January 9

On this episode of the Football History Headlines, we discuss Dan Marino's final taste of NFL victory, a repeat NCAA National Championship game and Super Bowl XI as well as many more Hall of Fame Legendary stories.

Football history enthusiasts, delve into the gridiron's past! On this very date, history unfolded on the field in several ways. We might be celebrating a record-breaking performance by a legendary player, a trade that sent shockwaves through the league, or even the birth of a new franchise that would leave its mark on the game. Let's lace up our cleats and travel back in time to see what iconic moments transpired on this date in American football history!

January 9, 1962 - The NFL issued a rule that prohibited the grasping of face masks on any player. According to the footballzebras.com website a head protector became mandatory in 1943 in the NFL. Face masks were optional until 1955 when the NFL rules makers could still petition the NFL commish to be allowed to go without one. In 1956 the rule arrived where grasping the face mask of anyone except for the runner was illegal. This 1962 face mask rule brought the revision to pretty close what we see today that if a face mask is grasped on any player it is a 15-yard penalty and if flagrant, the offending player is disqualified.

January 9, 1967 - The Pro Football Hall of Fame tells us that New Orleans' franchise officially adopted the name of the "Saints". The NFL awarded the 16th franchise to the City of New Orleans on November 1, 1966, “All Saints Day.” We have more on the start of this franchise on our November 1 post.

January 9, 1977 - Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California - Super Bowl XI was played. This is the earliest date of the year that any Super Bowl was played and judging by the current format of playing in February, it will probably always remain the earliest played one. The matchup was the Minnesota Vikings and the Oakland Raiders who both advanced through their respective Conference Championships that we discussed back on our December 26 post. After a scoreless first quarter the Raiders opened up the scoring by rattling off 16 unanswered points before the half. That was really all they needed according to Pro-Football-Reference.com as the Raider defense stepped up and limited the Vikings to a mere 14 points. Oakland running back Pete Banaszak scored twice on short dives and DB Willie Brown registered a 75 yard pick six to seal the deal as the  Oakland Raiders beat  the Minnesota Vikings, 32-14 to capture the Lombardi.  The game MVP was Raiders Wide Receiver Fred Biletnikoff, who hails from Erie, PA and attended Florida State, had four catches for 79 yards in the game.

January 9, 2000 - Miami Dolphins Quarterback Dan Marino has his final NFL victory in the AFC Wildcard game. The Dolphins defeated the Seattle Seahawks by the score of 20-17 according to the Pro-Football-Reference.com website. The last game for Marino was the following week when the Jacksonville Jaguars steamrolled the Fins 62-7.   

January 9, 2012 - Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans - At the14th BCS National Championship  #2 Alabama upended their SEC rival #1 LSU, 21-0 per the Onthisday.com.

January 9, 2017 - Raymond James Stadium, Tampa - The College Football National Championship Game. The College Football Playoff website called the game the “unprecedented rematch.”  The Clemson Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide would battle for the second consecutive year in the Title game. The year prior was an exciting one as Alabama eked past Clemson 45-40.  According to ESPN.com this game in 2017 had all the build up and more that the original matchup had and it lived up to its billing.  Clemson rallied from a two score deficit early to get back in the game and then played sound defense to limit Bama to a season low 376 yards of offense. The Tigers also got Alabama off the field as Nick Saban’s crew went only 2-15 on third downs. 21 points in the final stanza by Clemson in a quarter that saw  three lead changes brought the college season finale to a climax. With one second remaining  Clemson Quarterback Deshaun Watson  flicked a two yard pass to Hunter Renfrow to move #2 Clemson past #1 Alabama, 35-31!

January 9, 1909 - Canton, Massachusetts - The fine center from Harvard University Ben Ticknor who played for the Crimson in the late 1920’s. 

January 9, 1916 - Auburn, New York - Jerome “Brud” Holland, the great end from Cornell, was born. This guy’s bio on footballfoundation.org earns my respect. Brud came from a big family that had 12 kids. Money was tight, and as an African-American wanting to attend Cornell and play football, he had to work hard. Brud is said to have worked his way through college by tending furnaces and working as a dishwasher, and yet he still found time to do his studies and achieve straight As! Oh yeah, he played a mean game of football, too! He made the All-America team twice in his collegiate career. His most productive game had to be the 1937 contest against Colgate, where he caught a touchdown pass and scored on two end-around plays! The NFF placed the name of Brud Holland into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1965. You just know that a fella as ambitious as Brud was going to do something great in his life. Well, in fact, he did as he was the president of Hampton Institute, president of Delaware State, U.S. ambassador to Sweden from 1970 through 1972, charmed the American Red Cross, was the chairman of Salvation Army, as well as the chairman of Planned Parenthood, and was the first African American director of the New York Stock Exchange! Wow! That is an accomplished life!

January 9, 1934 - Montgomery, Alabama - The stellar quarterback from the University of Alabama, Bart Starr was born. 

January 9, 1956 -Satanta, Kansas - Kansas State Linebacker Gary Spani celebrated his birth. Gary may very well be considered the greatest college football player ever from Kansas State according to the National Football Foundation. Spani was an All-America selection in 1977 and was voted the MVP of the Japan Bowl as well as the East -West Shrine game and was even a finalist in the Heisman voting! Gary was all over the field especially in his senior year when he averaged an amazing 17 tackles per game! The doors were open wide at the College Football Hall of Fame to welcome Gary Spani in 2002. After his career at K State Gary was selected in the third round  of the NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He was a Chiefs defensive star for nine seasons and retired as the leading tackler in KC franchise history. Spani was selected as the Miller/NFL "Man of the Year" Award in 1983.

The photo above is titles "University of Alabama football game, Tuscaloosa, Alabama" and was taken circa 2010 by photographer Carol M. Highsmith and then donated to the US Library of Congress to be treasured and enjoyed by all.