The Football History Dude

The Cleveland Tigers were an original NFL team when the league formed on September 17, 1920, in Ralph Hay's Hupmobile auto showroom.  There was a man involved with the beginning of this team and before in professional football by the name of George "Peggy" Parratt, the first to throw a legal forward pass in a professional football game.  Learn more about Peggy Parratt and the Cleveland Tigers in this episode; and don...

Jay Soderberg, also known as Pod Vader, was the architect of the ESPN Podcast Platform. After building award-winning shows, including the Fantasy Focus Football podcast with Matthew Berry and (at the time) Nate Ravitz, Jay transitioned into Head of Content at Blog Talk Radio. Now Jay is the Executive Producer for the Locked on Podcast network. He also hosts a podcast called Next Fan Up. Let...

The Canton Bulldogs were the team to beat in the early 20th century. Much of the professional football world revolved around this powerhouse team, and Ralph Hay (the owner) is remembered for gathering other franchise owners in his Hupmobile Auto Showroom to build something that would turn into the NFL. However, without this week's hero, Ralph Hay would never have had a team to take over. ...

The Hammond Pros from little old Hammond, IN were a founding team of the NFL, led by a guy named Doc Young. Although the team did not amass too much in the standings, the team did leave a mark on the NFL. This wasn\'t just because Doc Young was at the meeting on September 17, 1920, in Ralph Hay\'s Hupmobile auto showroom. The biggest mark the Hammond Pros left on the NFL was being the mos...

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This episode we pick up the 2nd half of an interview with John Steffenhagen. He is Leo Lyons great-grandson, and he rides shotgun with us today in the DeLorean to take us back to the early days of the NFL, teaching us about the history of the Rochester Jeffersons. If you have not listened to Part 1 of the John Steffenhagen interview, I suggest you start there first...

This episode we fire up the DeLorean and head back to March 11, 1892, the birth of this week's hero, Leo Lyons.  He was the main guy responsible for building the Rochester Jeffersons from a sandlot team into one of the first franchises of the NFL.  Leo was destined to be apart of Pro Football, considering he was born just 8 months and...

This is the 2nd part of the Joe Ziemba interview covering the time when there were Cardinals in Chicago.  If you have not listened to the 1st part of the Joe Ziemba interview covering the Chicago Cardinals' early history, I recommend you go back here.  If you've already listened to that episode, then let's proceed with the 2nd part, cov...

This episode we fire up the DeLorean and head back to October 15, 1899, the first game in Arizona Cardinals history.  Wait a tick.  That doesn't sound right, does it?  Well, the thing is, the Arizona Cardinals are the oldest franchise in the NFL.  However, they were previously the St. Louis Cardinals, and before that, they were the Chicago Card...

The first official NFL games were played on October 3, 1920. Historians believe the first NFL game ever was between the Dayton Triangles and the Columbus Panhandles. However, some believe it's possible a game between the Rock Island Independents, and this week's team the Muncie Flyers, could have been the first game. No matter which game was first, I'm sure the Muncie F...

When was the first NFL game ever played?  The date was October 3, 1920, in Dayton, OH at Triangle Park.  It was a game that saw the Columbus Panhandles roll into Dayton to face the Dayton Triangles.  This was a game the Triangles won 14-0, and you can learn more about the first ever NFL game from last week's episode, mostly covering the Dayton Triang...

What teams played in the first-ever NFL game? Last week we discussed the first game featuring an NFL team with the Rock Island Independents, but they didn't take the cake when it came to the first official game between two NFL (APFA at the time) teams. The Dayton Triangles hosted the Columbus Panhandles at Triangle Park on October 3, 1920, to earn tha...

Can you name all 14 of the original NFL teams? Would you have guessed one of the big-time teams of the inaugural 1920 NFL season hailed from one of the good ole' Quad Cities? That's right. The Rock Island Independents were a founding and original team of the NFL way back in the first season in 1920. They were even invited to Founding of the NFL back on September 17...

Did you ever wonder what day was the founding of the NFL? It was a hot and muggy night in the middle of September in a town all NFL fans have heard of. The date was September 17, 1920. Ralph Hay invited representatives from 11 franchises to his Hupmobile auto showroom, resulting in the nickname - The Founder of the NFL. The result of this meeting was actually the A...

Today is the 18th anniversary of the largest terrorist attack on American soil.  The September 11 attacks made time stand still for a moment around the world.  There was no American, business, or even sports organization that did not have a decision to make about what to do next.  The NFL was in the same situation.  After the smoke cleared, the commissioner of the lea...

What is the biggest NFL rivalry? The Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers sure could take the cake on that question. This rivalry has been going on ever since 1921. It is a rivalry between two of the most storied franchises in the NFL. George Halas and the Chicago Bears (well, Decatur Staleys at first) were there from the beginning. Curly Lambeau and his...

What are the most unbreakable NFL records all-time?  There are many that can be thrown into this category, but the one I believe is at least the most impressive record is held by Otto Graham.  You can hear about this record in this week's episode.  You will also learn about records that will be challenged in the upcoming 100th season of the NFL.  S...

The NFL Hall of Fame 2019 enshrinement is in the books.  Each year Hall of Fame weekend is a sight to behold, and each year it gets bigger and bigger.  This year there were 8 inductees.  You can learn more about them in the following 2 episodes that were released a few weeks ago:

NFL Hall of Fame 2019 Class - Part 1

NFL Hall of Fame 2019 Class - Part 2

This epis...

What are the highest-scoring NFL games of-all time? NFL fans love seeing points on the scoreboard. Nowadays, part of this has to do with fantasy football. However, fantasy football was barely a toddler when the highest-scoring NFL game in history occurred. This game was on November 27, 1966, between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants. The Redskins trounced the Giants 72 to 41 en ...

Instant replay in the NFL has not come without controversy over the years.  Look to last year's NFC Championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints for evidence.  This no-call on instant replay has become one of the most infamous (if not the most infamous) in NFL history.  In fact, it lit a fire under the Competition Committee to hold a vote to allow an amend...