Here are the bios on some birthday boys that are either in the College Football Hall of Fame or the Pro Football Hall of Fame that were born on this day. There is plenty more about them to read by either clicking their high-lighted name or at the top of this page clicking the "On This Day in Football History" and going to June 17 Football History.
June 17, 1886 - Chicago, Illinois - The University of Chicago quarterback of the 1903 to 1906 era, Walter Eckersall was born. Walter played for legendary Maroon Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg at the University of Chicago. Walter Eckersall was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 for his outstanding play as a quarterback.
June 17, 1891 - Englewood, New Jersey - Henry Ketcham the great Yale two-way center/guard from 1911 to the 1913 season arrived into this life. Hank Ketcham played center and guard for Yale University and played in an era where everything around him, including on the football field were changing. In 1911, he helped the Elis to a 7-2-1 mark. The following couple of years, when rules revisions increased the value of a touchdown to six points, reduced the field from 110 to 100 yards and added a fourth down to make 10 yards, Yale was making headlines with a 7-1-1 record. He started every game for the Bulldogs in the 1911 through the 1913 seasons. In his final year Mr. Ketcham was the team's captain, a position up till then that was basically a combination of being the head coach/player. Breaking tradition Ketcham hired Howard Jones as the school's very first paid coach so that the lineman could focus on his own play. According to a quote on the NFF’s web bio, Ketcham summed up the changes during his playing career years later when he said, "I played every varsity game for three years and was taken out only once for a slight injury...I am generally credited with having developed the term 'roving center'. Except for today's platoon systems, football hasn't changed materially. We had the on-side kick, the ball was a bit larger in circumference and the drop kick was more popular than the place kick." Hank Ketcham received the great honor of being selected for inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
June 17, 1923 - Wausau, Wisconsin - Elroy Hirsch the famous Wisconsin and later Michigan halfback was born. Known as "Crazylegs", Hirsch was given the name for his unique running style. The National Football Foundation says Hirsch was quoted once as saying, "I must have looked pretty funny," remembering how a Chicago sportswriter had christened him "Crazy Legs" after his 62-yard touchdown run that helped Wisconsin knock off a tough Great Lakes Naval Training Center team in 1942. "I've always run kind of funny because my left foot points out to the side and I seem to wobble," Hirsch explained. Hirsch played halfback one year at Wisconsin, 1942, and the team had an 8-1-1 record. During the World War II era, he was a Marine trainee at Michigan in 1943, and his team went 8-1. Hirsch lettered at Michigan in football, baseball, basketball and track and was the first four-sport letterman in the school's history! Crazy Legs then was with the El Toro Marine team in 1945. He was named most valuable player in the 1946 All-Star Game, scoring two touchdowns in the Collegians' 16-0 victory over the NFL Champion Los Angeles Rams. Out of college Elroy joined the Chicago Rockets of the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1946. Hirsch described his three seasons in Chicago as "frightful," per the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s bio on him. Hirsch in 1949 felt the now-Chicago Hornets had breached a bonus obligation in his contract and so he demanded his release to pursue opportunity in the NFL. They soon obliged his wishes with a release per a story on the DowntonRams.com site. Happy that his AAFC contract expired, Hirsch joined the Rams. After a year spent mostly on the bench in 1949, Elroy was shifted to end. It being an unfamiliar position to him at the end slot, he initially struggled. The Rams had some talent so they were trying to couple Hirsch with But a year later things started to click. In a big game in the midst of the 1951 season the Rams found themselves down by two scores to the Chicago Bears. That’s when future HOF quarterback Bob Waterfield faked a handoff, stepped back a few paces and threw far downfield. Elroy Hirsch took off at the snap and was running an all out full-speed sprint down the field. Waterfield's pass was over his head but Elroy tracked down the ball securing it on his fingertips and kept on trucking for a 91-yard touchdown. The Rams went on to an important 42-17 victory. It was a patented "Elroy Hirsch special," a sizzling shocker that was repeated 17 times that year. That season Crazy Legs Hirsch set an NFL record with 1495 receiving yards. For his career he had 387 receptions for 7029 yards and 60 scores. Elroy Hirsch was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968 and he also has claimed a spot of honor in the College Football Hall of Fame since 1974.
June 17, 1940 - Shelby, North Carolina - Bobby Bell was one of the starting tackles of the Minnesota Golden Gophers from 1960 to 1962. Bell was a great athlete as proven by him playing quarterback in high school, end and tackle in college and linebacker and O-line in the pros. The FootballFoundation.org says at Minnesota Bell stood 6- 4, weighed 217, and could run as fast as any of the backs. The Gophers had a 22-6-1 record and were in two Rose Bowls in Bell's time. He was two-time All-America and in 1962 won the Outland Trophy as the nation's best interior lineman. Bobby was a big prize int he early 1960’s AFL versus NFL recruiting battle. The ProfootballHOF.com site says the Kansas City Chiefs of the then-young American Football League were so convinced that Bell would sign with the Minnesota Vikings of the rival National Football League that they didn’t even bother selecting him until the seventh round of the 1963 draft. The University of Minnesota star stunned the pro football world when he opted to sign with the Chiefs. Bell began his 12-year career with Kansas City as a defensive end. In coach Hank Stram’s “stack defense,” Bobby was asked to drop out of the 4-3 alignment and become a fourth linebacker. In 1965, after winning all-league honors as a defensive end the previous season, Bell was shifted to outside linebacker. His size and speed made him ideal for the position. As a linebacker, he was named All-AFL or All-NFL every year from 1965 through 1971. Bobby’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1991. Bobby Bell was enshrined in 1983 to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
June 17, 1965 - Lexington, Kentucky - The University of Kentucky Wildcat's stud lineman, Dermontti Dawson was born. Dawson ended up being a second round, 44th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1988 and was imediately set in the line up to replace long time center Mike Webster. Dawson filled the shoes of Webster very well carrying on the tradition of strong, versatile athletes in the middle of the Steelers line. He was so good that he even served as the team's long snapper too through the 1993 season. In his 13 seasons in the NFL, Dawson was an All-Pro in six consecutive years, was the 1993 co-offensive lineman of the year and the 1996 winner of the Alumni Offensive Lineman of the Year. That 1996 campaign saw Dawson and the Pittsburgh offensive line lead the way for Jerome Bettis who finished second in the AFC with a then-personal best 1,431 yards. One season later Dawson helped Bettis rush for a career-high 1,665 yards which was the second highest single-season total in team history per the Pro Football HOF's bio. Dermontti was an iron man too playing 170 consecutive games and during his time Pittsburgh led the NFL in rushing twice as Steelers’ ball carriers amassed 2,180 yards in 1994 and 2,479 yards in 1997. Dermontti Dawson was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
