December 4

In this edition of the Football History Headlines, we discuss the very first Grey Cup played as well as Herschel Walker's Heisman win and many more Football Hall of Fame Legendary stories.

We're diving into the archives to revisit the headlines that rocked the NFL landscape. From legendary draft-day decisions that changed franchises to record-breaking performances that left fans in awe, get ready to relive the electrifying moments that shaped the game we love. So, lace up your cleats and join us as we explore the captivating stories from the gridiron's rich past!

Iron Man Game

December 4, 1932 - The Green Bay Packers and the Portsmouth Spartans played an important game. This was back in the era when the NFL cmapions were determined by the team with the best record. Portmouth hosted the Pack and only played eleven players the entire game without substitution and knocked of the defending Champs 19-0 at Universal Stadium. Our friends Randy and Adam Snow of the World of Football Podcast pieced together this great YouTube video giving further details on the game.

Grey Cup results from Onthisday.com

The First Grey Cup Champions, the Toronto Varsity Blues 1909, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Photographer unknown. The Grey Cup to the right was added to the picture in 1901 after the cup was completed in manuafcturing.

December 4, 1909 - Rosedale Field, Toronto - At the First ever Grey Cup game it was the University of Toronto Blues surpassing the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club 26-6 in which completed a Blues undefeated season! Check out Ninety-nine Yards story on this game!

December 4, 1920 - Varsity Stadium, Toronto - The University of Toronto Blues won 4th title as they knocked off their hometown rivals the Toronto Argonauts by the score of 16-3 at the 8th Grey Cup.

December 4, 1926 -  For the 14th Grey Cup it was the Ottawa Senators that kept the trophy with their 10-7 edging of the University of Toronto Blues,

Heisman winner Doc Blanchard

December 4, 1945 - The Downtown Athletic Club presented Army’s Fullback Felix “Doc” Blanchard with their prestigious Heisman Trophy.  Heisman.com in their write up on Doc helped Army to a second straight national title and he still had another year of eligibility for he was the first Junior and the First player from West Point to win the Heisman. If you remember on the December 3 segment we foreshadowed Doc by stating that he was 5th in the voting for the 1946 Award. A year earlier in 1944 he took third in the Heisman voting. The Black Knights were undefeated in Blanchard’s 3 seasons with the team sporting an amazing 27-0-1 record and three national championships! Doc was more than just a running back, he was the place kicker and punter in addition to  playing linebacker on defense. His pairing with Glenn Davis in the backfield may be the best tandem in collegiate football history. The 1945 season saw Doc run for 722 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Iron Bowl score and an NFL record run

December 4, 1948 - For the first time since 1907 Auburn and Alabama met on the football field for what is now called the 13th Iron Bowl game.  Alabama was not real hospitable to Auburn in this reunion as they whallopped the Tigers 55-0 at Birmingham’s Legion Field.

December 4, 1949 - Bob Gage sets an NFL record of a 97 yard touchdown run. The American Football Database guides us on this story. Gage, who was at the time playing with the Pittsburgh Steelers took the ball on a fake punt against the Chicago Bears and raced 97 yards for the score. The Bears were one of the top teams at the time and let’s just say that those Steelers were just plainly not near the top. Sometimes when you have nothing to lose you let everything fly, and to run a fake punt from your own 3 yard line...that takes some stones! 

Hornung's Heisman Win

December 4, 1956 - Heisman.com lists that the 22nd Heisman Trophy Award went to none other than Paul Hornung the great Notre Dame back. Hornung was the first player to win the award while playing on a team with a losing record. As far as Trophy winners from Notre Dame, well paul was the 5th in the previous 14 seasons to have done so. He accounted for over half of the Irish points in 1956 as he rushed for 420 yards on 94 runs and completed 59 of 111 pases for 917 yards and three scores. The second place finisher in the voting that year was Tennessee’s Johnny Majors who would later become a legendary Coach in the college ranks.

Ernie Davis Breaks Barriers

December 4, 1961 - The Washington Redskins used the first pick in the 1962 NFL Draft to select Heisman winner Ernie Davis from University of Syracuse. According to the undefeated.com Not only was Ernie Davis the first African-American player to win the Heisman but he was also the first black player to be drafted with the top pick in the NFL Draft!

