June 29

Here is is what happened in football history for June 29: The Sea Devils stood tall on the World stage; the CFL had a new sheriff in town; and Hall of Fame greats like Dan McMillan, Wes Fesler, Claude Humphrey and Dan Dierdorf are remembered on their birthday! 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 AT&T Stadium near Dallas, Texas taken by Darin Hayes in 2021.

June 29, 2007 - NFL Europe holds World Bowl XV as the Hamburg Seadevils defeat the Franfurt Galaxy. The NFL also made the announcement that this is the final game for NFL Europa and that international NFL games will replace it as the world expansion mechanism of American football.

June 29, 2017 edition of the Edmonton Journal has our Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the Day with their post on that day of:

Ambrosie to be CFL Boss

 The CFL announced that former CFL lineman, Randy Ambrosie would succeed Jeffrey Orridge as the Commissioner of the Canadian Football League. The move officially took place on July 5th of that same year. Orridge announced back in April of that year that he would be resigning the post and the powers that be decided to dip into the alumni pool of the League to lead it as the former Edmonton Eskimo, Toronto Argonaut and Calgary Stampeder, Ambrosie would fit the bill understanding much of how the league operates.

• June 29, 1898 - From parts unknown - Dan McMillan who played in 1917 and 1919 for Southern California and then the 1920 and 1921 seasons for the University of California at tackle was born. The FootballFoundation.org says that after McMillan had just completed two outstanding seasons at Southern Cal, World War I called him to serve his country as a pilot. While in flight school near Berkeley, McMillan met several of the California players and was impressed enough to transfer to Cal. The fabled "Wonder Teams" of coach Andy Smith had been gifted with the All-America talents that helped the Bears to dominance in the West, running a 50-game unbeaten streak until 1925. In 1920 the Golden Bears out-scored nine opponents, 510-14 and then blanked Ohio State in the Rose Bowl 28-0. McMillan helped Cal to another unbeaten season and Rose Bowl appearance in 1921 gaining consensus All-America honors after another outstanding year of performances on the field.  Dan McMillan’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1971.  
• June 29, 1908 - Youngstown, Ohio - The great end from the Ohio State teams of 1928 to 1930, Wes Fesler arrived into the world. The National Football Foundation claims he might just be one of the greatest lineman ever from Ohio State. As a member of the Buckeyes, Fesler was  a Phi Beta Kappa, a baseball star, a basketball All-America, and a three-time football All-America. He played a mean defensive end and in 1929 he picked up a fumble and raced 95 yards for a touchdown against the Northwestern Wildcats. In 1930, he was voted the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten. Sometimes to appreciate how good a player was you have to look at what opposing coaches may have said about the player. Pitt’s head coach, Jock Sutherland once said about Fesler that he was  "a one man team. It is unbelievable how that boy can do so many things." He was Ohio State's leading receiver and on some plays moved into the backfield and threw a pass or two. Mr. Fesler went on to a successful career in coaching as he led programs such as Wesleyan University, the University of Pittsburgh, Ohio State and the University of Minnesota. The National Football Foundation selected Wes Fesler for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.  
• June 29, 1949 - Canton, Ohio - Dan Dierdorf who played tackle for the Michigan Wolverines from 1968 to 1970 was born. The NFF tells us that Dierdorf made all-conference twice and consensus All-America in 1970 under the instruction of legendary Coach Bo Schembechler. He was chosen for the East-West Shrine Game and Hula Bowl and for the 1971 College All-Star Game. Dan Dierdorf  ended up as both a Pro Football Hall of Fame & College Football Hall of Fame enshrined Offensive lineman that played Center, Guard and Tackle for the St. Louis Cardinals and was selected to the Pro Bowl an amazing 6 times including 3, 1st Team All-Pro selections. The NFLPA even selected in three different seasons as the League’s best blocker. Dan Dierdorf received the great honor of being selected for inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000. After he hung up his helmet Dierdorf became a TV color analyst on NFL games.
• June 29, 1944 - Memphis, Tennessee - Claude Humphrey arrived into this life to eventually become a Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles. Claude was the third overall player taken in the 1968 NFL Draft by the Falcons. He was worth the high pick too as he had a brilliant career. Mr. Humphrey was a Six time Pro Bowl selection and two time 1st Team All-Pro. Even though sacks were not an official statistic until just after Humphrey retired the Pro Football Hall of Fame credits the big defensive lineman for 122 sacks, 2 safeties, one recovery of a fumble for a score and 5 All-NFL selections. To say he was a disruptive force to  the opposition’s offensive continuity is an understatement!