Football History

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Today, we're taking you on a journey back in time to the hallowed ground of American football. Imagine a field where the echoes of legendary plays still linger in the air, where the grass has witnessed the birth of gridiron strategies, and where the very soul of the game seems to permeate the soil.

Wesleyan's Andrus Field is the oldest football field in America. Join us as Tim Brown of FootballArchaeology.com visits to delve into the venue's rich history, uncovering the stories of the players, coaches, and fans who have left their mark on this legendary patch of turf. From its humble beginnings to its place in football folklore, we'll explore Andrus Field's captivating legacy.

If you love the football talk on the history and evolution, then you check out the original article Tim wrote America's Oldest Football Field.

We also have a podcast of the episode found at: Where is America's Oldest Football Field.

-Transcription of American Oldest Football Field with Tim Brown

Hello, my football friends, this is Darin Hayes at PigskinDispatch.com. Welcome once again to The Pig Pen, your portal to positive football history, and welcome to another Tuesday, FootballArcheology.com day, where we get to visit with Timothy P. Brown and learn another great antiquity of football. Tim, welcome back to The Pig Pen.

Hey, thanks, Darin. Look forward to chatting about old times and old fields. Old times and old fields, a great way to take us into a story that you wrote not too long ago, earlier this year, titled America's oldest football field in one of your tidbits on FootballArcheology.com. What do you have to say about the story? Well, I guess if there's listeners out there who had not read the tidbit, if you were to guess which football field has been in use as a football field for the longest, I would guess maybe one in a thousand would guess the correct answer.

Probably a lot more could guess the right region of the country. It was an eastern team, which would make sense, but probably not too many would guess the school. So the school is Wesleyan, and they play now.

It's a big deal academically, a big deal conference of a bunch of small schools on the East Coast, New England schools, and but they play D3 football and or D3, you know, all their sports. But there was a time, there was a day when Wesleyan and some of their counterparts would, you know, match up and with the biggest teams playing at the time. So, you know, here and there we'll talk about the Intercollegiate Football Association, which was founded in 1876, you know, at that time it was, you know, Penn, Harvard, and Princeton, and Yale attended but didn't join.

And then within a year or two, Wesleyan joined. So Wesleyan was part of that early mix of teams that was in the IFA. And I don't think they ever really competed very well.

You know, they lost consistently to those teams. But then, you know, and they would play like, they played Dartmouth all the time and other schools like Williams and, you know, similar schools to them. But the point really is that in the 1880s and into the 1890s, they were playing with the best teams in the country.

And so, like a lot of places early on, they just, they played where, like in the best open field they could find. And they happen to have one on campus. And apparently it had some ruts.

And, you know, I mean, they, the fields back then just weren't like they are today. They weren't these manicured lawns. But they use the same field for baseball.

You know, I've seen images of them setting up, like temporary, you know, we think of tennis courts as these permanent, you know, these permanent things back then or now. But back then you set up a tennis court wherever there was an open piece of flat land, you know, where there was grass. And so, you know, I've seen pictures of tennis courts set up on this field.

I think I've seen some images from our friends north of the border where they would flood some of their fields and have hockey rinks on the football field in the wintertime. Yeah. I mean, we had one at the park one street up from us, you know, growing up.

I'm not that far north. I'm just, I was pretty far north. Yeah, it's pretty far north where you are.

So, but then in, so they would play games on this field. And then in 1897, one of their alums, the guy from the class of 1862, so he graduates in the middle of the civil war, he donated money to fix up this field and kind of build a stadium, you know, make a stadium out of it. And so, you know, that field opened in 1897.

And Wesleyan has been playing football on that field ever since. Right now, it's gone through different, you know, variations of, you know, stands and scoreboards and whatnot. But, you know, fundamentally, it's the same location that they've played their games at.

Just, you know, another couple of things that kind of interesting that came up in the research, some of which I already knew, but just reminded. So one was that in the late 1880s, in 1888 and 1889, Wesleyan had a faculty member who was on the athletic committee. And he had been the manager of the Princeton football team in his undergrad days.

So he helped coach the Wesleyan team in those years. And that guy's name was Woodrow Wilson, who would later become the President of Princeton, and then the President of the United States. So they were, if you played, you know, if you played for Wesleyan back then, you could later claim that you played football for the President of the United States, which pretty cool.

Yeah, definitely. And then the other thing was just in, and this was actually the 1887 yearbook. It's just kind of a cute thing I find.

They described the positions and the positions pretty much match up the way that we would describe offensive positions now that though they had two halfbacks and a fullback. But the guys between the ends and the guards, they called the left and right tackler, not tackle. So, and, you know, but the funny, the cool thing is that, you know, that's in print, but that's how the tackle position got its name because it was on defense teams used to run the ball at the tackles, you know, just running off tackler right at the tackle.

And so these guys made a lot of tackles. So they were the left and right tackler. So it was just neat to see that in print as the original form of the term.

Yeah. Yeah. That is pretty cool.

Very interesting, especially at the oldest continuous football field. I got a question maybe you can answer. Now, you know, we know it was a grass field back then.

A lot of these stadiums have turned, gone from natural turf to artificial turf. And so is this field still a grass stadium? I don't know. The image or the tidbit has an image of the stadium, you know, a recent year image of the stadium.

