September 22, 1862 - Alex Moffat was a former halfback from Princeton University. The website footballfoundation.org refers to Alex as “collegiate football’s first great kicker.” Legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg said; “ Moffat invented the spiral punt in 1881 and changed thereby the whole science of punting.” Moffat was the captain of his 1883 Princeton Tigers team, and that season he proved worthy of the position. In the game against Harvard that season, Alex kicked 5 field goals including two drop kicks with his right foot and two others with his left! The final goal was booted from a place kick. The Tigers won 7 games out of 8 that fine season as only the Yale Bulldogs defeated them in a 6-0 skirmish. The Princeton captain was a solid tackler on defense for the Tigers, making few errors. Alex was a stellar runner as well as a kicker. Moffat’s great 1883 season ended with him totaling 7 touchdowns, 16 field goals and seven point after kicks. The National Football Foundation enshrined Alex Moffat posthumously into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
September 22, 1898 - Heartley Hunk Anderson was a guard from the University of Notre Dame that played in the seasons of 1918 through 1921. His freshman season in 1918 is significant to Notre Dame football history as it was the very first one that a man by the name of Knute Rockne was the team’s head coach! Hunk Anderson blocked for George Gipp that season and Rockne was heard to say later that Anderson was, “the greatest lineman he ever coached.” After a single loss in his freshman season Hunk and the Irish did not experience another loss in a football game until his senior season when the Iowa Hawkeyes knocked them off in an upset. Against Purdue Hunk blocked not one but two punts and then recovered them both in the endzone! With performances like those Anderson played well enough that season to earn First-Team All-American honors. The great collegiate lineman after college turned pro and played with the Chicago Bears for four seasons. He later returned to his Almamater and became the head coach after Rockne’s untimely death in 1931. Hunk Anderson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974.
September 22, 1905 - Larry Bettencourt was a center from St. Mary’s College of California. Bettencourt and his head coach Ed Madigan were instrumental in taking the tiny school in Moraga, California into the national college spotlight in the mid 1920’s. During Bettencourt's four seasons as a Galloping Gael of St. Mary's team registered 19 shutouts. Larry himself scored 12 touchdowns mostly by blocking kicks and possessing them in the endzone! In 1927 he registered a blocked kick in six straight games! His blocking was equally up to the challenge as he created large gaps for his runners by his aggressive blocking. He was picked as an All-American after the 1927 season. In 1973 he received the honor of being selected into the College Football Hall of Fame.
September 22, 1922 - Ray Evans was a University of Kansas halfback that played for the Jayhawks the 1940’s. Ray was a phenomenal two way player, in 1942 he led the nation in passing and also in interceptions! That season he became only the second player in college history to complete more than 100 passes (101) and his 10 interceptions on defense were the envy of all of the defensive backs in the country. Evans played for the Jayhawks in 1941 and 1942 and then left the team to serve in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II for 3 years. He returned to the Kansas team in 1946 to pick up where he left off before the war, leading Kansas in rushing, passing and total offense. His final season with the team in 1947 was special for Kansas as the team went 8-0-2 and earned the right to play Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks the Yellow Jackets narrowly defeated them 20-14. A super athlete, Ray was a great basketball star for the Jayhawks as well. The University of Kansas retired Evan’s number 42 jersey as well as his basketball number 15. After college Evans played in the NFL for the 1948 Pittsburgh Steelers. The National Football Foundation awarded the great player in 1964 with entry into their College Football Hall of Fame.
September 22, 1959 - Bob Crable was a former University of Notre Dame linebacker from 1978 through the 1981 season. Crable may be the greatest tackler in Notre Dame's long history of great players. The linebacker after all still holds most of the Irish records in tackling including a career high 521 tackles, 187 in a single season and 26 in a single game! In 2006 he received the Butkus Silver Anniversary Award. Crable played seven seasons for the New York Jets as they picked him 23rd in the 1982 NFL Draft. Bob was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
