Football History

Ronnie Caveness, born on March 6, 1942, in Houston, Texas, forged a reputation as a hard-hitting linebacker, leaving a lasting impact on both college and professional football.

-College Career*

Caveness's collegiate football journey unfolded at the University of Arkansas, where he became a defensive stalwart for the Razorbacks. Playing under the legendary coach Frank Broyles, he was a key component of Arkansas's dominant defenses during the mid-1960s. He was known for his toughness, aggressive tackling, and exceptional leadership. He was a crucial part of the 1964 national championship team.

-Road to the Pro Game

Caveness's standout college performance led to his selection in the 1965 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. Following his time with the chiefs, he played for the Houston oilers, and the New England patriots. His professional career showcased his consistent ability to make tackles and disrupt opposing offenses.

-Football Legacy

Ronnie Caveness's football legacy is deeply rooted in his remarkable achievements at the University of Arkansas. He was a cornerstone of the Razorbacks' success during a golden era of the program. His dedication, hard work, and on-field intensity set a high standard for future Arkansas players. He was also a leader, and team captain. His college exploits earned him a place in the College Football Hall of Fame.

-Accolades, Awards and Career Stats

* 1964 National Champion.
* Multiple All-American honors.
* All-Southwest Conference selections.
* Co-MVP of the 1965 Cotton Bowl.
* Holds Arkansas records for tackles in a game.
* Arkansas All-Century Team.
* University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor.
* Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
* Cotton Bowl Classic All-Decade Team for the 1960s.
* College Football Hall of Fame inductee (2010).

Ronnie Caveness's career reflects exceptional talent, unwavering determination, and a deep passion for the game.

---

The 1987 matchup between No. 3 Miami and No. 4 Florida State on October 3rd was a classic clash between two powerhouse college football programs. The game, played at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, lived up to the hype, delivering a thrilling contest that will be remembered for years to come.

The Seminoles jumped out to an early lead, taking a 16-point advantage into the second half. However, Miami's resilient offense staged a remarkable comeback, fueled by the stellar play of quarterback Vinny Testaverde and running back Jerome Brown. The Hurricanes outscored Florida State 20-9 in the second half, eventually taking a 26-25 lead with just over a minute remaining.

With time running out, FSU had one last chance to win the game. Facing fourth-and-goal from the Miami 2-yard line, the Seminoles opted to go for a two-point conversion. Quarterback Danny McManus dropped back to pass, but his throw was deflected by Miami defensive back Bubba McDowell, preserving the Hurricanes' victory.

The Miami-Florida State game featured an incredible amount of future NFL talent. A total of 60 players from both teams went on to play in the NFL, including 10 first-round draft picks. The game also showcased the intense rivalry between these two programs, which has been one of the most compelling matchups in college football history.

The 1987 Miami-Florida State game remains a legendary contest, remembered for its dramatic finish, the incredible talent on display, and the fierce competition between two storied programs. It is a game that will be talked about for generations to come.

---

The 1994 Colorado-Michigan football game, a classic showdown between two college football powers, will forever be remembered for its dramatic finish. The Wolverines, led by quarterback Todd Collins, appeared to be cruising to victory, holding a comfortable 26-14 lead late in the fourth quarter. However, Colorado, sparked by the electrifying play of quarterback Kordell Stewart and wide receiver Michael Westbrook, staged a furious comeback.

With time running out, Stewart connected with Westbrook for a crucial touchdown pass, narrowing Michigan's lead to 26-21. The Wolverines faced a third-and-seven situation, needing just one first down to seal the win. However, a costly false start penalty pushed them back, giving Colorado one last chance.  

The Buffs took over on their own 15-yard line with 15 seconds left. Stewart, in a desperate attempt to keep his team's hopes alive, launched a Hail Mary pass deep into the end zone. The ball hung in the air, seemingly destined to fall incomplete. But then, in a moment of pure magic, Blake Anderson, a Colorado receiver, tipped the ball toward Westbrook, who leaped over Michigan safety Chuck Winters and made an incredible one-handed catch for the game-winning touchdown.

The play, now famously known as "The Miracle at Michigan," sent shockwaves through the college football world. It was a stunning upset that defied all odds and showcased the extraordinary athleticism and determination of both Stewart and Westbrook. The fact that Westbrook, a Detroit native who had grown up playing youth football with Winters, made the winning catch against his former teammate added an extra layer of drama and emotion to the moment.

