November 6

The First game in American Gridiron history is featured in this edition of the Football's History Headlines as well as many more Football Hall of Fame Legendary stories.

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!

First Football Game

November 6, 1869 - The College of New Jersey, that later became Princeton and Rutgers played each other in a football match. This information comes from princetontigersfootball.com. The word match should be a clue to all of this that the game is not recognizable to our era as being the game of American football that we know and love. The game was played using a round shaped ball, and they used Football Association (soccer) rules but the style of play closely resembled rugby. This game marked the beginning of intercollegiate football and subsequently has gone down in the history books as the first American college football game. The contest ended in a Rutgers win in which they scored six runs to Princeton’s four. Two weeks later, after the inaugural game, Princeton handed Rutgers its first loss– eight runs to zero. Both Rutgers and Princeton were retroactively awarded the 1869 National Championship. 

The Rutgers University 1869 team is honored and cheered by fans in this photo taken by an unknown photographer, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Racine Eleven Dismissed

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! For more on some Racine College football history go to our story from May 30.

Under the Lights for the 1st time

November 6, 1929 - Providence, Rhode Island - Just days after the 1929 Stock market crash signalling the start of the Great Depression the Providence Steam Roller became the first NFL team granted permission by the NFL to host a game at night under floodlights and they scheduled it at the Cycledrome in Providence. The Steam Rollers had enjoyed success in the season before, as they won the 1928 National Championship, but multiple key players had left for better paying jobs before the 1929 season so a gimmick such as a night game might do the trick to bring paying fans into the stands.. The highest paid man on the team was Jimmy Conzelman who doubled as quarterback and coach with a $292 per game salary. Due to heavy flooding in the Cycledrome, the game against the Chicago Cardinals was moved to Kinsley Park so as not to lose revenue. The portable floodlights were moved to Kinsley too and the first NFL night game was played. The Steam Roller lost by the score of 0-16, but were satisfied that 6,000 fans attended after a season of low attendance. In 1930, floodlights were permanently installed in the Cycledrome, but the players “received a pay reduction for night games…to help pay for the cost of floodlight installation.” Learn more here!

The St. Louis Gunners

November 6, 1934 - NFL finally approved the sale of the Cincinnati Reds to a St. Louis group for approximately $25,000. In the 1933 season of the NFL a certain amount of stability had arisen in the League, or so everyone thought. The Cincinnati Reds football franchise was in trouble due to financial woes but a group in St. Louis prior to the start of games offered to buy the team. The other NFL owners rejected the idea, feeling St. Louis was too far west to be in the league. However as the Reds got further into the season things got worse. The NFL was facing an embarrassing situation with a team folding midseason so finally after weeks of negotiating the NFL allowed the sale according to a paper submitted to the PFRA by Bob Gill on the St Louis Gunners. The St. Louis Gunners took over the Reds roster and played a partial 1934 schedule.  The backstory on the Gunners is really well told by Gill’s transcript, and basically tells us that after some failed pro teams in St Louis, in 1931 the Field Artillery of the National Guard, of Battery A,  announced that it would sponsor a team for the coming season in the city. The team was promptly referred to as the Batter A Gunners from its association with the Guard.  The team had a big signing in naming as its head coach the famous pro star and future Hall-of- Famer Jimmy Conzelman. Then after securing the Public Schools Stadium as a home field, the Gunners were ready to open for business. The NFL couldn’t be happier that they were waiting in the wings, the Reds franchise was then bought out and the Gunners were a part of the NFL. They won their first game against the Pittsburgh Pirates  6–0, but then lost the last two to the Detroit Lions 40–7 and the Green Bay Packers 21–14. The Gunners franchise in the NFL lasted only those three 1934 games.

Modell's announcement

November 6, 1995 - Art Modell officially announced that his Cleveland Browns franchise was moving to Baltimore. The city of Cleveland would later be learned to retain the Browns name so Modell’s franchise would go on to become the Ravens. Thanks to onthisday.com

SEC Adds another School

November 6, 2011 - The Southeastern Conference welcomed the University of Missouri into their Conference of collegiate athletics. Missouri officially entered the SEC on July 1, 2012 along with Texas A&M. According to the SEC's official website, They completed their first year of competition in the SEC in the 2012-2013 school year.

 

T-Ave Daniell

November 6,  1914 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Ave Daniell a tackle from the University of Pittsburgh was born. Per the NFF, Daniell played for the Panthers from 1934 through the 1936 seasons and made the team as a walk-on candidate. Utilizing quickness and aggressive spirit, Daniell overshadowed many of the great linemen of his day. And in 1936, Daniell's senior season, the Panther captain became a consensus All-America selection as the leader of what many feel remains the best line in Pitt history. The National Football Foundation elected to induct Ave Daniell into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975. After school Ave in the National Football League for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

HB-John Pingel

November 6,  1916 - Mount Clemens, Michigan - The great halfback from Michigan State, John Pingel celebrated his birth. Pingel was a triple threat as his precision passing, astounding rushes and his punting helped MSU achieve an 8-1 record in 1937. In fact the footballfoundation.org site claims he averaged 5.1 yards per rushing attempt, completed 54 percent of his passes and led the nation in punting that season. John received accolades and awards for being  the top ranked student athlete at the school and even gained All-America status on the gridiron in 1937. Those are many of the reasons that John Pingel was accepted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

49ers famous owner

November 6, 1946 - Youngstown, Ohio - Edward DeBartolo Jr. former owner of the San Francisco 49ers. DeBartolo purchased the franchise in 1977 and held ownership of the club for 23 years. In that time his 49ers played in 16 playoff games 10 of those were NFC Championship games and they won 5 Super Bowl Championships per the Pro Football Hall of Fame bio on Edward. The franchise posted the best winning percentage in the NFL in both the decades of the 1980s and 1990s. DeBartolo was named the NFL Man of the Year by the Football News in 1989 as recognition as the nation’s top sports executives. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Edward DeBartolo Jr. in 2016.

Big Al Williams

November 6, 1968 - Houston, Texas - Is the day that the fantastic University of Colorado linebacker, Alfred “Big Al” Williams came into this world.  Big Al  was the 1990 Butkus Award winner as the nation's top linebacker per his bio on the NFF’s website. Williams led the Colorado Buffalos to the 1990 National Championship and he set the Colorado record for career sacks (35) and became a  1990 unanimous first-team All-American linebacker. The National Football Foundation elected to induct Alfred Williams into their College Football Hall of Fame in 2010. After school he was a linebacker and defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos.

LB- Pat Tillman

November 6, 1976 - Fremont, California  - Another great player who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010 was born on this day too. Pat Tillman who played as a LB at Arizona State University secured the last remaining scholarship for the ASU team in 1994. Tillman excelled as a linebacker at Arizona State, despite being relatively small for the position at 5 ft 11 in tall. After the 1997 season Pat was voted the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year as well as also being named Arizona State's MVP of the season and finished his collegiate career with 230 career tackles. The NFF goes onto to tell us that Tillman was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals as a safety in the 1998 NFL Draft. Pat ended up  spending four seasons with the Cards before being inspired to  join the U.S. Army. Tillman, a U.S. Army Ranger, served tours in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 before he was tragically killed. Tillman was posthumously honored with the NFF's Distinguished American Award in 2006. The Pat Tillman Foundation was established in his name to promote scholarship, the spirit of community service and supporting veterans, active service members and their dependents.