March 14

In this episode of the Football History Headlines we discuss where the term "Hook Em Horns" came from, the Side Judge position's history as well as many more HOF Legendary stories.

March 14, 1967 - The 1967 NFL Draft: Bubba Smith from Michigan State first pick by Baltimore Colts. We discussed Mr. Smith just recently on his birthday in our February 28 post. Bubba ended up playing five great seasons for the Colts until a knee injury prevented him from playing in the 1972 season. Smith went to the Oakland Raiders in 1973 after his recovery and played there for two years before departing and joining the Houston Oilers for his final two NFL seasons. Bubba played in two Pro Bowls and even was an All-Pro one season and received a Super Bowl Ring with the Colts for their victory in Super Bowl V per the Pro Football Reference.

March 14, 1978 - The NFL permanently adds a 7th official to the field on game days, the Side Judge. According to the Operations.NFL.com website says that the SJ position was added in the late 1970's after the urging of legendary Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula because he felt that the defensive backs were getting away with holding and interference of receivers regularly on Sundays. The Side Judge much like their counterpart on the opposite sideline the Field Judge are positioned generally about 20 yards downfield at the snap of the ball in the defensive secondary. The addition of this seventh person in stripes allows an official to focus on each of the five eligible receivers (the widest player on each side of the offensive line and three backfield players). The Side Judge also normally has some pre-snap duties of counting the defense, controlling the sideline, helping with the flow of getting the football to the umpire during dead balls and watching substitutions from their assigned sideline.

March 14, 1903 - Superior, Nebraska - Nebraska’s great tackle from 1923 through the 1925 season, Ed Weir was born. For more on this legend please click his name.

March 14, 1936 - Sacul, Texas - Texas Christian University's outstanding halfback, Jim Swink arrived into this life. The 2015 winter edition of the TCU Magazine states that Jim's running style, especially in the open field, made him one of the most acclaimed halfbacks in Southwest Conference history and helped the Horned Frogs to win a SWC crown in 1955 and back-to-back Cotton Bowl appearances in 1956 and 1957 under coach Abe Martin. The article goes on to say that Swink had some very colorful nicknames such as “Ol’ Swivel Hips” and “The Rusk Rambler,” in admiration of his signature shifty running style that made him so unique. Swink also is remembered for being the subject of the famous University of Texas expression, “Hook ’em, Horns.” Before a November 12, 1955 game where TCU, ranked 8th in the nation were set to battle with the Longhorns, Texas students fearing Jim Swink’s elusive running style came up with the inspirational slogan to motivate and illustrate their desire for their defense.

“They had a guy in their student body that knew our team and spread the word that they needed to stop me from running,” Swink told the TCU magazine in a  2006 interview. “The Texas players obviously had heard about how strong a team we had, too. So they came up with ‘hook him’ because they wanted to catch me, trip me up, slow me down. And that game was the first time they used that.”

Other than the legacy that the team slogan still carries, it was all for not in the case of the 1955 game against the Horned Frogs though. Jim Swink had one of his best games of his collegiate career, as he pounded the turf for 235 yards on 15 carries for a 15.7-yard average and scored a school-record 26 points. TCU dominated Texas on that Saturday by a score of 47-20. The National Football Foundation's website bio on Swink tells us Jim Swink was the nation's leading scorer and second leading ground gainer as a junior in 1955. He totaled 125 points that year in addition to rushing for 1,283 net yards, a figure which set a record in the TCU record books. Jim was a two-time All-America selection and ended up second to Howard Cassady of Ohio State in the Heisman Trophy voting in '55. Jim Swink received the great honor of being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

March 14, 1943 - Dayton, Ohio - Charlie Green the crafty quarterback of Wittenberg University in Ohio was born. The FootballFoundation.org website says that Charlie was Wittenberg's starting quarterback from 1962-1964 and led his school to a 25-0-1 record and three championships in the Ohio Athletic Conference. He was often fondly referred to as "Chuckin' Charlie" as he finished his college career with 5,575 passing yards and 61 passing touchdowns. The National Football Foundation voters selected Charlie Green to be placed into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. Charlie played at the professional level for four seasons with both the Boston Patriots and the Oakland Raiders.

March 14, 1978 - Lynchburg, Virginia - Wisconsin's bruising back from the 1996 season through 1999, Ron Dayne was born. The NFF's bio on Ron states that he won the 1999 Heisman Trophy in a landslide, after surpassing the 2,000-yard mark for the second time in his career. Dayne also received the accolades of being a three time recipient of the honor of being a First-Team All-American. Ron is the NCAA leader for career rushing yardage and is the first to go over 7000 yards with his career total of 7,125 yards. Ron Dayne's collegiate gridiron legacy was placed into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Ron was picked in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, he played seven seasons in theLeague with the Giants, Broncos and Texans. He helped New York to a 2001 Super Bowl appearance.

The picture in the banner above is from the US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by photographer Carol M. Highsmith circa 2010 and is titled " Youth Football Game at Cordozo Senior High ."