unfolded on the field in several ways. We might be celebrating a record-breaking performance by a legendary player, a trade that sent shockwaves through the league, or even the birth of a new franchise that would leave its mark on the game. Let's lace up our cleats and travel back in time to see what iconic moments transpired on this date in American football history!

Formation of the SEC's predecessor

December 12, 1920 - Gainesville, Florida- At a meeting of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association  the larger schools reorganized into the Southern Conference. According to the post on secsports.com the member schools at that time were Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Maryland, North Carolina State, Washington and Lee, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

December 12, 1926 - Kansas City, Missouri - The Kansas City Cowboys played the franchises fnal game as travel to and from KC was too much for the young NFL teams. The final game was a 12-7 win over the Duluth Eskimos at Muehlebach Field per the Sportsecylopedia.com.

December 12, 1936 - 1937 NFL Draft had Sam Francis from University of Nebraska going as the number one first pick by Philadelphia Eagles. Pro Football Hall of Fame players that came out of this Draft class according to the Pro Football Reference were quarterback Sammy Baugh from TCU as the sixth overall pick by Washington and fellow QB Ace Parker of Duke chosen by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the second round.

December 12, 1937 -Wrigley Field, Chicago - National Football League Championship was played on a sloppy muddy field surface with temperatures at kick near 24 degrees F. Quarterback Sammy Baugh was quoted as saying that it was the worst field conditions that he had ever seen per a story on the Grueling Truth.com website. The field had frozen chards of mud sticking up across its surface and many players were reported to be cut up by them when they landed on the turf. The game got heated in the final stanza though by fine play. Trailing 21-14 in the fourth quarter, Baugh went to work. In the near arctic conditions  Slingin Sammy Baugh hit Wayne Milner on a 78-yard bomb and completed the comeback on a 35-yard strike to Ed Justice late in the game for the go-ahead touchdown. The Washington Redskins became the Champs as they beat the Chicago Bears, 28-21.

December 12, 1937 - In the 1938 NFL Draft the Cleveland Rams chose Corbett Davis from University of Indiana with the first pick .

December 12, 1950 - Vic Janowicz the fine halfback from the Ohio State Buckeyes won the 16th Heisman Trophy.

December 12, 1964 - Cleveland Browns' Frank Ryan set a franchise record of 5 TD passes as he went 12 of 13 for 202 yards per the Browns Nation website. Ryan even ran in for another score as Cleveland upended the Giants that day 52-20.

December 12, 1965 - Wrigley Field, Chicago - Chicago Bears Rookie halfback Gale Sayers ties the NFL record for most touchdowns in a game with a half dozen in Chicago’s 61–20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at a muddy Wrigley Field per a Chicago Tribune.com story.  Sayers had 4 rushing touchdowns on only 9 carries. He took another one across the goal line stripe via a reception and then added a coast to coast punt return for good measure. He could have probably had a seventh score on the day but Coach George Halas pulled him from the game in the fourth quarter right before the Bears scored again! 

December 12, 1976 - Quarterback Joe Namath played his last game as a  New York Jets player. Yes Broadway Joe played his last season in the NFL with the LA Rams

December 12, 1992 - The season's Heisman Trophy Award was earned by Gino Torretta, University of Miami quarterback. The Hurricanes went undefeated in ‘92 and Gino T. was a big part of it. His 3070 yards passing and 19 touchdowns helped pave the way to keep the Miami team on a 29 game winning streak, with 23 of them having Torretta at the helm. The Davey O’Brien, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and the Maxwell Awards all were on the Torretta mantle after that season. Gino’s great year helped him to edge out running back Marshall Faulk for the Trophy.  

December 12, 2011 - Robert Griffin III the quarterback from Baylor took home the Heisman Trophy for the 2011 season per Heisman.com. The Junior signal caller was the first Baylor Bear to have the Heisman in his trophy case. Robert’s pass efficiency mark of 192.31 was the highest ever in Heisman history and his passing of just shy of 4000 yards with 36 TDs was nothing to sneeze at. Griffin also added 9 more scores and 644 yards with his ground game.RGIII also took home the Manning Award and the O’Brien Award for his top notch throwing.

