Football History

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In the hallowed halls of football history, where legends are born and records are broken, there exists a place where the greatest moments in the sport are preserved.

Did you know some of the gridiron's greatest were born on Independence Day? Join us as we celebrate America's birthday and explore the fascinating history of football, from its early roots to the Hall of Famers who share this special day!

Touchdowns, touchdowns, and trivia! Don't miss this informative (and patriotic) deep dive!

August 3rd may not be a date synonymous with gridiron glory, but the annals of American football hold a few intriguing stories tied to this day. From preseason showdowns to the careers of legendary players, let's explore some of the key moments that have unfolded on August 3rd.

Today, June 27th, is a special day for football fans! Not only might it be prime draft prep season, but it's also a date etched in the record books for some gridiron greats. Let's take a look back at some of the top American football events and Hall of Fame birthdays we celebrate today!

Uncover historical games, legendary players, and maybe even some draft day surprises that all went down on June 27th.

Born February 23, 1877, in Lisle, New York, was the incredible guard of Princeton University, William Hanford "Big Bill" Edwards.

Big Bill is famous for a few things in history; he played and officiated some big games on the football field. None was more challenging than being the ref for the 1906 Massillon Tigers versus the Canton Bulldogs game that sparked a scandal that almost ruined pro football.

"Big Bill" Edwards left an enduring mark on the early days of American football, primarily through his impactful college career at Princeton University. Here's a look at his contributions to the sport:  

-College Career

-Edwards played guard for the Princeton Tigers football team from 1896 to 1899.  

-He was a dominant force on the field known for his size and strength.  

-Notably, he was a key player on Princeton's national championship teams in 1898 and 1899.  

-His peers respected him so much that he was elected team captain for two years.  

-His time at Princeton established him as one of the preeminent football players of his era.  

In the early days of football, the professional game was not what it is today. Edwards was primarily a college player.  
After his college career, he was involved in football by being an official and coaching and even wrote a book on football titled “Football Days.”. One of our football friends, Peter S., points out that the book is available on the web for free.

Big Bill also was part of some roughhousing that involved the game officials The Umpire Strikes Back?. Thanks to Timothy Brown of FootballArchaeology.com we have an account of the mele. the-umpire-strikes" target="bbcode">Umpire Strikes Back

-Big Bill Edwards was a Life-Saving Hero of a Government Official

The event showcasing William "Big Bill" Edwards's remarkable bravery occurred on August 9, 1910, as Mayor William Jay Gaynor of New York City prepared to board the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. The mayor was about to embark on a European vacation when James Gallagher approached him. Without warning, Gallagher drew a pistol and fired, striking Mayor Gaynor.

Amid the chaos that ensued, "Big Bill" Edwards, who was present at the scene, reacted with extraordinary speed and decisiveness. Edwards, known for his imposing physical stature from football days, immediately tackled Gallagher, effectively subduing the would-be assassin. In the process of restraining the attacker, Edwards himself sustained a minor flesh wound. However, his swift action prevented Gallagher from further harming the mayor or anyone else present.

The incident caused a sensation, and Edwards was widely hailed as a hero. His courageous intervention was credited with saving Mayor Gaynor's life. This heroism added another remarkable chapter to the life of "Big Bill" Edwards, further solidifying his reputation as a man of exceptional character. For his bravery, Edwards was awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism.

-Football Legacy

-Edwards' legacy is firmly rooted in his exceptional college performance and contributions to early football development.  

-His presence on those dominant Princeton teams helped solidify the program's place in football history.

-Edwards also contributed to the history of football by writing a book called "Football Days" in 1916. This book is a valuable first-hand account of 19th-century college football.  

-Big Bill's induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971 is a testament to his lasting impact.

-Accolades, Awards and Career Stats

-2× National champion (1898, 1899)  

-First-team All-American (1899)  

-College Football Hall of Fame inductee (1971)  

"Big Bill" Edwards' influence extended beyond the football field. He was respected, and his contributions to the sport's early development are still recognized today.

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Timothy P. Brown joins Darren Hayes in a captivating discussion as they delve into the fascinating intersection of football history and unique anecdotes.As the conversation unfolds, Darren and Timothy explore how each 'factoid' serves as a window into the past, reminding fans of the rich history behind America's favorite sport. Timothy elaborates on his research methodology, which involves cataloging intriguing bits of information that often surface unexpectedly during his investigations. This method not only enriches his own understanding but also provides a treasure trove of material for listeners eager to learn more about football's evolution. Each factoid discussed is a testament to the game’s cultural significance and the myriad ways it has impacted American society.

This story is based on Tim's original Tidbit of the-first-factoid-feast" target="bbcode">Factoid Feast 1: Agony of the Cleats.

We also have an audio podcast version for your added convenience: From War to Cleats: Unearthing Football's Hidden History.

Listeners are treated to a mix of humor and nostalgia, especially as Timothy recounts how the Navy's surplus of cleats inadvertently contributed to quirky local lore. The image of schoolchildren wearing military-grade football cleats to class brings a light-hearted element to the narrative, illustrating the sometimes absurd outcomes of logistical errors. The episode not only celebrates the sport but also emphasizes the importance of remembering its history, making the discussion a must-listen for football enthusiasts and casual listeners alike. Timothy's insights encourage a deeper appreciation for the game, reminding all of us that football history is filled with unexpected narratives that continue to shape the present.

Takeaways:

-The podcast features Timothy P. Brown discussing unique tidbits from football history.

-Listeners can explore various historical anecdotes about football equipment and players.

-The story of the Navy's surplus of half a million football cleats is surprisingly humorous.

-Timothy P. Brown shares how he collects and curates interesting football facts.

-The uniqueness of the 'factoid feast' format keeps the podcast engaging and informative.

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December 6, 1969, marked a historic clash between two college football titans: the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks. This matchup, dubbed the "Game of the Century," pitted two dominant programs in the Southwest Conference against each other.

Arkansas, under the guidance of legendary coach Frank Broyles, boasted a formidable defense that allowed just 6.8 points per game. Texas, led by Darrell Royal, countered with a high-powered offense that averaged 44 points per game. The stage was set for a thrilling showdown that would captivate the nation.

The Razorbacks struck first, taking a 14-0 lead early in the game. However, Texas staged a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns to take a 15-14 lead. Despite committing six turnovers, the Longhorns' relentless determination and clutch plays proved to be the difference.

This epic battle, which has been ranked as one of the greatest college football games of all time, showcased the intensity and excitement of the sport. It remains a timeless classic that continues to be celebrated by fans and historians alike.

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There are a handful of early coaches who have had such a resounding impact on the game of football that they actually changed the game, and took players to the upmost sides of their God Given talents. Percy Haughton, not a household name by any means, is one of these rare individuals in gridiron lore, whose story needs to be told.

Author Dick Friedman joined us to chat about his book on the Harvard coaching legend.


Percy_Haughton_D_Friedman_1

⏰Sat, 06/01 05:45AM · 48mins

Transcript

Darin Hayes
Hello, my football friends. This is Darin Hayes at pigskindispatch.com. Welcome once again to the Pigpen, your portal into positive football history. And we're gonna stare down that portal today and go way back, probably 125 years or so back into the East Coast of football, where football started. And we have a gentleman who's written a book called The Coach Who Strangled a Bulldog, How Harvard's Percy Haughton Beat Yale and Helped Reinvent Football. That's, of course, author Dick Friedman. Dick Friedman, welcome to the program.

Dick Friedman
Thank you very much, Darin. It's great to be here.

Darin Hayes
It's very interesting to have this talking about Coach Percy Haughton because we have not covered him in our program and we have, you know, probably about 1000 different podcasts and I can't believe I've never had anybody talk about him before so I'm really excited to hear a little bit more about coach.

Dick Friedman
Well, I gotta say, I think I won't say he's totally lost to history. He is, of course, in the College Football Hall of Fame. So if you're in the College Football Hall of Fame, you're out there, you know, you're a figure. But he's, because he did most of his coaching before World War I, before the age of the newsreels, I think to some degree he is lost to history. You know, for instance, he's not nearly as famous as Newt Rockne, who followed him along and is now the most important coach in American College Football, arguably. I mean, I guess you could also, you know, invoke Bear Bryant and maybe even Nick Saban at this point. But in any event, Percy Horton was a figure who did his greatest work really by 1915. And, you know, and then the United States went to World War I, and after that, things changed. And then Percy, except for a very brief stint in Columbia, was out of the game. So, in any event, he is kind of a distant figure, maybe more distant than he should be.

Darin Hayes
OK, yeah, that's very interesting. I think, and I can see, that your passion, and you're talking about the passion of Coach Haughton. And I'd like maybe to get some of your background to tell us why Percy Haughton is a person of interest that you would write a book about.