So it would show whether it's natural turf or grass, but I don't know offhand. Yeah, it looks pretty green. That's what posed the question to me.

If they had it that green, maybe either they got some great photographers or some nice filters or really good grounds crew. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, I would guess it's probably artificial turf. I mean, it's probably like any other field that's used nowadays where they've got, you know, they're playing lacrosse or playing field hockey on that thing. They're playing soccer.

So I would guess it's probably, you know, artificial, but there's still some really nice football fields out there that are natural turf and they do a nice job of manicuring them and make them look pretty on TV anyway. Well, like in the big tenants, mostly the schools that have like big, um, it's not really agriculture, but like grass science kinds of programs, you know, like the horticulture. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, like Michigan state has, and I believe Purdue might, I'm not, I'm not sure, but Michigan state's got a big program in that stuff. And so, you know, they, they're not, they're not getting rid of there.

Right. And then, you know, I think generally in the South, there's more grass than there is up North. Um, but, you know, nowadays, I mean, even the grass fields are beautifully drained and, you know, the drainage was just coming into play on athletic fields, you know, turn of the century or, you know, that kind of timeframe.

So, and those were only in like the best spots. Yeah. I can tell you for one that spent a lot of time, uh, standing and running on a football field.

I much rather be on, on grass, even on the sloppy days, because it's something about turf fields. And I went from, you know, the astroturf carpets to the field turfs of today. And there's something about it.

You just, your shins and your knees and your ankles just don't, they feel really achy by the time you're, you're done with the game on there compared to a nice giving, you know, earthen fields. Well, and they, uh, especially the old, the original old astroturf, um, those things were hotter than blazes. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, your feet just burned. Yeah.

And it's just, you felt the cement underneath you on those. So yeah, definitely. Well, a great story and a great, uh, a monument to the game of football, you know, having this field that's been, you know, what, 150 years or I'm sorry, you started the 1890s.

I started on that field, 1897. So 130 years, give or take a few years. So just amazing that, uh, doing that on the same place and playing the same game.

Yeah. You know, it's, it's an interesting thing that, you know, I mean, I've talked about this elsewhere, but like for the most part, if the, with the pro teams, if they're getting rid of one stadium, they build a new one in a different location. Colleges, you know, some of that goes on, but the vast majority of it, it's, they redo the existing stadium or they'll tear it even like Northwestern, they're tearing the whole thing down and then they're rebuilding on the same site.

Right. I mean, campuses for the most part is space constrained and that, you know, they want to stay on campus, whatever, but like, you know, even places like, you know, Georgia Tech has a really old stadium. Wisconsin's got a really old stadium, you know, there's others that are, and then, you know, a whole slew of them built in the twenties, pretty much everybody's still playing in those, in those stadiums.

So it's, I don't know, you know, so these guys are maybe they're the ones that establish that template. Yeah. Maybe the, aren't those architecturally appeasing and don't have the technology that some of these brand new stadiums offer, but there's some nostalgia, almost like going to the old baseball stadium, you know, going to Fenway and watching a game compared to, you know, going to some of the newer stadiums.

There's just something about it, the architecture and the feel of the game. And the neighborhood. I mean, even like, you know, all those old places are really cool.

Now. Yeah. I think some of the new places are really cool too, but for different reasons.

Right. Yeah, absolutely. Two different pieces of enthusiasm that come out from the fans from those.

So the nostalgic feel always wins in my heart. Yeah. But your, your butt might be a little bit sore, but you're cricking your neck a little bit and look around poles and things like we talked about in the past, but you definitely get to feel the history in some of those stadiums is kind of cool.

And so, you know, speaking of feeling the history, you, you talk about the history of the game quite often going into some of these nooks and crannies that you know, not a lot of people get an advantage point of, of seeing, but you, you have these a few times a week coming out and maybe you could share with the listeners how they can partake in some of your writings on these. Yeah. Well, so obviously they can subscribe to this podcast and listen here, but you know, if you want to read the tidbits, you know, I release them every couple, every couple of days, more or less.

And so you just go to my I've got a sub stack called football archaeology.com. You just type that in and subscribe and you'll get, you know, get an email every time that I send out a new, a new story. You can also follow me on Twitter on threads or on the sub stack app or obviously just go out there and, you know, bookmark it and go whenever you want. But if you want to make sure you get every story, whether you read it or not, at least you'll know that it came across then subscribing is really the only way to do that.

All right. Well, Tim, we definitely appreciate you joining us here on this Tuesday and every Tuesday as we get to talk to you. We're honored by that and we would love to talk to you again next Tuesday.

Very good. Look forward to it and we'll find something to talk about.

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Discover how the grand opening of Harvard Stadium revolutionized the game of football. This video explores the stadium's groundbreaking design, its impact on player safety, and how it set the stage for modern football stadiums. From its early days as a pioneering venue to its enduring legacy, we delve into the story of how Harvard Stadium shaped the future of the sport. Featuring historical footage, expert analysis, and interviews, this video is a must-watch for football fans and history enthusiasts alike.

Do you love the football talk on history and evolution? Then wait till you check out the original article Tim wrote Building and Opening Harvard Stadium.

Also check out the podcast version of our chat at Harvard Stadium Pigskin Dispatch Podcast.

