December 18

In this edition of the Football's History Headlines we discuss a crazy ending to the 1932 season and how a new way to decide the title was taken and a famous signal caller becomes the coach of the New York Titans as well as many more Hall of Fame Legendary stories.

Gridiron fans, gear up for another exciting day of football history! Dive into the archives and relive the moments that shaped the game we love. Today's headlines take us back in time, exploring everything from legendary quarterback duels that captivated a nation to groundbreaking rule changes that redefined the sport. So, whether you're a die-hard traditionalist or a stats guru, we have something for everyone. Let's lace up our virtual cleats and take a trip down memory lane!

December 18, 1932 - Chicago, Illinois - The NFL decided that a final game to determine a Champ would be played in a special Chicago at Wrigley field on December 18, 1932. The Title was supposed to be given to the team with the best record as it had been for over a decade in the young NFL. The season though ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans in a virtual tie for the top record in the League.

It is believed that George Halas challenged the Spartans to play a game to settle the tie, they wanted no part of any type of Co-Champion bolonga. Thus we in essence had the first NFL Championship! This first postseason game in NFL history had some huge twists and turns to make it quite a remarkable story, even besides the fact that a game was going to be played to determine an NFL Champion. The first odd occurrence was that Spartans star Earl "Dutch" Clark was unable to play in the game because he had to work. While that may sound crazy to us today but the fact was that professional players of that era did not make enough to make a living all year long. Most had to take off season jobs to make ends meet, even the super stars like Dutch Clark, who worked as the Head Basketball Coach at  Colorado College and his hoops team had a game on that December 18 and Dutch couldn't get off work to make the football game in Chicago. The second crazy thing that happened was that due to a freak late-fall blizzard in Chicago, the game had to be moved inside the Chicago Stadium because Wrigley was covered with deep snow and frozen with dangerous sub-zero temperatures. The playing field had to be modified to play inside, so the game was played on a field only 80 yards long, and some 30 yards narrower than the normal width the teams played on all season. The last item that took place surrounding the game happened on the contest's only touchdown. Bronko Nagurski threw a scoring jump pass to Red Grange but the Spartans argued that Nagurski did not meet the requirement of legal forward passes in those days of being 5 yards or more behind the line. The play stood and the Bears ended up winning the NFL title by the score of 9-0. The Spartans franchise would become the Lions in 1933 when they moved from Portsmouth, Ohio to Detroit, Michigan after a Detroit radio businessman George A. Richards purchased the rights to the team for $8000. This was a hefty sum at the time but Portsmouth had after all just recently played for a somewhat impromptu first NFL Championship game against the Chicago Bears, shorthanded of their star player. The Motor City was a risky place to put the team at this point as three previous franchises had failed there but Richards knew the city needed a winner and took the chance. It was well worth his risk as the newly named Lions team won the NFL Title in 1935 and later in the 1952, 1953  and 1957 seasons. Richards took another chance with his football franchise in 1934 when he scheduled a game on Thanksgiving Day. Though it failed when other cities (save Dallas a few decades later) the Turkey Day game in the Motor City was a huge success. Unfortunately in 1940 Mr. Richards had to sell the franchise due to a declining health issue and a fine from the NFL for draft tampering but his $8000 initial investment turned into a $225,000 sale of the Lions to retail magnet Fred Mandel. The Lions eventually were purchased by the descendants of Henry Ford and are owned by the family to this day.

December 18, 1949 - LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA -The LA Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles met for the National Football League Championship Title. Weather conditions were dreadful as driving rain caused the grass field to become quite a quagmire. A 1988 Pro Football Researchers Association article on the game in the Coffin Corner Volume 10 shares the story. Over an inch of rain fell in the LA area and many wanted the game postponed until Christmas Day. NFL Commissioner Bert Bell was having nothing to do with any sort of postponement and ordered the game to go on as scheduled. The Eagles with their solid defense were a 7 point betting odds favorite in the contest. What they did was double that win margin as their stifling defense shut the Rams down in a 14-0 victory. The Eagles offense put one touchdown on the board but the rest was all defense as the Rams were held to a record 21 total rushing yards, and special teams blocked a punt in the second half for the other Philly score.

December 18, 1959 - Former Washington Redskins Quarterback ,Sammy Baugh was named as the first coach of AFL’s New York Titans. Baugh was a collegiate head coach from 1955 through 1959 at Hardin-Simmons University after his playing days were over. He spent two seasons as the Titans head man achieving a record of 14-14. He later went on to coach at the University of Tulsa and even became the Houston Oilers fourth ever coach in 1964 per the missyablue.com website.

