May 31

In this episode we will fill your football brains with a tad bit more knowledge as we speak of the Saints getting the all clear to be sold and celebrate some birthdays of Hall of Famers Joe Willy Namath and Kevin Dent. 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 US Library of Congress' collection and was contributed by Harris and Ewing Photography circa 1907 and is titled " Charlotte Hall Football ."

Path Cleared for Saints Sale

That was the headline in the Shreveport, Louisiana’s The Town Talk on June 1, 1985 and it is our Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the Day.
It is reporting on the May 31, 1985 New Orleans Saints sale to Tom Benson from John Mecom Jr. for $70,204,000. The final hurdles to the sale were the New Orleans City Council and School Boards each approving to surrender their share of sales taxes to keep the Saints in New Orleans as part of the deal. This was no small sacrifice either as the nearly $2.8 in revenue surrendered by the two groups went back to the Saints but the caveat was that Benson signed a 21 year lease with the Superdome. Benson stepped forward in March of 1984 to help the day when negotiations with the A.N. Pritzker family from Chicago fell apart in February. Mr. Benson owned the team until his passing in March of 2018 and had kept the franchise in the Superdome in New Orleans long beyond his initial 21 year obligation. He had employed coaches such as Jim Mora, Mike Ditka and Sean Payton and has even clutched a Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl XLIV over the Indianapolis Colts just a couple years after Hurricane Katrina had devastated the New Orleans surrounding area. 

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 31 Football History.

May 31, 1943 - Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania - Joe Namath the 4 time AFL All-Star, 1 time NFL Pro Bowl and Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback for the New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams was born. 

May 31, 1953 - Elizabeth, New Jersey - Richard Wood the University of Southern California linebacker from 1972 to 1974 arrived into this life. The NFF’s Bio on Wood tells us that he was a member of two National Championship teams and was Southern California's first three-time All-American. His athleticism was made for performing at linebacker as his 4.6 speed allowed him to track down speedy backs while his strength made his hits seem "like a hammer" according to Coach John McKay. Wood came to the varsity in 1972 and not only led the undefeated Trojans in tackles, he surpassed the total of his closest teammate by 30 stops. Richard also excelled in pass coverage with five interceptions, returning one for a touchdown and deflected four other passes. For his efforts he gained first-team All-America status. Richard Wood’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 2007. 

May 31, 1967 - Vicksburg, Mississippi - The National Football Foundation shares with us that Jackson State University's star safety of the late 1980's Kevin Dent was born. Dent was a former high school starter at quarterback and that really helped to understand the route trees of receivers and some formational schemes that helped him to anticipate what would happen next. Pair that with him being such a good athlete, brilliant student of the game who watched a lot of film and practiced relentlessly and you get yourself a top notch performer on the football field. Dent ended up with 21 career colleg interceptions, 10 of them coming as a sophomore to lead the nation. Kevin was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006 for his outstanding play at Safety for Jackson State University. He was named on the All-American Team three times and is the only player ever from his school to have accomplished this feat. Dent went on to play in the World Football League as well as in the Arena Football League after college.  

End of Dead Time?

In early April the NCAA and many states set May 31, 2020 as the end of a dead period where no recruiting or in person team events could take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. God help us all that this is the case! We can all us some sports in our lives to use as a distraction from this awful pandemic. UPDATE: On May 27, 2020 the NCAA announced that the dead period on recruiting is extended until July 31.

May 31, 1957-Chuck Fusina NFL & USFL QB multiple teams

May 31, 1960-Norm Johnson NFL Kicker multiple teams,

May 31, 1983-Lorenzo Alexander NFL LB Bills, 

May 31, 1985- Jordy Nelson was a NFL Pro Bowl Wideout that played for the  Packers & Raiders. He won a Super Bowl ring in the Packers SB XLV win over the Steelers. Nelson played collegiately at Kansas State University where he was a walk-on and eventually started and help lead the Wildcats to the 2003 Big 12 Championship.

See all the football players born on May 31th at Pro Football Reference

See something that happened on this date that we missed? Please let us know via email at PigskinDispatch@gmail.com.