-Transcription of When Harvard Stadium Opened with Tim Brown

Hello, my football friends; this is Darin Hayes at PigskinDispatch.com. Welcome again to The Pig Pen, your portal to positive football history. And it is Tuesday.

As we have traditionally done over the last couple of years, we have visited with Timothy P. Brown of FootballArcheology.com, talking about another aspect of great football history that maybe isn't mainstream and we don't know much about. Tim has done some digging and studying on it, and he's got a great one for us tonight. Tim, welcome back to The Pig Pen.

Thanks, Darren. Yeah, looking forward to talking about cementing our relationship. If I can really pull in a really bad bet.

Yeah, I think that might earn some cement shoes there on that one. That's... I don't prepare these. He's just, you know, they just come right out, you know, and sometimes it doesn't come off right.

Tim is segwaying into a tidbit that he wrote a little about a year ago, a little over a year ago, or maybe it was this year, June 26. Building and opening Harvard Stadium, which is, you know, a great iconic stadium of college football that, you know, the cathedral, I guess, of football. So maybe, Tim, we'd love to hear about the history of what you have on this one.

Yeah, so Harvard Stadium, you know, I'm happy to report that I did see one game there. I went and saw Harvard Yale there 20 years ago or so. And it was; I've only had obstructed viewing seats on two or three occasions, and that was one of them.

There's, atop the stadium, there's these big cement pillars. And my seat was directly behind one of those. So I paid the full ticket price.

But anyways. Yeah, so it gives me visions of the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium where the Browns used to play, the old Browns. And the same way you get up on those upper levels, you have these giant pillars in the way, just half the field.

Well, yeah, that's I mean, I've done the I-beam thing at the Old County Stadium and Tiger Stadium, but. This was a much, this was much bigger than an I-beam. So anyways, but, you know, that Harvard Stadium was built in 1903.

Prior to that, they played basically right next door to where they built Harvard Stadium. It's, you know, it was an open area across the Charles River from from the rest of campus. That's over near where the Harvard Business School is.

But the. So. You know, the money, you know, they had all this money to build this new stadium, and they decided to build it out of reinforced concrete, which at the time was just this.

You know, exciting new way to build, you know, major structures. But this was the first, you know, sizable structure in the world to be built of reinforced concrete. So, the Romans had figured out how to do concrete.

And then we'd forgotten the magical, you know, of that for, you know, almost whatever, eighteen, nineteen hundred years. So, but, you know, they kind of got that going again. And so.

They had the money and they basically said, OK, we're going to build the start building this thing. After the baseball season is over, because they were building it atop the old baseball field. So they couldn't couldn't start building until like.

I was like, you know, half midway through June or something like that. And then it was just like Katie barred the door. You know, I mean, they literally had 800 workmen there every day trying to build this thing.

And they didn't have to dig it out or anything. They didn't. You know, it was basically just that they poured these big concrete slabs.

You know, just it's kind of like an assembly line production built one slab after another. And it was all with, you know, they it was all built with like sack creep. So, you know, they figured they had like 90,000 bags of cement.

Wow. These people poured. And so, you know, but, you know, the stadiums didn't have all the amenities that they have now.

So there were no bathrooms. There were no there were no concessions. That there were no lights.

You know, there's no maybe they had telephones in there. But I mean, literally, I mean, it was about as fair as you could have it by today's standards. You know, at the time, it's just this incredible structure.

So, I mean, they ended up it literally was being the progress of building the stadium was reported around the world, you know, among construction aficionados. Right. But so they, you know.

As we talked last week, you know, Yale would play almost all their games at home. Harvard was in the same situation. Everybody would come to Harvard because, you know, even before they built Harvard Stadium, they had a fairly sizable stadium.

They could make more money by playing there than playing at home. So so they played eight home games in the old stadium and in the tid, you know, in the tidbit itself. I've got a cool image from the newspaper showing them playing a game.

I think it's a game that they played against Carlisle. And then in the background, you can see, you know, the stadium is rising, you know, in the background. One other just quick little side note is that, and this is in the tidbit, too, there was in it when I found this article or one of the articles adjoining that article was a newspaper article about this guy in Britain named C.S. Rolls, and he had set a new world record by driving eighty-four miles an hour over the course of a kilometer.

So eighty four miles an hour was the fast, basically the fast anybody had ever driven a car. So I just thought it was interesting that that was next, you know, next door or next to this article. Then, this guy named Rolls joined up with Royce the next year.

They started a car company that most of us are familiar with and fits well with the Harvard thing, right? So anyway, they're building this thing, but they just couldn't get it completed. It is time for the last two games of the season. They wanted it to be ready for the Yale game, which was being played at Harvard that year.

So they stopped construction and then focused for about a week or two just on like cleaning the place up. They built temporary stands. They built like areas to block off the things that were still under construction.

And they had like 90,000 concrete paper bags laying around. They had to clean up. Well, it created a hell of a bonfire.

That's right. And so they did all that stuff, you know, they get it all set up. So then they play.

They wanted to I think they wanted to give it a, you know, a test run playing Dartmouth before, you know, Yale the following week. So Dartmouth comes into play and typically Harvard beat him every year. But that year, Dartmouth had a pretty good team and they end up winning 15 to nothing.