December 18, 1988 - Seattle Seahawks win their 1st ever division title per the Washington Post. The division AFC West title came down to a pivotal game with the LA Raiders. Yes I did just say AFC West and the LA Raiders. Seattle was in the AFC West Division from their inception in the 1970’s until realignment in 2002 when they then were moved into the NFC West. Also the Raiders franchise spent some time calling Los Angeles home in between stints in Oakland and before they moved to Las Vegas in 2020. Now that that is cleared up the Seahawks won the AFC West with a 9-7 record and they dashed the Raiders hopes who came into the game at 7-8. It was a close on though as the final score was Seahawks 43, Raiders 37. QB Dave Krieg threw four TDs and wideout Steve Largent extended his catching a pass streak to 167 games in the victory. The Seahawks would end up losing to the Cincinnati Bengals 21-13 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
 

December 18, 1932 - Chicago, Illinois - The NFL decided that a final game to determine a Champ would be played in a special Chicago at Wrigley field on December 18, 1932. The Title was supposed to be given to the team with the best record as it had been for over a decade in the young NFL. The season though ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans in a virtual tie for the top record in the League.

It is believed that George Halas challenged the Spartans to play a game to settle the tie, they wanted no part of any type of Co-Champion bolonga. Thus we in essence had the first NFL Championship! This first postseason game in NFL history had some huge twists and turns to make it quite a remarkable story, even besides the fact that a game was going to be played to determine an NFL Champion. The first odd occurrence was that Spartans star Earl "Dutch" Clark was unable to play in the game because he had to work. While that may sound crazy to us today but the fact was that professional players of that era did not make enough to make a living all year long. Most had to take off season jobs to make ends meet, even the super stars like Dutch Clark, who worked as the Head Basketball Coach at  Colorado College and his hoops team had a game on that December 18 and Dutch couldn't get off work to make the football game in Chicago. The second crazy thing that happened was that due to a freak late-fall blizzard in Chicago, the game had to be moved inside the Chicago Stadium because Wrigley was covered with deep snow and frozen with dangerous sub-zero temperatures. The playing field had to be modified to play inside, so the game was played on a field only 80 yards long, and some 30 yards narrower than the normal width the teams played on all season. The last item that took place surrounding the game happened on the contest's only touchdown. Bronko Nagurski threw a scoring jump pass to Red Grange but the Spartans argued that Nagurski did not meet the requirement of legal forward passes in those days of being 5 yards or more behind the line. The play stood and the Bears ended up winning the NFL title by the score of 9-0. The Spartans franchise would become the Lions in 1933 when they moved from Portsmouth, Ohio to Detroit, Michigan after a Detroit radio businessman George A. Richards purchased the rights to the team for $8000. This was a hefty sum at the time but Portsmouth had after all just recently played for a somewhat impromptu first NFL Championship game against the Chicago Bears, shorthanded of their star player. The Motor City was a risky place to put the team at this point as three previous franchises had failed there but Richards knew the city needed a winner and took the chance. It was well worth his risk as the newly named Lions team won the NFL Title in 1935 and later in the 1952, 1953  and 1957 seasons. Richards took another chance with his football franchise in 1934 when he scheduled a game on Thanksgiving Day. Though it failed when other cities (save Dallas a few decades later) the Turkey Day game in the Motor City was a huge success. Unfortunately in 1940 Mr. Richards had to sell the franchise due to a declining health issue and a fine from the NFL for draft tampering but his $8000 initial investment turned into a $225,000 sale of the Lions to retail magnet Fred Mandel. The Lions eventually were purchased by the descendants of Henry Ford and are owned by the family to this day.

December 18, 1949 - LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA -The LA Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles met for the National Football League Championship Title. Weather conditions were dreadful as driving rain caused the grass field to become quite a quagmire. A 1988 Pro Football Researchers Association article on the game in the Coffin Corner Volume 10 shares the story. Over an inch of rain fell in the LA area and many wanted the game postponed until Christmas Day. NFL Commissioner Bert Bell was having nothing to do with any sort of postponement and ordered the game to go on as scheduled. The Eagles with their solid defense were a 7 point betting odds favorite in the contest. What they did was double that win margin as their stifling defense shut the Rams down in a 14-0 victory. The Eagles offense put one touchdown on the board but the rest was all defense as the Rams were held to a record 21 total rushing yards, and special teams blocked a punt in the second half for the other Philly score.

December 18, 1959 - Former Washington Redskins Quarterback ,Sammy Baugh was named as the first coach of AFL’s New York Titans. Baugh was a collegiate head coach from 1955 through 1959 at Hardin-Simmons University after his playing days were over. He spent two seasons as the Titans head man achieving a record of 14-14. He later went on to coach at the University of Tulsa and even became the Houston Oilers fourth ever coach in 1964 per the missyablue.com website.

December 18, 1988 - Seattle Seahawks win their 1st ever division title per the Washington Post. The division AFC West title came down to a pivotal game with the LA Raiders. Yes I did just say AFC West and the LA Raiders. Seattle was in the AFC West Division from their inception in the 1970’s until realignment in 2002 when they then were moved into the NFC West. Also the Raiders franchise spent some time calling Los Angeles home in between stints in Oakland and before they moved to Las Vegas in 2020. Now that that is cleared up the Seahawks won the AFC West with a 9-7 record and they dashed the Raiders hopes who came into the game at 7-8. It was a close on though as the final score was Seahawks 43, Raiders 37. QB Dave Krieg threw four TDs and wideout Steve Largent extended his catching a pass streak to 167 games in the victory. The Seahawks would end up losing to the Cincinnati Bengals 21-13 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.