Before the NFL became a multi-billion-dollar empire, it was just a dream discussed in a hotel room by owners who couldn’t even agree on a salary cap. July 14th marks a foundational day in gridiron lore—from the 1919 Canton meeting that laid the secret groundwork for the NFL to the very first sports broadcast in color television history. Combine those structural milestones with the final championship game in USFL history, a massive modern contract extension for Myles Garrett, and the birthdays of iconic gridiron pioneers like Riley Smith—the first drafted player to ever take an NFL snap—and July 14th emerges as a premier date on the football calendar.
July 14 American Football History Timeline
Our Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the day is from the Akron-Beacon on July 15, 1919, with their headline of:
- July 14, 1919 – The article states that 6 cities were represented at a meeting of professional footballers in Canton, Ohio. Cleveland, Youngstown, Massillon, Columbus, Akron, and Canton were all represented, and teams from Toledo and Dayton indicated their intent to participate, though they were unable to attend the Monday evening meeting. A second meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, in Akron, would be to schedule games in the Ohio League. The article says this would be the first time that teams would play under scheduled games and that the winner of the Ohio League would be crowned World Champion.
Author Chris Willis, in his book The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr, contends that the second meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, never occurred, as after football had been interrupted due to World War I for a couple of seasons, the teams were just happy to be playing again. The teams that were represented at this football meeting in Canton at the Courtland Hotel were the new owner of the Canton Bulldogs, auto dealer Ralph Hay, Mac Maginnis of the Akron Pros, Jack Donahue and Jack Whalen of the Massillon Tigers, Joe Dunn of the Minneapolis Marines, Walter H. Flanigan of the Rock Island Independents, Curly Lambeau of Green Bay, Hammond All-Stars and of course Joe Carr as the envoy of the Columbus Panhandles among others according to Chris Willis. The meeting was originally intended to garner interest in starting an official pro circuit league, but when teams could not even agree on the principles of salary restrictions, the meeting adjourned, and they all went their separate ways, scheduling teams that they could, independent of each other. Though on the surface this meeting appeared to be a flop in organizing a formal league, it set the stage for the American Professional Football Association, which would form one year later. Yes, part of that being the September 17, 1920, meeting in Hay’s Hupmobile Showroom. For more, get a copy of Chris Willis’ great book on Joe Carr here.
- July 14, 1951 – A horse race, the Hollywood Gold Cup, on CBS became the very first color television transmission of a sporting event. It wouldn’t be long before the wonderful technicolor of the gridiron would light up the boxes in living rooms around the country. (Source)
- July 14, 1985 – The last game for the start-up USFL was played in exciting fashion as the Baltimore Stars defeated the Oakland Invaders by the score of 28-24 in the League’s Championship game at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, according to the News in Paterson, New Jersey. Quarterback Bobby Hebert had a solid game for the Invaders, and the thought was that many NFL suitors would be clamoring for his services.
- July 14, 2020 – The Cleveland Browns ink Miles Garrett to a 5-year $125 million contract extension that will keep the prolific pass rusher in Cleveland until he reaches 30 years old.
July 14 Football Hall of Fame Birthdays
Happy July 14 birthday remembrances to these Hall of Fame Legends:
- Riley Smith [1911] was not only a consensus All-American quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide but also made professional football history as the very first drafted player to ever take the field in the National Football League.
- Brad Rowland [1929] shattered small-college (McMurry) expectations, transitioning from a dominant Texas Conference rusher into a history-making College Football Hall of Famer and NFL halfback.
- Robin Olds [1922] achieved legendary status as a dominant West Point lineman, earning national Player of the Year honors before sacrificing his senior season to serve as a combat pilot.
- Bill Royce [1971] is one of the most dominant defensive forces in college football history, setting an all-time NCAA record with 71 career sacks at Ashland.
- Darrelle Revis [1985] A dominant, consensus All-American at Pittsburgh, Revis permanently altered defensive football strategy by turning his side of the gridiron into “Revis Island”—a psychological and physical isolation zone where he routinely erased the league’s most elite wide receivers without safety help. The Class of 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback earned four First-team All-Pro nods, secured seven Pro Bowl selections, and won Super Bowl XLIX, anchoring the secondary for the New England Patriots.
DARRELLE REVIS
Conclusion
From the raw, unorganized days of the Ohio League to the massive $125 million extensions of the modern era, the evolution of football is on full display on July 14th. The failures of the 1919 meeting paradoxically set the stage for the birth of the NFL just one year later, reminding us that progress on the gridiron is rarely linear. Whether celebrating the legendary combat sacrifice of West Point’s Robin Olds, the record-shattering sacks of Bill Royce, or the closing curtains of the USFL, today honors the resilience, innovation, and sheer talent that shaped football history into the spectacle we witness every single weekend.