So, you know, the Harvard people are kind of peeled. Thankfully, Yale lost the same week. And so both teams were coming into the game, you know, with their most recent game being a loss.

And but everybody's excited. You know, there's you know, this is going to be the largest crowd to ever see a game at an on-campus stadium. You know, I mean, there were bigger games played at the polo or bigger crowds and polo grounds and, you know, a couple of places here and there.

But on campus, this is like they were going to have about 23 or 25,000 because the stadium wasn't complete. But sure enough, Yale comes in and beats Harvard 16 to nothing. So, you know, so they didn't score in their last in their first two games in Harvard Stadium.

They didn't even score. And they had to wait till the start of the 1904 season before they could win a game in their brand new, massive, reinforced concrete stadium. So anyway, that's kind of just the story.

But it's still, you know, kind of a cute, cute deal. And, you know, it's just. You just realize the things that we just take for granted in terms of the quality of stadiums and the the size of stadium, you know, 33,000 was what they designed this for.

And, you know, at that time, it was a U-shaped stadium. It is now again. But, you know, it was like it was considered just a palace compared to most places.

Right. Yeah. It's not a big fire hazard.

Some of the other ones were worried about collapsing as much as some of the things that were happening at that time at many games around the world. Yeah. So I mean, just the irony that they, you know, they have all this momentum and all this hype of this new stadium and then going, oh, and two and can't even score a point in their games against two rivals.

That's kind of ironic. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, you know, there's other stuff, too, that I think I'm not 100 percent sure about, but I believe that when they built that stadium, they did not plan for it. They didn't plan for like wooden benches. It was just that everybody was going to sit on concrete.

Eventually, they put concrete or wood boards there. But I'm pretty sure the original intention was to sit on concrete, which is fine in September and maybe October or November. Not so much.

Yeah. Now, when did the Yale Bowl that came a few years after the Harvard Stadium? Yeah, that opened in 14. OK.

It's almost 11 years. I mean, Yale, Yale had a, you know, Yale Field, which preceded Yale, the Yale Bowl was a pretty good sized stadium. I mean, I don't know exactly, but I'm guessing it was like 20.

Twenty thousand or something like that, and it increased in size over the years. But, you know, they build those stadiums and all of these, and it would go on; it went on for another 20 years. A lot of times, they'd have like if they were playing like Wesleyan or Bowdoin or something like that.

They'd get 6000 people. But so they really built the stadiums. To handle the Harvard and Yale games and to a lesser extent, Princeton, once every 24 months in the Harvard Yale game.

Well, but, you know, there were everybody. Wanted tickets, and like when they opened it in 03, because of the reduced capacity, they couldn't handle all, you know, all the some people got rejected. Right.

And so, you know, if you're a Harvard guy and you want tickets to the game and you get rejected, that's not a good thing. Yeah, probably not. Your social circles.

You have to get your Rolls-Royce and head back to Boston. Tim, that is an incredible story in so many facets. I'm still trying to absorb all this, so, you know, the whole thing with the Harvard team, the stadium, the Rolls-Royce.

You know, that's just tremendous stuff. You know, you have a lot of things going on there, and it is very historic. And you have a lot of different items like this.

So you come up in your tidbits that you're doing multiple times every week. And maybe you could share with the listeners how they, too, can partake in some of what you're writing is. Yeah, excuse me.

Yeah, just easiest thing is just go to footballarchaeology.com and subscribe. And, you know, you'll get an email every time that I send out a new a new post, which, you know, like you said, a couple of times a week. Other than that, you can follow me on on the Substack app.

That's probably the next best thing. But, you know, if you want to if you want to make sure you get it, you know, subscribe, get the email. And even if you don't read it, you can just delete it.

But it's up to you. Consume as you must. Well, we always enjoy reading from the hardworking historian of the gridiron up there, footballarchaeology.com. We always enjoy that and enjoy the stories.

And we love having you on here each and every Tuesday. And we'd like to talk to you again next Tuesday. Very good.

Again, look forward to chatting next week.

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Step back to the roaring twenties, a golden age of college football. Imagine two titans of the gridiron, the Yale Bulldogs and the Georgia Bulldogs, locked in a legendary rivalry that captivated the nation. In this podcast, we delve into the untold stories of this epic clash, exploring the athletes, the games, and the cultural impact of this historic matchup. From the smoky stadiums to the passionate fanbases, we'll uncover the drama, triumphs, and heartbreaks that define this unforgettable era of college football.

Are you ready to relive the glory days? Timothy Brown of Football Archaeology takes us back a century when these two programs were on par on the gridiron, and it was a Bulldog v. Bulldog matchup. This information comes from his original post titled:

Battle of the Bulldogs: Yale vs. Georgia

-Transcription of When Georgia played Yale with Timothy Brown


Hello, my football friends. This is Darin Hayes of pigskindispatch.com. Welcome once again to The Pig Pen, your portal to positive football history.

And welcome to another Tuesday. It's footballarchaeology.com day. Timothy P. Brown of that great website joins us each Tuesday to talk about another antiquity of football.

And we really have a great episode for you today because we're going to go back in time and talk about some of the structures of football. And Tim, welcome back to The Pig Pen.

