September 4

Here is what happened in football history on September 4: The Nittany Lions had a first, Dan Marino set records, and we remember Grange's Yankees. The Yankees were coming, and they did on this date, but these Yanks weren't wearing pinstripes and baseball caps! Our friends at Gridiron Uniforms know precisely what they wore and share their knowledge with us in today's article. Read all the action about today's football history.

September 4, 1927 - The New York Yankees football franchise joins the NFL on September 4, 1927. The origins of this first New York Yankees pro football franchise (there were several who used that name) predate their NFL entry by one year. The Yankees were the brain child of Charles, C. C. Pyle, whose original intent was to be a member of the NFL.  Our friend Larry Schmitt of Gridiron-Uniforms.com adds that C. C. Pyle had the controlling rights of Red Grange's contract and decided to try and mimic the success that the Chicago Bears had on their barnstorming tour in early 1926 and figured that Grange would be a crowd magnet for the Yankees tour.

Graphics courtesy of Gridiron Uniform Database http://www.gridiron-uniforms.com/

Pyle attempted to join the NFL but was thwarted by Commissioner Joe Carr, who said the New York Football Giants had exclusive territorial rights to New York. This precedent was established during the 1925 season in the dispute between the Pottsville Maroons and Frankford Yellow Jackets in regards to an exhibition contest between the Maroons and a Notre Dame alumni All-Star team, which led to the Pottsville franchise being suspended and the Chicago Cardinals being crowned NFL Champions for 1925. 

Pyle, who had already leased Yankee Stadium for 1926, then brashly started up his own league, which was the first of four to be known as the "American Football League" and perhaps out of spite, established a second franchise in New York, the Brooklyn Horsemen. The NFL responded by issuing a franchise charter of their own for Brooklyn, the Lions, and managed to wrestle the lease for Ebbets Field, relegating the Horsemen to the inferior Commercial Park. 

The first AFL was a disaster for all involved. Four franchises in a city that barely supported one in 1925, was three too many. The Horsemen and Lions merged mid-season and the Yankees, despite the drawing power of Grange, had difficulty drawing large crowds on the road and several franchises dropped out prior to the schedule's conclusion.  In a post-season exhibition at Yankee Stadium, the NFL's 5th place Giants team humbled the AFL Champion Philadelphia Quakers 31-0. Shortly afterward this first edition of the AFL officially closed.  

The Yankees franchise, with Grange, was admitted to the NFL for the 1927 season with the stipulation that their home contests not conflict with the Giants. Often in game programs they were referred in 1927 as Red Grange's Yankees for the public relations power that Grange's star power held. The 1927 Yankees featured Grange at halfback , quarterback "Wild Bill" Kelly from Montana and former Penn State star guard August Michalske.

The 1927 Yankees were a competitive team with a winning record for most of the season. Ironically, Grange injured his knee during a home victory over his former team the Bears, which caused him to miss several games. He was in the lineup for a home-and-home series against the Giants to close out the season, which their rivals from the Polo Grounds swept on their way to the NFL title. Grange played in 118 of the possible 120 minutes on poor fields in those two Giants contests. Tthe first game was played in the snow and the second on in a torrential downpour that reduced the field to a muddy quagmire.  Red Grange ended up sitting out the 1928 season to rehabilitate his knee, and without a star to attract fans, the Yankees struggled and ended up folding for good after the season ended. Grange returned to Chicago in 1929 where he played until his retirement in 1933.  For more on Red Grange and C. C. Pyle please get a copy of Chris Willis great book, Red Grange: The Life and Legacy of the NFL's First Superstar. 

Fast forward a few decades...

September 4, 1993 - Penn State University plays it's very first football game as a member of the Big -10 Conference. Nittany Lion's quarterback Joe Sacca threw 4 TD passes to WR Bobby Engram as PSU won 38-20 over the Minnesota Golden Gophers

September 4, 1994 - Miami Dolphin's QB Dan Marino guided the 'phins to a 39-35 victory against rival New England with the help of 5 touchdown tosses. This was a career record 18th game for Marino of throwing 4 or more touchdowns in a game.

September 4, 1994 - Known as a coach that always studies the rule book closely, especially new rules, Bill Belichick, the Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns calls in a play that has holder Tom Tupa run a fake extra point into the end zone for the NFL's first ever two point conversion. The Browns hold on and defeat the Bengals 28-20.

September 4, 2006 - In the Canadian Football League, Toronto Argonaut's QB Damon Allen surpasses former CFL/NFL quarterback Warren Moon as pro-football's all-time leading passer as he reaches 70,595 career pasing yards. Toronto won the game over Hamilton 40-6 as Allen tossed for 207 yards and 2 TDs in the game.

September 4, 2018 - Nike names NFL QB Colin Kapernick as the face of Nike's 30th anniversary advertising campaign.

September 4, 1874 - Clint Wyckoff was a former Cornell University quarterback. In 1970 the College Hall of Fame enshrined the legendary QB into their museum. He was the very first consensus All-American in history that did not attend Penn, Princeton or Yale. He took over captaining the team right suceeding the legendary Pop Warner.

September 4, 1894 - Bart Macomber was a quarterback /halfback that played for the University of Illinois from 1914 through 1916. After college he went pro playing for the Canton Bulldogs and the Youngstown Patricians. He later went on to coach in the Pacific Coast league in 1926 for the Oakland Oaks. The College Football Hall of Fame enshrined him in 1972.

We would like to thank Bill Schaefer for the lending of the graphics and the research that he and his team including Tim Brulia and Larry Schmitt contributed on the the uniform graphics shown in today's edition. You can catch more of Bill, Tim and Larry's great work on the Gridiron Uniform Database, gridiron-uniforms.com.