Born April 2, 1871, in Clifton, New Jersey, Marshall Newell established a remarkable football legacy despite his modest stature. His college career at Harvard University from 1890 to 1893 saw him become a dominant force as a tackle.

Newell earned the endearing nickname "Ma" from his teammates due to his compassionate nature and willingness to mentor younger players. However, on the field, he transformed into a fierce competitor renowned for his exceptional leg strength, relentless drive, and an iron grip that few runners could escape.  

Newell's football legacy is cemented by his unprecedented achievement of being selected as an All-American for four consecutive years. This remarkable consistency speaks volumes about his skill and impact on the game. Despite standing only 5'7" and weighing 168 pounds, his unwavering passion and physical prowess allowed him to consistently outperform larger opponents. His selection into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1957 by the National Football Foundation stands as a testament to his enduring contributions to the sport.

While specific career statistics are less readily available from that era, his four-time All-American status remains a significant accolade, highlighting his position as one of the premier players of his time. Newell's story exemplifies how determination and skill can overcome perceived physical limitations, leaving an indelible mark on college football history. He did not play on any professional teams as the professional game was in its infancy during his playing years.

Timothy P. Brown of Football Archaeology shares his research and a keen eye for unique helmet designs. This episode focuses on the "winged" helmet design and the homage paid to it by a few teams in the modern era.

Our conversation is based on a Tidbit of Tim's he titled: When Leather Helmets Earned Their Wings.

-Transcribed Winged Helmets with Timothy Brown

Hello, my football friends, Darin Hayes, PigskinDispatch.com. Welcome once again to the Pig Pen. And we have another great episode where we're going to talk to the resident expert, who says that we, well, are not our residents, but we go to footballarchaeology.com residents and talk to their great founder and historian, Timothy P. Brown. Tim, welcome back to the Pig Pen.

Darin, thank you. I have a leather helmet sitting here in front of me. Uh, I no longer, it no longer fits.

Yeah, I can see your name etched in the back of it there for, from your, from your playing days, I assume. No, this was for my uncle's playing days. Really? Okay.

So that is a genuine game-playing helmet, then? It's not a game that used Spalding helmets. And, uh, I actually did wear this in my backyard football day days in my youth. When the other neighborhood kids had those plastic, cheap plastic little things, I didn't have one of those.

So I pulled this baby out and protected my noggin. Well, Hey, it, uh, it's in your logo too. So that's, that's always a good thing too, or something similar to it.

So that's great. So folks, if you didn't realize it yet, our topic today is going to be a tidbit that Tim just a little while ago called when leather helmets earned their wings. So we're gonna get some history on these leather helmets that Tim just showed us.

So, Tim, I'll let you take it away. Yeah. So, you know, I think it's, uh, so, you know, fashion and styles are, you know, everybody's got their own tastes, right?

And I have made public my, um, my belief that the 1930s produced the ugliest football uniforms. I've written a poster too on that and provide photographic evidence, uh, which no one has been able to refute so far. Uh, I mean, it just, they just had stripes going.

There were so many stripes, uh, on some of those uniforms that it was just ungodly ugly. But the 1930s also produced winged helmets, which, um, now people associate, uh, typically with Michigan, Delaware, uh, Princeton, and then there's probably, you know, 300 high schools spread across the country that wear those ugly things. But so as not to offend you, if you're a fan of one of those teams, they're still ugly.

So, but then, the point, the real point is not, you know, I mean, I'm an equal opportunity ugliness kind of historian. So, I am willing to discuss the origins of wings and winged helmets. And I think really the funniest thing about them is that they, the first team to wear winged helmets, was not Michigan, but Ohio State, which is just kind of a fun little.

That's really ironic. Yes. So, so what happened, you know, um, in 1930, there were some new rules put in place that required helmets to have different colors or at least contrasting colors.

Now that could be done either by painting them or by, um, you know, I think most people are familiar with the straps that ran across the tops and there were different patterns, including, you know, what we now think of as kind of the Michigan helmet. There were straps running along the crown of the helmet. And so those could be painted or oftentimes when they produce the helmets, it would be the leather would be in different colors.