Hey, thanks, Darin.

Yeah, looking forward to this one. This should be a pretty fun one to talk about. Yeah, I think it should be.

This is really interesting, because it's got multifaceted, you got some, some mascots in there, you've got some, some, you know, good old programs that were, you know, at some of them at their height back in the day, and some of them we look at today, they're the top of the game. So really old meets new, and a lot of stuff in between. So we're interested in hearing about the history.

Yeah. Yeah. So this, this comes from a tidbit that I did back in May, May of the year ago.

And it was called the Battle of the Bulldogs. And, you know, so it basically is concerning, you know, two teams that had the Bulldog nickname. And, but back in, you know, back in, say, the teens and the 20s, there were very, there were really pretty few intersectional games, you know, transportation was just more difficult than, you know, it took longer to get, you know, by train from one section of the country to the, to the other.

And so teams just didn't, you know, I mean, they definitely didn't go out to the Pacific coast very much. But even like the North-South games and Midwest to East games were just few and far between. And so, interestingly, you know, we tend to think of the Notre Dame USC series as like this ancient, you know, ongoing annual game.

And it started in 1926. And, you know, they've played, you know, nearly every year since then, and maybe even every year, I don't know, but, you know, they've played a lot, right. And, or, you know, it's an intersectional, they're not the same conference, though, you know, nowadays, you can be intersectional and be in the same conference, but they aren't.

But so that started in 26. And so the interesting thing is that there was a series that we now would think of as kind of strange bedfellows. But a series, an intersectional series started three years earlier.

And it was the Battle of the Bulldogs. And it was between Georgia, who we all, you know, that's the team that's pretty good these days. And the other was Yale, the team that was pretty good back in those days.

And so they seem like kind of a strange combination of play one another. Um, but my understanding is there, there was a connection, I think there were some Yale graduates who helped either found Georgia or helped design the campus, you know, there were, there were just Yale folks who were involved in UGA early on. So turns out the two teams scheduled a little series and starting 1923.

So not too long after, you know, World War One ended. And they played every year until 1934. Other than 1932, they didn't play that year.

But, you know, it may have been really the first kind of long standing intersectional series. You know, I know that Pitt and Georgia Tech played, you know, a handful of games in the 1910s. And they were both like, nationally prominent teams, Heisman at Georgia Tech and Warner at Pitt.

So I mean, they had some really good teams back then. And, you know, I know Pitt won a couple of national championships in that in that era. But then they, you know, then that kind of ended.

So this one was really something else, you know, so you got this classic Eastern school that is, you know, now we look back and we know that they were kind of on the downswing of their power, you know, but they had dominated early football, them and Princeton really. So anyways, they set up a, you know, set up game and or a series and, as was normally the case, Georgia went to Yale each year. You know, back then Yale had the biggest stadium in the country.

You know, they could draw a big crowd. And so if you were looking to make some money by playing a game, you're, you know, like most teams, you're going to be better off going to Yale and playing there. Plus, Yale and Harvard both had some like faculty policies, you can only leave campus once a year.

So you'd either, those two would either play at Princeton or at Harvard, you know, and then switch it, you know, switch it, you know, each year. But anyways, so the first four games, they play in at Yale and Yale wins, you know, they were the better team back then. And, but then in 1927, Georgia upsets Yale, you know, at Yale.

And, you know, so, you know, that was kind of a big deal. And in 28, Yale, you know, ends up winning again at home. So they're, you know, they're standing like five and one in Yale's favor.

And then in 1929, Georgia was opening up Sanford Stadium. Until then they had played at Sanford Field, which was like a dual, you know, one of those old wooden dual purpose, baseball and football fields. So Sanford, which is where they still play now, but it's been remodeled, you know, 57 times.

You know, that, you know, 29 was the first game there. And, you know, Yale goes down there and wearing their heavy wool jerseys on a hot day in Georgia, and they lost 15 to nothing. So, you know, it's just, that's just kind of a funny little sidelight.

I wouldn't want to be the equipment manager carrying the laundry that day. No. And you would think that they would have thought ahead, but, you know, maybe they just figured out we're going to beat them anyways, you know.

But so then, then they played four more times, you know, they played in 30, 31, 33, and 34, all again, back at Yale and Georgia won all four of them. So, you know, it's just one of those games or a series where you just, you look at that and the sequence of losses, and then Georgia, you know, sneaks in there and wins one. And then, you know, then they end up winning, you know, five in a row in terms of games played.

That was also the first time anybody had beaten Yale five games in a row. So, you know, it's just, it kind of, it's kind of emblematic of turning the tide, you know, it's the shift of power from. I don't think you're allowed to use the word tide in Georgia in the same sentence.

I think that's a football law. I think they're against that. Well, you know, I wasn't aware of that law, but I will write that one down right here.

I think they probably find a fence to that somehow. But yeah, I mean, so it's just, it's just one of those great examples of the times they are a changing and, you know, Columbia went to the Rose Bowl in 34. That was a little bit of a fluke, but, you know, and Harvard had been in the Rose Bowl in 20, but, you know, it was pretty much, you know, that those classic Eastern teams were starting to fall on hard times and, you know, de-emphasizing and all that kind of stuff.

