Sports History Network

In 1985, after the Miami Dolphins put 31 points on the Chicago Bears, Head Coach Mike Ditka and Defensive Coordinator Buddy Ryan may or may not have come to blows in a dispute at half.

In 1972, Auburn blocked two punts and returned them for touchdowns in the fourth quarter to turn a 16-0 deficit into a 17-16 win in the Iron Bowl.

In 1950, Navy snapped Army's 28-game winning streak preventing the Cadets a National Title in the process.

In 1995, the Detroit Red Wings scored 9 goals on Montreal Canadiens goalie Patrick Roy in less than two periods. Roy was not happy getting embarrassed and demanded a trade.

In 2000, golfer Joe Daley had a disastrous triple bogey on the 17th hole of the final round of PGA Tour qualifying. His putt for double bogey hit the back of the cup and popped out. He missed getting his tour card by one shot.

Mentioned in this episode:

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We often think of football conditioning as a precise science of hydration, nutrition, and tailored strength programs. But a century ago, the rules of getting in shape were dramatically different. Darin Hayes of Pigskin Dispatch recently dove into the past with Timothy Brown of Football Archaeology to explore an article from the 1923 season, revealing the bizarre, and sometimes dangerous, training philosophies that shaped early gridiron stars.

The episode stems from one of Tim's Tidbits titled: How Conditioning took place in 1923.

The primary source for this peek into the past is the Wilson Athletic Library, a series of publications giving professional advice for the era. The specific guidance on "conditioning" came from two knowledgeable figures: Potsy Clark, a coach at Kansas (and a future NFL head coach), and John Griffith, the influential commissioner of the Big Ten. Their shared philosophy was heavily rooted in tradition and what they believed to be common sense, even when it defied basic human physiology.

The most striking, and arguably most harmful, advice given was the strict adherence to water discipline: explicitly telling athletes not to drink water close to or during practice. This widespread but dangerous belief held that withholding water would make players tougher, similar to the old notion of not swimming after eating.

As Timothy Brown points out, this practice put players in significant danger, especially when combined with the gear of the era. Everything worn was cotton, wool, or leather—heavy, non-wicking fabrics that made it impossible for players to perspire properly and cool down. Depriving yourself of water while wearing gear that traps heat only compounded the risk of heat-related illness.

The coaches of 1923 also held a remarkably casual attitude toward summer training. Conditioning, in their minds, wasn't something players needed a formal program for. Instead, the ideal preparation was for athletes to be "farm boys" or to engage in "good outdoor labor" like construction, dock work, or lifeguarding. Any kind of heavy, physical work outside was deemed superior to formalized pre-season training, because that, as Brown notes, is what "training camp was for."

Training camp itself was the six-week period designed to get the players in shape. This philosophy was exemplified by the tales of players like Red Grange, who gained legendary strength hauling massive blocks of ice, earning him the nickname "Wheat and Iceman."

Clark and Griffith's advice also focused on the non-physical elements of team administration, especially avoiding the dreaded state of "staleness." They believed a coach must walk a delicate balance: working the athletes hard, but not overworking them. If a player was "stale," it was considered the worst thing that could happen to their performance.

The key barometer for a coach to know if they had pushed the team too far? Player complaints. While lazy players would complain regardless, a coach knew they had crossed the line when even the hard-working, dedicated athletes started voicing their displeasure.

The contrast between the rudimentary, sometimes dangerous, conditioning of 1923 and the hyper-scientific training of today is a fascinating look at how far the gridiron has evolved. It proves that even a century ago, coaches were desperate to find that competitive edge, even if they were wrong about the most fundamental elements of human survival.

Join us at the Pigskin Dispatch website to see even more Positive football news!

Don't forget to check out and subscribe to the Pigskin Dispatch YouTube channel for additional content and the regular Football History Minute Shorts.

Miss our football by the day of the year podcasts, well don't, because they can still be found at the Pigskin Dispatch website.

In his episode of the Historically Speaking Sports Podcast, hosts Dana Auguster and Charles Combs discuss, and in some cases, debate on the cities that could be considered the best and worst sports cities in the United States.

We breakdown in our opinion the Top Five Best Sports Cites, where celebrating championships come second nature. Places where championships, culture, loyalty and sheer sports madness collide to create something both unforgettable and special. These cities live and breathe their teams and often have the championship banners to prove.

then here is the other side of the coin where we also rank in our humble opinion out Top Five Worst Cities, where heartbreak come standard, expectations go unmet, and hope is often the MVP. Whether its a lack of success, fan apathy, bad ownership or just years of pure misery, these cities have earned their place -though not the one their fans were hoping for.

