Gridiron America

NO NONSENSE, OLD SCHOOL WEIGHTLIFTING HISTORY is presented by the Sports History Network, the headquarters for sports yesteryear.

ABOUT SHOW:

My name is Mark Morthier, and I host yesterday’s Sports on the Sports History Network. As many of you know from reading my articles and listening to my podcasts, I am not only an avid weightlifter but a fan of the sport as well. I’m excited to share my newest adventure, a show dedicated to promoting weightlifting, while also looking back at some weightlifting history. I’ll share some of my own stories and interview weightlifters from both past and present.

I competed in Olympic Weightlifting from 1981 to 1989 and powerlifting from 2011 to 2019. Although I wasn’t what one might call “a naturally gifted lifter,” I managed to clean & jerk 140 kilos/308 lbs at 179 lbs body weight. In my later years, I achieved a 600-pound deadlift and a 431-pound front squat in my mid-fifties. Although I was more successful in powerlifting, setting New Jersey and New York State records in Masters Competitions, I’ll always consider myself an Olympic Weightlifter. I’ve also written a book on weight training titled No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training, which is available on Amazon.

NO NONSENSE, OLD SCHOOL WEIGHTLIFTING (Amazon affiliate link)

I hope that you will enjoy the show, and please leave a comment or offer a suggestion. And if you’re an Olympic lifter, past or present, let me know if you’d like to set up an interview, and I’ll do my best to have you on the show. Stay strong and God bless!

Mentioned in this episode:

Sports History Network Theme Song

This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz

With the "soft" reboot of the From the 55 Yard Line podcast, Greg introduces his new co-host, due to Scott's retirement, and explains how the show is shifting from one focused on Canadian football to one that encompasses the entire world of sports. He then sits down and discusses the topic of spring football with sports historian, Tim Hanlon of the Good Seats Still Available podcast, and XFL insider and Pro Football Newsroom contributor, Michael Lathrop of the Player 54 Podcast. The three talk about the past, present and future of the spring game, both outdoor and indoors, as the sports world awaits the announcement of what form the XFL and USFL merger will take.

When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

NETWORK SPONSORS

Row One - the vintage shop for sports history fans!

HIGHLIGHTED SHOW

I am Chad Cain your host of One Guy with a Mic Presents: History of Dingers and Dunks. I am going to be bringing the history of baseball and basketball to life. For every one of you that doesn’t know anything about the history of baseball or basketball, this is your place to learn.

If you know some knowledge about baseball and basketball this is your place to know more. If you have more knowledge than others around you this is your safe space. I can always learn from each and every one of you as well.

Learn more about the show on the Sports History Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sports History Network Theme Song

This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz

Total Sports Recall is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

“Covering Sports from a Different Angle”

HARV ARONSON (HOST) BACKGROUND

Harv Aronson was born and raised in Pittsburgh but now lives in Florida with his beautiful wife Melissa. Harv currently writes for Abstract Sports, the Sports History Network, and the magazine Gridiron Greats.

Harv wrote the published book "Pro Football's Most Passionate Fans" (Amazon link) and as a professional writer has had articles published in an array of sports publications. Harv loves all sports but football, baseball, and MMA are at the top of his interest. His passion is for sports history.

You can email Harv at [email protected] or reach him via Twitter @TSRHarv59. 

Listen to the TOTAL SPORTS RECALL podcast on your app of choice.

Please note, As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sports History Network Theme Song

This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz

The Official Football Learning Podcast is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

HIGHLIGHTED SHOW - FOOTBALL LEARNING ACADEMY

Each week, the official Football Learning Academy podcast will take you deep into the history of this great game.

Through interviews with players, coaches, or administrators in the NFL, as well as interviews with Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors, authors, and historians, you will learn about how the game evolved and important moments that shaped the sport into what it is today.

You will also get first-hand accounts from the people who have made history in pro football.

Ken Crippen was in a leadership position within the Professional Football Researchers Association for 15 years and is now the founder and lead instructor at the Football Learning Academy.

He has been researching and writing about pro football history for over 30 years and has been a sought-after interview for publications like the Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone magazine, and a sought-after guest on podcasts and radio shows, namely The History Channel, ESPN Radio, and Fox Sports Radio.

He has written two books, been the managing editor of two other books, and a contributor to yet two more books. He has also written hundreds of articles on pro football history, has won the Dick Connor Writing Award for Feature Writing (which is now called the Lesley Visser Enterprise News/Features Award) from the Pro Football Writers of America, as well as the Professional Football Researchers Association’s Ralph Hay Award for lifetime achievement in pro football research.

Learn more about the show on the Sports History Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sports History Network Theme Song

This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz

On a morning where the cherry blossoms were blooming and Scott was watching his UAB Blazers lose a heart breaker at the NIT, Greg sat down with ⁠Ken Crippen⁠, founder and executive director of ⁠The Football Learning Academy⁠, to discuss the mission of the FLA and his thoughts on how the game has changed over the decades. The online academy is the first educational institution devoted to the instruction on the history of the gridiron game, with proceeds benefiting retired players. Ken is also the former president of ⁠the Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA)⁠. He has been researching and writing about pro football history for over twenty years. In that time, he has published two books, ⁠including one about the original Buffalo Bills⁠, and numerous articles. He has also won multiple writing awards, including the 2012 ⁠Professional Football Writers Association (PFWA)⁠ Dick Connor Writing Award for feature writing, and the 2011 Ralph Hay Award by the PFRA for lifetime achievement in pro football history.

When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

HIGHLIGHTED SHOW

Welcome to Fantasy Football Origin Stories, a weekly show here on the Sports History Network, where each episode is a journey back in time to explore some unique experiences from some of the coolest and most influential people in the fantasy football industry.

