December 27

In this edition of the Football History Headlines, we discuss the first meeting on the gridiron of black colleges opposing one another and NFL Championship results as well as many more Football Hall of Fame Legendary stories.

Football fans, delve into the past! Today's date is etched in NFL history. From legendary trades that shook the league to record-breaking performances on the gridiron, exciting moments unfolded on this very day. We'll explore game-changing events, iconic players who dominated the field, and pivotal decisions that altered the course of franchises. So, buckle up and get ready to revisit the fascinating stories that make NFL history so captivating!

December 27, 1892 - Salisbury, North Carolina - Snow blanketed the front yard of Livingstone College. Hundreds of people from around the area were making the trek to the venue to witness what would become the first game that two black colleges would meet on the gridiron as Biddle University (now known as Johnson C. Smith University) traveled from Charlotte. The website Ourstate.com lets the story unfold, telling how the crowd had traveled from near and far on foot, by horse, and by wagon to watch a football game and to see history unfold. The teams played two 45 minute halves and wore hand made uniforms produced by women studying in Livingstone’s industrial department, and players from both sides raised the funds for a regulation-size football. In the game a very controversial play occurred when a Livingstone player picked up a fumble and raced for the tying score. That fumble recovery was ruled out of bounds, and so Biddle hung on to defeat Livingstone 5-0 in this monumental college football game.

December 27, 1942 - Shibe Park, Philadelphia -According to the NWW2M.com the way that NFL All-Star games worked for a five year period was that the NFL Champs would face a team of hand picked League All-stars a couple weeks after  the Title Game. Back in the December 13 edition of this series we talked about the Washington Redskins winning the Big game in an upset of the Chicago Bears 14-6 at Griffith Park in D.C. .  Tradition would hold the 5th and final NFL All Star Game in this format would play out as Washington faced a team of All-Stars coached by the Bears staff led by Hunk Anderson. The NFL stars included Bullet Bill Dudley of Pittsburgh at halfback, Bears quarterback Sid Luckman with Eagles signal caller Tommy Thompson, and the line play of Bruiser Kinard and Bulldog Turner. The makeshift NFL All-Stars squad overcame the champs that day as the Washington Redskins fell 14-17.

December 27, 1953 - Briggs Stadium, Detroit - The 1953 National Football League Championship had the previous year’s Champion Detroit Lions at home to face the contending Cleveland Browns. According to a Pro Football Hall of Fame story this one had some game ending drama to it. Legendary Lions QB Bobby Layne had been hearing from his substitute Tight End Jim Doran all game that he could get downfield past the Browns defender that had been assigned to him all day.  Starting End Leon Hart had left the game with a knee injury earlier so Doran was pulled from the defensive side of the ball to fill in. The Lions were down by 6 with a few seconds more than two minutes remaining in the contest. The wiley old signal caller finally decided to play his wild card in this poker game on the gridiron he and the Cleveland defenders had been dabbling in that afternoon. “Can you still beat that feller?” Layne asked bluntly to Doran in the huddle per the article. You just know that Jimmy D. eyeballed him back and gave him words of conformation! The DB on Doran that day was Warren Lahr and the two opponents had been going at it all day. Doran was now licking his chops as he finally had his quarterback’s focus on the advantage he felt he could get over Lahr. Then it happened a crucial 3rd and long and Layne took the snap and completed an 18 yard strike to Doran to get past the lead stick.  A few plays later it was Layne to Jim Doran again for the touchdown! After the extra point was nailed, the Detroit Lions held on and beat the Cleveland Browns, 17-16 to retain the title!

December 27, 1959 - Memorial Stadium, Baltimore - National Football League Championship game had the same billing as the watershed 1958 Title contest as the New York Giants faced the Baltimore Colts. There were more than a few changes though from the previous year that the Golden Rankings website describes. The Giants had lost Vince Lombardi as their offensive strategist when he left to coach the Packers. The League had record setting attendance during the 1959 season directly attributed to the overtime 1958 Championship between these two teams. A tragedy struck the NFL when on October 11, 1959 Commissioner Bert Bell suffered a heart attack while at the Steelers versus Eagles game and passed away. The former treasurer Austin Gunsel stepped up to lead the League but there were some very big shoes to fill. The American Football Database fills in some details about the game itself stating that after 3 field goals by Giants kicker Pat Summerall, New York was up 9-7 going into the fourth quarter. In the final stanza though Baltimore came to life as Johnny Unitas ran in a touchdown and threw for another while the Colts defense scored on a pick six to bury the Giants. The Baltimore Colts came from behind to register a convincing 31-16 victory over the New York Giants. 