If you wish to contact the show, please e-mail us at [email protected]

Under the Radar is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Summary goes here.......

UNDER THE RADAR BACKGROUND

Under the Radar: Olympic Athletes Ya Gotta Meet is a podcast dedicated to highlighting the stories of unsung Olympic athletes past and future who are little-known and yet well worth getting to know. True to the Olympic spirit, these athletes have either demonstrated their heroism in past Games or have a chance to shine in future ones. Your host is Doug Levy, a retired sportswriter, reporter, lobbyist, and business owner who brings his love for all things Olympic Games to each podcast.

Every month, Doug will help you learn about athletes who competed just outside the limelight – or have yet to bask in the media spotlight. Each episode will feature an interview with athletes about the Olympic Games journey they took or the Olympic Games story they hope to write. So, sit back and learn about some competitors that NBC-TV and the mainstream media either never really discovered -- or have yet to uncover.

HOST - DOUG LEVY

Doug Levy is a lover of all things sports with a special affinity for the magic that comes come with every rendition of Summer and Winter Olympic Games. A 1984 University of Oregon graduate, he began his career as a sportswriter and columnist, news reporter, and political reporter for two daily newspapers in Washington State. He then spent 35 years in government affairs and politics, including 25 years owning/operating his lobbying business.

After retiring from lobbying at the end of 2022, Doug returned to his roots and spent two years of research, interviews, and writing for his first book, “Hero Redefined: Profiles  of Olympic Athletes Under the Radar.” The book was published in late January 2025 and has earned words of praise from Olympic athletes and sports luminaries such as Sebastian Coe, Frank Shorter, Mac Wilkins, Mitch Gaylord, Willie Banks, and the President of the Golden State Warriors, Brandon Schneider. Doug lives just outside of Seattle, Wash., with his wife of nearly 40 years, Teri, and their dog Riley. They have two sons, Zach, 33, and Cody, 30. To learn more about Doug, visit www.authordouglevy.com

HERO REDEFINED: PROFILES OF OLYMPIC ATHLETES UNDER THE RADAR (Amazon link)

Pro Football in the 1970s is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Your Favorite Sport's Yesteryear.

JOE ZAGORSKI'S BOOKS ON AMAZON

From the Outhouse to the Penthouse: The Football Journey of Hall of Famer Larry Little

Free Spirit at Free Safety: The Incredible (But True!) Football Journey of Bill Bradley

The 2,003-Yard Odyssey: The Juice, The Electric Company, and an Epic Run For A Record

America's Trailblazing Middle Linebacker: The Story of NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier

The Year the Packers Came Back: The 1972 Resurgence

The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football's Most Important Decade

EPISODE SUMMARY

CHECK OUT THE NFL IN THE 1970S FACEBOOK PAGE

CHECK OUT JOE'S WEBSITE - JOE ZAGORSKI WRITER

The 1973 Denver Broncos were indeed a special team.  They were the first Denver team to earn a winning record.  The Broncos finished the 1973 campaign with a 7-5-2 mark, which gave them a sense of optimism for the future.  Their offense was indeed a cause for hope for their future.  Their offensive attack scored a total of 354 points in 1973, which stood out as the third-best amount in the entire NFL......

Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here.

PRO FOOTBALL IN THE 1970S BACKGROUND

Reliving Gridiron Glory: Pro Football in the 1970s with Joe Zagorski

Professional football is one of the most exciting spectator sports in America. The decade of the 1970s saw the sport grow by leaps and bounds, thanks mostly to exciting players who quickly became icons.  NFL players such as Joe Namath, Roger Staubach, O.J.Simpson, Terry Bradshaw, “Mean” Joe Greene and Fran Tarkenton are still considered household names today.

During the 1970s, the growing millions of pro football fans also witnessed numerous exciting games and plays, many of which are still remembered and discussed today.  Plays like Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception in 1972, or the original Hail Mary Pass in 1975, or the Sea of Hands game in 1974, or the Ghost to the Post game in 1977…so many memories, and all during one of the greatest decades in NFL history.

Joe Zagorski’s Pro Football in the 1970s podcast explores all the great memories that occurred in the NFL during that memorable decade.  Each segment will tackle a specific event or player in the NFL during the 1970s.  Each episode will also include a trivia question from some aspect of that particular episode’s theme or topic. 

