October 3

Here is what happened in football history on October 3: The podcast contains a great story of a little known head coach that turned around almost a half dozen programs that had lost their way and the very first time that two NFL teams faced each other in a game!

October 3, 1920 - 1st official game between two American Professional Football Association teams (APFA that later became the NFL) Columbus Panhandles versus the Dayton Triangles. Triangle Park , Dayton, Ohio.  The Triangles triumphed 14-0 with all of the points being scored in the second half. Also Rock Island Independents put 21 points against Muncie to possibly score the first points in NFL history (APFA) as the game started later (central time) so may have scored before the 0-0 halftime score of Dayton vs Columbus.

October 3, 1989 - Art Shell becomes the Oakland Raiders new Head Coach after being promoted through the organization for which he once played. The new position of the 42 year old makes him become the very first African-American to be a Head Coach in the NFL.

October 3, 1995 - Retired NFL running back O.J. Simpson is found not guilty of murdering his wife Nicole and friend Ronald Goldman.

October 3, 2004 - The New England Patriots win their 18th consecutive NFL (spanned over two seasons). The Patriots tripped up the Buffalo Bills 31-17 on Tom Brady’s 298 yards passing and 2 touchdowns.

October 3, 2008 - 13 years to the day he was found not guilty of murder above, the  former NFL running back O.J. Simpson is found guilty of unrelated charges of kidnapping and armed robbery.

October 3, 1902 - Lynn “Pappy” Waldorf was a coach that turned programs around and made them winners. The National Football Foundation shares his story with us and explains that Pappy started his coaching vocation at Oklahoma City, who prior to his arrival had won only one game in 3 seasons. Year one with Coach Waldorf the team had 5 “W”s, after year two they notched up another 8 wins. In 1928 he spent time as an assistant at Kansas and then the next season to took the reins once more and coached Oklahoma State, who in 1928 sported a dismal 1-7. The 1929 through 1935 campaigns with Pappy at the helm, the team was 34-10-7 and had won all four Missouri Conference Championships, never losing to rival Oklahoma I might add!
1934 was a year on the move once again and Waldorf took over a Kansas State University program that had never won a championship. That same year Pappy guided them to the Big 6 Title! The 1935 season at Northwestern they sported a record of 4-3-1 but one of the wins was over a very talented Notre Dame team, and earned Pappy Waldorf the Coach of the Year Award, the very first time the honor was handed out! The next season the Wildcats won the Big 10 Conference. He left there after 12 brilliant seasons to the West Coast to Coach California University. Cal had not seen a winning season in 8 years but again in year one of Pappy on the job they were 9-1 and Pacific Coast Champs. The man had a knack for picking up programs and the National Football Foundation recognized it and placed Pappy Waldorf into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1966.