December 2

In this edition of the Football History Headlines, we discuss The Snake's "Run in the Mud" as well as the 1985 Bears Coaches almost went into a mele against each other as well as many more Football 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 2, 1893 - Allegedly, many claim that the leather helmet was first used in the game of football on this day. The version in question was created by an Annapolis, Maryland, shoemaker from moleskin straps. The first game that this masterpiece was used for was worn by Admiral Joseph Mason Reeve in the annual Army vs Navy game. The Smithsonian Magazine says that he "had apparently been kicked and hit in the head so many times, his doctor told him that another hard impact could lead to "instant insanity." Determined to play in the big game, Reeve went to his shoemaker and had him fashion a moleskin hat with earflaps." We have a whole article written about who may have been responsible for the first helmet found here.

December 2, 1922 - Richardson Stadium, Kingston - At the 10th Grey Cup Queen's University won its first of 3 straight titles; defeating the Edmonton Elks by the score of 13-1.

December 2, 1944 - The 10th Heisman Trophy Award was given to Les Horvath. Les attended and played for Ohio State University as a halfback/quarterback. He earned football letters in 1940, 1941, 1942 & 1944. The 1944 season was a special eligibility for Horvath, as most players of that era only had 3 seasons of eligibility but the NCAA granted an extra season due to World War II and the lack of athletes in college. OSU Head Coach Carroll Widdoes asked Horvath to return to the team for a fourth year. Due to the demands of dental school, Horvath was initially reluctant to play but agreed to do so after Widdoes promised that Horvath would be flown to all of the games and would not have to practice as much as the other players. Ohio State went 9-0, won the Big Ten and ranked No. 2 nationally. Horvath rushed for 905 yards and passed for 345. He ranked second in the nation in rushing, third in total offense, was unanimous All-America, Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten, and won the Heisman Trophy. Les was the very first Buckeye Heisman Trophy in 1944 winner according to heisman.com.

December 2, 1947 - Heisman.com tells us that the 13th Heisman Trophy Award went to Notre Dame’s legendary quarterback, Johnny Lujack. Lujack helped propel the Fighting Irish to a 9-0 record in 1947 as they claimed the national title. Johnny was Notre Dame’s second player to receive the prestigious, as Angelo Bertelli won the Heisman award when Lujack was a sophomore. Johnny Lujack earned the votes for the Trophy as he was 61 of 109 on his passing attempts for 777 yards and also ran 139 yards on 12 carries.  

December 2, 1950 - Legion Field, Birmingham -The 15th Iron Bowl was a fairly one sided contest as the Alabama Crimson Tide rolled up on Auburn 34-0.

December 2, 1951 - Griffith Stadium, Washington D.C. - The Philadelphia Eagles set an NFL record of rushing for 25 1st-downs as they powered their way to a 35-21 win over the Washington Redskins.

December 2, 1951 - Green Bay, Wisconsin - The very first number that the Packers retired in the history of the franchise took place. The jersey was the number 14 that was worn by future Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Don Hutson. Packers.com describes Hutson’s biggest attribute for success in the NFL as his “ability to cut sharply at top speed and another was his uncanny knack for adjusting to the flight of the ball and running down what were seemingly out-of-reach passes.”
 
December 2, 1951 - The 16th Iron Bowl which was played at Legion Field in Birmingham brought another victory for the Tide as Alabama knocked off Auburn 25-7.

December 2, 1952 - Billy Vessels a halfback from the University of Oklahoma took home the hardware of the 18th Heisman Trophy.  Vessels according to Heisman.com was the first Sooner to win the award from the Downtown Athletic Club and one reason he earned the votes was due to rushing for over 1000 yards in 1952. As a matter of fact he was the first Heisman winner to ever reach that milestone in rushing. The game in November against a rugged Notre Dame squad could have sealed the deal though as Billy, on the nationally televised contest, ran for 195 yards on 17 carries scoring twice and caught a pass for another TD. His late 4th quarter fumble at the Irish 20 yard line may have been the undoing for the Sooners though, in their only loss of the season as Notre Dame won 27-21.

December 2, 1957 - NFL Draft took place and the Chicago Cardinals picked Rice University Quarterback, King Hill as the top choice. Pro-Football-Reference shares with us the Hill played in the NFL for a total of 12 seasons with the Cards in Chicago and St. Louis as well as with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings. In his career he threw 429 passes for over 5,500 yards with 37 TDs.

 
December 2, 1958 - The Black Knights of Army went undefeated in the 1958 season. One of the constant performers on that great Army squad was halfback Pete Dawkins,who the official website of the Heisman says was a dual threat runner and southpaw passer who on the 2nd of December 1958 took home the 24th Heisman Trophy.

December 2, 1958 - 1959 NFL Draft was held and the Green Bay Packers were on the clock first. Their choice was Randy Duncan from the University of Iowa. According to HawkCentral.com Duncan led the Hawkeyes to the 1959 Rose Bowl and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting to Army’s Pete Dawkins, of whom we just got done mentioning. An interesting story about Duncan shared in the article was that during the Christmas season of 1956 before the 1957 Rose Bowl the players were asked about if winning the Rose bowl was on their Christmas wish list. Duncan recanted, “'I don't care about a Rose Bowl victory, I want to take a look at Jayne Mansfield and give her a kiss,”. Entertainer Bob Hope heard of Randy Duncan’s answer and took action to make it happen. So during the Dinner for Champions before the Rose Bowl game, Hope gave Duncan the opportunity to close his eyes and plant a kiss on the era’s leading bombshell Jayne Mansfield while his teammates roared with approval!
 
December 2, 1961 - I think that the University of Alabama likes to play on December 2 because once again at the 26th Iron Bowl Alabama shut out Auburn 34-0 in Birmingham.
 