Joe Zagorski’s Pro Football in the 1970s podcast takes listeners back to a time of old school pro football, where the game might have been simpler in the form of strategy, but it was also more pure and more robust than it had ever been before.  Practically everything that happened during that decade on pro gridirons gets attention in this podcast. 

Gridiron Baltic is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Risto Luostarinen, a founding member of the American Football Association of Finland (SAJL) and a 2005 inductee into the Finnish American Football Hall of Fame, talks how America's game came to Finland, and the Estonian Bowl—the first game of gridiron football not only in Estonia and the Baltic states, but also in the Soviet Union, played in Tallinn on June 3, 1989, during the summer before the Iron Curtain fell.

Risto served as vice-chairman of the SAJL (1979–1980) and twice as the chairman (1981–1982, 1988–1992). In the 1980s and 1990s he was a member of the board for a total of seven years. He also served as the vice chairman of the European Federation of American Football (1988–1993). As a player, Risto was quarterback of the Helsinki-based Munkka Colts (1980–1987) and won the Finnish championship in 1981 and two Finnish championship silver medals, in 1980 and 1982. With the national team in 1985, he won the European Championship gold medal. Risto also brought Dean Laun of Modesto, California, the first professional coach to Finland in 1982. In 1984, Risto established flag football in Finland and, 40 years later, he served as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 2024 Flag Football World Championship.

GRIDIRON BALTIC BACKGROUND

Gridiron Baltic is a monthly podcast exploring connections between American football and the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. On the surface, America’s Game may seem to have little in common with three small-nation states in Eastern Europe. Basketball and ice hockey, however, are not the only North American sports intertwined with the histories of Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian nations.

Among other things, nineteenth century immigration and the shifting political borders of the twentieth century created a multitude of connections and entanglements, both in the West and in the East. From immigrant players in the regional leagues of the United States to the first (un)official games on Soviet and post-Soviet fields, Gridiron Baltic traces how a distinctly American sport intersects with the complex and interconnected histories of the three modern Baltic nations.

New episodes drop on the first day of each month. Some highlight early pioneers who helped build the sport (both in the United States and the Baltic region); others focus on its diffusion and present-day developments in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

HOST - JAMES BAXENFIELD

Hosted by James Baxenfield, a historian, researcher, and chronicler of overlooked stories, Gridiron Baltic invites you on a unique journey through the history of American football—from its significance in immigrant communities to present-day teams and leagues across the Baltic region. Combining guest interviews with scholarship and archival research, Gridiron Baltic brings you the stories of star college players and celebrated coaches of yesteryear alongside Cold War-era gridiron legends.

In 1985, Green Bay and Tampa Bay played in the 'Snow Bowl' featuring 14 inches of snow and 36,000 empty seats in Lambeau.

In 2007, the LSU Tigers beat Tennessee in the SEC Championship game and then watched Oklahoma beat top-ranked Missouri and then unranked Pitt upset #2 West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl. LSU win paired with the losses put the Tigers in the BCS title game.

In 1963, Wendell Scott became the first black driver to win a NASCAR race but there was some controversy. Was it racism or simple human error?

In 1997, Latrell Sprewell choked and later punched Golden State coach PJ Carlesimo during practice. It led to a long suspension for Sprewell.

In the late 1930s, the name Tom Harmon was synonymous with unstoppable American athletic prowess. The University of Michigan’s single-wing tailback, number 98, was more than just a college football player; he was a phenomenon, the “Golden Boy” of the gridiron. He shattered records, won the Heisman Trophy in 1940, and famously earned a standing ovation from the rival Ohio State crowd in his final game—a show of respect so rare it remains legendary.

In 1941, Harmon was the first overall pick in the NFL draft and even starred in a movie about his own life. The world was his, but as the United States plunged into World War II, Harmon put his celebrity and professional career on hold, trading his football helmet for a pilot’s cap in the U.S. Army Air Force. The man who seemed invincible on the field was heading into a war where no one was.

Tom Harmon’s first brush with death didn't come in a dogfight against enemy planes, but against the raw, unyielding power of nature.

By April 1943, Lieutenant Harmon was piloting a B-25 Mitchell bomber, fittingly nicknamed Old 98 after his famous jersey number. While flying through a brutal tropical storm over the dense jungles of Dutch Guiana in South America, disaster struck. The storm’s violence was so extreme that it tore the right wing clean off the aircraft, sending the bomber into a catastrophic, deadly spin.

Harmon desperately screamed for his six crew members to bail out, but with the plane plummeting, he knew he had only seconds to save himself. He fumbled for his parachute cord, leaped out, and blacked out.