Dick Friedman
Well, it's very interesting, Darin, because I grew up eight miles from Harvard Stadium in Newton, Massachusetts. I started going to Harvard games when I was seven years old in 1958. And then I actually went to Harvard and graduated in 73 and, of course, went back most seasons to see games, either at the stadium or when they were on the road. But interestingly enough, it took an assignment when I was working for Sports Illustrated, which I did for 18 years. I was working on the college football coffee table book that Sports Illustrated did about 12 or 13 years ago. A piece of copy came in front of me written by my colleague, David Sabino, and it was Harvard's Percy Haughton, who was 71, 7, and 5 in Cambridge from 1908 through 1915. And I looked at it and I went, holy. And then I won't say the next word that I said, holy blank. I've known this my whole life. Has anybody ever written a book about this guy? And I did a little investigating. And the answer was no. Nobody had written a book about him, although he had been part of a few other books. And I said, wow. I said this has got to be worth something. This particular era, especially of Harvard football that he coached, was an amazing era with some amazing players. So there's got to be something there. A lot of people that I talked to didn't really think there was anything there, and they were sick and tired of hearing about Harvard. And there was a lot going on. Nevertheless, when I did a little more investigating, the thing that I found was, aside from the Outnet record, which is amazing, there was really a great story about this guy and about the players that played for him. He turned out to be an absolutely seminal figure in the beginnings of what I call modern football. And the more I got into it, the more fascinated I got. And then I discovered that he had written a book which is now a hundred years old, exactly this year, called Football and How to Watch It. I read the book, and it's actually available on Google Books. And I recommend that anybody read it because it's fascinating. And basically, the book holds up amazingly well a hundred years later. I mean, the one thing that is not as big a part of it as it is now in the game is passing. That was not nearly as big a part of the game. It was just coming in in the twenties and certainly was not as well developed as it became even 10 to 15 years later. But the rest of it, it's as if he could write it as if he had written it last week. And so the more I looked, the more I looked, and the more research I did, the more I was convinced that there was something there. Then, I found one of his great assistant coaches, who was actually his backup fullback at Harvard. He was a guy named Reggie Brown, who was his advanced scout and did notebooks. And these notebooks were suddenly hiding in plain sight of all places Notre Dame. I got in contact with the librarians at Notre Dame, and they sent them to me on loan. And again, reading, what he did was he had all sorts of diagrams and plays, like if he would be scouting Yale for the game and he would be scouting and he'd go to Yale practices and he put their formations down and everything. And again, the more you look at it, the more I am going, wow, what a treasure trove this is.

Darin Hayes
There's got to be there's got to be a story behind it. How did the assistant coach at Harvard's notebooks and playbooks basically end up at Notre Dame? There has to be a Knute Rockne who had to do something about this.

Dick Friedman
Well, it's possible the other thing that's that's, and I asked I asked he actually asked that question of a few people. And what they said is that often things go are sold to collections, various collections and then the schools will buy the collection. And that's probably what happened.

Darin Hayes
That makes perfect sense, though.

Dick Friedman
Yeah, yeah. But anyway, you look at these things, and these things are, you know, 110 years old now. And you're amazed at the sophistication of the game already. Right. I mean, that, that, that, in fact, every, everything as I as I kept researching, that was one of the main things that, that, that came through to me was how even back in 1910 1915 the game, the scouting, the media, of course, called the press then was already amazingly sophisticated. And, you know, again, I said, there's a lot going on here that, that, that's plenty for me to write about. And sure enough, you know, I almost got lost in the research; as you well know, that happens to all of us. We go down the rabbit hole and, and the next thing you know, you know, we forget to write the book. But luckily, that didn't happen. And, and, you know, that's how the coach who strangled the bulldog came to be. So, anyway, it was a great, great experience for me. And, you know, the other thing is that it got me some cred among the Harvard Athletic Department. And I ended up being, I now, for the last, since 2014, I've been the Harvard Magazine football correspondent. Really nice. Yeah, I mean, I've been, I, when I was on the East Coast, I would go to as many games as I could. Now that I've been on the West Coast, I've been streaming the games on ESPN Plus. I have to say it's not a bad way to be a correspondent. You know, I mean, you get it, but you get it almost as much as you need. Almost better than being there. And, you know, I write up a little report every, after every game and, and, you know, it's been a lot of fun, and it's also, you know, kept me in touch with a lot of people back at the school, which is wonderful.

Darin Hayes
And that's going to be fantastic to be in your alma mater, too. That's really special.

Dick Friedman
Yeah, yeah, no, it's it's been great. And, you know, the other thing is, I've gotten to meet and talk with the coach at Harvard. Now, Tim Murphy is a tremendous coach, and I have judged him as the greatest coach in Harvard football history, even greater than Percy Haughton. And I give him the nod, partly because Murph has been added for 28 seasons now, whereas Percy only did it for nine, you know, or eight. So no, I guess it's nine. So, you know, Murph has won like nine Ivy League championships and is a tremendous football coach. But anyway, so between one thing and another, it's been a tremendous experience for me.

Darin Hayes
Well, yeah, congratulations. That's a great honor. And, uh, something, you know, especially to be staying in touch with your Alma water and, uh, stay in touch with football, even though you're on the other coast. The Dick, let's get it a little bit into the Percy Haughton's background. How did he get involved in football?

Dick Friedman
Percy went to Groton, the fabled prep school. Percy was a member of the class of 95, that's 1895, at Groton, and then went on to Harvard, where he was in the class of 1899. Percy was a star athlete at Groton, one of the greatest athletes; even today is still ranked one of the greatest athletes that Groton ever had. He was a big, tall guy, very lean, very limber. He was a tremendous punter, but his actual favorite sport remained, and so was baseball, where he was a great center fielder for both Groton and the Crimson. And he loved baseball players for his football team. That's what they always said, that as soon as he saw a great baseball player, a lot of them already were great football players, but he would try to convert them into football players. Anyway, he went on to Harvard and played fullback for the Crimson. This was a time when Yale was totally dominant in football in the 1890s and early 1900s, a really great golden age for Yale. They were the Alabama of their day, really. He was involved in one game in 1898 when his punting helped Harvard win a rare victory. But again, when you have a rare victory in these series, people really do remember it. And then he went on after college, after Harvard, he went on and coached at Cornell for a couple of years. And he actually succeeded a coach that you may have heard of named Pop Warner. And then Percy went back to Boston, coaching not being a well-paid profession at that time. Percy went on back to Boston and worked in the bond business. And at the time, Harvard was kind of struggling, losing to Yale and finally people in Cambridge got fed up and they went after Percy and they said, how would you like to take over? He said he would with one condition, and that condition was that he had total control. He was not gonna take it if people were gonna be kibitzing over his shoulder. And sure enough, they were so desperate that they grabbed him. In the first year, he beat Yale in some polls back then, and some newspapers named him the national champion, Harvard national champion. There were seven, oh, and one; they were undefeated, and Percy had achieved his cred. From there on, he had a successful run. But again, it was his way or the highway. And he really systematized football. He really broke the game down and kind of modernized it. A lot of the things he innovated or made popular, at least, are things that we see coaches still doing today.

Darin Hayes
OK. Now, now with that story there with him, uh, you know, beating Yale sort of right out of the shoot with the coaching, is that where the title to your book came from, strangling the Bulldog?

Dick Friedman
Yes, it was that particular game that Yale game in 1908 when Percy, they went to Yale, they traveled to Yale the game was at Yale Field back then, there was the Yale ball was still a few years away from being built, and Percy, always a great motivator, he decided that he would strangle a bulldog, of course, that being Yale's mascot. What he did was though he had a bulldog being towed by I think back of a car and this, however was to allay the PETA fans who might be listening right now, this was not a live bulldog, this was a paper mache bulldog; and Percy grabbed it by the neck, said this is what we're gonna do to Yale and the team laughed like crazy but the legend grew that Percy strangled the bulldog and of course then he did so metaphorically three days later when they upset Yale with the mighty score of four to nothing thanks to a field goal by a guy named Vic Canard. So that was the whole birth of it, but whenever I would tell people that I was working on this, people would say, oh, isn't that the guy that strangled the bulldog? So after a while, I began to think, you know, maybe I should make more of this than my working title was things like Crimson Autumns and whatever, and I went, you know something, this strangled the bulldog thing, we got to get it right out there, you know front and center and sure enough that's what we did.

Darin Hayes
catchy title, and it's one that's unique and different from anything else you read, especially in a football book. So that's great, though. It really caught my eye when I saw the title.

Dick Friedman
Well, you know, that was the editors were happy that I came up with it, the editors of the book, you know, because they were starting to worry that this thing was going to sound very, very plain vanilla, you know, so, you know, I understood what they said being an editor myself for many years. You know, you got to you got to get something to grab the reader in, you know, pull the reader in.

Darin Hayes
1 .8 seconds to grab their attention. And once you do, you got them, right?

Dick Friedman
That's right. That's it. Exactly. That's it. Exactly.