December 2, 1961 - CNE Stadium, Toronto - A 6th title for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was held at the 49th CFL Grey Cup as the Bombers overcame the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 21-14.
 
December 2, 1962 - Exhibition Stadium, Toronto - One year later at the 50th Grey Cup game it was once again those Winnipeg Blue Bombers edging out the Hamilton Ti-Cats, 28-27. We talked about this one yesterday as game play started December 1 , but due to severe fog the balance of the contest was suspended and became the first Grey Cup ever to be completed on a Sunday
 
December 2, 1963 - The San Francisco 49ers had the top pick in the 1964 NFL Draft and their choice was Dave Parks from Texas Tech.  
 
December 2, 1967 - Landsdowne Park, Ottawa - The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated Saskatchewan Roughriders, 24-1 in the 55th CFL Grey Cup. 

December 2, 1967 - Run in the Mud – The Crimson Tide was down by three points with less than a quarter to go in a muddy sloppy Legion Field.  Alabama Quarterback Kenny Stabler busted his way through the Tiger defence for a 47-yard touchdown scramble. Saturdaydownsouth.com has the callAlabama held on tight to their lead and defeated their rival in the 32nd Iron Bowl  with a final of #8 Alabama 7, Auburn 3.

December 2, 1972 - The 37th Iron Bowl  will forever be known by the words,’Punt Bama Punt!” SaturdaydownSouth.com once again comes through with the write up on the game. In the middle of the fourth quarter Alabama was on cruise control as they led 16-3, but were forced to punt when their ball control offense was stopped. Punter Greg Gantt took the snap and put foot to ball but Auburn backer Bill Newton pushed his way through the line and blocked the punt while another Tiger,  David Langner scooped it up and ran it back for a touchdown. That is incredible all by itself but a few minutes later, the Tidee drive was stopped, Newton blocked that one too and guess who ran it back for the winning score? You got it, defensive back David Langer!  You need to watch the plays in the video below to believe it! In one of the most uncanny times of lightning striking twice, the Auburn Tigers edged out the Tide of Alabama 17-16 at Legion Field in Birmingham.
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December 2, 1975 - Talk about lightning striking twice. Well it's not by chance when you are a dominating player. And that is exactly what  Ohio State Running back  Archie Griffin was. Griffin on this date became the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy in two consecutive seasons.  

December 2, 1978 - At the 43rd Iron Bowl the Tide rolled as the defeated Auburn 34-16 in Birmingham’s Legion Field.

December 2, 1984  - Miami quarterback Dan Marino broke the NFL single-season touchdown pass record when he threw his 37th scoring strike. Unfortunately for the Fins fans it was in the Dolphins' 45-34 loss to the Oakland Raiders.  Dan the man finished the 1984 season with a record 48 touchdown passes thrown.

December 2, 1985 - Orange Bowl, Miami - The Chicago Bears' head coach Mike Ditka and their defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan almost came to blows in the halftime locker room of their only loss in that historic 1985 season. The discontinuity spread to the player as the out of sync Bear suffered a 38-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

December 2, 1989 - Quarterback Andre Ware of the University of Houston  won the 55th Heisman Trophy Award. 

December 2, 1989 - Jordan-Hare Stadium - The 54th Iron Bowl saw Auburn take care of business as they handed the Crimson Tide a 30-20 loss.

December 2, 1995 - At the 4th SEC Championship Game: #2 Florida knocked around #23 Arkansas, 34-3. 

December 2, 2000 - The 9th SEC Championship Game pitted #7 Florida against #18 Auburn, the Gators once again had it going as they cruised past the Tigers 28-6.
 
December 2, 2000  - There was a Top Ten match up at the 5th Big 12 Championship Game. #1 Oklahoma played #8 Kansas State.  The Sooners outlasted K-State 27-24 to win the Conference.
 
December 2, 2006 - Another Top Ten in the country Championship game occurred at the 15th SEC Championship Game. The #4 Florida Gators got past #8 Arkansas Razorbacks, by the final score of 38-28.
 
December 2, 2006 - When #16 Wake Forest took on #23 Georgia Tech at the 2nd ACC Championship Game it was a nail biter as the Deacs nudged the Jackets 9-6.
 
December 2, 2006 - Over at the 11th Big 12 Championship Game it was the #8 Oklahoma Sooners outlasting the #19 Nebraska Huskers 21-7.

December 2, 1901 - Hamilton, Ontario - The swift Harvard halfback George Owen was born.  Per the National Football Foundation, George was a great all around athlete who starred at hockey and baseball too. George Owen was rewarded for a brilliant collegiate gridiron career by being inducted into the College football Hall of Fame in 1983.

December 2, 1940 - Yazoo City, Mississippi - Willie Brown the great cornerback of the Oakland Raiders was born.  Willie had 54 interceptions in his 16 year with the AFL and NFL career. He returned two of those picks all the way for scores including a 75 yarder on the Big Stage of Super Bowl XI. The Pro Football Hall of Fame tells us that Brown played on 5 All Star teams for the AFL and in 4 Pro Bowls.  Willie Brown was entered into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the 1984 Enshrinement ceremonies. 

December 2, 1953 - Atlanta, Georgia - Randy Rhino the great DB from Georgia Tech arrived to his parent’s delight. The NFF says that Randy Rhino was the first Yellow Jacket to be a three-time All-America. The National Football Foundation selected Randy Rhino to enter into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1982. 

December 2, 1974 - Orland Park, Illinois - Pat Fitzgerald at the time of this writing is the very successful head coach of the Northwestern Wildcats. Pat was also a standout linebacker for the Cats in his playing days. The NFF thought enough of his great play at backer that they inducted him into their College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.