So the straps might be a dark Brown or a light Brown, and the rest of it, you know, you know, different variation. Um, but they did that because, in the late twenties, there were people who were, you know, uh, on their shirts, on the front of their jerseys, and on their, uh, on the inside of their arms and things. And they'd wear them in the same color as some of them would wear them in the same color as the football.

So then people were confusing the leather on the iron with the leather on the football. And there were even running backs who would like to toss their helmet off so that, you know, defenders would see the helmet bouncing along the ground and think that's a ball. So they kind of put it, put a stop to that, and they said, okay, your helmets have to have contrasting colors, uh, at the same time.

So there was, that was kind of a stylistic, but it also had a functional use. At the same time, the manufacturers were all trying to create better, more protective helmets. And one of the things that they all kind of did at the same time was to add pads on the front of the helmet about where, you know, the forehead is.

And so rather than just put a pad on there, which is what they had done previously, they started stylizing those pads. And so, um, you know, one version was the wing that we think of now where it kind of, you know, there's the, it kind of moves around a little bit, and then there's this, uh, you know, kind of these tips on either side, but there were, you know, that wasn't the only version. There were 20 or 30 different versions of these things.

Some of them were, I don't even know how to describe it. Cause I, I did some looking before we talked about the shape, but it's, um, it's like a cross between an upside down T and a shamrock with three, with three leaves, you know, that there's kind of had this bulb, bulges thing or bulbous thing, like where the wing would be, and then it would extend all the way up to the, to the top of the crown. So anyway, we're just a lot of different variations on these things.

And so the wings were functional because they pat, you know, they provide additional pads, but for the manufacturers, they were making them try to make them look cool, right? So that people would buy them. I mean, if it was between the DMN, DNM helmet, and the reach helmet, and they were the same price and presumably the same quality, well, whichever one looked cooler would be the one that you'd order. So, um, anyways, I mean, that's kind of the whole deal of it.

And the actual, um, tidbit shows a lot of pictures from sporting goods catalogs at the time. But what's happened is that despite there being many variations back then, every team that I see pretty much has the same today. You know, the same teams are all the teams today that use that winged look seem to pretty much have the same look, you know, they don't, you know, they don't, they don't use the other versions that were available.

So, if you're a high school coach or somebody out there who has an influence on helmet designs, you can go your own way and adapt to one of the looks from the thirties, which is something other than the Michigan helmet. Well, I'm going to have to, uh, make a true confession here that I didn't figure out that Michigan's helmet, 'cause that's the one that's the most popular of these winged helmets. I didn't realize, you know, it was a winged helmet.

I thought that was representing their mascot, the Wolverine. And I was trying to envision a Wolverine. I'm thinking, boy, Wolverines have stripes going down her back and down her sides like that.

And like the wings were sort of the ears of it. That's what I thought, you know, it was until I got into college and found out otherwise, but I never realized it was; they were sort of modeling it after the leather helmets that came before them on the plastic and whatever they make them out of now. But, uh, so very interesting.

So, I'm glad you felt comfortable sharing that with us. Yeah, I am. So there are probably people I'll get the mail coming in now.

You idiot. I mean, there's all kinds of things like that where, you know, I didn't realize that this is where that came from. Yeah.

I guess I never really put a lot of thought into it, but I just assumed it was a Wolverine. I mean, so, um, actually, in my book, How Football Became Football, I've got a picture of, I can't remember his name right now, but an offensive tackle for Ohio State and, you know, wearing the helmet from 1930. So, uh, proof positive that, uh, you know, Michigan didn't invent the things, but, you know, they're obviously the ones that are all associated with them.

And it takes a Wisconsin fan to point that out about the Michigan state. Actually, there's a Michigan state fan who has documented a fair amount of this stuff on the internet. So you want some others to, uh, to jump in on that big ten rivalries, uh, going back in history and picking on their headgear, uh, all good stuff.

Well, Tim, that was really enlightening. And I appreciate you coming on and sharing this tonight. Now you have these tidbits that come out each and every day, uh, seven days a week, 365; you're a busy guy and, uh, you, you like to share them, and you like people to enjoy them and comment and, uh, share them with other people.

