November 17

In this episode of the Football History Headlines, we discuss Jim Brown's last Syracuse Home game, players take flight for the first time and the Jets big offensive day as well as many more HOF Legendary stories.

Football history enthusiasts, delve into the gridiron's past! On this very date, history unfolded on the field in several ways. We might be celebrating a record-breaking performance by a legendary player, a trade that sent shockwaves through the league, or even the birth of a new franchise that would leave its mark on the game. Let's lace up our cleats and travel back in time to see what iconic moments transpired on this date in American football history!

Iron Bowl Roundup

• November 17, 1900 - Riverside Park, Montgomery, Alabama - The 5th Iron Bowl Classic was played at a neutral site in Montgomery. It was a big day for the Tigers as Auburn dispatched the Alabama squad 53-5.
• November 17, 1906 - The Quad - Birmingham Fairgrounds, Alabama - In the 11th Iron Bowl the defenses played well but the Crimson and White found a few holes as Alabama blanked Auburn 10-0.
• November 17, 2001 - Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama - The results of the 66th Iron Bowl game were mostly the Tide Rolling as Alabama beat Auburn 31-7 per onthisday.com.

First Home Loss in TWO Decades

• November 17, 1928 - Cartier Field, South Bend, Indiana - Notre Dame loses at home for the first time in decades! It took 23 seasons but finally a visiting team was able to leave South Bend with cheers of victory. Carnegie Tech was the team that performed the unthinkable as they out fought the Fighting Irish by the score of 27-7. Knute Rockne and company had quite the run of victories at the friendly confines of Cartier Field. According to Irishlegends.com the last time Notre Dame lost a game at home before this one you had to flip back to the 1905 season, in an era before the legal forward pass, to find that Wabash defeated the Irish 5-0. It happened to be the final game played at Cartier Field by the Irish.  

1st NFL Air Trip

• November 17, 1940 - According to the official website of the Green Bay Packers, Packers.com we are informed that the first NFL team to travel by airplane to a game was the Green Bay Packers when they went to NYC. It was a big step to cutting down travel times to games. To put it into perspective, travel of the NFL was done mostly by train and bus prior to this first air trip. A bus ride from Green Bay, Wisconsin in those days was probably in the neighborhood of 20-24 hours or more! Train rides didn’t improve the timetable significantly but the plane ride was generally less than 4 hours. The front offices of the NFL feared the loss of an entire franchise so they made the Packers split the squad between two DC-3’s on future flights. What was the outcome of the game? The New York Football Giants outlasted the airmailed Pack 7-3 in a strong defensive game. It was also the first long plane ride home for the Packers.

Irish Get to 400

• November 17, 1951 - The Notre Dame football program earns its 400th victory as the Irish outlast the Tarheels of the University of North Carolina 12-7 per the Irishlegends.com website.

Jim Brown Gives the Home Fans A Memory

• November 17, 1956 - Colgate University’s football team didn’t know what hit them as Syracuse fullback Jim Brown scored an NCAA record of 43 pts. Lincoln A. Werden of the NY Times covered the story well in his article from 1956. A crowd of 39, 701 spectators watched a brilliant performance from the sensational tailback of Syracuse. In his final game for the Orange, Jim Brown accounted for 43 points, scored six touchdowns and kicked 7 extra-points and the coaching staff sat him down early in the fourth quarter! The final score showed Syracuse 61, Colgate 7.

Shea Stadium planning

• November 17, 1959 - William Shea shows proposed New York City stadium with transparent roof per the brainyhistory.com website.

GT's upset Win over Bama

• November 17, 1962 - Grant Field at Georgia Tech - The Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech outlasted the Crimson Tide of Alabama 6-7. Per a story on ramblinwreck.com Legendary Coach Bobby Dodd called it “my greatest victory.” Mike McNames scored Tech’s only touchdown and made a game-saving tackle to upset Bear Bryant’s unbeaten, No. 1 defending national champs.

Tide Rolls

• November 17, 1979 - Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama -  Alabama defeated Miami, 30-0, before a national audience.  It marked the final regular season game of Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant's only 12-0 national championship team according to rolltide.com. The Crimson Tide would go one to dispatch Arkansas 24-9 on January 1 at the Sugar Bowl. 

New York Jets Fire After Burners

• November 17, 1985 - The Meadowlands, New Jersey - The New York Jets had the franchises best offensive production ever. According to elitesportsny.com the 1985 season was one of the best in Jets history. Tampa Bay quickly jumped out to a 14-0 lead behind two TD passes by Steve DeBerg. But the Jets quickly made some adjustments and boy were they ever effective! The  home team thrilled the New York faithful as they scored 31 unanswered points on their way to a franchise record 41 points by halftime. Jets quarterback Ken O’Brien finished 23-of-30 for 367 yards and a career-high five TD passes with three of those landing in the hands of tight end Mickey Shuler. The Jets defense allowed only two more scores by the Bucs that day in the 62-28 blowout! It was really hard for the Buccaneers in the final stanza as the Jets offense controlled the ball for an amazing 14 minutes and 37 seconds of the fourth quarter, which included an 11-minute, 13-second, 18-play drive to their final touchdown. It is pretty difficult to be productive in 23 seconds! Gang Green finished with 11 wins and had the third-highest point differential in team history at a plus 129.

Utley Severely Injured

• November 17, 1991 - Tragedy strikes as the Detroit Lions Mike Utley is paralized in a game versus the LA Rams

Johnny "Hurri-" Cain

November 17, 1908 - Montgomery, Alabama  - The running back from the University of Alabama is born named Johnny Cain. The  NFF shares a story that then Alabama Head Coach Wallace Wade wanted John Cain in the game so he barked out "Hurry, Cain,". The nickname stuck with John the rest of his career as he was often referred to as “Hurri-Cain.” Just to represent how talented he was, the 1930 Crimson Tide’s line up was listed as all seniors except for the talented Sophomore John Cain. Cain was a first team selection of the All-America Board in 1931 and second team choice in 1932.  The National Football Foundation elevated Johnny Cain to College Football Hall of Fame status in 1973. After his playing days Johnny became head football coach at Southwestern Louisiana  and held the position from 1937-41, then did a stint as the athletic director at the same school 1946-47, and finally was assistant athletic director at Mississippi after that.  

Willie Richardson

November 17, 1939 -Clarksdale, Mississippi - Willie Richardson the Jackson State Wide Receiver and Safety was born the son of a Minister and his wife. The website footballfoundation.org reports that due to the family’s strong religious beliefs, Willie secretly played football without them knowing. It wasn’t until Willie's father was reading the newspaper one day that he learned of the gridiron exploits of his very talented son. At Jackson State he was referred to as "Wonderful Willie," and Richardson became one of the most honored players in the great history of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Richardson was one of just a handful of players to be a four-time member of the Pittsburgh Courier Black All-America team and a two-time NAIA All-American player. In the 1962 season with the great help from Wonderful Willie, Jackson State claimed the Black College National Championship! After his collegiate career had ended the Jackson State Tigers retired Willie’s jersey number and named him the first inductee into the Jackson State Hall of Fame. Willie Richardson became a card carrying member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.  After school Richardson became a seventh round selection by the Baltimore Colts. Richardson played eight seasons in the NFL with the Colts and Miami Dolphins,, catching 195 passes for 25 touchdowns.