June 28

In this episode we discuss the the formation of a major NFL sponsor, the inaugural gridiron athletes in the Black Hall of Fame in 1973 and birthdays of Hall of Fame players including John Elway, Charlie Flowers, Ralph Baker and Jimmy Hitchcock. 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.

The picture in the banner above is from the a photo taken in 2021 by Darin Hayes at Canton, Ohio's Pro Football Hall of Fame of a replica of watermellon ball and leather helmet used in early football.

• June 28, 1926 - The Mercedes Benz Company (Sponsor of the New Orleans Dome stadium) forms when DMC and Benz-Cie merge.

The Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the day comes from the June 29, 1973 Ukiah Daily Journal in Ukiah, California from the UPI wire in New York City. They listed the following headline in the sports section:

38 Named to First Black Hall of Fame

This article was on the occurence of June 28, 1973 where the Black Sports Hall of Fame formed and inducted 38 great African-American athletes, seven of them coming from the sport of football. NFL the legendary rusher, Jim Brown was one of the first enshrinees along with Marion Motley, Fritz Pollard, Dr. Brud Holland, Paul Robeson, Herb McDonald and Roynell Young. Allan Burrow of the Black Sports magazine made the announcement of the entry class along with comedian Bill Cosby. Other athletes of note enshrined were Jackie Robinson, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Bob Beamon, Wilt Chamberlin, Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, and Roberto Clemente.

• June 28, 1958 - The Chicago Cardinals re-signed Cornerback Dick "Night Train" Lane to a 1-year deal according to the NFL.com website. It was the second consecutive offseason in a row that the future Hall of Fame player signed a 1-year deal with Chicago. What a great signing it was too as Lane earned his 4th and final Pro Bowl selection with the Cardinals in 1958.
• June 28, 2020 - Cam Newton signs a one year contract to play quarterback for the New England Patriots. Newton had not been resigned by the Carolina Panthers in the off-season.
• June 28, 2020 - ESPN and NFL Network report that the New England Patriots were penalized one 2021 3rd round draft pick and fined $1.1 million for filming the Cincinnati Bengal's side line during a December 2019 game after an extensive investigation by the League. 
• June 28, 2021 - Former Denver Broncos wide receiver Demarius Thomas retires from playing in the NFL according to NFL.com. Demarius was the first receiver taken in the 2010 NFL Draft. Thomas grew into an athletic mismatch and yards after catch demon especially after Peyton Manning joined the Broncos in 2012. Thomas emerged as the Broncos' No. 1 receiver and would earn five straight Pro Bowl selections as the teams number one receiver. For his career Thomas had 724 receptions for 9,763 yards and 63 TDs. Thomas ranks 53rd all time in receiving yards in NFL history at the time of his retirement.

• June 28, 1902 - Rochelle, Illinois - Ralph Baker, the Northwestern halfback from 1924 to 1926 arrived into this life. The FootballFoundation.org writes that before the arrival of Ralph "Moon" Baker upon the Evanston, Illinois campus, Northwestern was a perennial Big Ten doormat. Through his efforts and some talented teammates, Northwestern improved to break even status his first season and became Big Ten co-champions during his senior season. Ralph spent his freshman year at Illinois before transferring to Northwestern in 1924. The talent and enthusiasm of Baker not only changed Northwestern's won-lost record but its nickname as well. Known as the "Purple" or "Fighting Methodists," Baker inspired a sportswriter to begin calling Northwestern teams the "Wildcats." Baker kicked two first half field goals to take Northwestern into the locker room leading 6-0 against the legendary “Four Horseman team of Notre Dame. However a furious Notre Dame comeback resulted in a 13-6 Notre Dame victory. In his 1926 senior season Baker earned consensus All-American status. Against Chicago he threw two touchdown passes in the first game ever played at Northwestern's Dyche Stadium. The National Football Foundation selected Ralph Baker for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981. After his playing days Ralph did a bit of coaching when he wasn’t working at his day job in the business world.
• June 28, 1911 - Inverness, Alabama - Jimmy Hitchcock a great player from Auburn University in 1930 through the 1932 season was born. Jimmy’s brilliant career was placed in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 as he excelled at both quarterback and halfback for Auburn University. The National Football Foundation informs the reader that Hitchcock was a triple-threat halfback, as he led the Southern Conference in scoring in 1932 and handled the Tiger punting chores as a matter of fact Jim became Auburn's first All-American following his brilliant senior season. "The Phantom of Union Springs" compiled an incredible record as a punter, kicking 232 times without having a single punt blocked. During a 1932 game against rival Tulane, Hitchcock flashed his ball-carrying brilliance with a 60- yard touchdown return of an intercepted pass, followed quickly by a 63-yard TD run out of his punting formation. Tulane was demoralized and Hitchcock was racing toward one of the finest seasons the South had ever witnessed. That same season, after Auburn had defeated coach Wallace Wade's Duke eleven, Wade commented: "I have never seen a finer all- around back play against one of my teams." Jimmy also was an excellent baseball player for the Tigers and in fact he was the school's first student to be nominated as an All-American in both sports. His athletic prowess led him into a 7 year career in professional baseball after college and during the off season, he helped out Auburn by coaching the Tiger backfield players.  
• June 28, 1937 - Marianna, Arkansas - Charlie Flowers was a Fullback out of the University of Mississippi from 1957 through 1959 that entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997. According to the National Football Foundation’s website, "Flavy" made All-Southeastern Conference twice and Academic All-Conference twice. In 1959 he made All-America and Academic All-America. His rushing totals were 438 yards as a sophomore, 546 as a junior, 733 as a senior. That last figure ranked him sixth in the nation in 1959.  Mr. Flowers was embroiled in a Pre-draft Era controversy when he secretly signed a contract with the NY Giants but asked them to keep it secret until after he played in the Sugar Bowl so as not to lose his eligibility to do so. However after the Sugar Bowl was over and prior to Wellington Mara of the Giants submitting the contract  to the NFL offices, Flowers signed a higher paying contract with the AFL's San Diego Chargers. The NY Giants hands were tied as they had "unclean hands" in the original deal and could not have the original contract enforced. He played a couple of seasons with the Chargers and then one with the AFL’s New York Titans before calling it a career.
• June 28, 1960 - Port Angeles, Washington - John Elway,  the legendary Stanford quarterback was born.  John Elway  is a Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Quarterback that played for the Denver Broncos. The standout from Stanford University won two Super Bowl Titles and was selected to the Pro Bowl 9 times in his 16 year career. For that pro career he threw for 51,475 yards and 300 TDs while allowing 226 interceptions. His 1998 yard drive against Cleveland in the 1986 NFL Championship game was phenomenal. John won the NFL MVP award in 1987. His 47 fourth quarter comebacks are truly an astounding feat to have been accomplished at football’s highest level as well. The ProFootballHOF.com describes his brilliant career as  almost storybook-like in fashion. The veteran quarterback was the starting QB in 5 different Super Bowls, losing the first three but directed his team to a 31-24 victory over the heavily favored Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. It was Denver’s first Super Bowl victory. Elway would go on to lead his team to a second Super Bowl win a year later, capturing game Most Valuable Player honors in the process. Weeks after the title win, as expected the decorated QB retired from playing football. Elway was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in the 2000 class. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined John Elway as part of the Class of 2004. Elway has spent many seasons since hanging up his helmet to assume a front office job with the Broncos.