September 28

Here is what happened in football history on September 28: The first night game ever; multiple stories on the Redskins; and the story of Tom Harmon, Michigan's scoring machine! We have a real nice selection of football history from almost every era of the great game in today's podcast. The record setting performances and great legends remembered!

September 28, 1892 - The very first night football game was played in Mansfield, Pennsylvania on September 28, 1892 between Mansfield State Normal and Wyoming Seminary. Mansfield  hosted the 13th annual Tioga County Agricultural, Mechanical and Industrial Fair in late September 1892.

September 28, 1936 - The Boston Redskins and the Brooklyn Dodgers play an NFL game that does not have one penalty in it! The Redskins prevailed in the penalty free contest by the score of 30-6 according to Pro Football Reference.com.

September 28, 1951 - The Dutchman, Norm Van Brocklin of the LA Rams threw for an NFL record 554 yards on opening day, per the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website. As much as a legend that Van Brocklin is, he was not supposed to start for the Rams that day. Veteran QB Bob Waterfield was pencilled in as the starting signal caller as he had won the pre-season quarterback controversy, but injury prevented Waterfield (also a Hall of Famer) to go. The Dutchman connected with three different receivers who had over 100 yards in pass catching for the day including Elroy ‘Crazy Legs” Hirsch (173 yards), Tom Fears (163 yards) and V.T. Smith (103 yards). But that’s not all as five other players on the Rams caught balls from the Dutchman that day as well!

September 28, 1969 - Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Joe Capp, throws 7 touchdown passes against the Baltimore Colts in a 52-14 victory for the purple clad Norseman.

September 28, 1986 - University of Rhode Island Tight End Brian Foster catches an NCAA record 18 passes for 327 yards.

September 28, 1996 - Iowa State’s running back Troy Davis rushes for 378 yards which according to iowastatedaily.com the fourth highest in college football history. This effort of hard running helped the Cyclones defeat the University of Missouri 45-31.

September 28, 1881 - Harry “Dutch” Van Surdam was the quarterback of Wesleyan from 1902 through 1905. Per information from the National Football Foundation’s website, Dutch then went into coaching and led the programs at Marietta, Sewanee and then Texas Mines. Van Surdam stayed up on his rule books too as exemplified in 1906 when his Marietta team took advantage of the new passing rule to throw a 56 yard pass play against Ohio University. This keen understanding of the rules next led him down the path of officiating football. Harry became known as the “dean of Eastern officials” as he enforced the rules from 1921 through the 1962 seasons! The National Football Foundation selected Harry Van Surdam into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1972 and as gracious a man as he was he donated the plaque he received for the honor to his alma mater high school in Hoosick Falls, New York.

September 28, 1907 - Glen "Turk" Edwards was a tackle from Washington State University. Turk made his most memorable splash play in college as a junior in a big game against Oregon State to decide who would represent the Pacific coast in the Rose Bowl. The game was tied late when the big hands of Glen Edwards reached up and picked off an Oregon State pass attempt and then Turk took into the endzone for the winning points in the Washington State Cougar victory.  In the Rose Bowl the Cougars did not fare so well as Alabama blanked then 24-0, but Edwards and teammate Mel Hein became the very first All-Americans selected from the Washington State program ever, as a result of their outstanding play that season.  According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website, the Boston Redskins outbid two other teams to have Turk come and play with their squad in 1931. It was a great investment as Edwards signed his initial contract with the team for what amounted to$150 per game for the 10 game season. The 6’-2” , 255 pound tackle played nine seasons for the Redskins both in Boston and after the team moved to Washington as a two-way player and earned All-NFL honors in 8 seasons in the League. Ironically the never injured Edwards suffered a career ending injury in 1940 at the opening coin toss! After the coin toss ended and Turk shook hands with the opposing captains of the NY Giants, his foot caught in the sod as he turned to leave the field and his trick knee suffered damage and prevented his football career from continuing. That 1940 season was the only one where Turk did not receive the All-NFL honors. The National Football Foundation selected Glen Turk Edwards into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1975 & the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969 induction class.