Darin Hayes
Now I find it, it's a real interesting going back and looking at some of these, uh, records of some of these teams, especially the Eastern teams. And you see, you know, Yale and Harvard and Princeton and Penn, especially Yale and Harvard always being that last game, you know, sort of right around Thanksgiving last game of the season. And usually, you know, everything was hinging on on who was going to be, you know, the top team in the land, especially when they, you know, people like, uh, Park H Davis and the Billings report and Helms report and the rest of them went back retroactively and looked at these teams that sort of came down to that game would, uh, determine who would be the national champion or co-national champion at the time. And is, uh, Harvard and Yale, still like the last game of the season on their, OK?

Dick Friedman
Yes, that is called, still called the game, right? You don't even need the big game, which is what Cal and Stanford have out here. But no, the game is the last game of the season. And a lot of years, one or the other of the teams has a mediocre record or worse. And if they can upset the other, the hated rival, then the season is a relative success. And it's still the one that really counts. And for many years, you're right. It did have implications, either in the early days or national championship implications. Nowadays, since 1956, since the formation of the Ivy League, often it has had Ivy League championship implications of one or both teams involved with the chance for the title. So there's a lot at stake. I know the coaches feel it tremendously, the pressure tremendously. They think about it. They probably worry about it because they know that's the one the alumni think about. And it's a yardstick for the alumni. And it's also the biggest attendance in the Ivy League almost every year. It's the biggest attendance when it's at Yale especially. Because at Yale, you might have as many as 55 or 60 ,000 people at the game. Harvard's a much smaller stadium, but usually is sold out nevertheless. So it's quite a rivalry. I will say this though. Princeton and Dartmouth lately have been terrific. And before that, Penn had quite a run. And so in fact, a lot of years Penn and Harvard was the game for the Ivy League championship, which is the next to last game of the season. A lot of years like in the 80s and 90s. So it goes back and forth. The Ivy League fans, there aren't that many of us, but we're intense. That much I'll say.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, that's it's a tremendously is very interesting. I had a great opportunity probably about 10 years ago to go and tour the Yale Bowl and some of Yale's campus with a former player and a former coach that my wife's related to. And we got to get to experience. I got to talk to the former player and I told myself, you know, what was that? Like the biggest day, you know, of your career, you know, coming out of this Yale tunnel, what was what was the game that you remember the most coming out of there? It was all the two times that we played Harvard here. That was the thing. So they feel the same way up at Yale. I'm sure that you folks at Harvard do, too. So it's an interesting rivalry.

Dick Friedman
Well, you know, we consider Yale our safety school. What can I tell you? You know, only kidding, only kidding. Yeah. No, I mean, that one. I must say the other great thing is that I've had a real good chance to observe and, in some cases, to meet the other Ivy, some of the other Ivy coaches. And, you know, it's a it's a terrific group right now. I mean, they're the same same as the same group as last season, which is really rare, right, to have nobody in a conference lose their jobs. And but I think it's merited because they're they're it's a very impressive group of individuals and they're really good teachers. That's the other thing that I like about all of them, you know, very, very, you know, when you when you hear them talk, you know, you feel like you're learning something from all of them, which is great. So, you know, all of this has been very fascinating to me in my old age, you know, getting to, as you know, getting to meet and briefly sit in the press box with with 22 year olds or 19-year olds who could be my grandchildren. You know, it's great. It's a lot of fun.

Darin Hayes
Interesting. But let's get back to Coach Haughton. I'm sorry, I took you down a couple rabbit holes there. Coach Haughton had the big game beaten Yale early on in his career. Was that sort of the biggest game of his career or was there some other games that maybe are equal to that or maybe even surpassed it?

Dick Friedman
There were a couple of Yale games later on that Harvard won in big fashion, in convincing fashion. They won in 1914, I believe, was a 39 to six. And the following year, in 15, they also won by a very big score. And when you won, when you scored 39 points in a game back then, that was like scoring 75 points today. That was just, it was a low scoring era. So for you to pile up that many touchdowns in a major game was awesome. And a lot of it was just that he had a well-drilled group that executed brilliantly, especially in their blocking. And they were just unstoppable. They were unstoppable. So, they also won a major game in 1913 at the stadium, again against Yale, in which one of the most famous players, a fellow named Charlie Brickley, kicked five field goals. Now this had been done before, but never in as major a game with this kind of a spotlight. And Brickley, who might call the da Vinci of the drop kick, is still one of the greatest, if not the greatest drop kickers in football history. I mean, we talked earlier about, you know, Percy Haughton being a lost figure in a way, drop kicking certainly is a lost art in football. But Brickley, who also could place kick as well, drop kicking was a crucial element in a team's attack back then. And Brickley was the greatest drop kicker. And he was from nearby Everett, Massachusetts, but he kicked five field goals at the stadium. And this received totally national coverage. It was almost like the Super Bowl, you know, if somebody had done something great in the Super Bowl. And, you know, so all these games were receiving total saturation coverage. And again, the whole Haughton legend got burnished with every year that he achieved this kind of result. And, you know, but those were some of the results that happened and they did stick around one extra year in 1916 and Yale did win 63. So, you know, it wasn't foolproof, you know, that's the nature of the beast. But anyway, that was when you read about the coverage about, you know, Brickley, you know, Brickley was a God at that point, you know, Brickley was like, you know, any great athlete, you know, Joe Namath or, you know, Tom Brady or you name it. That's the level of celebrity that he had achieved.

Darin Hayes
Yeah. Isn't it interesting that, you know, back in that era, you know, that the kickers and punters were sort of the stars of the teams, of the great teams. And, you know, like you say, like Brickley and, you know, hot and hot and before him and, you know, Thorpe and it was all these, all these players, because the kicking game and the punting game was so important to the offensive before, you know, the forward pass was really prevalent. So it's fascinating.

Dick Friedman
Yeah, and Haughton, you know, was having been a great punter himself, really paid tremendous attention to it. What we today call the measurables, you know, he was already onto it. He would put a stopwatch on his on his kickers to see how fast they would get the punt off, you know, after the after the snap of the ball and, you know, that he drilled them to try to get it off, you know, no less than like one one in five, seven seconds or something like that. I could be misquoting. The other the other thing that he was a fiend about was back back then, you know, covering kicks was very, very, a very big part of the game. And what he said to his kickers was, you know, I want the ball kicked 40 yards. I'm not talking 41 yards and I'm not talking 39 yards. When I say 40, I mean 40. And one of his greatest players, besides Brickley, a guy named Eddie Mahan, kicked one 60 yards and Brickley yanked him from I mean, Haughton yanked him from the game and said, that 60 yard punt does us no good at all, because we can't cover 60 yards. You know, that's the kind of guy he was. He was a nut. Look, he was a bit of a nut. There's just no way around it.

Darin Hayes
You hear about it all the time. Even today that punters out kicking their coverage. So maybe he was on to something back then.

Dick Friedman
Oh, he definitely was, I mean, and he he had, you know, he wanted football played played a certain way. And, you know, a big part of the game was was exchange of punts to gain territory gain yardage. And the other thing is, he loved exchange of punts and and playing for the breaks. You know, back then, let the other team could fumble. They might throw an interception if the rare forward pass you know Harvard guy could intercept it, and they would gain territory that way and then they had Berkeley to kick a field goal. Three to nothing win that was fine by him, you know, but they had so much better material by that point than the than most of the other teams that they were winning by reasonably big store big scores. And they won. They were 33 they had a 33 game unbeaten streak from 1911 to 1915. Wow. And then a couple of ties in there but you know they just outclassed other teams, you know, so much better. And the team that beat them before the end of the, the beginning of the streak was Carlisle with Jim Thorpe. And Jim Thorpe put on a day for the ages back at the, you know, at Harvard Stadium, and Haughton said, you know, I've now seen the Superman in the flesh, you know, he was convinced so you know, and Berkeley and Haughton became good friends great kickers you know they do kicking contests and stuff. So, you know, if there had been more of an organized pro football in the in the late teens and early 20s, there'd be a lot more have been a lot more money for those guys.

Darin Hayes
Hmm. Interesting. Now, OK, besides the contributions that Coach Haughton did, you know, for just his record at Harvard and, you know, winning some national championships in there in the kicking game, what are some other contributions that you can sort of look back and say, you know, Percy Haughton, he's a guy that started that or has a lot of responsibility for that. Some things that maybe in modern football that we should be thankful for to him.