He awoke to find himself dangling from a tree, just yards from the burning wreckage. He was the sole survivor.

For four agonizing days, Harmon, the former All-American, became a castaway. He battled through razor-sharp grasses, dodged crocodiles, and trudged through miles of murky, dark swamps, surviving on swamp water and meager rations. He later credited his legendary “football legs” with carrying him through the nearly impassable terrain. Exhausted and believing he couldn't take another step, he finally collapsed. It was then, at the brink of death, that he was found by local natives who guided him to safety via dugout canoe.

He eventually reached an American army base where he made a simple, relieved phone call to his parents: "I'm not hurt." He had survived a fiery crash and five days alone in the jungle. But his war was far from over.

After recovering from his ordeal, Harmon transferred to the 449th Fighter Squadron in the China-Burma-India Theater, where he trained to fly the P-38 Lightning, a fast, twin-tailed fighter. Again, his signature number 98 was painted on the side.

On October 30, 1943, while escorting bombers over the Yangtze River in Japanese-occupied China, Harmon’s squadron was ambushed by Japanese Zero fighters. Harmon, showing the same aggressive instinct he displayed on the field, managed to shoot down two enemy planes. But in the thick of the dogfight, his own P-38 was critically hit. The cockpit erupted in flames.

His famous legs were literally on fire. Frantically beating the flames, he popped the canopy and was violently sucked out of the disintegrating aircraft. He yanked his ripcord and was yanked into the open sky, now a helpless target for the remaining enemy fighters. As they strafed his position, Harmon played dead and plunged into a lake below, hiding beneath the parachute silk until the enemy planes departed.

Severely burned, wounded, and deep behind enemy lines, Harmon was reported missing in action for the second time. For 32 terrifying days, the American hero was gone.

But once again, a miracle unfolded. Harmon was rescued by Chinese guerrilla fighters. His journey back to safety became an unbelievable ordeal that required an immense feat of human endurance. His burns became infected, and he was too weak to walk, forcing his Chinese rescuers—the real heroes of this chapter—to carry him on a stretcher for hundreds of miles over mountain trails and through Japanese lines. This clandestine operation was the Chinese version of the American Underground Railroad.

Finally, at the end of November 1943, news broke: Tom Harmon had cheated death again. He was safe. For his extraordinary valor and refusal to surrender, he was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.

When Harmon returned from the war, the physical toll of his crashes was immense. His legendary speed was gone, and after two injury-plagued seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, he retired from professional football. He then began the broadcasting career he always wanted, and for decades, his voice was as famous as his legs had once been.

Perhaps the most enduring symbol of his unbelievable survival came on his wedding day. He married actress Elyse Knox, and for her wedding gown, he gave her the very silk parachute that had carried him out of the burning sky over China. His mother-in-law carefully took the fabric, working around the tears and bullet holes, fashioning it into his bride's dress.

The same fabric that saved the Golden Boy became a symbol of a new beginning, a testament to a hero who fell from the sky twice and simply refused to be broken. From that marriage came three children, including the actor Mark Harmon. Tom Harmon passed away in 1990, but his legacy endures as a powerful reminder that true strength isn't about being invincible—it’s about getting back up, no matter how far you've fallen.

Join us at the Pigskin Dispatch website to see even more Positive football news!

Don't forget to check out and subscribe to the Pigskin Dispatch YouTube channel for additional content and the regular Football History Minute Shorts.

Miss our football by the day of the year podcasts, well don't, because they can still be found at the Pigskin Dispatch website.

We spin the wheel of the random team generator and land on the 1962-1963 Los Angeles Lakers. Led by the legendary Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, the team made it all the way to the NBA Finals before falling to the Boston Celtics in seven games.

Books to complement this episode include Bijan Bayne's biography of Elgin Baylor and "West" and "Showtime", each by Roland Lazenby.

Hello Old Sports is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Your Favorite Sport's Yesteryear. Contact the show at [email protected] and find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HelloOldSports

In 1959, the Washington Redskins selected OL Ernest Barnes out of NCCU in the 8th round of the NFL draft but when they realized he was black, they rescinded their pick. The Baltimore Colts selected him in the 10th round. He went on to become better known for his art.

In 1987, Bo Jackson met Brian Bosworth as the Raiders beat the Seahawks in the first meeting between the NFL rookies.

In 1974, Southern Cal scored 55 unanswered points to beat Notre Dame 55-24.

In 2013, Auburn's Chris Davis returned a missed field goal 109 yards for the game winner against Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

In 1876, Yale and Princeton played the first football game on Thanksgiving day.