Football History

The History of the Helmets of Dartmouth

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Original APFA franchise, NFL founding franchise, Original APFA team

This very talented and experienced journalist has to date, written 11 books to go with his countless articles found in periodicals over the past few decades.

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Sure, here is a summary of the infamous "wrong way run" play by Jim Marshall of the Minnesota Vikings:

On October 25, 1964, during a game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings were leading 27-17 in the fourth quarter. With just over two minutes remaining, 49ers quarterback John Brodie fumbled the ball after being sacked by Vikings defensive end Carl Eller.

Vikings linebacker Dave Whitsell recovered the fumble at the San Francisco 49ers' 20-yard line. However, teammate Jim Marshall, a defensive end, mistakenly picked up the loose ball and started running the wrong way. He ran 66 yards down the field, unaware that he was heading into his own end zone.

The confusion on the field was palpable. Some Vikings players yelled at Marshall to stop, but he thought they were encouraging him to run for a touchdown. San Francisco 49ers players were initially unsure of what was happening but then realized the opportunity and tackled Marshall in his own end zone, resulting in a safety for the 49ers.

The safety cut the Vikings' lead to 27-19, but they ultimately won the game 27-22. Despite the win, Marshall's blunder became one of the most famous and embarrassing plays in NFL history. He was initially ridiculed for his mistake, but later gained respect for his sportsmanship and humility.

This image is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of Face Detail From Jim Thorpe Canton Bulldogs 1915 20 Cropped

Born April 5, 1888, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was early gridiron legend Fred Chicken. His real name was Fred S. Slepicka, which when translated means "chicken." Fred was a tailback/halfback who played for the Minneapolis Marines (1915-1918), prior to that team's entry into the NFL. With him the Marines team went 34-3-1 between the years of 1913 thru 1917. 1918 during World War I Fred coached and played for the St. Paul Aviators School. He later played for the Rock Island Independents.

The retired journalist turned author has a passion for writing about sports. Read his recent posts Buffalo Sports Page & Learn more about him and his books here.

A Pittsburgh news article on the history of the Hope harvey team of Art Rooney

A bio on the works of writer Jonathan Knight, author of Paul Brown's Ghost, and numerous other titles.

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Timothy P. Brown bings us a tidbit of information of Coach Andy Kerr playing in what may be the first triangular game while acting as the headman at Colgate.