May 30

We will provide you with a little bit of football nostalgia in this episode with an event on how the game of early football spread to Chicago in an 1879 game played on May 30 and we also celebrate the birthdays of Hall of Fame players like Gale Sayers, Bob Peck, Larry Kelley and Lydell Mitchell!. 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.

As we flip the calendar page, we delve into another chapter of pigskin history. From legendary comebacks that defied the odds to record-breaking performances that left fans speechless, remarkable moments unfolded on this very date. So, buckle up and get ready to relive iconic plays, celebrate trailblazing athletes, and revisit the captivating stories that continue to shape the ever-evolving narrative of professional football. Let's lace up our cleats and journey back in time to witness the incredible feats that transpired on this historic day in the NFL!

Our Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the Day comes from the May 31, 1879 edition of the Chicago Tribune in their Sundry Sports column and has a headline of:

Foot-Ball

It is reporting about the May 30, 1879 instance where the first game ever to be played "West of the Alleghenies" took place on May 30th in Chicago. The article starts by saying, “At the White-Stockings Grounds yesterday afternoon an interesting game of foot-ball was played between Racine College and the Michigan University teams. The attendance was good, and enthusiastically cheered the contestants wherever opportunity occurred.”
The report goes on to say that the game lasted nearly two hours and was played by what was described as a modified rule of rugby. We can see that the influence of the 1874 Harvard vs. McGill games influence was spreading across the country. This is only about a year away from Walter Camp suggesting major revisions to the game that would make it a much more recognizable form of American football. 
 As for the game, the University Michigan defeated Racine College 1-0. The reported in 1879 tells us that; “No bones were broken, but (C.) Tolbert was stretched on the turf once. A bucket of water, however, revived him.” 
 
A fun fact about Racine's football team was that in 1903 the program ended for what we would look at today as the oddest of circumstances! A November 6, 1903 article in the Champagne, Illinois Daily Gazette posts the headline of:

Bounced for Eating Fudges: Football team of Racine Gets its Walking Papers

Yes the entire football team was discharged allegedly because the players were caught eating fudge which in the eyes of the school administration was thought to make them poor students and athletes. Thank God that same criteria isn't used for your friendly blog writer!

Here are the bios on some 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 30 Football History.

May 30, 1891 - Lockhaven, Pennsylvania - Bob Peck, the University of Pittsburgh’s center from 1913 to 1916 arrived to claim his date of birth. Peck, according to the NFF,  was a leader of the Panthers during one of their finest eras. He would motivate the rest of the men before and during games when he thought their fire was going out.  The 5 foot-9 inch snapper would raise his voice above all others and cry out, "When Peck fights, the team fights!" There was a renewed vigor in their play, for the Panthers would find new spirit within their hearts, new strength in their weary bodies. It was not long before the Pitt cheering section took up the call to arms. "When Peck fights, the team fights!" It became the battle cry. In just his first varsity season, the Panthers lost only one game in nine. Then Glenn "Pop" Warner took over as head coach and Pitt immediately ran off two unbeaten and untied seasons, going 8-0-0 in 1915 and 8-0-0 once again in 1916, and winning the National Championship in the last of those two campaigns. Peck was the Panther captain that year and repeated as an All-America selection, the first Pitt player to receive such national recognition. Bob Peck was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 after the National Football Foundation tabulated their votes.

May 30, 1915 - Conneaut, Ohio - Yale’s great end from 1934 through the 1936 season, Larry Kelley was born. Good enough that in 1936 he won the Heisman Trophy, the second year of the award and the first time it was called the Heisman. The National Football Foundation selected Larry Kelley for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1969.     

May 30, 1943 - Wichita, Kansas - Gale Sayers the top notch Kansas Halfback, also known as the “Kansas Comet” was born. The University retired his number 48 jersey soon after he wore it last. The Chicago Bears drafted Sayers in the first round of the 1965 NFL Draft.  The Pro Football Hall of Fame honored Gale Sayers with enshrinement in 1977 to become one of a very few that entered both Football Hall's in the same year. 

May 30, 1949 - Salem, New Jersey -  Lydell Mitchell 3 time Pro- Bowl NFL Running back played for the Colts, Chargers & Rams.   Lydell Mitchell entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. 

The picture in the banner above is from the US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by Oliver Herford circa 1897 and is titled " Leads a football team to victory ."