January 28, 1904 - The world’s 1st college sports letters were given to Seniors who played on the University of Chicago's football team by Amos Alonzo Stagg, were awarded with a letter "C". According to Jennifer Taylor Hall’s book Amos Alonzo stagg: Football’s Man in Motion the inaugural class of these dare we say, lettermen was called the “Order of the C.” It became an honored tradition that each spring the men of this exclusive club would return and gather together with the latest class having to sing to their coach in order to receive their letters.
January 28, 1954 - At the 1954 NFL Draft, Bobby Garrett from University of Stanford was the first pick by the Cleveland Browns. The PFR informs us that Future Pro Football Hall of Fame entrant Raymond Berry was taken as the 232 overall pick by the Baltimore Colts, what a steal!
January 28, 1960 - Dallas Cowboys begins as the NFL made the formal announcement of awarding Dallas a franchise.
January 28, 1960 - Minnesota Vikings franchise is awarded by the NFL.
January 28, 1969 - The top pick of the 1969 NFL Draft was O.J. Simpson from Southern Cal by Buffalo Bills and as we know he is enshrined in Canton. Other future Hall of Famers from this draft were Mean Joe Greene to Pittsburgh at number 4, the Cardinals took Roger Wehrli, Ted Hendricks to the Colts at 44, and the Houston Oilers picked up Charlie Joiner with the 93rd pick per the Pro Football Reference website.
January 28, 1971 - Jim Plunkett from Stanford University was first the pick by the New England Patriots in the 1971 NFL Draft. John Riggins was the first player in this draft to get a gold jacket as the number 6 pick over all by the Jets, other future Pro Football Hall of Fame members picked in this draft were Jack Youngblood to the Rams at 20, Jack Ham to the Steelers at number 34, the Cardinals inking Dan Dierdorf with the 43rd pick, and the Eagles with a steal of Harold Carmichael at the 161st overall pick per the PFR.
January 28, 1975 - At the 1975 NFL Draft Quarterback Steve Bartkowski from University of California was the first pick by Atlanta Falcons. The Pro Football Reference says that there were multiple hall of farmers out of this draft. The Cowboys pick Randy White at number 2, Walter Payton by the Bears in the four slot and Robert Brazile selected as the number 6 overall pick by Houston’s Oilers franchise. Another future gold jacket bearer was Fred Dean of the Chargers at the 33rd pick overall.
January 28, 1990 - Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans - Super Bowl XXIV The Denver Broncos ran into a buzzsaw in the San Francisco 49 ers. The Niniers offense was clicking the whole game as the box score shows that the only quarter they didn’t put up 14 point in was the first quarter where they only scored 13 points and that was because they missed an extra point attempt. Jerry Rice scored three touchdowns and torched the Broncos defense with 138 yards in receiving. The San Francisco 49ers showed there was no doubt that they were the best team in football as they shallacked the Denver Broncos, 55-10. Quarterback Joe Montana won the MVP honors as he had an astronomical QB rating of 147.6 according to the PFR and threw for 297 yards and 5 TDs.
January 28, 1995 - Memphis Mad Dogs were announced as the Canadian Football League's 13th franchise as parts of an U.S.
League expansion plan.
January 28, 1996 - Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona - Super Bowl XXX was the third time that the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys had met in the Super Bowl.The first two times were two of the greatest Championships the League had ever seen. The Steelers had won both contests by four points each time in the 1970’s. This time the Dallas Cowboys turned the needle on the point differential of these two teams matched up in the Super Bowl as they knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17. Cornerback Larry Brown of Dallas won the Most Valuable Players award after he picked off a couple of errant Neil O’Donnell passes and returned them for a total of 77 yards. The American Football Database claims that 95.13 million watch the contest just in the United States making it the most watched TV sports program ever at the time!
January 28, 2001 - Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida - Defense definitely won a championship in Super Bowl XXXV. The Baltimore Ravens D smothered the New York Giants offense all game long. Raven Duane Starks broke the game open in the third quarter with a 49 yard pick six. The Giants then promptly returned the kick off all the way on Ron Dixon’s 97 yard return to the house but Baltimore took the Giants kick after the score 84 yards for a touchdown return of their own to cancel out New York’s bright spot. The Baltimore Ravens routed the New York Giants, 34-7 with the MVP belonging to linebacker Ray Lewis according to the New York Daily News. With viewers at 131.2 million it became the fifth watched program in TV history.
January 28, 2018 - Orlando, Florida - AFC beats NFC, 24-23 at the NFL Pro Bowl. The game’s Most Valuable Players were Tight End of the Tennessee Titans, Delanie Walker and on the defensive side of the ball it was Von Miller the outside linebacker of the Denver Broncos.