Dick Friedman
Sure, I mean, I don't know about being thankful for, but the whole organization of practice, you know, I mean, the way practices today are scripted to the minute, you know, he started, I don't know whether he started it, but he certainly popularized it. He had the players helmets lined up, you know, in front of, at the field, right? Didn't want to waste a second. He gave out the players knew exactly what was going to be worked on that particular day. You know, he'd had at three o 'clock, they were going to do such and such. At 3.15, they were going to do such and such. At 3 .30, such and such. He broke the team down into four segments. He had the varsity, then an A, B and C team. And it was a bit of a ladder in the sense that you could work your way up or work your way down depending as the year went on. Very big on drill and execution. You know, we've heard a lot about Vince Lombardi telling his team to run the power sweep 11 times or until they got it right. Well, that was, Percy Haughton did the same thing. He didn't have a big playbook. He had only 25 plays, but he could run them from five different formations. So he really had 125 plays. The other thing that he did was, I think was very, very important. He decided at a certain stage that the future of football was not to the heavy, to the weight, to the heavy guy. It was to the athletic guy. And that really, he figured that out early on. You know, that again, he loved baseball players, but what he wanted was really the athletic guy, not that, or as what they called it back then, the 200 -pound fat boy, you know, which now we would call the 400 -pound fat boy. But that was really important to the Harvard system, was to have really kind of raw boned great athletes who were fast, quick, as well as strong, not a big guy on weight, you know, working with the weights. Instead, he would rather guys be eased off and come in rested and, you know, be keen rather than work them and scrimmage them to death and practice. So all these things that have become common and standard and most coaches, you know, quivers today, you know, are what are a big part of the Haughton system. And because of Harvard's prominence, you know, they got a lot of publicity. And then he wrote the book and even more of his stuff. And then the one other thing I should talk about, which I think is very important, was that he decided also that deception was gonna be a very big feature of the game. And his teams were very, very skilled in deceiving the opponent. He really wanted the opponent to sweat hard and worry about what the next play is. He loved it when passing came in because he would pitch out to one of the triple threat backs that they had and the triple threat back would hold the ball up. And, you know, the defensive backs were wondering, what's gonna happen here? Is it gonna be a run? Is it gonna be a pass? You know, what's gonna go on? And he loved that, you know, he wanted that guy on an island just worrying and letting the Harvard guys get the jump on them. And again, this was all not totally new, but again, became much more standard with what he did.

Darin Hayes
Uh, very interesting. Uh, and you know, when you say we should be thankful to, I think, uh, us as fans and the players themselves should be thankful for having the organized practices and I'm sure coaches today sort of take it for granted, but somebody had to start doing that and organize those and having the drills and everything. And, you know, I, I think that's definitely something that you can hang, uh, Percy Haughton's hat on, uh, to, to, uh, you know, credit him for that. So I think that is something to be thankful for.

Dick Friedman
So yeah, yeah. And you know, and he even had like each week, you know, was given a name, you know, like, like, would be like, joy week, you know, break before the Yale game, he wanted the team really loose before the Yale game, he wanted them to have fun that week, you know, not to be have the entire season planned out. And, again, this was, you know, very contrary to what the image of football was of a bunch of guys in a scrum, you know, and it's fascinating for me to read it was fascinating for me to read about it, because, you know, again, I had a total image of guys in a scrum, you know, guys with a lot of hair and a scrum. And then you read about it, and you see, well, you know, what a method that this guy had, you know, he called it human chess. Right. And it's just the whole cerebral aspect of the game was brought to the fore by person.

Darin Hayes
Uh, I'm sure if he could see the game being played today, he would, he would really be excited, you know, being, having all the other formations in the passing game, be more prevalent and what it, what a chess chess match it is today. That's for sure.

Dick Friedman
can't make the case that he's any better than Rockme or Frank Leahy or, you know, Bud Wilkinson. You know, you just go down the line of all the tremendous coaches in college football. But I do think that he's lost to history in a way. And again, I think this is a big part of it is because he was early. He was too early, right? If there had been newsreel footage of him, he would have a better chance of being really famous. Now, I would say that he went to Columbia in the 20s. He took the job there and was starting to build that program. And one day after practice, he said he wasn't feeling too well. He laid down and he died of a heart attack. He was 48 years old.

Darin Hayes
Oh, well.

Dick Friedman
he had been in New York, in New York, where he was, if he had been able to continue in New York through the, you know, the war in 20s and into the 30s with all the celebrity of the of the New York Press, you know, then then maybe we would all be talking a lot more about it. You know, so that I think I think that's that's kind of what happened. But I but I do think given his record and given the various innovations that I've talked about, that he should be better known and should be given more, more credit than he has. Again, he's in the Hall of Fame. You know, you're in the Hall of Fame can't really get much more credit than that. But as I say, in terms of like the average fan, knowing who he is, very, very few would know today. And, you know, it's a shame. It's a shame, because I do think he was very important figure in football.

Darin Hayes
Well, I, that's why I'm glad that there, there's people out there like you that are preserving the football history. And we thank you for that and preserving, you know, coach Percy Haughton and some of his great contributions, his history, uh, you know, everything that he did for the game and for, for Harvard football and, uh, make, make some a legend. And we're glad that, uh, somebody recorded that in a person's user. And we thank you for that.

Dick Friedman
Well, the labor of love for me, going back through the archives was wonderful. I should, one more thing to add, I was able to get back into the archives and after a certain amount of time, you go back into the student folders and I was able to see various things about the players, including Percy who had been a player, of course, including their grades, which was fascinating as a former student myself. And the other thing that I saw of a very sobering aspect was that I think that we had one of the earliest cases, not recorded, but the earliest cases of CTE with one of the players, a guy named Percy Wendell, who was a terrific fullback for Harvard in the 1911, 1910, 11 seasons. He was known as the human bullet for his headfirst running style. And as time went on, Percy Wendell started to falter. And finally, in the late 20s, and he had served in World War I, and so they ascribed some of his problems to the war, but in the late 20s, he was described as being not the man he used to be, kind of a euphemism, and he died at age 42. And reading between the lines, it sure sounds like CTE, right? And we don't know for sure, but boy, every single symptom was there. And very sobering about the game and I'm sure that he was not the only one suffering from that illness back then, especially given that they were not wearing the, either not wearing helmets or wearing the leather helmets. And you run into that, and so that takes you aback when you're seeing it in the files. I also saw in the files, players who almost all of them from that era went on to World War I and served in World War I. And one of the players who was Brickley's backup got killed in action. And when you read this stuff, you feel like you know these guys, you've been on the football team with these guys, and then you see that they're gone. And at age 23, you see photos of them and it's heartbreaking, it really is.

Darin Hayes
And we thank him for the service like we do everybody else that's fought for our country over the years. But yeah, true. It had to be a scary war.

Dick Friedman
Oh, that was terrible, terrible. I mean, and pointless. But anyway, that's a whole nother topic that we could get on someday. But yeah, but anyway, the whole aspect of the game back then, so many things that pull you into the present. And you know, again, that was, to me, I keep using the word fascinating, but it was fascinating to be mesmerizing, really. It's a good thing that the library closed five o 'clock, or I just would have stayed there all night, you know, because it is, I mean, I'm sure everybody who has, who has done this kind of research, you know, can, can relate. So but again, just, just fascinating.

Darin Hayes
I fully understand it, I tell you that. So why don't you tell us again the name of your book and where folks can get a copy of it.

Dick Friedman
OK, the name again is the coach who strangled the bulldog, how Harvard's Percy Haughton beat Yale and reinvented football. The publisher is Roman and Littlefield. Roman spelled R -O -W -M -A -N. It's on Amazon, very, very available on Amazon, and it's available in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle. So no excuse for people not to buy it and read it, and there will be a test. Now, only kidding. So yeah, but it's readily available on Amazon.

Darin Hayes
OK, great. And folks, if you're driving a car or something, don't can't write down the information right now. We will put it in the show notes of this podcast. Just look at the notes. It'll also be on pigskin dispatch for this article that's going to accompany the podcast. So you can find it either place and get you connected to Dick Friedman and his wonderful book. Sir, do you have any social media or anything you'd like to share where people can keep up on what you're doing? If you're writing anything new.

Dick Friedman
my website is being is is under reconstruction right now and when I when it is ready I am going to send you a note and you can put it in the in the show notes absolutely but yeah we have one of the many things that's fallen by the wayside during these last couple of years has been reconstruction of the website so it will happen and you know I am noodling with other book ideas and I can guarantee you that it will not be about Harvard football if I write another book enough already you know I've written enough about Harvard football in my lifetime so but you know but I've thought about other things too now that I'm on the west coast you know there might be a west coast oriented story about the early days of football and um you know we'll see could be something else you never know you never know but it but as I say it's been a tremendous um you know a tremendous uh project for me um this the book and um I like a lot of people I was kind of wondering what the heck I was going to do after I retired and it turned out I never really retire you know and so it's been you know so that's where I am but it's been it's been fascinating and much very enjoyable to meet people like yourself and and other people um you know who are who are in the uh world of college football history which is a you know a great history and um you know my dad went my dad went to Michigan so you know I I had heard a lot about that and uh he played um freshman football and he's a little guy like myself and the freshmen back then at Michigan were pretty much just cannon fodder and he was very proud though that he got knocked on his rear end by a fellow named Gerald R. Ford Jr and uh he said Jerry Ford was a tremendous football player and uh and and for my father to say that my father was a staunch liberal democrat so Jerry Ford must have really been great so

Darin Hayes
Yeah, he definitely was a great football player as well as, you know, in politics, as we know now, did, uh, did your father play for, uh, Fritz Crisler then? Is that.

