When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. EPISODE SUMMARY Every so often, we encounter a football story that just screams to be shared. In this episode of “When Football Was Football” we’ll actually discuss a kicker who, believe it or not, boomed 100-yard punts in practice. Sometimes, there are true stories that just cannot be made up… Such was the case of punter Harry Ghaul, whose startling back story includes the previously mentioned punting skills, but also a hall-of-fame collegiate football career at a major football universit ..read more

When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. EPISODE SUMMARY Stories about unknown or undrafted collegiate players making it big in the NFL, are rare, but always entertaining! One such case occurred in December of 1953 when Chicago Bears’ assistant coach Clark Shaughnessy was scouting the Blue-Gray all-star game in Montgomery, AL. A local coach shared that “the best end in this part of the country wasn’t chosen to play in this game.” From the hotel lobby gossip, Shaughnessy learned about a rangy, and unstoppable, big end from Florenc ..read more

When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. EPISODE SUMMARY Who is Art Folz, and why is he one of the most notorious villains in NFL history that you never heard about? On this episode of “When Football Was Football” we’ll introduce you to Mr. Folz who was banned from the NFL for his unwitting attempt to be helpful, but then became the godfather of stock car racing in Chicago, and later a successful newspaper publisher. It’s a complicated story, but one that demonstrates the importance of not being in the wrong place at the wrong ti ..read more

When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. From a personal standpoint, I truly love the game of football…and to write about it. At times, it’s easy to slip back in time during my research of pro football topics to be captivated by some obscure player or fact from the history of the game itself. A few minutes searching for verification on a specific topic can quickly turn into hours as the stories and legends seem to spin off and blossom. One of these obscure searches was prompted by my interest in determining the identity of the yo ..read more

Historian Joe Ziemba Shares Stories of Some Pieces of his Chicago Cardinals Memorabilia Collection. The History comes to life when you see period pieces from when Chicago had two NFL teams. Historian, author, podcaster...you get it he is the Superman of Football history! Chicago sports is his main area of expertise, especially the Cardinals Join us at the Pigskin Dispatch website and the Sports Jersey Dispatch to see even more Positive football news! Sign up to get daily football history headlines in your email inbox @  Miss our football by the day of the year podcasts, well don't, becaus ..read more

When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. EPISODE SUMMARY On November 6, 1927, a few thousand of his closest friends gathered to honor Chicago Cardinals’ lineman Willis Brennan. But Willis Brennan was much more than a football player. In fact, if you consider some of the landmark events of Chicago in the 1920s, chances are Willis Brennan was there…such as the birth of the NFL in 1920, Red Grange’s first professional game in 1925, the infamous Leopold-Loeb murder case, and the gang wars on the south side of Chicago. For Brennan was ..read more

When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. EPISODE SUMMARY Before player drafts, salary caps, and heck, even before the National Football League, we had the Cardinals! On this episode of “When Football Was Football,” we’ll chronicle the very first season of the NFL’s oldest team—the Arizona Cardinals. Along the way, we’ll discover some surprising facts about the early activities of the club. Back in 1899, things were different in the virtually unknown world of pro football. Rules were different, rosters were unsettled, and player p ..read more

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 s ..read more

When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. EPISODE SUMMARY No one knew it existed. But suddenly, there it was: a dusty, withered document, that brought a quick end to a daring rivalry, disrupted an NFL team’s plans for an economic revival, and may have even saved the NFL. That was then, but six decades later, no one knows where this incredibly valuable manuscript is hiding. Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here. WHEN FOOTBALL WAS FOOTBALL BACKGROUND Each episode takes the l ..read more

When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. EPISODE SUMMARY Bidwill was the founder of the Chicago Bluebirds professional softball team and was also the co-founder of the National Girls Baseball League (NGBL) which began in 1944 with all teams based in Chicago. Many of the games were played at Charley’s own Bidwill Stadium, located at 1975 East 75th Street on the south side of Chicago. Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here. WHEN FOOTBALL WAS FOOTBALL BACKGROUND Each episode ..read more