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Notre Dame's Seven Mules
The 1924 Notre Dame football team was led by a stellar quintet of a backfield named by "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse". Together, Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley and Elmer Layden torched college football, leading the Fighting Irish to an undefeated season and national title. None of that would have been possible without an equally stellar line. This is their story and their further impact in the sport. Chuck Collins, Left End Chuck Collins originally went to Not

David Hegler
Dec 24, 20247 min read


Ricky Watters
Ricky Watters was one of the most electrifying running backs in the NFL during the 1990s. Sure, the decade produced Barry Sanders and...

David Hegler
Dec 23, 20245 min read


Candlestick Park
Few stadiums have been both despised and loved as much as Candlestick Park. Nestled on the edge of San Francisco and resting against the...

David Hegler
Dec 21, 202413 min read


Homegrown Heroes: The 1946 Cleveland Browns
It is a well-known fact that most expansion teams run on local flavors. Whether they come from the local high school or starred in the local collegiate program, all that the infant team cares about is getting rumps in the seats in hopes that they can attract an audience and reap the financial benefits for the afternoon. The 1946 Cleveland Browns came ready to entertain, featuring seven players from the Ohio State University as well as a handful of others that had called Cleve

David Hegler
Dec 18, 202410 min read


Jim Tunney- The Dean of Referees
Jim Tunney was born on March 3, 1929 in Los Angeles, California. He fell in love with sports early, standing out in football, basketball and baseball while at Alhambra High School. He was All-Conference in basketball as a senior at Occidental College and was named the 1951 Athlete of the Year. Upon graduation from USC with a doctorate in Education, he moved right into his life's work, coaching, teaching serving as a principal and a district superintendent throughout the Los

David Hegler
Dec 14, 20242 min read


Exposition Park
Before there was Three Rivers, Exposition Park was the center of entertainment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While there were technically three versions of Exposition, the first and the last stood on the very spot where so many legendary moments would eventually be made in an entirely different venue. This is the origin of sports in the Steel City. A Humble Beginning It was called Kilbuck Island during the French and Indian War. At the time, the site that would host baseball'

David Hegler
Dec 14, 20244 min read


Jack Youngblood
Jack Youngblood was one of the toughest men in NFL history. Just the name alone evokes images of utter violence on the gridiron. Like a select few in history, Youngblood lived up to his name, terrorizing quarterbacks Sunday after Sunday for the Los Angeles Rams. His lasting legacy though, had less to do with violence on the field and more to do with an endless supply of will and desire. On Super Bowl Sunday 1980, Jack Youngblood played the whole game with a broken leg. This i

David Hegler
Dec 11, 20245 min read


Cartier Field
The University of Notre Dame was in a bind. After years of playing in a field where spectators could watch for free, the university realized that it needed a stadium to hold the growing crowds that were gathering to watch their football team. There was just one hitch: with free admission, they didn't have the funds to build a stadium. That's where Warren A. Cartier comes in. The 1887 University of Notre Dame civil engineering graduate who hailed from one of the nation's firs

David Hegler
Dec 10, 20242 min read


Kezar Pavilion
Adjacent to the historic Kezar Stadium in San Francisco rests a century-old building that oozes history. Over the past 100 years, it has...

David Hegler
Dec 7, 20243 min read


War Memorial Stadium
Few stadiums have defined the old NFL quite like Buffalo's War Memorial Stadium. The simply built structure stood out with its abnormally tall poles that held the sections of roof in place all the while looking upon the battle-scarred field below. Construction began on the site of an old reservoir on the intersection of Dodge Street and Jefferson Avenue in 1935 and opened to the public just three years later, costing President Roosevelt's WPA a cool $3 million. With a single

David Hegler
Dec 7, 20243 min read


Bob Bronzan
The list of men who have coached multiple eventual Super Bowl winning coaches in college is short. Very short. In fact, as of this...

David Hegler
Dec 4, 20244 min read


Leon Hart
It seems like everything Leon Hart touched turned to gold. He never lost a game in high school or at Notre Dame and once he reached the NFL, his Detroit Lions became one of the premier dynasties of the era. To top it off, he was the last defensive lineman to win the Heisman Trophy. This is his story. The Fightin' Irish Leon Hart was born on November 2, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended nearby Turtle Creek High School where he lettered in basketball and baseball

David Hegler
Dec 4, 20243 min read


Camp Randall: the Civil War Years
Long before the University of Wisconsin football team took center stage, Camp Randall served a vital role in the Civil War. When the Civil War first broke out in 1861, Abraham Lincoln sought for land that could serve as a training ground for his troops before they went off to war. At the time, the land was owned by the State Agricultural Society which used the acres for the state fair. The state of Wisconsin quickly transformed the land into a land of training, filled with b

David Hegler
Dec 3, 20243 min read


Cliff Branch
Arguably one of the fastest players in NFL history is the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders' Cliff Branch. But he was so much more than just...

David Hegler
Dec 2, 20246 min read


The 49ers 5 Most Memorable Bad Weather Games
With two feet of snow in the forecast for Sunday Night Football this week, let's look back at some of the 49ers most memorable bad...

David Hegler
Dec 1, 20244 min read


Steve Grogan
Steve Grogan was not the best of his era, not as a passer or a runner. But what he lacked in talent, he made up for in heart and desire. He led the New England Patriots through some memorable moments and helped set an NFL record that would stand for the next four decades. He helped the Patriots remain relevant in the NFL. This is his story. The Early Years Steve Grogan was born on July 24, 1953 in San Antonio, Texas. After moving to Ottowa, Kansas, he starred on the local

David Hegler
Nov 27, 20246 min read


The 1978 New England Patriots' Rushing Record
For much of their first two decades, the New England Patriots were hardly memorable and until 1978 had only been to the playoffs once after the AFL-NFL merger. While they were not the most talented, they had heart and desire and displayed that week in and week out all through 1978 when they set the NFL team rushing record that stood for the next 41 years. This is the story of how the Patriots gained those historic 3,165 yards. The Season The 1978 New England Patriots were br

David Hegler
Nov 26, 20247 min read


The Little Big Game: Santa Clara vs Saint Mary's
Every year, Stanford and Cal clash in the annual "Big Game". While the teams are often not very good, the rivalry is filled with...

David Hegler
Nov 23, 20246 min read


This Day in Sports History: Jim Benton is First NFL Receiver to Record 300 Yards in a Game
In more than 100 years, there have been just six men to gain 300 or more yards receiving in an NFL game. No matter the player, the opponent or the situation, the event always leave fans in awe, instantly elevating the player to near-mythical status. On November 22, 1945, the Cleveland Rams' Jim Benton became the founding member of the 300 Yards Receiving Club. The 7-1 Rams battled the 6-2 Lions in front of 40,000 fans at Detroit's Briggs Stadium for the Western Division Cham

David Hegler
Nov 22, 20241 min read


Griffith Stadium
In the hallway of Howard University's hospital lies a marker in the shape of a home plate with a large picture of a ballpark from yesteryear. It commemorates much more than Griffith Stadium, it remembers a simpler time when big paydays didn't rule the airwaves and when the sports teams of Washington D.C. sometimes dominated the competition while hunting for that ever elusive title. Griffith Stadium On March 17, 1911, a fire ripped through Washington D.C.'s Boundary Field. th

David Hegler
Nov 21, 20244 min read
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