Dick Friedman
No, the year that he that he played freshman ball was under a guy named Harry Kipke, K -I -P -K -E. Yeah, OK. Yeah, had to be.

Darin Hayes
pretty close, so I'll bet.

Dick Friedman
Yeah, yeah. And he and he was in the they played they were great. And when my father was a freshman, then they had several down seasons. And then my my father graduated. And then Tommy Harmon came in, in the late 30s. And they were great again. So my father would tell me about the great Tommy Harmon runs against Penn and schools like that. So he got me he got me very interested in an early age.

Darin Hayes
And the Harmon was definitely a great player too. So that's very interesting. Well, sir, we appreciate your time. We appreciate you coming on and preserving the football history and sharing it with us folks. Like we said, you can find a Dick Friedman's books where have the information, the show notes and on pigskin dispatch .com. And soon we'll have information on a Dick's website too, that you can go and see what he's got going on here in the near future. So Dick Friedman, thank you very much for joining us in the Pig Pen on Percy Haughton.

Dick Friedman
My pleasure. Thank you very much, Darin.

---

The video covers an interview with Ken Crippen, the founder of the Football Learning Academy, an online school teaching pro football history. The academy aims to provide historical context to today's game by educating about the origins, players, and early days of football. It also serves as a platform to raise funds and support retired players in need, especially older players struggling with medical bills.

Crippen discusses the academy's classes, featuring interviews with legendary figures like coaches, broadcasters, executives, and players from different eras. He highlights a recent class on historical scouting reports, where he and a colleague analyze film and grade players, focusing on older candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The class includes biographies, honors, statistics, and interviews with players discussing position-specific skills across different eras. Crippen emphasizes the importance of preserving firsthand accounts and providing information to aid the Hall of Fame's senior selection committee.

Ken and his team just launched a new class at the Football Learning Academy: Historical Scouting Reports. This class has:

-Video interviews with players talking about how to play their positions during their eras

-Historical scouting reports of players going back to the 1920s

-Profiles of potential contributors for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

-Transcript of Chat with KenCrippen FLA Historical Data

Darin Hayes
Hello, my football friends. This is Darren Hayes at pigskin -dispatch .com. Welcome once again to The Pig Pen, your report of our positive football history. And welcome to another great edition where we get to visit with one of our friends, a football historian, the leader and founder of the Football Learning Academy, Ken Crippen. Ken, welcome back to The Pig Pen.

Ken Crippen
Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

Darin Hayes
Ken, you have a lot of things going on at the Football Learning Academy. We really haven't touched base with you in probably probably almost a year now. And I know you have so many exciting things going on. And you have one thing in particular you want to talk about today. But won't you give us a general overview of what the Football Learning Academy is and some of the happenings you got going?

Ken Crippen
All right. The Football Learning Academy is an online school teaching pro football history. And what we're trying to do is to put today's game into historical context by teaching about where the game came from, the people who played the game, especially in the earlier days. And then second to that is that we have a platform to be able to help retired players in need. So, you know, we know that players are struggling to pay their medical bills, especially the older players. They're not making the millions of dollars like a lot of players are today. So I want to be able to use this platform to raise money to be able to help those players. So portion of all the proceeds generated at the football learning academy go to help those retired players that need it the most.

Darin Hayes
Uh, that is definitely a worthy cause. And, uh, we were so great, glad grateful that you were doing that. And I'm sure the players themselves that are receiving the benefits of it are as well, and it seems like you have some great participation because you have so many former players and former, uh, people that were involved in pro football, uh, aiding you and coming in and doing classes and, uh, being guests, uh, on both the, your, your lessons and on your podcast that, uh, it seems very beneficial all the way around.

Ken Crippen
Yeah, I mean, if you take a look at some of the classes, I mean, we've got an interview with coach Don Shula that I did, uh, obviously prior to his passing, um, Ken Riley, same thing. Uh, we have an interview with him, uh, legendary broadcaster, Leslie Visser. Uh, we've got classes with exclusive interviews with Marlon Brisco and Dan Rooney. Uh, you move over to the podcast, several hall of famers, John Hannah, you've got Brian Erlocker, Ron mix was released this week. Uh, you've got other well -known people, Michael Lombardi, former NFL scout and executive, um, Amy Trask, former NFL CEO, head coach Mark Trestman, uh, offensive lineman, Richard, uh, Richmond web. Uh, and then coming up, we've got an episode with ESPN's Chris Berman. So there's a lot of, uh, a lot of fascinating stuff there.

Darin Hayes
Yeah. You got the whole gambit there. You've got the, the TV talking head celebrities like Berman and, and Visser and you're going to, you know, coach Shula and John Hannah and Dan Rooney, you know, some of the executives and Michael Lombardi, that is really a well -rounded thing with all the players and coaches and a broadcaster. So very well done. And if you can't get some great insight from those folks, I don't know who you can. So great job. A lot of knowledge there. Yeah. Most definitely. But you approached me here not too long ago and you have something really exciting going on, some new classes that you have going on that you wanted to talk about today. So why don't you fill us in on that.

Ken Crippen
All right. The most recent class that we released is on historical pro football, scattering reports. So a colleague of mine, Matt Rieser and I, we went back and we studied film. This is something we started years ago. And what we would do is grade some of these players in each game and then all, you know, giving them an overall grade. So what we wanted to do is focus on some of the older players, especially ones where their names were coming up for the pro football hall of fame and the seniors. Pool. We had Mick Tinglehoff, Dick Barwegan, um, a bunch of other people. So there was a lot there that, um, we really wanted to be able to let people know about these players. A lot of people have never seen them play. Um, so anything that we can do to try to help people. And again, you know, back to our mission of educating people, we wanted to be able to do that, but then also have a resource for the senior selection committee to be able to see this information. I mean, a lot of them don't have the time to go through and, and study the film and things like that. So we're doing that work for them. So, uh, since, you know, we had some of those original scouting reports come out. I've gone through, I've added biographies, uh, the honors that they've had testimonial statistics. Um, but another thing that's interesting that I've adding, uh, been adding to this class is that I am interviewing a lot of these players and talking about the skills necessary to play their position within their particular era. So for example, Ron mix, as I'd mentioned before, Hall of Famer, he's talking about offensive line play, I've got another guy on there, Greg Thomas. He was the first African American starting quarterback for the university of Arkansas, he's talking about quarterback play. And I'm going to continue to add more scattering reports, add more videos, things like that on these particular players and how to play these positions, especially talking to players in different eras. So if you got somebody playing into fifties, somebody in the sixties, somebody in the seventies, et cetera. Now you can see how things evolved for that particular position by talking to the players that actually played that position. So it's a pretty interesting class. And, uh, I think a lot of people will be able to get something out of it.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, that's brilliant going to the different areas because it's almost, uh, if you look at games, like in the forties and fifties, they're a much different game. You know, the basics are there for football, but the way it's played in the strategies and blocking schemes and everything else are so much different than, uh, they are today and even, even in the seventies today. So that's great to get the perspective of the guys that were actually in the trenches and, and taking the hits to give that perspective. So you're very interesting.

Ken Crippen
Yeah, I mean, I definitely think that, you know, there's a lot that can be learned from that, especially when you're getting the firsthand accounts, because not only are you talking about the schemes, but we also go into players, you know, when I was talking with Ron mix, I was talking about playing against Deacon Jones, I mean, one of the greatest of all time. So you talk about, you know, the different techniques, the people that they struggled against, the people that they were successful against, why they were successful against them, why they struggled against them. There's a lot that you can pull out of that. And so being able to record these firsthand accounts, I think is definitely going to be beneficial, especially as we continue to progress in time.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, especially, you know, unfortunately, we're losing so many of these legends of the game seems like on a daily basis, you know, seems like every day you pick up the paper, you look on the Internet, you lose another star. So preserving the legacy of these folks and getting them recorded, even them talking about some other players that they played against or played with, like you said, is a very valuable resource. So very well done on that. Appreciate it. Yeah. Now, you can you said a little bit the you're providing information with the information that you're putting on this new project you got going on for the Senior Selection Committee. Now, on on average, what's the Hall of Fame? How many of the seniors are they trying to get in each year? Is there a certain numbers that sort of hit or miss?

Ken Crippen
It's been changing right now. You could have a maximum of three, but that's only been in place for a couple of years now. I think that expires maybe next year where they evaluate and see if they're going to still try to have a maximum of three every year or whether it's going to be going backwards or maybe it goes only two or one per year. So as of right now, it's three.

