From Iron Men to Sack Masters: Celebrating the Football History of October 16
October 16 is a colossal date for football fanatics, anchoring the birthdays of multiple Hall of Famers! Celebrate the birthday of Pro Football Hall of Fame sack artist Chris Doleman (born 1961), whose 150.5 career sacks defined the NFL trenches for two decades. We also honor College Football Hall of Famers Hunter Scarlett (born 1885) and the great Princeton tackle Harold Ballin (born 1893).
Program published by Jack W. Jareo for the Illinois Athletic Association.
Beyond the birthdays, this date gave us one of the greatest NFL comebacks ever: the 2006 Chicago Bears defeating the Cardinals without an offensive touchdown. Dive into the most significant scores, upsets, and legacies that mark this historic day!
October 16 American Football History Timeline
- October 16, 1880 – Rutgers and the Stevens Institute may be the first game to have used the new rule of scrimmage. Historians such as Bert Gambini point to this as the birth of American football.
- October 16, 1921, Chicago, Illinois – The Rock Island Independents traveled to the Windy City to face the Chicago Cardinals. According to www.rockislandindependents.com, Rock Island Team Manager Walter Flanigan sent a substitute to the huddle on the field during the game, who gave halfback Jim Conzelman this message: “You are now the coach, at no increase of pay.” Conzelman, who had just joined the team a few games earlier, became the youngest coach in the league when he took over as the head coach of the Rock Island Independents from Frank Coughlin. This is the only mid-game coaching change known in NFL history!
1937 Battle of the Undefeated teams
- The October 16, 1937, game between the No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers and the No. 3 Fordham Rams at the Polo Grounds was a clash of titans that proved pivotal in the national championship picture. The highly anticipated game ended in a 0-0 scoreless tie—the third consecutive 0-0 deadlock between the two powerhouses.
The true significance lay in the defensive showcase: Fordham’s legendary line, known as the “Seven Blocks of Granite” (anchored by future coaching icon Vince Lombardi), completely stifled Pitt’s offense, including Heisman runner-up Marshall Goldberg. Crucially, a Marshall Goldberg touchdown for Pitt was called back due to a holding penalty.
Despite the tie, undefeated Pitt (9-0-1) was ultimately awarded the consensus national championship for the 1937 season, demonstrating that battling Fordham’s impenetrable defense to a draw was enough to solidify their claim to the top ranking.
- October 16, 2006 – The Bears’ Big Monday Night Comeback. Down by twenty at the half, Lovie Smith rallied his defense and special teams to bring his Chicago team back to victory.
October 16 Football Hall of Fame Birthdays
Here are the legends of the gridiron who were born on October 16.
- Hunter Scarlett [1885] – An Erie, Pennsylvania native and standout end for the University of Pennsylvania, Scarlett earned consensus All-American honors in 1908 while helping lead the Quakers to an undefeated 11–0–1 national championship season. A dominant two-way force hailed as one of the finest defensive ends of the early gridiron era, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991.
- Harold Ballin [1893] – A consensus All-American tackle for Princeton University, Ballin was the defensive anchor and team captain of the Tigers during the early 1910s. Honored as the only player chosen as a consensus All-American on Walter Camp’s First Team without surrendering a single point from his side of the line in 1914, he was named to Princeton’s All-Century Team and enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973.
- D. D. Lewis [1945] – An elite linebacker for Mississippi State, Lewis was a consensus All-American in 1967 and later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001. Selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1968 NFL Draft, he became a core starter on Tom Landry’s “Doomsday Defense,” playing in five Super Bowls (winning Super Bowls VI and XII) across a 13-year NFL career.
- Chris Gilbert [1946] – A trailblazing running back for Darrell Royal’s Texas Longhorns, Gilbert made NCAA history by becoming the very first collegiate rusher to record three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons (1966–1968). A consensus All-American in 1968 who was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999, his explosive running helped debut and cement Texas’s famous Wishbone offense.
- Chris Doleman [1961] – An all-time great pass rusher out of the University of Pittsburgh, Doleman was drafted fourth overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 1985 and developed into one of the most feared defensive ends in pro football history. An eight-time Pro Bowler, member of the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, and 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee, he led the league with 21 sacks in 1989 and finished his career with 150.5 sacks.
Here are links for more details on each player.
- Harold Ballin
- D. D. Lewis
- Chris Gilbert
- Chis Doleman
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