My name is Arnie Chapman, also known as The Football History Dude, and fantasy football is one of my greatest passions. I want you to come along with me each Wednesday to explore the yesteryear of this game of skill we all love so much. Yeah, that’s right, it’s a game of skill, all you wannabe champs out there.

This is an ode to the spreadsheet warriors, the game tape gurus, team name savants, and everyone in between. I’ll take you behind the scenes to explore the origin stories of your favorite fantasy football analysts, but I won’t stop there, because this show will include all roles in the industry.

You’ll get to know the game behind the game that’s behind the game like you’ve never heard it before, and I can't wait for you to ride shotgun with me back in time, to learn about some of these armchair gridiron knowledge nuggets.

And remember, you got to tell all of your fantasy football-loving friends that this show is available to listen to for free in any app that supports podcasts. It’ll be the one fantasy football show you’re ok with sharing. Because even though there might be a fantasy tip here and there, this show is all about getting to know the people in the industry, not a weekly list-building show.

This show is also a proud member of the Sports History Network, the Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. So grab your friends, and hop aboard my DeLorean, because we’re about to get this baby up to 88mph.

Learn more about the show on the Sports History Network.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sports History Network Theme Song

This theme song was produced by Ron "Tyke" Oliver of Music Meets Sportz

In the annals of professional football, aside from the American Football League, only one other league has truly challenged the dominance of the NFL, and that was the United States Football League of the 1980s. Unlike other spring leagues, all of which are small potatoes comparatively, the USFL forever changed how we look at professional football and how we not only watch the game, but also view upstart leagues. Unlike the XFL, which is small bug on the windshield of the NFL's largess, the USFL crashed into it and cracked the shield in many places as numerous high-profile players and draft choices decided to play in the spring. As a result, NFL salaries rose as players quickly had leverage, which many used to their advantage. Numerous NFL/CFL hall of famers and players began their careers in the USFL, such as Steve Young, Jim Kelley and Doug Flutie, and it is for them and the countless others who played in the league that The USFL Project was created.

In this episode, Greg speaks with Kyle Smith, the Executive Director of The USFL Project, which is a long-term project documenting and preserving the history and story of the fabled United States Football League, so as to leave a foundation of knowledge for future generations. They talk about not just about the history of the league, but also many of the key personalities aside from the former president, who were instrumental in the founding, success, and ultimate demise of the league. An award-winning journalist, Kyle has spent many years in the entertainment industry as well as being both a host and guest on numerous radio shows and podcasts. In recent years, his attention has been focused on The USFL Project with him and his team growing the group to over 4,000 members of Facebook. The USFL Project can also be found on Twitter.

On March 13, 1960, the city of Chicago lost its original NFL team, the now Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals were birthed on Chicago's southside and played most of their seasons at Comiskey Park; however, despite their being the city's original NFL team, they were not its flagship franchise, with that distinction going to their northside rivals, the Bears, who played their games at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. In this episode, Greg and noted Cardinal history researcher and author, Joe Ziemba, talk about the events and factors that led up to the team eventually moving to St. Louis. They also, for the first part, talk about Greg's life as a gridiron fan in the Land of the Rising Sun, after which they take a deep dive into the Cardinals Chicago history.  Joe is the award-winning author of the books "When Football Was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL," "Cadets, Cannons and Legends: The Football History of Morgan Park Military Academy," and "Bears vs. Cardinals: The NFL's Oldest Rivalry."

Joe is a life-long resident of the south side of Chicago, Joe first became interested in the history of football after discovering that his father was a draft choice for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League in the 1940s. He is now recognized nationally for his knowledge of the early days of the game and has been a resource for articles, photos, or reports in Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Arizona Republic, ESPN, the Daily Southtown, NBC Sunday Night Football, CBS Football, and many others. Joe has appeared on the WGN documentary “Football in Chicago,” a Comcast Sports special on the Chicago Bears, as well as on radio stations such as WBBM and WSCR in Chicago. He has spoken on the history of football throughout the country at schools, libraries, service clubs, and conferences, and shares the humor and challenges that football pioneers faced in the early days of the game. Joe is an instructor at the Football Learning Academy, and also the host of the podcast "When Football Was Football" on the Sports History Network which explores forgotten topics in the long history of football in the Chicago area.  He can be reached at [email protected] or follow his Facebook page “Chicago Cardinals.”

At the dawn of the 21st Century, in the winter of 2001, a new gridiron football league appeared on the sports scene. The brainchild of wrestling promotor Vince McMahon and television executive Dick Ebersol, the XFL sought to become the premier weekly sporting event in America during the NFL off season.  As most football fans, the original XFL fell short and, as the name of the title suggests, failed spectacularly on television and most importantly, in the ratings. During the season, Brett was there with the league every step of the way as a young freelance writer. His book, Long Bomb, is a compelling tale of hubris and the lessons the league soon learned as ratings fell and America tuned out of a television product few had been clamoring for outside of the cult of spring football.

Brett is currently a national security investigative reporter for The Wall Street Journal. He was formerly a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine, where he reported on sports and crime and was a member of the staff that won the National Magazine Award for general excellence. His last film was the ESPN/ABC true-crime documentary, Pin Kings, an Emmy finalist. He is the author of The Big Fix, an international crime bestseller in development as a feature film at Netflix, as well as Long Bomb. Brett’s international-affairs reporting has appeared in Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, Time, Foreign Policy, and Playboy. For a decade, he worked in Russia, Ukraine, and Brazil. He has reported from 50 countries, and his articles have been syndicated in more than 30 languages. His work has appeared in The Best American Science and Nature Writing. 

You can find all of Brett's books on Amazon and at other major booksellers. Additionally, his writings are also available at this web site, www.brettforrest.com.

In addition to this podcast, Brett also appeared recently on the X Fan Show videocast.