Darin Hayes
Yeah. Cause it seems like there's a tremendous amount, especially the early players, the first, uh, 20, 30 years of the NFL that probably are deserving to be in there, uh, but didn't really have the opportunity because the NFL or the pro football hall of fam, sorry, didn't start until the early 1960s. So some of these guys were long forgotten. Uh, and now with the resurgence of their information because of the internet, uh, football learning academy, PFRA and, and others, you know, and all the books that are coming out now, we have a lot more information, probably a better view of these folks now, uh, some 60 years later than they did in the early 60s. So I think it's invaluable that I'm glad that they're trying to put some more in, and I know they had sort of a bigger number, a hundredth anniversary, uh, of, uh, the NFL and then 2020, uh, but I, I know it's sort of dwindled down from, so, so three is sort of the targets still.

Ken Crippen
As of right now, yeah, I mean, unfortunately, they're don't see, it doesn't seem to be much interest in the older players. It's more of the more recent players within the senior pool that they're focusing on. So we may have trouble getting in some of those deserving people from the earlier days. It really comes down to the selection committee. If they're showing no interest in doing that, then you're not going to get any of those players in. Thanks for watching!

Darin Hayes
Now the selection committee, as far as I know, the folks that are in are mostly journalists. Is that true? Or is there still some executives? I think there

Ken Crippen
There are still a few executives, there may be a few former players, but that's on the overall committee itself. The actual seniors committee, I think is pretty much made up of strictly media members. So whether they're journalists, whether they're TV, whatever, it's mainly going to be journalists. And if you look at the overall committee, the bulk of them are going to be journalists.

Darin Hayes
And probably just human nature, the people that they know the most about are the people that they saw play, just like you or I or any of the listeners or viewers would say, you know, you know, you saw, you know, players, you know, like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady play, but that was some outstanding play by this player. So very difficult journey for these guys, especially in early football.

Ken Crippen
But I think, you know, you can also look at it too is that, you know, the media members of today saying we're the most qualified to be able to determine who's in the hall of fame, who was the best because we watched them play. But yet you bring up the media members of the day who watched those players and the hall of famers that have testimonials for those players and things like that. Why aren't they listening to them? I mean, wouldn't their opinions be just as valid. So if you've got somebody that is consistently making all pros who's consistently getting honors who's consistently. You get testimonials saying that they're the best player that they played against and these are hall of famers that are saying this to me you should be listening to that and not just saying well you know I know more because I saw these most recent players play. Listen to what the media members of the day said about those players, because if the media is the one that is the best judge of who's a Hall of Famer and who isn't. How about we listen to those media members.

Darin Hayes
Great, great point, but it's hard to have a voice for those folks that aren't around anymore, but we, but we have their word in print and it's, uh, I guess it's a tough methodology for folks like us as frustrating for us historians to sit there and say, where we don't really don't have a voice into it in the media does. So I understand the frustration, uh, but I also understand the dilemma that the NFL and the hall of fame, uh, sort of have on their plate there. So hopefully we can come to some, uh, resolution to, to help them out here and doing things like you're doing with these, uh, having these, uh, guides for them to look at is definitely a great step.

Ken Crippen
Yeah, I think so. It's just any information that we can get out there about these players is only going to be beneficial. So, you know, we shouldn't be relying on, you know, whose kid puts together the best PR campaign for their, their parent. I mean, that shouldn't be what determines who goes into the Hall of Fame, which should be based on what did that person do on the field. And if we can get more and more information out there about that, then that's what we should be focusing on.

Darin Hayes
So what do you, what in your opinion would be the best way to, to get that information, uh, you know, is there, is there a particular voice that should be heard on, on these panels and the selection committees that, uh, you know, or a genre of people that, that aren't represented right now that would help the selection committee.

Ken Crippen
I mean, I would think historians, I mean, right now there are no historians on there outside of any media member that looks at the history of the game, but you know, how much of that is happening? You have historians that reach out to the selection committee, you know, there's varying degrees of responses. Some say, Hey, this is great information. Others like, yeah, don't care. So it really comes down to the people that are on the selection committee, making sure that they truly evaluate all of the qualified candidates and not just the ones that, you know, they covered or just the ones that were nice to them or something like that. They need to go in there and say, who is the best player that needs to go in? And that's what they should be basing it on. And whether you're going to historians, whether you're doing research on your own, whatever the case may be, something needs to be done because a lot of these guys, like you had said earlier, they deserve to be in there, but they're being ignored because they played too long ago. Committee members don't know anything about them. Whatever the case may be, something needs to change.

Darin Hayes
Now, I think and maybe this is just a biased look at it from my aspect and folks like yourself because, you know, us being PFRA members in the Hall of the Very Good. But it seems recently, you know, I'm sitting here thinking of the Ken Riley seniors of the world that are getting in recently and some others that the Hall of the Very Good seems to be almost like a stepping stone for some of these senior players to get elevated to, you know, be a pro football Hall of Famer. And I think there, you know, maybe like I said, it's a biased opinion of mine to say that there's the influence of that, but there's definitely a correlation if you look at, especially the last five or six years, players that have been elected in the Hall of the Very Good of the PFRA sort of in the next couple of years seem to be elevated, at least a certain number of them.

Ken Crippen
Yeah, I mean, you know, they definitely, you know, gain more attention. When you have a group of historians like the BFRA and they put out something saying, hey, you know, these players are deserving of recognition, then maybe people will go back and take a look at their careers. And I'm doing something similar at the FLA, where I'm putting together these scouting reports so that people can get information on these players. And with everything going on, the BFRA, the FLA, any other historian that's out there, if you talk about these players and you show the cases of why they belong, you would hope that at that point, the committee is going to take a look at it and say, hey, you know, I guess they're right. Maybe this person does deserve to be considered.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, it's, I think that's a great point. That's sort of where I was going to, you know, you, you, your, your organization, the PFRA, uh, some of the multiple books that are, are coming out, you know, some great books like Chris Willis, just putting out a book on the 60 minute men of the NFL, where, like you said, there's a lot of player, uh, in his thing, he goes and views, uh, I think it's 40 some players, uh, that were pre -world war two and some, some of them are already in a hall of fame, but all of them have, um, sort of passages from players and coaches of that era that would say, Hey, this guy was outstanding as a pun or, you know, Hey, I couldn't block this guy. You get exactly what you're saying in your interviews that you've done with players recently and over the years, uh, and what you're doing in the FLA. Uh, but so these books and the PFRA and the FLA sort of, you know, bringing attention to these players is such a great thing and, uh, you know, that maybe it'll help some of these selectors to have a better opinion of them to, to get some of these guys in, it's definitely deserve it.

Ken Crippen
Yeah. And you take a look, I mean, I put together a couple of articles, reimagining some of the old decade teams, because you look at like the 1920s, 1930s, especially, but even some of the other old decade teams. And you're kind of scratching your head as far as how some of these players actually made the old decade team, but yet they're being used as reasons why they should be in the hall of fame. I mean, Cecil Isbell is a perfect example. He's on the 1930s old decade team. He played two years in the 1930s and those years were average. He was, he excelled 40, 41, 42, but in the thirties, he wasn't that great. He was an average quarterback at that time. But because the 1940s team was so stacked, there was no way he was going to be able to make it. So they toss him on the 1930s team. Why he didn't earn it. And so, you know, all of this type of information, yeah, somebody makes an old decade team, but really when you take a look at it, should they be on that old decade team, if you're going to use it as part of their case, make sure that it was actually deserving. And, you know, that's something else that I want to be able to do too, is to, to really talk about this. I know, you know, some people discount all decade teams just because, oh, it's a random time. Well, if their career doesn't naturally fit within the 1920 to 1929 timeframe, for example, if their career was 1925 to 1935, you know, they may not make either of the old decade teams, but they had an excellent career. Yeah, it's something, but it's a data point and all data points, as long as they're legitimate data, then that should all be considered. And if they didn't make it, then you can say, okay, well, why didn't they make one of those old decade teams? Because their career spanned a different time period, but still, I think you can go in there and you can take a look. If somebody had an extended career, they should have enough time within one of these old decade teams to have made a difference and to have made, you know, a spot on one of those teams. So regardless of when your career started, when your career ended, I would think that if you were Hall of Fame caliber, you would be on one of those old decade teams, at least, you know, at some point within your career.

Darin Hayes
Yeah, no, I mean, the all decade teams are definitely something that's fairly consistent and some of them are retroactive, but, uh, I mean, all pro selections and pro bowl or all star selections, you know, they're called all star before they were pro bowls, uh, and in the AFL and that, but are those some of the other data points that you think are considerations? Cause it's definitely, it's data that, uh, can drive, uh, to prove a point that, you know, players were beyond the average player. You know, in the league at their, their particular point in time.