September 28, 1919 - Tom Harmon was a former University of Michigan halfback playing for the Wolverines from 1938 through the 1940 seasons .  According to the footballfoundation.org site Harmon was a play maker for Michigan, and they were big plays at that. Just in the 1939 season alone Tom picked off an Iowa pass for a 95 yard return, had touchdown runs of 65 yard and 35 yards in the game against Penn and scored all of the Wolverine points in a 27-7 shallacking of Yale! During the 1940 season Harmon celebrated his 21st birthday by frustrating the University of California with scoring runs of 94, 86, 70 and 65 yards! Tom Harmon may have saved his best collegiate game for his last one though. In the final game that season versus rival Ohio State he threw 2 TD passes, Ran for three other scores, returned 3 kicks for a total of 81 yards, punted three times with a 50 yards average, kicked four extra points and intercepted 3 passes! The home Ohio State crowd was so in awe of his performance that they gave their worthy opponent a standing ovation at the end of the 40-0 blanking of the Buckeyes. That is some great sportsmanship that we all could learn from in this era!  Tom Harmon easily led the nation in scoring in 1939 and 1940 and won the Heisman Trophy in 1940. After college he became a World War II pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was shot down twice and received both a Purple Heart and the Silver Star for his brave service. After the War was over Tom played for the LA Rams for a couple of seasons in the NFL and then went into broadcasting football games. The National Football Foundation accepted Tom Harmon in their College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.

September 28, 1935 - Lou Michaels was a former tackle from the University of Kentucky in the seasons of 1955 through 1957.  Michaels wasa two way line player as well as being the team's kicker and punter.  In both his junior and senior seasons Lou was voted as a consensus All-American at a time when only 11 players were recognized nationally! Many credit Lou Micaels for single handedly defeating the University of Tennessee in 1955 and again in 1957 with his outstanding play against the Vols.  The LosAngeles Rams drafted Michaels with the number 4 overall pick in the 1958 NFL Draft. After spending a couple seasons with the Rams he spent time with the Steelers, Colts and Packers during his 13 year career.   The University of Kentucky retired Lou Michael’s number 79 jersey in 1990 and he entered into the corridors of the college gridiron legends, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

September 28, 1941 - Charley Taylor was a wide receiver from Arizona State University with outstanding size with his 6’3” frame and carrying 210 pounds. The Washington Redskins used the number one pick in the 1964 Draft to land the prize talent of Taylor and they picked him to be their running back. Taylor played in the backfield for a couple years with some success, as he was the 1964 Rookie of the Year as a halfback, but the bright spots of his NFL career came when Washington moved him to the split end position.  Charley played a total of 13 seasons for the Redskins and when he retired he held the NFL career receptions per the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website with 649 catched for 9110 yards.  He also added 90 total touchdowns and over 10800 total yards from scrimmage. He had 50 or more catches in 8 seasons, was an All-Pro and played in 8 Pro Bowls. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined this legend in 1984.

September 28, 1954 - Steve Largent was a 5’-11” 187 pound wideout from Tulsa University. Steve wasn’t the biggest and fastest receiver in the country but he could very well have had the most heart and determination of them all. The Houston Oiler picked Largent in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL draft with the 177th overall pick. According to his bio on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website, Largent was on the field for the four Oiler preseason contests and then they shipped him off to the expansion Seattle Seahawks for a 8th round pick. Largent would make the Oiler regret that deal for giving up on him so quickly. The new Seattle receiver would have a stellar 14 year career with the Seahawks and at retirement hold NFL records such as the most receptions (819), the most consecutive games with a reception (177), the most 1000 yard receiving seasons with 8 and the most seasons with 50 or more receptions at 10.  The guy that Houston would deem too small to play in the NFL would be a 3 time All-Pro  and be an entrant into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995’s induction ceremony.

September 28, 1964 - David Fulcher a defensive back from the Arizona State University was born. The National Football Foundation inducted David Fulcher into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021.