October 23

In this episode of Football History Headlines, we discuss The Pack's 1st NFL game, a Heisman QB, the Miracle on Monday Night and Heisman himself as well as many more Gridiron Legendary stories.

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!

Iron Bowl VIII

October 23, 1903 - Montgomery, Alabama - The 8th installment of the famed Iron Bowl took place as the Alabama Crimson Tide knocked off the Auburn Tigers 18-6. The victory helped head Coach W.B. Blount’s Alabama team reach a 3-4 record for the season, while Auburn coached by Billy Bates on the other hand ended up 4-3 on the season according to sports-reference.com’s records.

Drama of Packers first NFL game

October 23, 1921 - Hagemeister Park, Green Bay, Wisconsin - Green Bay Packers played in their very first NFL game against the Minneapolis Marines. The website Packershistory.net enlightens us with just how dramatic of an ending that first Green Bay NFL game had. With time running out in the fourth quarter the Marines had the ball and a 6-0 lead over the Packers. Then in one of the moments that teams on the bottom side of the score dream of, defensive end Dave Hayes of the Pack recovered a fumble at the Minneapolis 35 yard-line! Halfback Buff Wagner made a spectacular catch of a Curly Lambeau pass to advance the ball to the 14 to keep the comeback alive.  Then with little time remaining in the contest, running back Art Schmaehl eventually plunged over from the 1 and Lambeau’s extra point proved to be the game winner in the 7-6 come from behind victory. The story get’s more interesting as years later historian Jack Rudolph, a colleague of Packers co-founder George Whitney Calhoun, wrote that it was rumored and some believed the Packers were admitted to the loosely-organized league, formed in a Canton automobile showroom, on a conditional basis and if they hadn’t beaten the Minneapolis Marines they would have been dropped from what was then the American Professional Football Association. Remember that most teams in that era, including the Packers essentially scheduled their league games from week to week. Talk about your must win games! Of course Green Bay went on to win the most NFL titles including Championships and Super Bowls than any other team, earning them the right to be called "Title Town."

Monday Night Miracle

October 23, 2000 - Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey - The "Monday Night Miracle" took place on ABC’s Monday Night Football! The Miami Dolphins were not the most polite of  guests of the New York Jets as they had outscored their hosts 30-7 at the end of the third quarter. The New York Jets would not lie down quietly in their house though as they pulled together an improbable comeback with 4 touchdowns and a field goal in the fourth quarter, and tied the game twice in the final stanza. The Green and White kept on scrapping and eventually defeated the Miami Dolphins 40-37 in overtime on a John Hall 40 yard field goal.

Holy War XVI

October 23, 2004 - South Bend, Indiana - 16th College Football Holy War between the only two Roman Catholic Universities in the U.S. playing Division 1 football,  Boston College and Notre Dame. The Eagles and the Irish battled all game long in this one as the game came down to a play in the final minute. According to an ESPN.com account of the game With 54 ticks of the clock remaining, BC quarterback Paul Peterson dropped back and then fired a 30-yard touchdown strike to Tony Gonzalez to give Boston College a 24-23 come-from-behind victory over the Irish. Notre Dame had been undefeated and ranked in the top 25 teams in the nation prior to the loss to their unranked opponent. It was not the first time Boston College had the better of the Golden Domers, as a matter of fact it was the Eagle’s fourth consecutive victory over the Fighting Irish!

9 OTs!

October 23, 2021 - The University of Illinois and the Penn State University teams gave football fans watching the Big Ten matchup more for their money as the game went to a record 9 overtime sessions. Sloppy play filled with dropped passes filled the session for both teams as the unranked Illini escaped with a 20-18 victory over the number 7 Nittany Lions.
 

Heisman

October 23, 1869 - Cleveland, Ohio - John Heisman, American football coach who was one of the top innovators for the game of football in history. Heisman along with Walter Camp, Alonzo Stagg and Pop Warner took football in their era and made it a much better and safer sport with innovations, rules revisions and great procedural items that evolved and translated to our modern game of American football at all levels. Heisman is credited per the NFF’s website with helping to  legalize the forward pass, originated the center snap, innovated the “hike” cadence to initiate a snap and for which the Heisman Trophy is named. John coached at various schools including Oberlin, Akron, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Penn, Washington and Jefferson, Auburn and RIce. He played every line position while he was a student athlete at Brown University. The National Football Foundation selected John Heisman to enter into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. Heisman passed suddenly at the age of 66 just as he was preparing to write a book on the history of football. It's too bad we never got to see that masterpiece as I am sure it would have been.

Executive - Joe Carr

October 23, 1879 - Columbus, Ohio  - Joseph Francis Carr was born. Who was Joe Carr you may ask? Joe was the NFL’s President from 1921 through 1939, taking the League from its infancy in an era before games were televised and transformed it from a small town localized event into the major cities across the country. Before the NFL had formed Joe helped revive the Columbus Panhandles in 1907 with Railroad workers and helped the team become one of the initial teams to join the AFPA, two seasons before it became known as the NFL. He was also one of the founders and president of the American Basketball League (ABL) from 1925 to 1927 and had some dealings in making minor league baseball stronger. Joe Carr was one of the 17 inaugural inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

Bruiser Kinard

October 23,  1914  - Pelahatchie, Mississippi - Frank “Bruiser” Kinard a tackle from the University of Mississippi was born. Bruiser was voted in as an All-American in both 1936 & 1937, the first player from the state of Mississippi to be selected to the honor. The National Football Foundation’s bio tell how Frank seldom would leave a game, even when injured, proven by his 1936 season when he played 708 minutes of the total 720 his team was on the field. After college Kinard went into the professional ranks of football and was an All-Pro as he played 9 seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees football franchises. The National Football Foundation selected Bruiser Kinard to enter into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.

Tom Brahaney

October 23, 1951  - Midland, Texas - Tom Brahaney from Oklahoma University arrived into the world. Tom played the position of center.  During the 1971 season, the Sooners led the nation in rushing, total offense and scoring due in part to the great blocking by Brahaney.  Footballfoundation.org tells us that as a senior, Tom was a finalist for the Lombardi Award, and repeated as a consensus All-America choice. The National Football Foundation selected Tom Brahaney to enter into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007. After graduation Tom entered the NFL playing nine seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Doug Flutie

October 23 , 1962 - Manchester, Maryland  - Doug Flutie a quarterback from Boston College had his father handing out cigars upon his arrival. After high school, Doug stood 5-foot-9-inches tall and was considered by some to be too short to play quarterback in the major division of college football. What he lacked in size, he had in heart, smarts and natural ability on the gridiron. Boston College gave Doug a scholarship late, coercing the youth to choose BC over the University of New Hampshire. According to the NFF Flutie would not give up on his dream of being the Eagle’s quarterback, even though he was fifth on the depth chart as a freshman. Through hard work and determination by week 6 of the season Doug Flutie was the starting QB of Boston College and ended up number 9 in the nation in passing. By the time he was a senior he had won the Heisman trophy and took Boston College to multiple Bowl games, when they had been absent from them for over four decades. Doug Flutie entered the College FOotball Hall of Fame in 2007. After college Flutie embarked on a long and hard fought road in a 21 year professional football career as he played in the USFL, NFL and CFL,he was a six-time CFL player of the Year. before returning to the NFL.