And, you know, now, you know, they play as the Ivy League today, but so clearly gone in a different direction than Georgia, but still, you know, cool, cool series, intersectional series, one of the first, and, you know, the relative strengths of the program switched during the course of the series. So, yeah. Sort of right at that tipping point where Yale is sort of starting to decline and Georgia's starting to incline.

So it's kind of interesting. It was a pretty balanced games. It sounds like a series.

Actually, even, you know, when Georgia won, I think one of the years they won by 14, but otherwise it was like, you know, they won by six or three years, you know, they were close games, but they just, they still won, you know. Right. Playing at Yale.

I wonder, I mean, there's probably no way to know, but, you know, it would be kind of a cool thing. You have Handsome Dan is the, traditionally the mascot name of Yale's Bulldog, and Ugga is the traditionally the name of the Georgia's Bulldog, you know, live animals, Bulldogs. And I wonder if they were ever at the same game during those years.

I wonder if they traveled. That'd be kind of cool, but an iconic picture if there would have been one. Yeah, I will.

I'll look into that, the Ugga and Handsome Dan. Yeah, that'd be, that'd be kind of interesting. That'd really bring the Bulldog versus Bulldog.

Yeah. I mean, you know, there's old pictures of, you know, the army mule and the Navy goat, you know, back in that time period, whether the, whether the dogs got together or not, I'm not sure. Yeah.

But yeah, so anyway, it's just kind of interesting story, you know, kind of a fun, yeah, fun deal. Yeah, definitely. It brings two traditional, you know, powerhouses of different eras together in one story.

And it's always fascinating to look at that. And you have a lot of different stories like this, Tim, where you go back in time and football and grab some of these things that we would never even imagine happening or who would think of Yale and Georgia playing today. Our modern brains can't even fathom that, but you have some great things like that, that people can enjoy on your website.

But maybe you could share with how people can enjoy this on a regular basis. Yeah. Best thing to do is just go to the footballarchaeology.com, subscribe, and then you'll get an email every time that I release a story, which, you know, nowadays I'm, you know, three, sometimes four a week, sometimes two, if I'm feeling lazy or just busy.

So that's the best way. You can also follow me on Twitter, on threads or on the app within Substack, which is, you know, where football archaeology is based. All right.

Well, that's a great, great investment of time to learn about football on a regular basis and see some of these things from antiquity. And we would love to talk to you again next Tuesday about another aspect of football history.

Very good.

We'll find something to talk about. That's all the football history we have today, folks. Join us back tomorrow for more of your football history.

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A shocking football news bulletin filled the airways in 2000 when recently acquired Indianapolis Colts Running Back Fred Lane was found dead in a pool of blood at his home. What happened? Who did it? Here is the story of Fred that came from the newspapers.

Fred Lane Sr. was a gridiron star at Natchez High School in Franklin, Tennessee. Fred Sr. passed down some of his remarkable football ability and knowledge to his son Fred Jr., who became a rare talent at the same school, now renamed Franklin High. Lane Jr possessed uncommon speed and agility for such a young player. At Franklin High, Jr. amassed over 1,000 yards his senior season, averaging 7.5 yards per carry. His impact was so impressive that the school retired his number 28 jersey in honor of his athletic brilliance.

This skill set was not unnoticed by college recruiters at the oddly enough but appropriately named Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. The institution is a private, historically black college associated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. The school was established in 1878 to provide education for newly freed enslaved and named for one of its co-founders, Methodist Bishop Isaac Lane. Besides Fred, former NFL player Jacoby Jones played football for the Lane College Dragons.

Fred rushed for 3612 yards in his career at the school. He set multiple school rushing records, including running for 305 yards versus Miles College in a 1995 game. The athlete's success peaked in his junior year when Fred was placed on the Harlon Hill Trophy watchlist as one of DII's top players. In the same year, Lane was named to the Heritage Radio HBCU All-American team and several other media services' All-American teams. Fred Lane Jr's #6 jersey was also retired by Lane College.

Lane was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Panthers before the 1997 NFL season. The Panthers brass recognized the untapped talent of the youngster and wanted to explore its effectiveness in the NFL. Fred had a very interestingly successful debut as, during his rookie season, Lane set several franchise records.

After three years with the Panthers, Lane was traded to the Indianapolis Colts on April 21, 2000. For the Panthers, he had accumulated 2,001 rushing yards (the most in franchise history) and 13 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Fred would never play a meaningful down for the Colts. On July 6, 2000, the promising life of the 24-year-old Fred Lane Jr was cut short in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

Upon returning home from out of town, Lane went to his front door, placed the keys to the home, and unlocked it. When he opened the door, he faced one of the most frightful sites imaginable—the business end of a shotgun with a willing shooter poised with a finger on the trigger. Mecklenburg County Assistant District Attorney Marcia Goodenow described the scene as one where the athlete had no time to react.

The sound of the gun rang through the formerly quiet neighborhood. The discharge of the weapon found its mark in Lane's chest from a reported 5-8 feet away. Fred survived this initial mele. Wounded, he scrambled for an escape, crawling through his blood on the front stoop of his home. Seconds later, his life ended with a second deadly blast to the head from the same firearm and shooter.

