Football History of November 6

📜 From the First Game to the Birth of a Legend: November 6th Milestones

November 6 is arguably the most foundational date in American football, marking the 1869 clash between Rutgers and Princeton—the very first intercollegiate football match! While played under soccer-like rules, this game paved the way for the gridiron we know today. The date also covers dramatic transitions, including the birth of the NFL’s first night game in 1929 (a Depression-era gimmick that actually worked), the sudden formation of the St. Louis Gunners franchise in 1934, and Art Modell’s infamous announcement in 1995 that the Cleveland Browns would move to Baltimore.

November 6 American Football History Timeline

• November 6, 1869 – The College of New Jersey, which later became Princeton, and Rutgers played each other in a football match. This information comes from princetontigersfootball.com. The word “match” should be a clue that the game is not recognizable to our era as the American football we know and love. The teams played the game with a round ball, and they used Football Association (soccer) rules, but the style of play closely resembled rugby. This game marked the beginning of intercollegiate football and is now known as the first American college football game. The contest ended in a Rutgers win, with Rutgers scoring six runs to Princeton’s four. Two weeks later, after the inaugural match, Princeton handed Rutgers its first loss– eight runs to zero. Both Rutgers and Princeton were retroactively awarded the 1869 National Championship. 

• November 6, 1929 – Providence, Rhode Island – Just days after the 1929 Stock Market crash, signaling the start of the Great Depression, the Providence Steam Roller became the first NFL team granted permission by the NFL to host a game at night under floodlights, and they scheduled it at the Cycledrome in Providence. The Steam Rollers had enjoyed success the season before, winning the 1928 National Championship. Still, multiple key players had left for better-paying jobs before the 1929 season, so a gimmick, such as a night game, might bring paying fans into the stands. The highest-paid man on the team was Jimmy Conzelman, who doubled as quarterback and coach, with a $ 292-per-game salary. Due to heavy flooding at the Cycledrome, the game against the Chicago Cardinals was moved to Kinsley Park to avoid losing revenue. The portable floodlights were moved to Kinsley, too, and the first NFL night game was played. The Steam Roller lost 0-16 but were satisfied that 6,000 fans attended after a season of low attendance. In 1930, floodlights were permanently installed in the Cycledrome, but the players “received a pay reduction for night games…to help pay for the cost of floodlight installation.” (source)

• November 6, 1934 – The NFL finally approved the sale of the Cincinnati Reds to a St. Louis group for approximately $25,000. In the 1933 season of the NFL, a certain amount of stability had arisen in the League, or so everyone thought. Many historians today feel the Cincinnati Reds might be the worst NFL team ever to play. The Cincinnati Reds football franchise was in financial trouble, but a group in St. Louis offered to buy the team before the start of games. The other NFL owners rejected the idea, feeling St. Louis was too far west to be in the League. However, as the Reds progressed through the season, things got worse. The NFL was facing an embarrassing situation with a team folding midseason, so, finally, after weeks of negotiating, the NFL allowed the sale, according to a paper submitted to the PFRA by Bob Gill on the St. Louis Gunners. The St. Louis Gunners took over the Reds roster and played a partial 1934 schedule.  The backstory on the Gunners is really well told in Gill’s transcript and basically tells us that, after some failed pro teams in St. Louis, in 1931, the Field Artillery of the National Guard, Battery A, announced that it would sponsor a team for the coming season in the city. The team was promptly referred to as the Batter A Gunners from its association with the Guard.  The team had a big signing, naming the famous pro star and future Hall of Famer Jimmy Conzelman as its head coach. Then, after securing the Public Schools Stadium as a home field, the Gunners were ready to open for business. The NFL couldn’t be happier that they were waiting in the wings; the Reds franchise was then bought out, and the Gunners were a part of the NFL. They won their first game against the Pittsburgh Pirates  6–0, but then lost the last two to the Detroit Lions 40–7 and the Green Bay Packers 21–14. The Gunners franchise in the NFL lasted only those three games in 1934.

• November 6, 1995 – Art Modell officially announced that his Cleveland Browns franchise was moving to Baltimore. The city of Cleveland later learned that it would retain the Browns name, so Modell’s franchise would go on to become the Ravens. (source)

• November 6, 2001 – A SEVEN Overtime Session Game decides the contest!

Seven Overtimes, 80 Points: The Wildest College Football Game of November 3, 2001

November 6 Football Hall of Fame Birthdays

• Ave Daniell [1914] – A punishing two-way tackle for Jock Sutherland’s Pittsburgh Panthers, Daniell earned consensus All-American honors while paving the way to Pitt’s undefeated 1936 national championship and a 1937 Rose Bowl victory. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, he later played professionally for the Green Bay Packers and the Brooklyn Dodgers.
• John Pingel [1916] – A versatile triple-threat halfback and master punter for Michigan State, Pingel earned first-team All-American honors in 1938 while leading the nation in punting and orchestrating the Spartans’ offense. Enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, he went seventh overall in the 1939 NFL Draft and played for the Detroit Lions before serving with distinction in World War II.
• Pat Dye [1939] – Before his legendary coaching career, Dye was an undersized, tenacious two-time All-American offensive guard and linebacker for Wally Butts at Georgia. Later enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame as a head coach, he transformed Auburn into an SEC juggernaut during the 1980s, claiming four conference titles and shifting the balance of power in the Iron Bowl rivalry.
• Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. [1946] – As the visionary owner of the San Francisco 49ers, DeBartolo built one of the greatest dynasties in sports history, capturing five Super Bowl championships (XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV, and XXIX). His player-first philosophy and commitment to organizational excellence earned him enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
• Alfred Williams [1968] – A devastating pass rusher for the Colorado Buffaloes, Williams won the 1990 Butkus Award and paced the defense for Colorado’s 1990 national championship squad on his way to the College Football Hall of Fame. A first-round pick in the 1991 NFL Draft, he registered 59 career sacks and earned All-Pro recognition while helping lead the Denver Broncos to back-to-back victories in Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII.
• Pat Tillman [1976] – A fierce, hard-hitting safety and linebacker, Tillman earned Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year honors while leading Arizona State to an undefeated 1996 regular season and the Rose Bowl, earning enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame. After a standout start to his NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals, he famously walked away from a lucrative contract following September 11 to enlist in the U.S. Army Rangers, becoming an enduring symbol of selflessness, duty, and sacrifice.

Conclusion: Pioneers, Champions, and the Price of Progress

The stories of November 6 reflect the enduring spirit of the game, from the invention of the sport itself to the sacrifices made by its heroes. This day celebrates the birth of five Hall of Famers, including Ave Daniell, the walk-on who anchored the best line in Pitt history, and Pat Tillman, the defensive star who traded his NFL career for military service. Furthermore, this date demonstrates the commercial evolution of football, from the Wright & Ditson Rule Book cleverly doubling as a sales catalog to the financial struggles that led to the NFL’s first night game—a testament to the lengths teams went to keep the game alive.