By Darin Hayes Franchise Debuts, Historic Upsets, and Unbreakable Records: The Football History of October 15th
October 15th is a monumental date in American football, marking pivotal moments for both college dynasties and professional franchises. From the humbling debut of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1933 to one of the most celebrated college football Saturdays ever—featuring the 1988 Notre Dame vs. Miami “Catholics vs. Convicts” thriller—this day has it all.
We break down the biggest milestones, including Tom Brady setting the regular-season wins record and the Carolina Panthers securing their first-ever franchise victory. Dive in to explore the incredible upsets, record-breaking streaks, and defining moments that happened on this electrifying day in football history!
October 15 Football History Headlines
October 15, 1884, New York City – Another football rules convention was held, and one focus was to mold the fair catch rules. The meeting defined fair catch as “a catch made direct from a kick or a throw forward, or a knock on by one of the opposing sides, or from a punt.” Of course, in our era of football, we are only familiar with a fair catch being used on a kick or a punt.
October 15, 1933, Polo Grounds, New York, New York – The Philadelphia Eagles played in their very 1st NFL regular season game as they faced the New York Football Giants. The Eagles were formed from the remains of the defunct Frankford Yellow Jackets franchise that was sold to a group of Philadelphia-based businessmen. The profootballhof.com documentation of the game says that when the Eagles took the field for the first time, they were overwhelmed by an overpowering Giants team led by rookie quarterback Harry Newman. The Giants jumped out to an early 21-0 first-quarter lead before the starters gave way to replacements. The game didn’t get any brighter when the reserves were introduced, and New York shut out Philly 56-0. The Eagles’ struggle to get into the win column continued with two games against tough opponents, the Green Bay Packers and the Portsmouth Spartans. Finally, in week four of that first season, Philadelphia would play on the opposite end of a shutout as they earned the franchise’s first victory on Sunday, November 5, 1933, winning 6-0 over the Cincinnati Reds. In their next game, they tied a tough Chicago Bears squad, then rattled off two more victories over the Pittsburgh Pirates and again over the Reds. They dropped their final two games to the Packers and Giants once again. Pro-Football-Reference indicates that the Eagles’ inaugural season resulted in a 3rd place finish in the NFL East with a 3-5-1 mark. The 1933 season was won by the Chicago Bears, the team the Eagles had tied 3-3 earlier in the year. The Bears knocked off the Giants 23-21 in the NFL Championship Game played on December 7, 1933. The Eagles would go on to win 3 NFL Championships before the Super Bowl era in 1948, 1949, and again in 1960. They, of course, won Super Bowl LII in 2018 in the modern era of the NFL by defeating the New England Patriots 41-33.
On October 15, 1987, the NFL Players Association ordered an end to a 24-day strike. The union failed to achieve its demands in the short term because there was no collective bargaining agreement in place. The owners had used replacement players for a couple of weeks to meet television contract commitments. It didn’t help the NFLPA cause, though, when star players such as Joe Montana, Mark Gastineau, and Steve Largent started breaking ranks and crossing the picket line. This eventually led to all of the players returning to work in week 7.
October 15, 1988, South Bend, Indiana – The reigning champion Miami Hurricanes entered Notre Dame Stadium to face an undefeated Fighting Irish squad. It was a big game with much on the line. The hype of this game, colloquially known as Catholics vs. Convicts, lived up to every ounce of the buildup.
October 15, 1988, Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska – A second pretty awesome matchup in college football on the same day! Number 7 Nebraska would entertain number 10 Oklahoma State in a Big 8 Conference showdown. The Huskers came out putting on the heat as they grabbed every opportunity they had to jump out to a 42-0 lead early in the second quarter over their rivals! The Cowboys suddenly awoke from the nightmare they were in and rattled off 21 points in the second quarter, but found themselves down 49-21 at the half. The most amazing part of this contest was that the yardage was not all through the air, as one might expect in such a high-scoring game, according to a HuskerMax.com story. There was a total of only 349 passing yards in the game for the two teams combined. The combined rushing yards were an NCAA record at 778 for the game. Nebraska running back Ken Clark ran for 256 yards on 27 attempts to lead the Huskers, while OSU Cowboys Star Barry Sanders paced his team with 35 rushes for 189 yards in the Nebraska 63 to Oklahoma State 42 final score.
October 15, 1995, Clemson’s Memorial Stadium, Clemson, South Carolina – The Carolina Panthers win their 1st game ever, beating the NY Jets 26-15. According to panthers.com, the Jets were up 12-6 with 22 seconds to go before halftime. The New York Quarterback, Bubby Brister, dropped back to pass and threw a shovel pass forward to where he thought his awaiting running back would be. Instead, Panthers linebacker Sam Mills stood in the way to accept the gift and weaved, rumbled, and tumbled 36 yards for an unexpected Panther TD before the half ended, putting the Carolina team in their inaugural season up 13-12 at the half. It was a turning point in the game and the season for the young team. They not only won that game but also won their next three games and seven of their last 11, finishing the season with a record of 7-9, the best for any expansion team in NFL history.
October 15 Football Hall of Fame Birthdays
No day of gridiron history would be complete without honoring the significant people in football who were born on this day.
- Jonas Ingram
- Huntington Hardwick
- Bob MacLeod
- Donn Moomaw
- Milt Morin
Conclusion
There you have it! What a day for football this mid-month day was!
Tune back in tomorrow for more great gridiron history, or check out past posts like this one from October 14.