May 22

In this episode we pay tribute to: the invention of the chin strap; a gridiron star in dispute with an icon of the baseball diamond; and so much more! 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.

Chin Strap invented 1915

May 22, 1915 -The first strap was created and used on this date in 1915 to keep the leather helmets of the day in place according to the TimeToast.com website. Unlike straps in the modern era this strap went around the users neck. Yikes! Things got better though because Encyclopedia.com says the chin strap had a redesign of the straps to attach around the chin in 1939.

 Price of a football 1921

According to an advertisement in the Spalding sponsored NCAA Football Rules Book of 1921 the Official Ball of College Football cost hefty sum of $10. To put that equivalent in 2020 money it would cost the consumer over $130! The IRS estimates that the average American worker earned about $63 a week at that time in history.

Fisk Objects to Prime Time

Our Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the Day comes from the May 23, 1990 edition of the New York Daily News, “ Fisk Objects to Prime Time.” Of course it was talking about the incident that occurred when the Chicago White Sox visited the New York Yankees on
May 22, 1990 - NFL Hall of Fame player who was also moonlighting in the MLB, Deion Sanders was involved in a dispute with Chicago White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk, one of the most infamous incidents of Sanders' baseball career. This story goes a little deeper than just the headline. Let’s set the table for this one with some info provided by an article on the Undefeated.com. Fisk, aka “The Commander” or “Pudge,” was entering his fourth decade as a player. He also spent the first part of his career with the Boston Red Sox, so there was absolutely no love lost playing against the team from the Bronx. On the other hand the flamboyant Sanders attracted a lot of media attention. The fifth overall selection in the 1989 NFL draft had signed a 4-year, $4 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons, made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster in 1990 and became one of the first in the majors to wear his own brand. The Daily News shares that Fisk became incensed when Prime Time, before stepping into the batter's box, drew dollar signs in the dirt by home plate right before the first pitch of the fifth inning. Deion swears he wasn’t drawing the dollar signs but was simply performing the dust scribble ritual before entering the box that he has done since he was a youngster. Sanders continued to have fun with reporters about the confrontation after his Yankees won 5-2 while Fisk was still upset and yelled at the media as he entered his post game shower.

NFL Expansion Narrowly Passes

May 22, 1991 - The NFL agrees to expand by two teams by the start of the 1994 season. The May 23, 1991 edition of the Charlotte Observer stated that the resolution barely received the 21 votes of the then 28 franchises it needed to carry. The Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions and Phoenix Cardinals voted against the expansion while the Los Angeles Raiders and Indianapolis Colts abstained from voting. The NFL bylaws require a ¾ majority to pass on such a change. There were multiple reasons that teams did not like the arrangement of expansion and they ranged from splitting TV revenues, lack of a collective bargaining agreement at the time and a slowing U.S. economy. Bills owner Ralph Wilson was quoted as, “ I was in the Navy, and they always said, ‘If you’re going to land the troops on the beach, you better clear the land mines first.”
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue exitted the meeting stating that financially at worst the expansion would be a wash for the current team’s revenue because the items of concern would be offset by franchise fees of the new teams plus additional revenue streams of taking the League to 30 teams. The two teams added would later be known as the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

If you want to be able to be able to read through some old articles like NY Daily News and the Charlotte Observer, you need to check out Newspapers.com. At Newspapers.com, you can get access to over 640 million pages’ worth of news from the US, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland and more dating back from 1798 to yesterday.  Get a free one week subscription to Newspapers.com by visiting SportsHistoryNetwork.com/newspapers. And with a paid subscription, you’ll also be helping to support the production of this and other Sports History Network shows.  

NFL Owners Meeting 2001

On May 22, 2001 the NFL owners voted to realign the League. The Houston Texans joined the NFL and the newly created AFC South Division as the 32 tems split into a total of 8 Divisions from 6. It is also announced that the Seattle Seahawks will move from the AFC West to the NFC West for the 2002 season as the NFL realign

Here are some bios on  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 May 22 Football History.

May 22, 1907 - Chicago, Illinois - Washington tackle of 1929 to 1931, Paul Schwegler was born. Schwegler received the great honor of being selected for inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967.

May 22, 1940 - Mick Tingelhoff is an NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame Center who played for the Minnesota Vikings for 17 seasons. He was selected in the HOF in the 2015 class. Mick played his college football at the University of Nebras ka-Lincoln and did not become the starter there until his senior season. The Hall of Famer also went undrafted and signed with the Vikings as a free agent in 1962 and became the starter as a rookie! His hard work earned him the right to play in six consecutive Pro Bowls in the late 1960s. After the 1969 season Mr. Tingelhoff was voted as the NFL's Top Offensive Lineman of the Year.

May 22, 1960 - Omaha, Nebraska - Dave Rimington the star University of Nebraska center from 1979 to 1982 arrived into this world. Rimington during his last two seasons made All-America and Academic All-America those years of 1981 and 1982. Dave also received a National Football Foundation scholarship and won the Lombardi Award which is handed to the nation's best lineman or linebacker, in 1982 according to his bio on the NFF’s website. He won the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's best interior lineman. Dave Rimington’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1997. Rimington enjoyed a pro career  during the rest of the 1980’s decade, splitting time with the NFL’s the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles.

May 22, 1977 - Chesapeake, Virginia - North Carolina cornerback from 1996 through the 1998 season Dré Bly was born. The National Football Foundation recognizes Bly as the preeminent defensive back of his era, as he finished his career as the only three-time First-Team All-American in ACC history. The two time consensus First-Team All-America selection, led North Carolina to three consecutive bowl wins, including victories in 1997 and 1998 Gator Bowls and the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl. A finalist for the 1997 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Dre set the conference record with 20 career and 11 single-season interceptions, and both marks still stand as school records. Dre Bly was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014 after the National Football Foundation tabulated their votes. Bly was selected in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams,helping them win Super Bowl XXXIV during his rookie season. Dre spent a total of 11 years in the professional ranks with the Rams, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers and he was respected as an All-Pro honoree and two-time Pro Bowl selection during his career.  

The picture in the banner above is from the US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by L.M. Glackens of Puck Magazine on September 24, 1913 and is titled " When Duty Calls ."