June 26

In this episode we discuss Stagg's determination finds a new way to win, Sharpe sets records and the Hall of Fame Birthdays just keep rolling out some great players to celebrate. 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 26, 1888 - In the great book, Amos Alonzo Stagg: College Football's Man in Motion by our friend Jennifer Taylor Hall we learned that just three days after pitching an 8-0 shutout to lead Yale over Harvard for a share of the league championship, Stagg took the mound again for the Elis. With his arm still numb from the hard throwing a few days earlier, Lonnie Stagg pitched a game underhand forcing 17 pop fly outs by Harvard to help give Yale a 5-3 victory.

Amos Alonzo Stagg

Born August 16, 1862, in West Orange, New Jersey, was College Football Hall of Fame Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. Stagg was a great innovator of many items we know in football such as the huddle, man in motion, and more. Most of his career was as the head man for the University of Chicago Maroons. Biographer Jennifer Taylor Hall discusses the great Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg and his many contributions to football and sports in general.

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• June 26, 1905 - Micanopy, Florida - North Carolina State’s halfback/quarterback from the era of 1925 to 1927, Jack McDowall was born. Football was a new wonder to be explored and enjoyed in the southern states in the 1920’s. The FootballFoundation.org shares that the Southern Conference was just three years old and North Carolina State fans were simply hoping for respectability within the new league. Little did they know their Wolfpack had a player who would become the greatest athlete in school history. "Spindle Legs" McDowall could run like the wind, pass with precision, kick with accuracy and play a devilishly destructive defense. He was Mr. Everything to the Wolfpack football program but where this young man would lead them was quite the pleasant surprise.  Jack’s first two seasons on the Wolfpack squad were filled with more losses than wins but in his final year McDowall led the Wolfpack to its finest record since the school began playing football in 1894, as NC State ran off a 9-1-0 record.  Jack McDowall’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1975. When the school bell rang for the last time Spindle Legs found a career path of becoming the head coach and athletic director at Rollins College, a post he held for 29 years.
• June 26, 1916 - Chicago, Illinois - Alvin Wistert who was Boston University as well as the University of Michigan’s tackle from 1946 to 1949 arrived into this life. Alvin who was also referred to as “Moose” the the last of a trio of HOF brothers who played College ball at a high level as he joined siblings Francis "Whitey" and Albert "Ox." Each one of these men wore the number 11 for their school and it has since been retired in their honor. The NFF’s bio on Moose tells us that he was a high school dropout that had spent six years with the Marine Corps during World War II before entering college. Because of his lack of high school credits, Wistert was required to pass a battery of skill tests, which he did with ease. Not wishing to live in the shadow of his two famous brothers, Alvin enrolled at Boston University and lettered as a 30-year-old freshman football player. He transferred to Michigan, played three years at tackle, was All-America in 1948 and 1949, and team captain in 1949. Michigan won the Big 10 championship all three years. At age 33 in 1949, he became the oldest player ever named All-America. Alvin Wistert was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981 after the National Football Foundation tabulated up their votes.
• June 26, 1933 - Columbus, Ohio - The University of Notre Dame’s starting quarterback from 1951 to 1954, Ralph Guglielmi was born. The NFF's bio tells us that he became the starting quarterback in just the third game of his freshman year in 1951. He would go on to hold the fabled role all four years of his impressive college career, capped by unanimous All-America honors and a fourth place finish in the Heisman voting at the end of the 1954 season. During his career he ran for 13 touchdowns, and he passed for 18. He completed 209 passes for 3,117 yards. Ralph was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001. He was a two way player for the Irish as he also started at defensive back picking off 10 opponent passes in college. He was the drafted in the first round of the 1955 NFL draft. The signal caller went on to play in the NFL for the Washington Redskins, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles.
• June 26, 1968 - Chicago, Illinois - Shannon Sharpe the Pro Football Hall of Fame Tight End that played for the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens. Sharpe earned the right to play in the Pro Bowl 8 times and was voted 1st Team All-Pro 4 times in his 14 years in the League. It is quite amazing that he was not picked until the 7th round of the 1990 NFL Draft at the 192nd overall pick. Shannon played with a chip on his shoulder and he proved the experts wrong as he played like a first round talent his entire career. The ProFootballHOF.com says he caught 815 balls for 10060 yards and 62 scores, all of which were records for the Tight End position when he retired. The gifted receiver was a standout at Savannah State University. Shannon Sharpe played in 8 Pro Bowls and helped he Bronco win Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII as well as earning a ring in the Ravens Super Bowl XXXV title.

For more stats on football people born on June 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.

The picture in the banner above is from the Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium display of the Cotton Bowl games. Photo by Darin Hayes 2021.