Timothy P. Brown's Blog, page 88

Fielding Yost and the First Fake Field Goal

Football Archaeology requires significant effort to research, write, and publish. I want to keep it free to all but need more paid subscriptions from regular readers. In the meantime, most new content will require a paid subscription.

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There is nothing new under football's sun. Many plays, techniques, and concepts are borrowed, recycled, adapted, or reinvented by those unaware someone else already rolled out that invention. Still, everything borrowed or recycled had a beginning, a fir...

Hut! Hut! Hike!: Numbering Defenses

The Hut! Hut! Hike! series examines the origins of football terminology and how the game’s evolution drove changes in its vocabulary. Over 400 football terms are defined in my newest book (published in November 2022). This article is #2 in the new series.

FeDefensive football has grown far more technical and strategic over the years. Before the 1950s, most football books written by coaches had numerous chapters covering the offense and one or two addressing the defense. Coaching defense primarily...

Today’s Tidbit… 1876 IFA Rule 17: Boundary Lines

This is #17 in a series covering football’s original 61 rules adopted by the Intercollegiate Football Association in 1876. We review one rule each Friday.

Rule 17 is likely my favorite IFA rule of 1876. Its ten words are tight as long as you understand the meaning of the terms, which cannot be assumed. I recall having no idea what Rule 17 meant the first time I read it, but I learned, and faithful readers of this space will recall that the coverage of earlier rules defined “in goal” and “in touch...

Today's Tidbit... The Most Famous Player You've Never Heard Of

NYU’s Ed Smith striking a punting pose (1934 NYU yearbook)

New York University calls Manhattan's Greenwich Village home, and when they played big-time football back in 1935, they never left New York City. The Violets played and won six of the first seven games on their home field at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, with another victory over Rutgers at the Bronx's Ohio Field. NYU typically had 10,000 to 20,000 fan pass through the turnstiles for their games, but the season-ender versus Fordham at Yank...

Today's Tidbit... When Captains Callahan Collide

An illustration about the brothers Callahan was published the day before they faced one another in 1920. (Fisher, Thornton (Illustrator), 'When Callahan Meets Callahan,' Evening World (New York), November 12, 1920.)

With the Kelce brothers opposing one another in Super Bowl LVII, we'll look this week at a few brother combinations that played a part in football’s history.

In early football, teams had one captain. Opposing captains met before games to "toss-up," deciding which team would kick off. B...

Today's Tidbit... Keeping Up With The Joneses

With the Kelce brothers opposing one another in Super Bowl LVII, we'll look this week at a few brother combinations that played a part in football’s history.

Although Howard Jones was eighteen months older than his brother, Tad, they entered and graduated in the same class at Yale. Both started three years on Yale's football team, with Howard the dogged, determined, but average end, while Tad was the two-time All-American quarterback and captain of the baseball team. Their 1905 to 1907 teams went...

Pigskin Dispatch Podcast: Pop Warner Coaches Cornell

Pop Warner poses as the football captain in Cornell’s 1895 yearbook

Pigskin Dispatch podcaster Darin Hayes and I discuss a recent TidBit about Pop Warner’s first stint coaching his alma mater, Cornell, and the challenges of finding and teaching players.

Click here to listen, or subscribe to Pigskin Dispatch wherever you get your podcasts.

Football ArchaeologyToday's Tidbit... Warner and the Inexperienced Cornell ElevenCollege coaches today sometimes complain about their team's lack of experience, b...

Today's Tidbit... The Other Warner Brother and Chemawa Indian School

With the Kelce brothers opposing one another in Super Bowl LVII, we'll look this week at a few brother combinations that played a part in football’s history.

When your name is William Warner and your older brother is known as Pop, what do people call you? It turns out most folks called him Bill. Like other brother combinations, Pop overshadowed Bill, but the younger brother was a first-team All-American at Cornell in 1901 and entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971, so he did alright.

Bi...

Today's Tidbit... Before The Kelces Were The Borns

With the Kelce brothers opposing one another in Super Bowl LVII, we'll look this week at a few brother combinations that played a part in football’s history.

The Kelce brothers are getting some attention for playing one another in one of the bigger football games of the coming weekend, so it is worth recalling the battle between Arthur and Charles Born in the biggest game of the 1926 season, the Army-Navy game. Like the Kelces, the Born matchup received attention nationwide.

The Borns hailed from ...

Today's Tidbit... Spot-bilt Shoes and O. J. Simpson

There was a time when Spot-bilt was among the highest-profile shoe brands in sports, and if you believe the stories, they nearly landed Michael Jordan before he signed with Nike. Had Jordan signed with Spot-bilt rather than Nike, Michigan football might not be wearing jerseys adorned with a basketball player's silhouette today.

Spot-bilt was an American brand that began production before the forward pass became legal. Over the years, they made shoes for track, bowling, baseball, football, and off...