July 26

In this edition we discuss the careers of gridiron greats like Everett Strupper, Bob Waterfield, Tommy McDonald and Bob Lilly as well as many more HOF Legendary stories like the 1974 NFLPA strike and other events.

Our friend Bob Hyldburg, a very passionate historian and collector of Boston/New England Patriots items has graciously shared some images of items in his covey that pertain to July 26, 1960 and and exhibition game of the AFL's Boston Patriots. We thank Bob for sharing this glimpse back in football history and encourage any and all that want to help preserve the history of the game and want to share, in the Portal of Positive Football History to to the same , by images, words, or even being a guest on the podcast! Enjoy the images! Thanks Bob!

Our Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the Day came from the July 11, 1974 edition of the Palm Springs Post from West Palm Springs, Florida and their headline of:

College All-Star Game Off; Sponsors Blame NFLPA

The big game that traditionally pitted the in coming rookie All-Star team against the previous years champs was scheduled to take place on July 26, 1974. However the Chicago College All-Star game that was supposed to be played on this date was cancelled due to the NFL Players strike of that year. The Miami Dolphins were on tap to play the All-Stars in this edition of the game. Phins coach Don Shule told the press that he was very sorry that the game had to be cancelled. "Our veterans deserved the trip to Chicago, both finacially and for the prestige."

A more recent SI.com article states that the NFLPA was led by the rallying cry, “No Freedom, No Football,” as players wanted the ability to switch teams when their contracts expired. Owners scoffed, saying this would lead to “anarchy.” In Today's game, we call it “free agency.” The strike lasted 42 days but was fruitless as the owners stayed strong and players broke ranks. What it may have done though was eventually show the players that they needed a stronger, better communicating Union. What they did work towards and within a couple of decades most of the items they fought for in 1974, they received in a CBA and free agency after a rookie contract was fulfilled.

• July 26, 2012 - According to an NFL.com post the league announced the NFL Total Wellness program that they would be initiating. The thought was that a comprehensive health program that would provide current and former players with physical and mental health resources would benefit the players of all eras. The mission of NFL Total Wellness per the article was to enhance the overall well-being of the NFL community in the areas of physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and financial health.
• July 26, 2019 - NFL Veterans report to camp for the following teams; Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, LA Rams and the San Francisco 49ers. Fast forward to the end of the season and it was the Chiefs defeating the 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV played at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium.

• July 26, 1896 - Everett Strupper was halfback from Georgia Tech that earned a place in the College Football Hall of Fame's 1972 class of enrolled stars. In the 1916 season Strupper scored 8 touchdowns in his team's 222-0 defeat of Cumberland College. Yes that is a football record for lopsided scores.
• July 26, 1920 - Bob Waterfield Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined QB of the Rams franchise both in Cleveland and Los Angeles. He was important enough to the Rams franchise that his number 7 jersey was retired by the organization. Read more about this legend by clicking his name above.
• July 26, 1934 - Tommy McDonald was a halfback/flanker that made it into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. His college ball was played at Oklahoma while he played professionally for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, LA Rams, Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns. As a Sooner in the 1955 college season, Mr. McDonald became the first Oklahoma player to ever score a touchdown in each game played in a season. He followed that up in 1956 by winning the covetted Maxwell Award and ranking third in the Heisman voting. In the Pros he may be most remembered scoring on a 35 yard pass from Norm Van Brocklin as he and the Eagles defeated Vince Lombardi's Packers in the 1960 NFL Championship game.
• July 26, 1939 - Bob Lilly is a member in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame & the College Football Hall of Fame. The defensive tackle  played his college ball at TCU and as a Horned Frog he soon became a consensus All- American. An interesting fact about Bob LIlly is that through a series of trades and circumstances he became the first Dallas Cowboy ever draft pick. The pick was a great one too as Lilly graced the Cowboy defense for 14 seasons an earned the nickname of "Mr. Cowboy". He played in a couple Super Bowls for Dallas including a convincing 24-3 victory over Miami in Super Bowl VI where Bob Lilly registered an NFL record 29 yard loss by sacking the great Dolphin QB, Bob Griese!

For more stats on football people born on July 26th check out Pro Football Reference.

See something that happened on this date that we missed? Please let us know via email at PigskinDispatch@gmail.com.

We will provide you with a little bit of football nostalgia in a YouTube Video. This daily football history segment features the Great events, Franchise formation anniversaries as well as the birthdays of notable players, coaches or anyone else in our great game.

The picture in the banner above is from the US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by photographer Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc. circa September 10, 1943 and is titled " Woodmere Academy, Woodmere, Long Island. Coaching football ."

Thanks again to Bob Hyldburg for sharing the Boston Patriots images above!