Ken Crippen
Yeah. And again, you know, it goes into context. Somebody can make a Pro Bowl, but were they selected first for the Pro Bowl? Or is it that the five guys ahead of them bowed out of it because of injuries or whatever else they couldn't make it? And so now they made the Pro Bowl. Well, that should be part of the data that goes along with it. Were they the first person selected, second person selected or the sixth or seventh person selected that needs to go into it? And, you know, it also can't be that you use all pros and Pro Bowls for one player saying that, OK, this is the reason why they belong in there and then completely ignore it for another player because they don't have all of those honors. If it's something that's important, then it should be consistent across the board. I mean, you know, you brought up Ken Riley earlier. He wasn't making the Pro Bowls. He wasn't making all pros, things like that. It honors didn't matter. They strictly went off of the number of interceptions that he accumulated over his career. And that's how he got inducted. But yet you have somebody else and, you know, they'll say, well, I'm going to pick player X over player Y because they have more Pro Bowls. Well, now, if you've got somebody else that doesn't have any Pro Bowls, then why are you now suddenly saying, well, this person is a Hall of Famer, even though nobody else picked him for any of these these teams? I just want to see more consistency in those types of things. Don't say this is important for one player, but it's irrelevant for another player. Be consistent.

Darin Hayes
Okay, great points. So let's get into maybe if you could tell us what's some of the data that you're putting into your player profiles that you're, to represent these players to give the selection clemity some some information to use.

Ken Crippen
Well, each position has different skills associated with that particular position. Like, you know, say you're looking at a quarterback, you're going to, obviously leadership is something that's hard to quantify. That's something that, you know, you're talking to teammates, you're talking to coaches, you're talking to opposition, things like that, but there's still quantifiable things that you can look at. You know, you look at, you know, well, how quick was their release? What's their arm speed? You know, how tight is the spiral on the ball? How much ball spin that they have? What's the footwork look like? Same with other positions. So you go to a wide receiver position. You want to see how well do they run their routes? How well, well, are they able to break away from defenders and get separation? What kind of speed are they showing? You know, is it straight ahead speed or are they able to, to make those cuts? How well do they make those cuts? You know, planning that foot and moving in a different direction. There's a lot of those things that you can quantify. And as you're going through and watching this film, you can see exactly how well they're performing and be able to grade it accordingly. But then also you have to take into account what error they're in different errors, things were done differently. So you have to make sure that you're taking that into account when you're going through and evaluating these players, you want to make sure that you're grading them according to the way the game was played at that particular time. And that adds another wrinkle to obviously how you put together these reports, but it's something that is important that when you're giving somebody a grade for their particular position, for their particular era, you got to make sure that you're going to be able to consistently be able to look at that grade versus the grade of somebody else at that same position that may have played in a different era. So those are the types of things that we look at. Like I said, each one has different sets of criteria. All of that is spelled out within the reports that we have. You have grades, overall grades for each of those skill sets and then overall performance grades that they have for each game, as well as for their entire career. And then when we're looking at it to the score that we come up with the overall grade, that's going to get stronger the more games we watch. So say, for example, you've got somebody where you watch 30 games, another one where you watch 40 games. If they both have the same score, I'm always going to skew toward the person where we watched more game film, because that means they kept it at that level for a longer period of time. And so when you're looking at our rankings by scores, anything that's tied as far as the score is concerned, we always skew it toward the one where we've watched more game film than the other players.

Darin Hayes
outstanding. I like that the volume of work sort of skews the score to their favor. So that's, it's a great, great thing. Now, if I would, let's say we have some folks watching right now that are on the selection committee, and we could, and who would if they came to you and said, Hey, Ken, you know, we want to come and look at some of these scores, we're trying to look for some seniors to be selected for the next round of ballots here. Who would you recommend that they look at some maybe some folks that aren't getting the attention in the media? That do you think that have some great scores that these folks ought to be looking at considering?

Ken Crippen
I mean, to me, you know, I'm going to sound like a broken record, but I picked Lavvie Dilweg and Al Wister is my top two players, especially of the older players. We've got more game film of Wister than we do of Dilweg, but we're still able to go through and see how Dilweg played. But then, as I was mentioning before, we're talking about, okay, what are the testimonials? What are the other media members saying about them? What are historians saying about them? People that watch them play. People were there at the time. And you look at someone like a Laverne Dilweg and it's just inexplicable to me how he can't become a finalist, you know, he, you'll see them in the, in the, um, centennial class where he was part of the top 20, but then never made it beyond that. And then, you know, it was never really been touched since then Al Wister, he's getting close, but he's not making it. These are guys who dominated their position. I mean, Dilweg was the second-best end in the pre-modern era. If you're number two behind one of the greatest of all time in Don Hudson, how can you not be considered? You have somebody that, you know, Ken Riley, you know, we brought his name up earlier, so I don't want to keep picking on him, but doesn't have the all pros, doesn't have the Pro Bowls or anything like that. They used interceptions while he had 64 interceptions in his career. He never led the league in interceptions. He was top five once in interceptions. If you're a Hall of Famer, you only make top five and interceptions once in a 16 year career. There are times he didn't even lead his own team in interceptions, but yet that was the criteria for him getting in. Laverne Dilweg had 27 interceptions from a defensive end position. You look at the other pre -modern era ends that are in the Hall of Fame. They all have single digits in interceptions. Dilweg had 27. The only other end that had more was Hutson, but he played safety. So you're going to have more opportunities. You're going to be able to have more interceptions, and it's only three more than Dilweg had. He led, you know, Dilweg led the league in yards, touchdowns. That's what an end does, but you look at it and you know, eight -time All -Pro, six -time consecutive consensus All -Pro, four -time consecutive unanimous All -Pro, all -decade team. The media members of the day said he was by far the best end of his time, but yet you look at the media members today and they're like, yeah, it doesn't matter.

Darin Hayes
Yeah. Amazing. Especially when you're playing at the same time as Hutson.

Ken Crippen
So basically the reason why people don't know Dilweg's name as much is because Hutson came after him.

Darin Hayes
Oh, okay, they weren't contemporaries of each other.

Ken Crippen
No, it was basically as soon as Dilweg's career ended, that's when Hutson started. So they didn't even overlap by one year.

Darin Hayes
Oh geez. Well, I'm glad that, uh, you know, but it's shining some light on, on players like Dilweg and Wistert and some of the others to maybe, you know, bring more attention to them and hopefully some, some, uh, you know, random parts like we're doing now. And, uh, some of the books that are out PFRA and some of the other organizations we talked about, uh, maybe we get, uh, things go in here, get some momentum on social media and that and, uh, get it out into public perception. And that always helps too, with, uh, helping the selectors to, to be influenced a little bit. So, so we keep up that great work on that. Now, so what are, uh, some of the other, uh, now you're, you're looking at all different eras, I assume when you're, you're putting these things together. So it's not just these, these early, you know, single platoon players, but you're looking at some of the more modern players, like from the last 60, 70 years as well.

Ken Crippen
I mean, I've done some research on that, um, essentially what it is is when Matt Rieser and I started working on this, we said, okay, we want people have had the bulk of their careers prior to 1970. And that's what our focus was now, because, you know, it's been a few years since then I'm going to extend it out beyond that. So people playing in the seventies as well. Um, but my focus is I want people to know about these older players. That's what's important to me. And that's the information I want to get out there.

Darin Hayes
Awesome. I love the, uh, the, what you're doing. I love the, the, uh, line that you're taking to do that because it's, there's a lot of information out there with, like we said, the video and everything of the more modern players, you know, since the seventies, but some of these older guys, they just didn't, there wasn't the ESPNs and the internet that, that we have in this era to look at them. So it's great to get that perception from them. So what else do you have going on at the FLA that, uh, you know, what are some of the other courses you have? I know you glanced upon a couple of them, but, uh, but if somebody wants to come in and get an education at the FLA, what can they expect?

Ken Crippen
Well, there's a bunch of different courses that we have. So you can either look at interviews that we have with individual people. But if you're looking for classes themselves, the scattering reports class that we were talking about, but, you know, we've got classes on the first pro players, excuse me, first pro players, first, uh, forward pass and pro football history, you know, try to trace down the lineage of that, um, talking about new class that I'm working on now is on the Buffalo bills of the all America football conference. So we try to have varying degrees of things that we talk about in various eras, but also got some other instructors that are there. Josie Imba, who, you know, a very noted historian and author, um, does a lot of work on old Chicago Cardinals. Uh, so he's got classes there. Jeff Miller, a Buffalo bills historian, a Buffalo football historian. So he's got a class on the Buffalo Americans of the 1920s. So there's a lot of stuff that's there. Um, so it really depends on what you're interested in. Chances are you're going to find something there that, you know, peaks your interest and makes you want to watch.

Darin Hayes
All right, and what's the best place to go if you want to if you want to give maybe the the URL of of it and we'll repeat it in the show notes of this but go ahead and call out in your in your social media.

