January 30, 1892 - Athens, Georgia - The University of Georgia played its first football game in Athens against Mercer University. According to an interesting post on the UGA.edu website the Bulldogs started off their first gridiron campaign with Chemistry Professor, Dr. Charles Holmes Herty organized not on Georgia’s first football team but the first in the deep south of America. In this first game the Bulldogs pummelled Mercer 50-0. Their schedule for that first season consisted of only one other game that took place on February 20 against Auburn. We will cover that one more in detail in the upcoming February 20 Football History Headlines. An interesting story that comes from the article tells that in this first game on the athletics fields (now known as Herty Field) there are reports that indicate that the official scorer for the game missed at least one touchdown when he walked to the city alcohol dispensary on Broad St. across from the campus to purchase a bottle of whiskey during the game. With a 50 point differential the players from Mercer may have wished they had joined him!
January 30, 1960 - Oakland Raiders entered the American Football League per the Raiders.com. The Oakland group was awarded the former Minneapolis-St.Paul franchise which was basically abandoned when the NFL granted permission for the Minnesota Vikings franchise to form before the AFL could set on up.
January 30, 1968 - Ron Yary from USC is the first overall pick by Minnesota Vikings in the 1968 NFL Draft. Yary was an awesome pick as he made it into the Hall of Fame! According to the Pro Football Reference website the other future Pro Football Hall of Famers from this class so far include Claude Humphrey, Larry Csonka, Curly Culp, Ken Stabler, Charlie Sanders, Elvin Bethea and Art Shell. The Raiders had a banner day building the core of their offense of the 1970’s with the picks of Shell and Stabler!
January 30, 1973 - The team's front offices assembled in New York for the 1973 NFL Draft. John Matuszak from the University of Tampa was first overall pick by the Houston Oilers. The Pro Football Reference data tells us that Hall of Famers that have busts in Canton so far from this class are John Hannah, Ray Guy and Joe DeLamielleure.
January 30, 1983 - Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California - Super Bowl XVII was a rematch of Super Bowl VII, which was also played in the LA area as it pitted the 8-1 Washington Redskins against the Miami Dolphins who spotted a record of 7-2 in the strike shortened NFL season. The American Football Database fills us in with the game details on their great article. The Dolphins held a 17-10 lead at the half with a Fulton Walker 98 yard touchdown return of a kick off and Jimmy Cefalo’s 76 yard TD reception. The turning point in the game came with 10:10 remaining in the fourth. Washington was facing a fourth down and 1-yard to go situation at the Dolphins' 43-yard line, and they were still trailing 17-13. That’s when Washington’s veteran running back John Riggins broke through the Dolphin defense and ran all the way to paydirt to take the lead. D.C. Wide receiver Charlie Brown then added an insurance touchdown with his 6-yard scoring catch and the Washington Redskins outlasted the Miami Dolphins, 27-17. The Redskin offensive line was known as the Hogs. O-line Coach Joe Bugel gave the original group of linemen the moniker in 1982. They were comprised of Center Jeff Bostic, left guard Russ Grimm, right guard Mark May, left tackle Joe Jacoby, right tackle George Starke, guard Fred Dean, along with tight ends Don Warren and Rick Walker. Riggins with his power running behind the Hogs earned the game’s MVP award.
January 30, 1994 - Georgia Dome, Atlanta - The Buffalo Bills played in their fourth straight championship appearance in Super Bowl XXVIII when they faced the powerful Dallas Cowboys. Things looked promising for the Bills in the first half as they held a 13-6 lead in the locker room. The third quarter though things started to unravel according to the statmuse.com web site article on the game. Cowboys defender James Washington picked up a 3rd quarter Bill fumble and rambled 48 yards for a score to tie the game. It was then more stifling defense and a heavy dose of running back Emmit Smith who scored twice in the second half to lead the Dallas Cowboys over Buffalo Bills 30-13. The game’s MVP was Emmitt Smith who besides his two late TDs added 132 hard earned yards on the ground.
January 30, 2000 - Georgia Dome, Atlanta - Who can forget the suspense of the very last play of Super Bowl XXXIV? The St. Louis Rams were up by seven but Steve McNair had marched the Tennessee Titans most of the length of the field to the Rams ten yard-line with 6 seconds on the clock and no timeouts remaining! A Bleacher Report article reminds of the rest, as DB Mike Jones was covering Titan tight end Frank Wycheck on the play near the goal line when an open Kevin Dyson caught the pass from McNair. Jones left his coverage when the ball was passed and tackled Dyson at his legs, leaving the receiver to stretch for the goal line. As the play happened, everybody watching was on the edge of their seats, and then Dyson's shoulder touched the ground...the ball was short of the line! The Rams win in the most dramatic of endings over Tennessee 23-16. St. Louis Quarterback Kurt Warner won the Most Valuable Player award after he threw for 414 yards and two scores in the game to lead the Greatest Show on Turf. At the time this game had the fifth highest number of viewers in the history of television as over 130.7 people watched the game.
January 30, 2011 NFL Pro Bowl was played once again at beautiful Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The result of the game was that the NFC outscored the AFC, 55-41. Washington Redskins defensive back, DeAngelo Hall was given the MVP.
