June 15

Here is what happened in football history on June 15: We discuss the great College Football Hall of Fame player, John Kilpatrick; an advancement in film; and a dome washout. 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 Hall of Fame players, coaches or anyone else in our great game and many more  Legendary stories of the Gridiron.

June 15, 1878 - The world's first moving pictures are taken by 12 different cameras. The subject was a horse with rider at full gallop by photographer Eadweard Muybridge. The purpose was to see if all 4 of the horses hooves left the ground at any point in time during its run, as it it could not be determined with the naked eye, and the photos proved that they did. This set in motion a series of inventions that eventually placed visual media into what we have today. Football eventually embraced these technologies and is very connected to film through much of its history.

This next event is our Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the Day. The headline comes from the June 16, 1973 edition of the Del Rio News Herald from Del Rio, Texas with the great headline of: 

First Rainout Ever makes Dome History

June 15, 1976 - In a bit of irony the Astrodome, the premier domed stadium where the Houston Oilers called home for many seasons, postoned an Astro's baseball game due to a rain out when the visiting team and the umpires could not get to the stadium because of flooded streets. The report says that more than seven inches of rain fell on the Houston area that day forcing the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates and the game umpires to shelter in place. One Astrodome official stated, "It wasn't exactly a rain-out, it was more of a rain-in." Needless to say it is one of the more bizzarre stories of the iconic sports stadiums you may ever read!

June 15, 1889 - John Kilpatrick was an end out of Yale University that was selected to join the ranks of legends in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955. The National Football Foundation shares that in 1910 the Princeton Tigers were a phenomenal football team and heavy favorites to beat Yale when the Bulldogs played the Tigers in the next-to-last game of the season. Princeton was unbeaten, untied, and unscored-upon. The course of that story ended in this game though. With the Tigers leading, 3-0, Yale quarterback Art Howe lofted a pass which John Kilpatrick hauled in at the Princeton 23 and prompltly streaked down the field for the winning touchdown, worth five points in those days. The victory gave Yale one of the greatest upsets in its' history and a final 6-2-2 record. However, it was the year before, 1909, that the Elis had their best season. Called the greatest defensive unit in Eli football, that club won all 10 games and held each of its opponents scoreless.  Mr. Kilpatrick was such a great and talented athlete that he is also a member recognized in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Though born in Canada he served the U.S. in the Army during World War I and received the Distinguished Service  Medal. After football and the war he became a buusiness man in New York City highlighted by serving as the president of the Madison Square Garden Corporation.

Other Notable VIP Birthdays:

June 15, 1959- Raul Allegre was an NFL kicker that played for the Baltimore and Indianapolis Colts, the NY Giants and the NY Jets. He won a couple of Super Bowl Rings while playing for the Giants. In the NCAA Allegre played on teams from the University of Montana and Texas.

June 15, 1983- Derek Anderson NFL Quarterback that played for the Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills. The former Oregon State signal caller was originally drafted by the Baltimore Ravens though ironically he never played a snap for them in a regular season game. Anderson was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2007.

For more stats on football people born on June 15th 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.

The picture in the banner above is from the US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by Carol M. Highsmith circa 1995 and is titled " The Astrodome, Houston Texas ."