July 27

In this edition of the Football History Headlines, we discuss the entry of two New York City area teams into the early National Football League, the sale of the Chicago Cardinals the tragic passing of a Chicago Bears star player as well as many more HOF Legendary stories.

The picture in the banner above is from the US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by photographer Bain News Service circa 1914 and is titled "Yale Football Team 11/2/1914 ."

• July 27, 1929 - According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame , Chris O'Brien sold the Chicago Cardinals to David Jones on this day. Our friend Joe Ziemba in his book When Football was Football; The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL says that the 1928 season had been a debacle for the Cardinals as they finished the season with a 1-5 League record, being outscored 107-7! O'Brien had been secretly trying to find a buyer for his team for about three years. The first announcement of sale according to Joe took place on July 18, 1929 and Bears owner George Halas was involved in it. You can learn more about this and other great events in Cardinals history by getting a copy of Joe Ziemba's book and also by listening to the author speak about his beloved Cardinals bi-weekly on his Sports History Network podcast which is also named When Football was Football!
• July 27, 1929 - Orange Tornadoes / Newark Tornadoes franchise joins the NFL  and is a League member from 1929 through the 1930 season.
• July 27, 1929 - The Staten Island Stapletons or Stapes franchise forms as the Brooklyn franchise and then was transferred to Staten Island. 
• July 27, 1964 - Running back Willie "The Wisp" Galimore along with teammate Bo Farrington tragically died at age 29 in a car accident near Rensselear, Indiana. Galimore played for Florida A&M from 1952 through 1955. He was selected 58th overall by Chicago Bears in 1956 NFL Draft and played with Chicago right up until the season prior to his passing. Yahoo.com lists his NFL career Stats as 670 carries for 2,985 yards and 26 touchdowns. The Wisp was a Pro Bowl selection in 1958 and helped Bears win the NFL Championship in 1963. Experts claimed that he was able run side-to-side as fast as most players could run in a straight line. Hall of Famers Chuck Bednarik and Doug Atkins said Galimore was one of the best rushers they ever faced.  The Bears franchise eventually retired Willie Gallimore's is number 28 jersey as tribute to the fallen star.
• July 27, 1973 - The Chicago College All-Star game was played in Chi-town's Soldier Field and 54,103 fans watched as the Champion Miami Dolphins knocked off  the All-Stars 14-3. The MVP award, always given to the college player team, happened to be Ray Guy the punter from Southern Miss.
• July 27, 2018 - NFL Veterans of the following teams reported to training camp: Denver Broncos, LA Chargers, Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings.

• July 27, 1910 - Waynesville, North Carolina - Fred Crawford was the fine tackle from Duke University. Mr Crawford entered into the place of legends, the confines of the College Football Hall of Fame in the 1973 induction class. He was a consensus All American selection in 1933 and was the main contributor for the Blue Devil's upset over the great Tennessee Volunteers squad that season, which happened to be the Vols only loss in 2-1/2 years. Duke's head coach Wade Wallace described Crawford as the best lineman he had ever seen play.
• July 27, 1950 - Detroit, Michigan - Reggie McKenzie was a guard out of the University of Michigan that entered the College Football Hall of Fame in the 2002 class. Mr. McKenzie followed up his stellar play in college with an 11 year career with the Buffalo Bills inthe NFL. He was a mainsty force in the Bills O-line dubbed "the Electric Company". The big man played an additional two season in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks before retiring in 1984. Reggie McKenzie started 169 of his total 171 NFL games, that is quite an accomplishment!
• July 27, 1959 - Natchez, Mississippi - Hugh Green was a defensive end from the University of Pittsburgh. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in the entry group of 1996. Mr. Green was an outside linbacker in the NFL playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs and the Miami Dolphins. After his senior year season Green was awarded the Walter Camp Trophy, the Maxwell Award, Sporting News Player of the Year Aard, the Lombardi Award and the UPI Player of the Year. The Pitt Panthers appreciated his great play so much that before his final game played for the University, they retired his number 99 jersey.

July 27, 1939 - Hammond, Indiana - Cornerback Irv Cross of the Northwesternteams from 1958 through 1960 was born. According to a post on Yahoo.com, Irv was selected as the 98th overall pick in the 1961 NFL Draft by the by Philadelphia Eagles. During his NFL career he played not only with the Eagles, but with the LA Rams as well. His career numbers include 22 interceptions and many passes defended. Cross was a two-time Pro Bowl selection in both 1964 and 1965. He is best known for his role as analyst/commentator on CBS’ The NFL Today from 1975 till 1990. Irv Cross was the first African-American to work full-time as an analyst on national television.

July 27, 1988 - Big Spring, Texas - Former Texas A&M Quarterback Ryan Tannehill arrived into this life. Ryan was selected eighth overall by Miami Dolphins in 2012 NFL Draft. He has had his vest seasons though as a Tennessee Titan though leading them to the playoffs.

If you are interested in the uniforms worn by the pro players of football throughout the years we invite to please visit our friends at the Gridiron Uniform Database at this link GUD .

For more stats on football people born on July 27th 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. 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.