The Year Of Football Change – 1906 (Part III)

The Year Of Football Change – 1906 (Part III)

By Allyn Freeman In January 1906, sixty-two colleges convened in New York City to approve football rules changes, including, allowing a forward pass, adding a fourth down to make five yards, and eliminating the flying wedge and other forms of excessive roughness. The...
John Poland: ‘I Would Love To Play In A Playoff Game’

John Poland: ‘I Would Love To Play In A Playoff Game’

By Joe Harvey “Mike Rogers told us that he was walking to the parking lot before the first game and some guy asked if we were playing New York this week, Mike said we were and the other guy just said, ‘you better beat them’,” John Poland laughed. “That was it. This...
Saving Fooball 1905 – Part Ii

Saving Fooball 1905 – Part Ii

By Allyn Freeman In review, an article in the spots page of the Chicago Tribune in 1905 uncovered the horrific truth that gridiron football accounted for nineteen-deaths nationally in the 1904 season. The sport had spread exponentially, abetted from Walter...