Why don't you, uh, tell folks how they can get a hold of your tidbits on a daily basis? Sure. So, the easiest way is to go to footballarchaeology.com. Um, when you hit the site, if you haven't been there before, it's going to ask you to enroll or subscribe. All you have to do is just enter your email.

Uh, it's free. You'll get, uh, you'll get an email every night with whatever the story is for that day. And, uh, you can also follow me on Twitter.

You know, obviously, I'm going to throw out some other things on Twitter besides, you know, more commenting on somebody else's things, but I do share all my tidbits there, but subscribing just ensures you get it. And then you can, you know, it's in your inbox. You can ignore it for two weeks and then read whatever you want to read.

So, you know, that's kind of the value of subscribing to you. Um, but yeah, it's supposed to be fun, and hopefully, that's the way it comes across. All right.

Well, folks, I highly recommend you, uh, take Tim up on that offer to get the tidbits and whatever your preference is to get it and, uh, visit footballarchaeology.com and see the wisdom and knowledge of Timothy P. Brown in action. Tim, thanks a lot. And we will talk to you again next week.

Thank you, sir. Look forward to it.

Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.

---

Mark your calendars, football fanatics, because June 11th isn't just another day on the calendar. It's a date etched in gridiron history, boasting the birthdays of three icons who forever altered the landscape of the game. On this very day, the world welcomed Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach who transformed the Green Bay Packers into a dynasty; Ernie Nevers, a powerhouse running back who dominated the early days of the NFL; and Joe Montana, the quarterback whose clutch performances cemented his place as one of the greatest to ever play. Buckle up and get ready to dive into the fascinating stories of these legends, and how June 11th became a day of football royalty!

We share football history and the legends of the game each and every day!

Football, a sport known for its precision plays and strategic timeouts, has a surprisingly fascinating history when it comes to keeping track of the clock. Buckle up, football fanatics and history buffs alike, as we embark on a journey through the evolution of timekeeping on the gridiron!

Our adventure begins long before digital timers and replay booths. We'll explore the early days of football, where sun dials and water clocks served as rudimentary methods for measuring game duration. We'll witness the transition to more sophisticated tools like hourglasses and pocket watches, and the challenges referees faced in maintaining an accurate record of time.

As the game gained popularity, so did the need for a more efficient system. We'll delve into the introduction of field clocks and the rise of the "official timekeeper" – a crucial role that evolved significantly over time. Prepare to be surprised by some of the unusual methods employed to signal the end of quarters and the ingenuity displayed in managing game time without the technology we take for granted today.

This exploration isn't just about clocks and officials. We'll also unpack the cultural and strategic implications of timekeeping. Did the lack of sophisticated timers influence game play? How did the introduction of timeouts change the dynamic of football? Join us as we uncover the fascinating interplay between timekeeping and the evolution of the sport we love. So, are you ready to travel through time and discover the surprising history of keeping track of the clock on the gridiron? Let's get started!

We discuss the timing of a game and bringing back the forward pass as well as many more Legendary stories

Football fans, mark your calendars! June 8th isn't just another summer day – it's a date etched in gridiron history. On this very day, the seeds of a momentous change were sown, forever altering the landscape of professional football. But that's not all! June 8th also boasts the birthdays of legendary figures who left their own indelible marks on the game, both in college and the pros. So, grab your helmet (figuratively, of course) and prepare to dive into the fascinating football stories that unfolded on June 8th!

Not to mention the day is famous for the formal announcement of perhaps the biggest merger in pro sports history.

Football fanatics, mark your calendars! June 10th isn't just another summer day – it's a historical treasure trove for fans of the pigskin. Today, we delve into the rich tapestry of football's past, uncovering birthdays of legendary figures, rule changes that revolutionized the game, and even a dip north of the border to explore significant moments in Canadian football! So, grab your favorite jersey and a celebratory beverage, because on June 10th, we're celebrating all things football!

We tell you football history is celebrated each and every day of the year and we are here to share that news each day!

June 9th might seem like a quiet day on the football calendar, with no roaring stadiums or thrilling touchdowns. But dig beneath the surface, and you'll find this date surprisingly rich in American football history. From a landmark television deal that forever changed the game to the birthdays of legends enshrined in both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame, June 9th boasts moments that shaped the sport we know and love today.

So, gear up for a fascinating journey through the pigskin past, where million-dollar deals and legendary careers intertwined on a single summer day.