Football

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July 27, 1929 - The Staten Island Stapletons/Stapes franchise forms as the Brooklyn franchise and then was transferred to Staten Island. According to an article in the Professional Football Researchers Association publication the Coffin Corner in a 1985 article by Joe Horrigan, The Stapletons started their gridiron existence in 1915, a full five years before the NFL was created as the APFA. A talented halfback and a native of the working-class neighborhood known as Stapleton, Dan Blaine, along with three other players formed the team to play other semi-pro squads from New York and New Jersey. It wasn't a career by any means for the players as the Stapes played more for fun than money. The crowds were small according to Horrigan as salaries averaged $10 per game. The team aquired better and better players through a variety of means and eventually in 1929 as an independent team achieved a record of 10-1-1. The next year they were permitting to join the National Football League. The Stapletons would never have a winning season in the NFL and would eventually fade into obscurity. I encourage you to read more on the Stapletons in the 1985 Coffin Corner article including how Tim Marra, owner and founder of the New York Giants helped the Stapes co-exist with his team in the Big Apple.

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August 27, 1921- Evansville Crimson-Giants franchise formed and played in the NFL's early formation called the AFPA in the 1921-22 seasons. The nickname Giants was not too far off as the team was headed by the 6'-4", 250-pound star player and coach Franklin Fausch and Herb Henderson, who, according to reports could kick a ball 80 yards! The Crimson Giants were an early hit in the league as they competed with the best the AFPA offered. Their first game was played on October 2, 1921, as they knocked off the Louisville Brecks 21-0 at Bosse Field. Still, after a couple of crippling beatdowns in Green Bay, some mismanagement of team funds, and disinterest from the home fans, the Evansville Eleven had to fold in 1922. Ironically their final game on November 12, 1922, was a loss to the Louisville Brecks 13-6, closing the chapter on the franchise against the team they played in their inaugural game a year earlier.

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.

Born August 6, 1906, in West Haven, Connecticut was Halfback/placekicker Elmer Kenneth "Ken" Strong. According to a Yahoo.com article Ken was an All-American at NYU from 1926 through the 1928 season and later was one of the NFL’s early stars. Strong once scored two touchdowns, two extra points, and a field goal in one game to lead the New York Giants to victory in the 1934 NFL Championship Game, remembered in NFL lore as the Sneaker Game because the Giants wore sneakers to get better footing on the ice-covered field at the Polo Grounds. Besides playing with the Giants from 1933 through 1935 and later in the 1940's per the article, Ken also signed with Staten Island Stapletons in 1929 through 1932, the AFL's New York Yankees for the seasons of 1936-37. Ken Strong was a five-time First-team All-Pro as well as a member of the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team. He is the second player in NFL history to devote an entire season to placekicking. Strong’s  jersey No. 50 was retired by the Giants in 1947. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and into the Giants Ring of Honor in 2010.

Born September 20, 1935, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the fullback that hailed from LSU during the late 1950’s, Jim Taylor. Jim was selected as an All-American after the 1957 season for the Tigers. He was a big back for the era at 6 foot tall and weighing in at 214 pounds and the Packers picked him as the 15th overall pick in the 1958 NFL Draft.  Taylor did not disappoint as he played 10 seasons for the Pack and had a streak of  5 straight seasons of rushing for over 1000 yards! For his career he rushed for a total of 8597 yards and caught an amazing 225 passes for a combined total yardage of over 10,500 yards. The 1962 NFL Title game may be his watershed moment though in the League.  Taylor had 31 carries for 85 yards and a 7 yard touchdown run in the Championship game. Though he did fumble twice in the contest the legendary fullback added 3 receptions for 20 yards. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Jim Taylor in 1976.

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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.

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.

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Born May 31, 1943, in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, was Joe Namath the 4 time AFL All-Star, 1 time NFL Pro Bowl and Pro Football Hall of Fame Quarterback for the New York Jets and  Los Angeles Rams. Joe was the MVP of Super Bowl III where he predicted a victory for his heavy underdog Jets and lived up to his promise in a 16-7 stunner over the powerful Baltimore Colts. This win and his larger than life personality made him quite popular in the Big Apple, where they called him "Broadway Joe." Namath played his college ball under Head Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant at the University of Alabama. Namath was the first in Pro Football history to toss for more than 4,000 yards in a one season. The 1968 AFL Player of the Year threw three TD strikes to lead the Jets to victory in the 1968 AFL Championship Game. For his career he threw for 27,663 yards and 173 touchdowns. One item of historic importance concerning Namath may often be over looked but when New York's AFL franchise signed Joe to a $400,000 contract it gave the young American Football League its first victory against the established NFL showing that they could compete for players coming out of college.