December 27, 1960  -  Running Back Tommy Mason from the University of Tulane was the first pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1961 NFL Draft. The Football Database website reports that also picked in this draft were future Hall of Famers Mike Ditka, Jimmy Johnson, Herb Adderley, Bob Lilly, Fran Tarkenton, Billy Shaw and Deacon Jones. Not a bad class of college players turning professional at all.

December 27, 1962 - 28th Heisman Trophy Award went to Quarterback Terry Baker from Oregon State. The Senior signal caller according to Heisman.com was the first player from Oregon State to win the coveted prize. Baker was a dual threat on offense as he tossed for 1723 yards and 15 scores in 1962 while he also churned out 9 TDs and 538 yards on the ground.

December 27, 1964 - Cleveland Municipal Stadium - The 1964 National Football League Championship game had the Baltimore Colts pitted against the Cleveland Browns. Hall of Famer Jim Brown rushed for 114 yards in the game for Cleveland but the scoring came on three Frank Ryan to Gary Collins pass plates and a few kicks by Lou Groza as the Cleveland Browns blanked the Baltimore Colts, 27-0 per the Pro-Football-Reference.com website. Onthisday.com states that the victory was the last championship win by a major-league pro sports team from Cleveland until in 2016 when the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers captured the crown.
 

December 27, 1971 - The first Fiesta Bowl is played as #8 Arizona State University’s Sun Devils defeated the Florida State Seminoles, 45-38 per the OnthisDay.com website.

December 27, 1974 - 40th Heisman Trophy Award went to Archie Griffin, the running back of the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Heisman’s official website states that even though Griffin was considered smallish for a Division I back at 5’-9” and a mere 180 pounds he was a consistent and truly explosive runner. The Junior ran for 1620 yards and 12 touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to an impressive 10-1 record that ranked them 3rd in the nation. If you remember back to our December 6 Football History Headlines post we learned that as a Senior Archie Griffin became the only player in history to win back to back Heismans. For his regular season college career Griffin pounded out 5177 yards to rank fifth in the annals of collegiate rushers but his 31 games of 100 yards or more is at the top of the list in NCAA history.

December 27, 1987 - Arrowhead Stadium - Steve Largent sets all-time NFL record for career catches when he catches his 752nd pass. Seahawks.com shares with us that the previous record of 750 by Charlie Joiner was broken when Largent caught 6 balls for 95 yards and a TD in a 41-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

December 27, 1991 - OnthisDay.com reports that the Brown family, owners of the Cincinnati Bengals, hired Dave Shula, the son of legendary Coach Don Shula, as their new head coach. The younger Shula then became the youngest NFL coach in history at the ripe age of 32.

December 27, 2003 - Week 17 (Dec 27 & 28) of the 2003 season is played and an NFL record paid attendance of 1,106,108 for the 16 games played for one weekend.

December 27, 1947 - Seminole, Texas - The tackle from the University of Texas Bob McKay was born. The NFF says that the Longhorns with the help of McKay won the 1969 National Championship as Bob became a consensus All-American in the process with his great blocking. During his college career Texas averaged 363 yards rushing per game which was tops in the FBS in that same span of seasons. The National Football Foundation selected Bob McKay to enter into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017. After graduation Bob McKay was picked by the Cleveland Browns at the 1970 NFL Draft, 21st overall and spent nine seasons as a pro with the Browns and New England Patriots.  

December 27, 1959 - Birmingham, Alabama - Andre Tippett the great linebacker from Ellsworth Junior College and Iowa celebrated his birth. Andre was a beast and terrorzed members of the offensive bacjkfield on a regular basis earninghin to become a consensus All-America selection in 1981.  The National Football Foundation voters inducted Andre Tippett into their College football Hall of Fame in 2021.The New England Patriots used a second round pick to land Tippett in the 1982 NFL Draft and what an outstanding choice that was. According to his bio on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website, Andre in 1985 led the NFL with 16-½ sacks, became the AFC Defensive Player of the Year and played in the Super Bowl. For his career Tippett registered 100 quarterback sacks in 150 games played. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Andre Tippett in 2008.

December 27, 1979 - Fresno, California - Carson Palmer the quarterback from Southern Cal was born. The National Football Foundation voters inducted Carson Palmer into their College football Hall of Fame in 2021.

The photo in the banner is titled "Spectators at football game, Annapolis, Maryland" and is from circa 1937. It was donated to the US Library of Congress by Vachon, John, 1914-1975, photographer. We appreciate the great heritage of American culture that was doanted to the LOC for all of us to enjoy and learn by.