The assailant was his wife, Deidra Lane. A $5 million insurance policy drove her motive. The couple's financial advisor had recently joked in inferior taste that it would be a good windfall for the financially cash-strapped couple. Fred, who had recently been paid almost $600,000 for playing for the Carolina Panthers in 1999, was said to be "cash poor" along with his wis spouse. That same Financial advisor, Rodney Harris, sold the couple the mutual aiding policy that in the event of either of their deaths, the other could enjoy a good lifestyle. Lane was said to be a typical immature early twenty-something who had been previously charged with drug possession. According to surviving family members, Fred was putting that former lifestyle of partying and ill spending behind him, possibly some indication of seeking financial advice from a professional.

Harris testified later in court that in June, just a few weeks before the murder, Deidra asked the insurance provider if she would be paid as a result of Fred dying in a drunk driving accident. Harris responded by saying, "Yes," but he also told the star player's spouse, "If you kill Fred, it will not pay you."

The murder trial of Deidra was in November of 2003, and testimonies from witnesses on both sides portrayed both parties as aggressors in an abusive relationship. NFL wide receiver Mushin Muhammed testified for the prosecution, stating that he had witnessed deep scratches on his former Panthers teammate done by Deidra's hand. The Lanes recently greeted the arrival of a baby girl just weeks before the shooting. Fred's family claimed that when Fred held his newborn daughter a week before his death, he said the baby didn't look like him. The couple was reported estranged, possibly over the alleged abuse and suspected infidelity. Fred was even said to be in the process of filing for divorce and executing the cut-off of financial ties with Deidra. Fred was returning home to gather and sell a motorcycle, not reconciling with his wife per the deceased's family.

In retort, Deidra's mother claimed that Deidra's face was swollen from an alleged beating, but these were not mentioned by police reports or documented by photos publicly. Mrs. Lane stayed at the scene to give the cops a full report of the incident and was even the one to call 911.

The trial ended with the guilty conviction of Deidra Lane, after he pleaded to Voluntary Manslaughter, as she was to serve the complete sentence of eight years of incarceration, minus time previously served.

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The podcast episode presents a compelling dialogue between Darin Hays and Timothy P. Brown, who dives into the historical complexities of college football programs that have experienced declines or outright cancellations. Brown, known for his expertise on football history through his work at FootballArchaeology.com, provides a thoughtful analysis of the interplay between football programs and their respective stadiums, particularly focusing on Catholic universities. As Hays sets the stage, he emphasizes the importance of remembering these programs and their legacies, inviting listeners to reflect on the broader implications of their histories.

Of course, this discussion all stems from Tim's original article titled: Stadium Size, Football Dropper - Catholic Univ.

The audio-only podcast of the discussion can be found at: Decline of Catholic U.

In a detailed exploration, Brown shares intriguing anecdotes about various schools, including Catholic University, which once had a vibrant football culture. The conversation highlights the significance of stadium size and capacity as indicators of a program's success or failure. Brown recounts how many schools, during the 1920s, sought to emulate the success of Notre Dame by investing in football, leading to the construction of sizable stadiums. However, as the conversation unfolds, it becomes clear that these investments did not guarantee long-term sustainability. Brown attributes the decline of many programs to a combination of factors, including financial constraints, demographic shifts, and resource limitations faced by urban universities. He reflects on how the events of World War II drastically impacted college athletics, leading institutions to reassess their commitment to football amidst manpower shortages and budgetary pressures.

The dialogue also addresses the contemporary landscape of college football, where the challenges of urban institutions persist. Brown discusses how land constraints and high operational costs continue to hinder football programs at schools located in densely populated areas. Despite these challenges, he offers a glimpse of hope as he points to a growing trend of D3 schools reinstating football programs as a strategic initiative to attract students. This episode ultimately serves as a rich narrative that intertwines historical insights with current realities, making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in the evolution of college football and its cultural significance.

Takeaways:

-The episode discusses the history of college football programs that have dropped or de-emphasized their football teams, focusing on the reasons behind these decisions.

-Timothy P. Brown explores the significant impact of stadium size on football programs and their sustainability over time.

-The podcast highlights the shift in Catholic universities' investment in football due to the influence of Notre Dame's success in the 1920s.

-Budget constraints and manpower shortages are key factors leading to the cancellation of football programs in various universities.

-The discussion includes how urban universities face unique challenges, such as land constraints, making it difficult to maintain football programs.

-Catholic University, which dropped its football program during WWII, later revived it in 1977, showcasing the evolving landscape of college sports.

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Timothy Brown joins Darin Hayes to spotlight the significant yet often overlooked contributions of Henry Mitchell McCracken to the safety and evolution of American football. McCracken, who became NYU's chancellor in the late 19th century, played a pivotal role in advocating for safer rules in the sport during a time when football was facing scrutiny for its dangers.

Of course, this discussion all stems from Tim's original article titled: Stadium Size, Football Droppers, and Deemphasizers: NYU .

The audio-only podcast of the discussion can be found at: Henry McCracken Contributions.

Following the tragic death of a player during a game, the NYU Chancellor galvanized university leaders to convene and develop new regulations, ultimately leading to the formation of what is now the NCAA. The discussion delves into McCracken's legacy, including his influence on the establishment of halls of fame in the United States and his efforts to reform the game. Join us as we explore these fascinating historical insights and uncover the impact of McCracken's work on modern college football.