December 12, 2021 - The 108th Grey Cup Game was played in the CFL and after waiting 750 days the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defended their title. Missing the entire 2020 season due to the pandemic the Bombers played a very good Hamilton Tiger-Cats team and won in Overtime 33-25 after Winnipeg's Zach Collaros, the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 2021, hit a wide-open Darvin Adams in the end zone.  The Winnipeg team then made good on the 2-point conversion to give the Blue Bombers the lead. Winnipeg  then intercepted Jeremiah Masoli on Hamilton's overtime possession to seal the victory and keep the Cup.

December 12, 2021 - Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccanneers reached yet another brilliant milestone as he threw his 700th career touchdown pass in a game that the Bucs won in Overtime over the visiting Buffalo Bills.

December 12, 1881 - Muncie, Indiana - Zora G. Clevenger the halfback from the University of Indiana was born. According to IUHoosiers.com, Z.G. Clevenger played football for the Hoosiers program from 1900 through the 1903 season, and he captained the team in that final year. After graduation Clevenger stayed on at Indiana for a few more years coaching both the football and basketball teams that he once starred on. He left the Hosiers for a period of time and served as a coach and an Athletic Director at Tennessee, Kansas State, and Missouri.  Zora later became Indiana's Athletic Director 1923-46. Zora Clevenger joined the ranks of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

December 12, 1904 - The guard of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, John “Clipper” Smith arrived into the world. Clipper was coached by Knute Rockne on the teams just after the famed “Four Horsemen'' backfield had graduated. The National Football Foundation voted John Smith into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975.

December 12, 1914 - The center from the University of California Bob Herwig celebrated his day of birth. Footballfoundation.org relays that the North American Newspaper Alliance's Board said this of Herwig; “An expert snapper and a first-rate tackler...he gets the edge over others of his caliber because of the 60-minute ball games he has played from start to finish.” That sounds like a pretty solid guy in the middle. The NFF voters selected Bob Herwig to enter into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1964.

December 12, 1930 - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania - The University of Kentucky’s multi position playmaker Steve Meilinger was born. In fact Steve was so versatile that he was aptly called ‘Mr. Anywhere.”  The NFF’s bio on Meilinger states that he was a two-time First-Team All-America selection in 1952 and 1953 and under Hall of Fame head coach Bear Bryant, Meilinger led Kentucky to victory in the 1952 Cotton Bowl over TCU. In 2013 the College Football Hall of Fame inducted Steve Meilinger into their fold. Steve entered the NFL and played for the Washington Redskins after being picked by them in the 1954 NFL Draft. He also played with the Packers and Steelers in his 6 year NFL career.

December 12, 1962 -  - Brad Calip the quarterback from East Central University came into this life. The National Football Foundation says that Calip and his Orange Rush offense led the nation in rushing and finished among the leaders in scoring and total offense. Brad himself rushed for 1002 yards and 14 TDs on the ground. In his senior season of 1984 he made his offense almost unstoppable as he refined his passing skills. In that campaign Calip used his legs for 19 touchdowns and 1135 yards while the aerial assault he launched garnered another 1185 yards and 13 additional scores. The NFF found a palace for the name and stats of one Brad Calip in their College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

December 12, 1967 -  - The defensive tackle from Texas A&M Kingsville, John Randle was delivered. John was voted as a first team All-American player in 1988 according to the footballfoundation.org’s bio on him. John’s  105 tackles and 34 career sacks helped him and his Javelina teammates to enjoy two trips into the NCAA Division II playoffs. The NFF voters selected John Randall to enter into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. Randle played 14 years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks. Named an All-Pro seven times, there were 8 seasons where John recorded double-digit sacks, including when he led the NFL with a career-high 15.5 sacks in 1997. At the time he retired Randle’s 137.5 sacks were the top career total by a defensive tackle in NFL history. John Randle was ennshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as well in 2010.