Ken Crippen
Yeah. I mean, any of the classes, any of the podcasts that we have, we have links on our website. You've got all our social media channels. So I would say the best place to go is www .football -learning -academy .com. And you'll pretty much find everything right at that location.

Darin Hayes
Okay. And you folks that are looking at this on YouTube, you just look over Ken's shoulder there and he's got all the information spelled out right on his, uh, virtual back screen there too. So, but we'll, we, for you folks that are on the podcast, we will put it into show notes, uh, get you hooked up to Ken and, uh, get educated and learn about these great players, these great teams from the past at the FLA. Ken, we really appreciate you coming on and doing this and really appreciate you preserving these greats of football and both the players, the coaches, the, the people associated with it, the broadcasters and, uh, you know, everybody that's contributed to football and the teams and the games themselves. So thank you for doing that.

Ken Crippen
Well, thanks for having me on. I appreciate it.

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1933 was pivotal for the National Football League (NFL) and the New York Giants. Still young, the League struggled to gain a foothold in American sports culture, overshadowed by the popularity of baseball. However, despite ending in heartbreak, the Giants' 1933 season played a crucial role in solidifying the NFL's future.

-NFL Status

1932, the NFL had eight teams, the lowest number in League history. However, some things were stirring for growth in 1933.

The Impromptu 1932 Title game and the close race excited the NFL so much that the League decided to make the post-season championship game a regular ending to crown a champ. To make things easier, they split the franchises into an East and West Division and have the winner of each vie for the title.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had promised to abolish a long-standing Blue Law of not having professional sporting games on Sundays. The law made playing games in the Keystone State, like former franchises Frankford and Pottsville, problematic for the NFL. Bert Bell and his wife Francis Upton had bought the now-defunct Yellow Jackets franchise and rebranded it to the Philadelphia Eagles. On the other side of the Commonwealth, a sporting man named Art Rooney purchased the rights to start up his own eleven and call them the Pittsburgh Pirates, after the City's successful baseball team. The Boston Braves rebranded themselves as the Boston Redskins. The Town of Cincinnati joined the fray with the Reds. Unfortunately, the Staten Island Stapletons left the NFL even though they still scheduled games against the member franchises.

Thus, the League embarked on ten teams, five of which were in each division. The Giants were set in the Eastern Division, competing with the likes of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Redskins, and the new Philadelphia and Pittsburgh franchises for the right to represent the East in the title game.

-The NY Giants 1933 Campaign

Led by the steady hand of head coach Steve Owen, the Giants set out on a grueling schedule that included four road games to start the season at Pittsburgh, Portsmouth, Green Bay, and Boston. Owen, known for his innovative strategies and authoritarian coaching style, was instrumental in shaping the Giants into a competitive force. This success was built on something other than flashy offense but on stingy defense and a decisive running game.

A talented roster with key players such as Hall of Fame center Mel Hein, quarterback Harry Newman, fullback Jack McBride, and versatile back Ken Strong were among the standout performers who helped define the team's success that season. Other roster members like Red Badgro, Ray Flaherty, and Hap Moran provided the offensive punch and some solid defense.

The test as road warriors proved to be a challenge. The group expectedly blew out the Pirates 23-2 but then suffered a setback against the Spartans as Portsmouth's Ace Gutowski and Glenn Presnell scored in rhythm to shoot the home team to a 17-0 lead. The Giant's only score came on a Red Badgro scoop, and they scored late in the game to avoid the shutout.

The following week, the Giants would jump out to the early lead against the Packers as Ken Strong booted a 39-yard field goal after a stalled 1st quarter drive. The offensive fireworks happened in the second quarter when Dale Burnett hauled in a Newman pass for a 19-yard scoring strike. In the second half, the Packers closed the gap when Johnny Blood McNally grabbed hold of a 30-yard TD strike from Bob Monnett. The Giants were stout on defense the rest of the way, and the 10-7 score slated their record at 2-1 in the young season.

Next up on the road tour was the 1-1-1 Boston team. The Giants jumped to a 7-0 lead early on a Bo Molenda ten-yard run to paydirt. The Redskins responded in turn with three unanswered scores that seemed to baffle Owen's defense. Down 21-7 in the third, New York got to work. Stu Clancy capped off a long drive with a fifteen-yard TD run. However, the extra point was blocked by a Redskin defender. The Giants were starting to figure out the Redskin attack that, up to that point, had proven difficult to subdue, and now the guests hindered their Boston hosts with solid defensive play. The Giant's hopes seemed dashed when Strong's FG attempt went wide in the fourth. But all was not lost, as the New York defense held serve and forced a Boston punt, which allowed the Giants to set up shop on their fifteen-yard line. The Giants had to strike quickly and had just the play. Ken Strong took the ball and ran hard toward the sideline. The back then halted his charge and launched a backward pass dangerously across the width of most of the field to an awaiting Newman. Standing alone, Newman accepted the relay and dashed 80 yards to get the Giant score! The kick cut the lead to one, but the Bostom team held on to win 21-20, leveling the New York club at 2-2.

With baseball season ending, the Polo Grounds were now open to football, allowing the New York faithful to witness their team play.

Several rule changes implemented in 1933, most notably the forward pass being allowed to be thrown from anywhere behind the line and to cross the line of scrimmage downfield further, were showcased by the Giants' offensive success. The high-scoring 56-0 defeat of the Philadelphia Eagles became a prime example of the game's evolving nature and offensive potential in the first home game of the season. High-scoring affairs like this and the Giants' strong showing throughout the year captivated audiences and helped generate much-needed interest in the fledgling League.

The Giants next downed the cross-town Dodgers 21-7 at the Polo Grounds to improve to 4-2, but next on their schedule was a trip to the Windy City to face a tough Bears squad, equally laden with talent.

Again, the Giants jumped out early via a long pass, this time from Newman to Strong, that traveled 41 yards. The Bears also knew how to throw as QB Keith Molesworth registered two TD passes that proved to be the difference in the Chicago 14-10 victory. This awoke the slumbering Giants, though, and they commenced going on a 7-game season-ending streak, including a revenge 3-0 win over Chicago at home, to complete the year at 11-3. This earned New York the first Eastern Division crown, the right to face the 10-2-1 Bears in a rubber game for their series, and the rights to the first scheduled NFL Championship game to be played December 17 at Wrigley Field.

-The NFL Title Tile of 1933

Fourteen thousand excited fans packed the stadium for the Title tilt and were in for a treat. Each team came to play, and both clamored for victory. Former Minnesota Golden Gophers star Rookie Jack Manders started the game scoring with two first-half field goals, one from 16 and the second from 40 yards out, to put the home team up 6-nil.

The Giants responded with a Harry Newman pass where he had to dodge and duck Bears defenders but somehow flung the ball forward and found the hands of Red Badgro, who rumbled for a 29-yard touchdown play, putting the visitors up 7-6 just before the intermission. In the third quarter, the Manders split the uprights again from 28 yards out to change the lead again in favor of the Bears.

New York responded using a flurry of Newman passes to move the ball against the stingy Chicago defense. The drive proved fruitful when Giants runner Max Krause plunged over the goal line. With a subsequent Ken Strong kick over the crossbar, the score was 14-9 New York.

The third quarter see-saw lead changes were not over yet as Bronko Nagurski elevated the Bears on the scoreboard and the fans from their seats when he tossed a TD throw of his own that Chicago's Bill Karr caught on an eight-yard play that set the score to cap off a nice drive and move the score needle in favor of the home squad 16-14.

On the next drive, Harry Newman continued his magic of scrambling and finding open receivers on the run and set up another play reminiscent of earlier in the season where Ken Strong ran hard and wide to his left, and just before the outstretched arms of Bears defenders reached him, the crafty back whirled, and tossed a lateral across the field to the awaiting Newman who tiptoed into the endzone on a trickeration TD to move the Giants again in the pole position 21-16 with just minutes left int he contest.

Each team had some solid defensive stands right after the Giants scored. The Bears caught a break on a punt from Ken Strong that traveled only nine yards to the New York 47-yard line. The Bears found daylight on several plays with pinpoint passes from Molesworth and lumbering runs from Nagurski. Halas pulled out his trick play and called for Nagurski to throw a pass as he threatened to run. The toss was accepted by Hewitt, who in turn fired a lateral across the field to an awaiting Karr, who completed the circuit with a 20-yard run to daylight, producing a Chicago touchdown and a 23-21 victory with only minutes left.

The Giants' midseason rally of seven straight wins stopped in the NFL Championship game against the Chicago Bears. A heartbreaking 23-21 loss left them one step short of the title. Though a bitter pill, the Giants' season has had a lasting impact. Their exciting brand of football, coupled with the rule changes, helped to solidify the NFL's position in American sports. While the 1933 Giants may not have hoisted a championship trophy, they played a vital role in paving the way for the gridiron's future success.