The conversation unfolds as Darin Hayes and Timothy Brown recount the historical landscape of football in the early 1900s, shedding light on the challenges and dangers the sport posed to its players. Timothy elaborates on the culture of college athletics at that time, where university presidents and chancellors, like McCracken, wielded significant influence over the direction of sports programs. The episode paints a vivid picture of the educational values intertwined with athletics, as faculty members played a crucial role in governance, leading to a system that prioritized student safety amidst the chaotic nature of early football games. The narrative details how McCracken's response to a fatal accident during a game exemplified the urgent need for reform in college football, ultimately resulting in a collaborative effort from various universities to establish safer playing conditions. This historical reflection not only honors McCracken's contributions but also invites listeners to consider the ongoing evolution of sports governance and safety in today's athletic landscape, drawing parallels between past and present.

Takeaways

-The podcast discusses the contributions of Henry Mitchell McCracken to football safety and history.

-Timothy Brown highlights McCracken's role in establishing the first Hall of Fame in America.

-McCracken's advocacy led to significant changes in football rules after a player was killed.

-The episode emphasizes how college sports governance was once more influenced by university presidents.

-The origins of the NCAA can be traced back to McCracken's initiatives in the early 1900s.

-Listeners learn about the historical context of college football's evolution and its challenges.

Author and Historian John Maxymuk has written over a dozen books and 30 articles published on gridiron history. His subject matter spans from his favorite NFL team the Green Bay Packers, to his neighbors the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and beyond.

A Librarian at a prestigious university, John is no stranger to good literature, and to combine that with a passion for football history, Maxymuk is a bank filled with knowledge.

Maxymuk also dabbles in creating some cards of football legends and shares them in a blog post of his dedicated to the Green Bay Packers called: Packers Past Perfect. We are happy to be able to record a recent conversation with John and talk a little football.

Please note the links below to John's books are through the Pigskin Dispatch Affiliate link, and purchasing through them helps fund this website.

John Maxymuk's books include the following titles on Amazon:

- Packers by the Numbers

-Eagles by the Numbers

- Quarterback Abstract

-Uniform Numbers of the NFL

-Biographical History of the NFL Coaches

-Strong Arm Tactics

-Pioneer Coaches of the NFL

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When we go to a football game or watch one on TV, there are lines on the field, and they are preset because, most of the time, the fields are artificial grass fields. Somebody has to line the field, but we have modern equipment. How did they do it in the early days of football? Well, Timothy B. Brown of football archaeology joins us to tell us how they lined the field back in the day.

Of course, this discussion all stems from Tim's original article titled: Factoid Feast VII .

The audio-only podcast of the discussion can be found at: How They Lined the Fields in Early Football.

Football archaeologist Timothy P. Brown joins the show to shed light on this forgotten aspect of the game. He's known for his captivating "factoid feasts," where he unearths little-known nuggets of football history. Today's feast features a particularly intriguing tidbit: how they lined the field back in the day.

The Solution: A Goofy-Looking Tool

Prepare to be amazed! Timothy reveals that they used a wheelbarrow-like contraption to mark the field. This contraption had a large barrel filled with lime or chalk solution and a spigot at the bottom. The solution dripped onto a grooved wheel, leaving a line on the ground as it was pushed across the field.

Imagine the Challenge!

Darin paints a vivid picture of the difficulty involved. Pushing a heavy wheelbarrow in a straight line is hard enough, let alone controlling the flow of the solution and ensuring precise markings. Images in the show notes (check them out!) provide a delightful visual of this quirky tool.

A Look at Football Archaeology

Timothy's website, footballarchaeology.com, is a treasure trove for anyone interested in the forgotten stories of the game.

He encourages listeners to subscribe for email updates on his latest articles.  

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Have you ever wondered how and why a football looks the way it does? What about the grainy texture, the color or the stripes? Our friend Author Timothy Brown has the answers.

Discover the secrets behind the ball's shape, size, and materials, and learn how technological advancements have transformed the game. Brown offers a unique perspective on the football's cultural significance and its impact on society throughout history.

Join us as Tim discusses his latest groundbreaking work, The History of the Football. In this captivating conversation.

We also have a podcast audio version of the discussion found at:
The History of the Football with Timothy Brown or you can find it on your favorite podcast provider in the Pigskin Dispatch Podcast.

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The practice of stealing signs in football has been a contentious issue for decades, a subtle game within the game that can drastically alter the outcome of a match. While the exact origins are shrouded in time, it's safe to say that as soon as teams began using signals to communicate plays, opponents sought to decipher them.

In the early days of football, sign stealing was often a matter of keen observation and deduction. Coaches and players would watch for subtle cues, such as hand gestures, formations, or even the way a quarterback looked at his receivers. As the sport evolved, so too did the methods of sign stealing. The advent of technology, particularly video cameras, opened up new avenues for teams to gain an edge.

Timothy P. Brown of Football Archaeology visits us in this episode to share the story of the nefarious and unethical item of the pigskin's history.

If you love the football talk on history and evolution, then you should check out the original article Tim wrote : A History of Signal Stealing in College Football.

In addition to the video above, you can also get the podcast audio version for your listening enjoyment at: The History of Stealing Signs in American Football.