May 25

The topics in this May 25 edition start with the NFL owners agreeing on the sale of a franchise and we also remember a couple of Hall of Fame bone crushing tacklers 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.

Gridiron fans, gear up for another exciting day of football history! Dive into the archives and relive the moments that shaped the game we love. Today's headlines take us back in time, exploring everything from legendary quarterback duels that captivated a nation to groundbreaking rule changes that redefined the sport. So, whether you're a die-hard traditionalist or a stats guru, we have something for everyone. Let's lace up our virtual cleats and take a trip down memory lane!

The Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the Day comes from the Globe-Gazette in Mason City, Iowa with its top page headline of : 

NFL Unanimously Approves Vikings Sale! 

May 25, 2005 - The NFL owners make a resolution approving the purchase of the Minnesota Vikings by New Jersey real-estate developer Zygmunt Wilf.  Wilf and his group paid $600 million for the franchise and vowed not to move the team from the twin cities area. The propery magnate did say though he would push for a new stadium to replace the aging Metrodome to be the homefiled of the Vikes for future generations. Wilf apparently set skeptical Minnesota fans minds at ease about possible relocation by stating, " To me, this is not a matter of economics. This is a matter of passion. I've always been a strong NFC fan." the long time New York Giants fan went on to add, "We will be in the Minneapolis area forever. Look I am not changing that at all." WIlf purchased the team from Red McCombs in June of 2005. McCombs had owned the team since 1998.  At this same owner's meeting the teams awarded Tampa Bay the rights to host Super Bowl XLIII scheduled for Feb 1, 2009.

If you want to be able to be able to read through some old articles like the Globe -Gazette in Mason City, 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. 

May 25, 1911 - Larksville, Pennsylvania - Joe Skladany the University Pittsburgh end from 1931 to 1933 was born. The National Football Foundation says Skladany struck fear into the hearts of enemy runners, as an immovable defender whose crunching tackles tore at the spirit of opposing ball carriers. As a matter of fact they report that scouts at Pitt Panther games of the early 1930’s would walk away from games muttering “Stay away from Skladany!” In 1933, Joe’s senior campaign, “Mugsy” held Pitt opponents to a net minus six yards around his right end as he tore into opposing rushers with an unusually strong leg drive which sent them reeling backward. During his three varsity seasons, Pitt rolled to a 24-3-2 record. He is credited as being the one man who most helped coach Jock Sutherland build a winning tradition at Pitt. In 1931, the Panthers were 8-1-0, losing only to Notre Dame, 25-12. The next season, the Panthers raced to an 8-0-2 mark before losing to Southern California in the Rose Bowl, 35-0. It was as though the Panthers were determined to erase that bowl defeat from their minds as they entered the 1933 campaign, Skladany's last at Pitt. The nine-game season was marred only by a loss to national power Minnesota, 7-3, and the Gophers had managed to score one of only two touchdowns the Panther defense surrendered that year (Navy scored the other TD). Joe was an All-America choice in each of his two final campaigns. Mugsy Skladany’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1975. 

May 25, 1978 - Brian Urlacher is a Pro Football Hall of Fame Middle Linebacker that played for the NFL's  Chicago Bears. This "Modern Monster of the Midway" played college ball at the University of New Mexico and is recongizied as one of the school's most outstanding athletes as he was a Consensus All American for the team and was entered into the College Hall of Fame in the 2017 selection class. His NFL career spanned 13 seasons and he was voted All Pro 8 times and won the honor of being the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2005. In 2018, his 1st year of eligibilty, he was voted in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

May 25, 1929 - Marion Campbell  was an NFL All Pro Defensive Lineman and Offensive Lineman who played for the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1950's and 60's. Campbell was one of the last of the players that played on both side of the ball for entire games. He was called the "Swamp Fox" by his peers and played his college years at the University of Georgia. After retiring as a player, Marion coached defenses as a coordinator and eventually even had two stints as a head coach in Atlanta and Philadelphia.

To see more football birthdays and stats for May 25th 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 US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by photographer Edward H. Hart circa 1893 and is titled " The Viking ."