Take a Seat

December 4, 1962 -  According to a suiter.com article, Inventor F.H Chute files a patent for the folding stadium chair. The design was very practical and a God -send for anyone that has sat on a flat aluminum bleacher for a long period of time, like 3-4 hours of a football game. CHute had molded plastic attached to a folding metal frame to give some comfort to the rear ends of sports fans around the world.  US patent 3,066,980.

December 4, 1982  - The Heisman Award in this year went to the great Herschel Walker of the University of Georgia. The webpage on the fantastic running back on Heisman.com states that in his three seasons with the Bulldogs he amassed 5097 yards rushing which was an NCAA 3 year record! Herschel was a best of a rusher in high school too as in just his senior year alone at Johnson County High in Wrightsville, Georgia Walker put up an astronomical 3167 yards to lead his school to a State Championship and earn himself the rights to the first Dial Award for th 1979 scholar athlete of the year! Per the article in 1982 at Georgia he ran for 1,752 yards and 16 scores while leading the Bulldogs to an 11-0 regular-season record and a national title matchup against Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.

Rapid Fire Gridiron Headlines

December 4, 1993 - At the 2nd SEC Championship Game it was #9 Florida beating out #16 Alabama, 28-13.

December 4, 1999 - SEC Championship Game in that season saw some revenge from 1993’s game as  #7 Alabama defeated #5 Florida, 34-7.

December 4, 2004 - #3 Auburn outlasted  #15 Tennessee, 38-28 in the 2004
SEC Championship Game: 

December 4, 2010 - In a barn burner at the 2010 Big 12 Championship Game, the #10 Oklahoma Sooners edged out #13 Nebraska Corn Huskers 23-20.

Giants Clean House

December 4, 2017 - The New York Football Giants fired head coach Ben McAdoo and manager Jerry Reese after a 2–10 start. Another factor that may have come into play in the release of the two was the decision to sit two time Super Bowl winning Quarterback Eli manning mid season to play journeyman QB Geno Smith.
 

December 4, 1901 - Churchville, Iowa - Notre Dame’s 1924 Captain & center Adam Walsh was born.  The awesome footballfoundation.org website proclaims that Walsh was one of the key blockers for the famed Four Horsemen of Notre Dame in the Irish National Championship season of ‘24. In one particular game against Army that season ‘Lighthouse” Harry Wilson of the cadets was playing havoc on the defensive scheme of the Irish. The clever Walsh decided to “get into Wilson’s head” and the two started to banter back in fourth so much that it seemed as if Lighthouse Harry was thinking more about what retort he could say back at Walsh more than finding holes and escaping tacklers, hence another ‘W” for Notre Dame.  The National Football foundation selected Adam Walsh to enter into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

December 4, 1908 - Dabob, Washington - Another great center of the Fighting Irish was born in one Tommy Yarr. Yarr might be most remembered down the stretch of the 1930 season in the game against SMU according to the NFF’s bio on Tommy. The Mustangs were giving the Irish fits that day, that is until Tommy Yarr decided to change the fate of the Irish as he picked off three SMU passes in the fourth quarter! Tommy Yarr went into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

December 4, 1942 -  Frank Emanuel the University of Tennessee linebacker arrived to his parent’s delight.  As the Captain of the Volunteers in 1965’s season Emanuel was a consensus First Team All-America selection per the footballfoundation.org webpage on his career.  The National Football foundation selected Frank Emanuel to enter into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.  Soon after graduation, Frank Emanuel was the first draft choice of the Miami Dolphins in 1966 and due to a bidding war between the Fins and rival League the AFL he made it onto the cover of Sports Illustrated. This former player is a good person too as his biography lists many times how he has helped make his local community a better place for the residents to live there.

December 4, 1984 - Brookfield, Wisconsin - Former Wisconsin Badger and Cleveland Browns Offensive tackle Joe Thomas celebrates the day of his birth.  Joe according to the NFF, was a unanimous First Team All-American in 2006, Thomas became the first player in Wisconsin history to claim the Outland Trophy as the most outstanding interior lineman in the nation among his many, many awards for his great play. Joe Thomas found his place in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019. After school Thomas was third overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Browns where he played all 11 seasons of his career. I am quite sure as soon as he is eligible he will also be a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it is only a matter of time, because he was that dominant of a player at his position.