Timothy P. Brown's Blog, page 77
May 13, 2023
Today's Tidbit... An Aerial Attack At Yankee Stadium
Following Pearl Harbor, concern about potential attacks by carrier-based planes or sabotage led to playing the 1942 Rose Bowl at Duke's home field in Durham, North Carolina. Less well-known was the relocation of San Francisco's 1942 East-West Shrine Game to New Orleans.
As the country shifted to a war footing, decisions were required regarding the role of sports in a wartime economy. In February 1942, FDR famously gave the green light to major league baseball to continue as recreation for war wor...
May 12, 2023
Today's Tidbit… IFA Rule #30 Punt-On
This is #30 in a series covering football's original 61 rules adopted by the Intercollegiate Football Association in 1876. We review one rule each Friday.
Last week's Tibit regarding the IFA rules covered the punt-out, which was a punt made from behind the goal line under certain circumstances to gain a more favorable position to attempt a goal after touchdown, now called an extra point. Recall that the punt-out was kicked from behind the goal line or outside the field of play. If a teammate fair...
May 11, 2023
Today's Tidbit... NFL "Who's Who" Coupon For Ladies
After a decade and a half of franchises failing and relocating, the 1936 season was the first in which every NFL team remained the same city as the previous year. While that indicated some level of stability, the league's attendance challenges were such that the Boston Redskins, hosts of the league championship game due to winning the Eastern Division, moved the game to New York’s Polo Grounds, hoping the Redskins-Packers game would draw a better crowd than they would by playing in Boston. Over ...
May 10, 2023
The Art of Football Officials' Signals
This story appeared in Sunday’s edition of Uni Watch under the same title.
Some innovations in football arise from the game's rule-makers, others from coaches looking for an edge, and still others from the R&D departments at sporting goods manufacturers. But another group of innovations comes from individuals who see a need and create a solution to address it. That was the case with the contortions officials perform when signaling their rulings on the field, particularly the penalties being enfor...
May 9, 2023
Today's Tidbit... The Umpire Strikes Back?
('Wauseka and Fretz and Coach Warner Rule Off Field --- Umpire Is Attacked,' Philadelphia Inquirer, October 31, 1909.)Players, coaches, and crowd members criticizing or attacking the officials at sporting events seem to be getting worse and more frequent, but it certainly is nothing new. Football had seen such incidents since well before the officials wore striped shirts; one of them occurred when Carlisle met Penn at Franklin Field in 1909.
Although Penn won two-thirds of the non-tie games betwe...
Pigskin Dispatch Podcast: Football's First Extra Point By Pass
Pigskin Dispatch podcaster Darin Hayes and I discussed a recent TidBit about football’s first use of the forward pass to score an extra point.
Click here to listen, or subscribe to Pigskin Dispatch wherever you get your podcasts.
If you want to read the Tidbit itself, here it is.
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May 8, 2023
Today's Tidbit... When Leather Helmets Earned Their Wings
Let me start by saying I have never liked winged helmets, but as a chronicler of football’s past, it is my duty to reveal the game’s ugly side and its beauty. I’ve argued in the past that the 1930s produced football’s ugliest uniforms. Today, I’ll review how the decade’s helmets were no exception to the ugliness.
The front wings on the winged helmet originated to provide additional padding on the helmet's forehead. However, the sporting goods manufacturers took the opportunity to reshape the pad ...
May 7, 2023
Today's Tidbit... The Color Of 1916 River Falls Normal Football
About two weeks ago, I wrote about identifying the school and football team with an interesting logo. After determining the school was Stevens Point Normal, now the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, I thought I had finished with the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WIAC) for a while. However, that was not the case since I soon came upon the postcard below of the 1916 River Falls Normal football team.
(Personal collection)Regular readers know I'm a fan of real photo postcards (...
The Art of Football Officials’ Signals
My story on the evolution of football officials’ signals and their representation in football publications is the lead article on Uni Watch this morning. It includes images from 1918 to the late 1950s. I hope you enjoy it.
The Art of Football Officials’ Signals
I’ll repost the article here in a few days.
If you are into old-time officiating, the following tells the origin stories of football whistles, signals, and flags.
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May 6, 2023
Today's Tidbit... When Harvard Was King
Watching the events from London this morning reminded me that we periodically see teams reign as champions for a handful of years, despite it being difficult to do. For example, back when we lacked a method of crowning champions, Harvard enjoyed a run that compares with almost anyone's, retroactively being named national champs four times in six years.
The first of those wins came in 1908, year one for Percy Haughton as Harvard's head coach. As was typical of them and the time, they opened with w...
