Football Daily on 12th of January

Born January 12, 1895, in Prairie Hill, Texas, Bo McMillin was the great quarterback from Centre College. At Centre, McMillin excelled as he lettered in 5 seasons of football! The FootballFoundation.org website states that this was possible because he spent part of 1918 in service, and the football season did not count against his college eligibility. He was reported to win games by drop-kicked field goals and taking off on long runs, and these feats helped him to make it on Walter Camp’s All-America team as the quarterback of 1919. Bo was also mentioned as an All-American in 1920 and 1921. The NFF voters selected Bo McMillin as a College Football Hall of Fame member in 1951.

Born January 12, 1920, in Odell, Illinois, was the great end from Utah, Mac Speedie. The Pro Football Hall of Fame says that Mac Speedie was the Detroit Lions' 15th-round pick in the 1942 NFL Draft, but he enlisted in the Army to serve his country rather than play pro ball, at least at first. After the War, he signed on with the AAFC’s Cleveland Browns and led the League in receiving 3 out of the League's League four years, also setting AAFC records. He was an All-Pro three times, All-NFL twice, and All-AAFC in four seasons. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Mac Speedie 100 years after his birth in 2020.

January 12, 1969 - Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida - Super Bowl III, the day the AFL gained some respect. Super Bowl III pitted the AFL Champions, the New York Jets, against the NFL’s heavily favored Baltimore Colts. The most famous artists of this game may have been the confident promise of the ever-trend-setting Jets Quarterback Joe Namath, who declared in pre-game interviews that the Jets would win the game, according to the Bleacher Report. He gave it as a guarantee! It was almost a laughable joke at the time as the Colts were loaded with Johnny Unitas at quarterback, and his backup was the legendary Earl Morrall. The Colt's head coach was Don Shula, how could they lose to this team from what many considered an inferior league? The Jets, of course, had Colt's former coach, Weeb Ewbank, at the helm, who once led the Baltimore squad to the NFL Title in the Greatest Game Ever Played, the 1958 NFL Championship against the New York Giants. Well, Namath backed up his claim of victory by setting the football world on its ear as the New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7. The MVP of the game was one of Joe Willie Namath of the NY Jets; how appropriate that was!

In this episode of the Football's History Headlines, we discuss Super Bowl III and Super Bowl IX as well as many more HOF Legendary stories and birthdays.