Tagged: college football

SUPERHEROES AND UNDERDOGS

December 6 in history:

Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in Maryland on December 6th, 1849, and then helped other slaves to freedom through the network known as the “Underground Railroad.”  It was on Tubman’s birthday in 1865 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted, banning slavery in the U.S.

The 25th Amendment was used to choose a vice president for the first time on December 6th, 1973, when the House confirmed Congressman Gerald Ford as VP.  Ford was sworn in the same day, nearly two months after former VP Spiro Agnew resigned.

Jerry Ford was a college football star long before joining Congress in 1949.  Jerry Rice of the 49ers set a pro football record on this date in 1992, catching the 101st touchdown of his NFL career.  Rice needed only eight seasons to break the old record.

Rapper Chuck D mentioned Jerry Rice in the lyrics of his 1996 recording “Underdog.”  Wally Cox, who spoke in rhyme as the animated super-hero Underdog, was born on December 6th, 1924.  Cox also played schoolteacher “Mr. Peepers,” and was a regular panelist on “Hollywood Squares.”
And underdogs are featured frequently in the work of Judd Apatow, born December 6th, 1967.  Apatow has produced, directed, and/or written “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “Bridesmaids,” “Anchorman,” and the TV series “Freaks and Geeks.”
 

LIONS AND TURKEYS AND BEARS, OH MY!

November 29 in history:

The Army and the Navy met each other on the football field for the first time on November 29th, 1890, at West Point.  The Army Cadets had the home field advantage, and won that first game 24-0.  Now, the contest is usually played at a neutral site, Philadelphia.

The tradition of playing pro football on Thanksgiving began on this date in 1934, when the holiday was still celebrated on the last Thursday of November, instead of the fourth Thursday.  The Lions had just moved to Detroit, and as a publicity stunt, the club’s new owner arranged to have the team play a Thanksgiving Day ball game.  Detroit has hosted an NFL game on Thanksgiving ever since.

The Lions lost that first Thanksgiving game to the Chicago Bears.  Rahm Emanuel, the former White House Chief of Staff elected mayor of Chicago in 2011, was born on November 29th, 1959.  Another famous Illinois politician born on November 29th was U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Paul Simon (1928).

A CONFEDERATE, A COMPOSER, AND COMMUNITY CHEST

November 6 in history:

Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States on November 6th, 1860.  Over the next 12 months, several Southern states would secede and form the Confederacy.  Their first presidential election was exactly one year after Lincoln’s election, on this date in 1861.  Former U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis had already been appointed Confederate president before winning the election.

The Civil War ended and the Confederacy folded before Davis got to finish his six-year term.  After a few years under the Stars and Bars, the Southern states returned to the Stars and Stripes, forever.  Saaaay, that might make a good song title!  Composer John Philip Sousa thought so.  “The Stars and Stripes Forever” is one of his most popular marches.  The “March King” was born on November 6th, 1854.

Countless bands have played Sousa marches at football games over the years.  The very first official college football game in the U.S. was played in New Jersey on November 6th, 1869, at Rutgers University.  In that first contest, each score was worth only one point, and they played until 10 total points had been scored.  Rutgers beat Princeton, 6 to 4.

The streets of one New Jersey city inspired the names of spaces on a classic board game for which Parker Brothers obtained patents on this date in 1935.  Pass “Go” and collect $200 if you knew that the landmarks on a “Monopoly” board are actual places in Atlantic City.