Football Daily

Born December 5, 1947 - Santa Clara, California - The former quarterback of the Stanford Cardinal, Jim Plunkett was born.  The NFF states that Jim Plunkett set a record in the PAC-8 Conference in passing in his sophomore season of 1968 only to reset it two more times in his junior and senior seasons. In the  1970 season, Jim won 28 awards, including the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award and consensus All-America honors.  The National Football Foundation voted Jim Plunkett into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

Charlie Berry was a great athlete. He played MLB baseball as a catcher and umpire in Major League Baseball and as an end and official in the National Football League. He also played on the famous Pottsville Maroons NFL teams of 1925 and 1926. He was the Captain of the Lafayette football team and eventually was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Berry is the only man to have officiated the World Series, the NFL Championship and the College All-Star game during the same year!

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Learn when the University of Buffalo Bulls Program started

July 28, 1923 - St. Louis All-Stars franchise is recognized by the NFL and plays just in the 1923 season in the League. The idea of the team came from their starting guard Ollie Kraehe, who also owned, managed and operated the club. Ollie had played for the Rock Island Independents a year earlier. His thought was that since small towns like Rock Island and Green Bay could make a buck off of pro football teams imagine what a large city like St. Loius could do. He bought into the NFL for $100 and found that getting true All-Stars to play for his squad was diffficult. Many players either lied that they were All Stars from the East or gave alias names so that their parents wouldn't know they were playing. Unfortunately for Kraehe his fans did not support his team and in September of 1924 the NFL cancelled the All-Stars franchise.

The 2008 Texas Tech vs. Texas football game was a thrilling matchup that went down to the wire. It was a game that had everything: high-powered offenses, dramatic comebacks, and a last-second finish that left fans breathless.
The Contenders:
The #7 ranked Texas Longhorns entered the game with a 9-1 record and a legitimate shot at the national championship.
The unranked Texas Tech Red Raiders, led by quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree, were known for their fast-paced "Air Raid" offense.
An Offensive Explosion:
The game lived up to its billing as a shootout. Both teams traded touchdowns throughout the first half, with Texas Tech holding a 31-24 lead at halftime.
The second half was just as exciting, with both teams continuing to score points. With less than two minutes remaining, Texas took the lead 39-33.
The Crabtree Catch:
With just seconds remaining on the clock, Texas Tech faced a 4th down and 15 from their own 25-yard line.
Harrell launched a deep pass down the sideline toward Crabtree, who was tightly covered by Texas cornerback Aaron Williams.
In a play that would become known as "The Crabtree Catch," Crabtree leaped high in the air and snagged the ball with one hand, just inches away from Williams.
A Stunning Upset:
With the catch, Crabtree put the Red Raiders in field goal range.
Texas Tech kicker Donnie Carona then drilled a 40-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Red Raiders a 40-39 victory.
A Turning Point in the Big 12:
The 2008 Texas Tech vs. Texas game is considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history.
It helped propel Texas Tech to an 11-1 record and a share of the Big 12 Championship.
The game also marked a turning point in the Big 12 conference, ushering in an era of high-powered offenses and exciting games.
Legacy and Impact:
The 2008 Texas Tech vs. Texas game is still remembered today as one of the most thrilling games in college football history.
The Crabtree Catch has become an iconic moment in Texas Tech football lore.
The game continues to be a source of debate and controversy, with many arguing that Williams should have been called for pass interference on the final play.
Additional Notes:
The game was televised on ABC and drew an estimated audience of 10 million viewers.
Harrell finished the game with 547 passing yards and five touchdowns.
Crabtree caught 11 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns.
The 2008 Texas Tech vs. Texas game is featured in the book "The Crabtree Game: Inside the Greatest Upset in College Football History."
More on this great game below.

December 20, 1867 - Minneapolis, Minnesota - William W. "Pudge" Heffelfinger, the legendary Yale Bulldogs guard, was born. The footballfoundation.org website bio describes Hefflefinger as being 6’-3" tall and weighing in at 195 pounds. Let's put that size into perspective because Cam Newton at quarterback is 6’-5" and weighed 240 pounds. Still, in 1890 when Pudge played, he was extremely athletic and a giant among his peers. His size allowed him to destroy the blocks and defenses of opposing lines where it was said he would typically take out two to three players at a time. With his outstanding athleticism and the genius of Walter Camp, he also is credited with introducing the "pulling guard" play. The All- America selections originated in 1889 by Walter Camp, and Pudge was on this initial team. He repeated in 1890-91, his last two seasons at Yale. Yale was a significant football power during that era, and Pudge helped lead the Bulldog team to undefeated seasons in 1888 and 1891 and one-loss seasons during the 1889 and 1890 campaigns. The 1888 team amazingly outscored their opponents 698-0 that season! The National Football Foundation welcomed the collegiate career of Pudge Heffelfinger into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951. As great of a collegiate player as Pudge was, that's not exactly what Pudge is best known for, though. After college Heffelfinger continued playing for independent teams, and on November 12, 1892, the Allegheny Athletic Association near Pittsburgh paid Pudge Heffelfinger the tidy sum of $500 to play just one game with them against their heated rivals, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. The AAA with Pudge did win the game that day by the score of 4-0, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

June 24, 1922 -  Oorang Indians franchise forms and survives in the 1922 through the 1923 season. The Ohio History Central website indicates that this team featured Jim Thorpe and every member of the squad was of Native American descent. The team was based in La Rue, Ohio and was very active in the early 1920s APFA. A guy by the name of  Walter Lingo established the franchise in an effort to promote his Oorang dog kennels. La Rue, Ohio, is the smallest community ever to have sponsored a National Football League franchise. However, the Oorang Indians never played a single game in La Rue. All twenty of the team's games during the 1922 and 1923 seasons were on the road. So how did that work out? Well in the team's first season, the Indians finished twelfth in the league, with a record of two wins, six losses, and zero ties. The next season, the team finished eighteenth, with one win, ten losses, and zero ties. Needless to say with only 3 victories and no home games the Oorang Indians had to fold up shop after the 1923 season.

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The 1943 Combination of the Steelers and Eagles to help the franchises survive WWII manpower shortages.

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Could the mcGill at Harvard games of may 14 & May 15, 1874 be the 1st football games?