Football History on 1st of May

Born May 1, 1908, in Medford, Wisconsin, was Erny Pinkert the flashy halfback of Southern Cal teams of 1929 to 1931. Erny had a skillset that few players in his era had a combination of being able to bust off a long run at any moment, catch passes and produce powerful blocks. Trojan Coach Howard Jones featured these talents in a couple of USC Rose Bowl victories. According to the NFF the first of the big bowl wins came at the end of the 1929 season. The Trojans were playing Tulane when Pinckert hauled in a couple of double reverses that he broke for touchdown runs of 30 and 27 yards in a 21-12 USC victory. Two years later, Pinckert was being used primarily as a blocking back, and the Trojans had ripped off nine straight victories after a season-opening loss to St. Mary's. Then came the Rose Bowl and a date with the Pitt Panthers. Unexpectedly, Jones went to a passing game with quarterback Russ Saunders looking to Pinckert with regular success. The result was a 47-14 Trojan rout of the Panthers. Pinkert earned All-America honors after the 1930 and 1931 seasons. Erny Pinkert’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1957. He played professionally with the Boston Braves, Boston Redskins, and the Washington Redskins in the NFL.

Born May 1, 1930, in Trinity, Texas, was the University of San Francisco’s stud halfback of 1949 to 1951, Ollie Matson. Ollie was blessed with the size, speed and balance that very few have been gifted with. To get the full appreciation of Ollie Matson you need to go to our Sports History Network expert on Matson’s career historian Joe Ziemba. In just his sophomore year, he averaged 5.5 yards per carry. An injury hampered his efforts as a junior, but the elusive super star returned as a senior and led the Dons of San Fran to an undefeated record in 1951. Ollie won the "Mr. Touchdown" award scoring 21 touchdowns and finishing as a contender for the Heisman Trophy. After that season he turned around and won the silver and bronze medals in the 1952 Olympic Games! The College Football Hall of Fame proudly placed a display in honor of Ollie Matson into their legendary museum in 1976. In 1952 Matson was the number one overall pick by the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL Draft. He played well for the Cards but was traded to the Rams in 1959 for nine players! You can learn more about that trade here. Ollie racked up over 12,000 yards of total offense in the League and was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.

Born May 1, 1910, in Akron, Ohio, was the strong halfback of the seasons of 1928 to 1931 of West Virginia Wesleyan, Cliff “Gyp” Battles. Battles was masterful in busting off long runs according to the FootballFoundation.org. During the 1929 season he broke off a 50-yard run from scrimmage against Salem. In 1930 he returned a kickoff 98 yards and a punt 90 yards against Waynesburg and ran back a punt 90 yards against Georgetown. That same year he also had runs of 80, 73, 68, and 66 yards. His 1931 scorecard showed runs of 86, 62, 57, 54, 44, and 22; that season he crossed the goal line 15 times and booted four extra points. Against Salem in 1931 he made seven touchdowns. The next day’s paper registered that Gyp had 354 yards rushing, 91 on kick returns, and 24 on pass receiving, total 469 for the game. Causing the great gridiron historian of the day Grantland Rice to write: "Battles simply ran over or around all opponents." The National Football Foundation selected Cliff Battles for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955. After his schooling was complete Cliff played pro football with the Boston/Washington franchise from 1932-37 and twice led the National Football League in rushing in both 1932 and 1937 per the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Cliff was the first player in NFL history to surpass the 200 yard mark in a single game and earned All-NFL honors five different times from 1932 to 1937. Battles fought his way over the goal line 3 times in a division clinching victory over the Giants in 1937. He was at the pinnacle of his career it seemed, and then he abruptly retired as the Redskins froze his salary at $3000 per year. He was a standout player in fact Cliff Battles was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968. Battles was assistant coach at Columbia 1938-43, served in the Marines in World War II, and coached the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-America Football Conference 1946-47.

In this episode of the Football History Headlines, we discuss Curtis Martin, Ollie Matson, Chuck Bednarik and the sale of the Eagles as well as many more Hall of Fame Legendary stories. Gridiron fans, gear up for another exciting day of football history! Dive into the archives and relive...

