Timothy P. Brown's Blog, page 31

Today's Tidbit... Grandstanding in Early Football

I'm not an architectural historian, but that has not stopped me from noticing how some old-time football stadiums had covered grandstands. I'm not referring to stadiums with lower-level seats covered by an upper deck, only stadiums that cover a single level of seating.

The word "grandstand" is used inconsistently. Some consider grandstands to be tiered, with individual seats rather than benches. Others suggest that grandstands have a roof over the ticket buyers’ heads, and bleachers are the seat...

Today's Tidbit... Novel Rule Suggestions of 1904

Critics assailed football and its rules committee for ten years due to the increased roughness of the game, and the 1904 and 1905 rules committees received any number of suggestions for how to make the game safer. Some suggested altering the playing rules to encourage or force a more open game. Another argued for changing the penalties meted out for illegal behavior.

Let's review three of those suggestions.

Ten Yards in Three Downs

One suggestion for 1904 came from a committee member, Walter Camp. ...

Pigskin Dispatch Podcast... Left- and Right-Handed Footballs

Pigskin Dispatch podcaster Darin Hayes and I discuss the days of left- and right-handed footballs. It may seem strange that footballs were once handed, but they were. Listen to the story by clicking above or reading it below.

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Today's Tidbit... Connecting with the 1895 and 1896 Maine Wesleyan Football Teams

I love this image. It's from an RPPC I've had for a few years and shows Charles L. Graves, Myron E. Bennett, and W. L. Pullen of the 1895 Maine Wesleyan football team. Bennett, the captain, sits while Graves and Pullen stand. Part of the attraction is the crystal-clear quality of the studio image. I also like the quilted football pants and nose guards hanging from two of the three necks. While none of the three appear to be studs, there's a trophy hanging behind them, so somebody did something.

C...

Today's Tidbit... Football, Gambling, and Punch Boards

Gambling has a longstanding relationship with football. While the level of betting on football today would make our Puritan ancestors blush the deepest red, and a player or three faced suspensions for associating with gamblers, gambling has historically been low-key, seldom rising above the level of Super Bowl office pools.

We don’t often see horse manure on the garage floor anymore, and a form of gambling that is now seldom seen is the punch board. Once popular at corner taverns, many displayed ...

Pigskin Dispatch Podcast... Football's Oldest Field

Pigskin Dispatch podcaster Darin Hayes and I discuss the nation’s oldest continuously used football field, located at Wesleyan University. The field had been used for athletics in general, but an alum donated funds in 1897 to enhance it and build stands.

Watch and listen to the discussion on YouTube, hear the podcast, or feel free to read the original Tidbit below.

Support Football Archaeology as a paid subscriber, or buy one of my books here.

Football Archaeology is a reader-supported publication....

Who Scored Football's First Touchdown?

I'm nearing 1,000 articles on this site (not including podcast links), yet none address who scored football's first touchdown. I'm in good company. I googled "Who scored football's first touchdown?" and it appears that no one else has asked or answered that question, at least in the few sites, articles, and books that Google searches. Reddit has information about Eddie Novak of the Rock Island Independents scoring the first touchdown in the APFC, the year before the Johnny-come-lately league ren...

Predicting the 1924 National Champs

Among the difficulties of writing about the past is the tendency to bring today's worldview to yesterday's events. I was reminded of that when I decided to look back 100 years to compare the preseason forecasts of 1924 national championship hopefuls to their actual performance. It was a straightforward task I knew I could complete by searching ye old newspaper archives.

I've spent as much time as anyone thinking about old-time football. Yet, I fell into the 2024 trap of assuming that writers in 1...

The 125-Year-Old Safety Penalty

It's rare to pinpoint an individual play that sparked a 125-year-old football rule, but I believe this story identifies one. The evidence, though circumstantial, is compelling. The story also involves two figures who played significant, if not towering, roles in football's development. And, the play took place at the prep level, adding an intriguing twist to its significance since few college football rules were driven by the high school game.

The play in question occurred in the Germantown Acade...

Today's Tidbit... How Conditioning Took Shape in 1923

The NFL preseason is underway, the major colleges have been practicing for a few weeks, and the small college, high school, and youth football training are getting started, so lots of boys are getting in shape.

The Fundamentals of Football Training was part of the Wilson Athletic Library. Released in 1923, it was one of eight football volumes, and another 30 or 40 covered other sports. Major John L. Griffith, the Big Ten Commissioner, and George "Potsy" Clark, the Kansas football coach, wrote the...