Born May 1, 1973, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was Curtis Martin the quick footed running back from the University of Pittsburgh. Martin was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 1995 NFL Draft and he rewarded his employers by leading the AFC in rushing in his rookie season. According to the Pro FOotball Hall of Fame’s website Curtis was the second player in NFL history to have started a career with ten consecutive 1000 yards seasons. In eleven years with both the Patriots and the Jets he was the team leader in rushing yards every season. His career totalled over 14,000 yards on the ground and scored 90 TD running and 10 more catching passes. Curtis Martin in 2012 was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Born May 1, 1905, in De Ridder, Louisiana, was the Louisiana-Lafayette (1922-25 ) and with Army from 1926 to 1929, halfback Chris “Red” Cagle. The National Football Foundation states in their bio of Red that Chris while at Southwestern Louisiana chalked up 235 points by scoring touchdowns, kicking extra points and converting field goals. This was a school record that lasted until 1989! He was able to play in college for 8 seasons as he split the balance of his NCAA career with the Army Cadets. Red was an All-America halfback the last three seasons at West Point. His longest runs were 75 yards against Yale, 1928; 70 yards against Ohio Wesleyan and 65 yards against Yale, 1929. In four years at Army he scored 169 points, averaged 6.4 yards per attempt in rushing and 26.4 yards on kickoff returns. Our friend Chris Willis from NFL Films wrote in an article for the Pro Football Journal website that Cagle was on the cover of Time Magazine in 1929 while with Army. He was often seen playing with either his chin strap undone or with no helmet at all. Chris Cagle was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 after the National Football Foundation tallied their votes. C. Willis goes on to tell us that Cagle played 5 steady but uneventful seasons in the NFL with the New York Giants. Red Cagle did however own an NFL franchise, the Brooklyn Dodgers, for a couple of seasons with his partner John “Shipwreck” Kelly.

Born May 1, 1937, in Surry County, Virginia, was the tackle from Maryland Eastern Shore, Roger Brown.The NFF says Roger Brown was a massive lineman for his era. In fact, when Roger entered the pro ranks he may have been one of the first 300-pound plus players. Despite his stature , Brown had the stamina and athletic ability to still play in the demanding one-platoon era and he dominated opponents. Roger Brown received the great honor of being selected for inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009. 

Born May 1, 1900, in Baraboo, Wisconsin, was Stan Barnes the two-way Center/Tackle from the University of California from 1918 to 1921. The National Football Foundation shares that Stan was a member of the legendary Cal "Wonder Teams" of 1920 and 1921. In his junior and senior seasons he played in two consecutive Rose Bowls. The 1920 squad won the national championship going undefeated in nine games scoring 510 points and giving up only 14. In one of the biggest routs in college football history, the Bears defeated St. Mary's 127-0. At the Grand Daddy of them all, Cal defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 28- 0. The next season of 1921, the Bears were also undefeated and untied until Cal tied Washington and Jefferson 0-0 on a muddy field in the Rose Bowl.The College Football Hall of Fame proudly placed a display in honor of Stan Barnes into their legendary museum in 1954.

Born May 1, 1925 - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania - The standout center from the University of Pennsylvania Quakers, Chuck Bednarik celebrated his date of birth. Known as "Concrete Charlie" Chuck Bednarik was a hero long before he reached Franklin field at the University of Pennsylvania according to the FootballFoundation.org. Chuck was a 20-year-old veteran of World War II, a highly-decorated aerial gunner with 30 combat missions over Germany to his credit when he arrived at school. Bednarik remained a 60-minute player even after the rules were lifted to allow free substitution, as he was that valuable to his team. Playing as a center and linebacker he was a two time All-American. As a senior in 1948, Bednarik won the Maxwell Award, symbolic of the top collegiate player in America. Chuck Bednarik was honored with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1969 after the National Football Foundation tallied their votes. The Philadelphia Eagles made him their number one draft choice in the bonus draft of 1949. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined the career of Chuck Bednarik in 1967.