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National Football League | History 2008-01-21 11:17:00 This section will provide a quick overview of how football got started to give general overview about how the sport became so popular today.In the BeginningThe story of football began sometime during the 19th century in England when a soccer player, frustrated at using only his feet to manipulate the ball, decided to simply pick it up and run with it. Although it was clearly against the rules of soccer, other players soon found the new way of playing soccer appealing and thus, the sport of rugby was born.The new sport soon became a world-wide success that found its way into America by the mid-1800s. Played by many northeastern colleges, it was not long before Harvard University and Yale University met in Massachussetts in 1876 to formalize the rules to rugby that were similar to those in England. There were differences however: instead of playing with a round ball, the schools opted for an egg-shaped ball and the game's name was changed from rugby to football. To finalize the meeting, ... History

Chuck Bednarik 2008-01-21 11:15:00 No National Football League player in the 1950s was immune to bone-jarring contact with the Philadelphia Eagles' Chuck Bednarik because the 233-pounder played on both the offensive and defensive units long after the two-way player had largely faded from the scene.Bednarik didn’t really get into football until he returned from World War II (after a 30-mission tour as a B-24 waist gunner with the Army Air Corps that saw him win the Air Medal). He showed up unheralded at the University of Pennsylvania, where he went on to win All-America honors as a center his last two seasons.Chuck was selected first overall in the 1949 NFL Draft as the Eagles' bonus draft choice and earned a starter’s spot as a center on offense and linebacker on defense. As an offensive center, big Chuck was a bulldozing blocker, both on rushing and passing plays. On defense, he was a true scientist in his field and the kind of tackler who could literally stop even the finest enemy runners "on a dime."In 1950, Be ...

Sammy Baugh 2008-01-21 11:12:00 Sammy Baugh arrived on the pro football scene in 1937, the same year the Redskins moved to Washington from Boston. The Texas Christian star was the team’s first round pick that year. Over the next 16 seasons “Slingin’ Sammy” not only helped establish the pro game in the nation’s capital, he also was a major influence in the offensive revolution that occurred in the late 1930s and early 1940s.When Baugh first started with the Redskins pro football was largely a grind-it-out ground game. The forward pass was something to be used with caution, and never inside your 30-yard line, except in desperate situations. By the time Baugh was through, the forward pass was a primary offensive weapon. Obviously, such a change could not be totally brought about by one individual. But Baugh was the catalyst that changed the game. No one had seen a passer who could throw with such accuracy.Baugh started his pro career as a single wing tailback and didn't make the switch to the T-formation unti ...

Lem Barney 2008-01-21 11:04:00 Although he was a three-time All-Southwestern Conference star who had intercepted 26 passes in three seasons at Jackson State, Lem Barney was a comparative unknown when he joined the National Football League as a second-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 1967.It took only a few games, however, for the 6-0, 188-pound speedster to become widely respected as one of the premier comerbacks in pro football. Barney originally was tested as a wide receiver but his exceptional skills as a defender could not be ignored. After a sensational rookie season, he was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and selected to play in the Pro Bowl, something he would do six more times during his stellar career. Barney also tied for the NFL interception lead with 10. Three of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns, just one short of the then-all-time single-season record.Barney, a native of Gulfport, Mississippi, also won acclaim as a kick return specialist. Particularly early in his career ...

Lance Alworth 2008-01-21 10:50:00 Al Davis was an assistant coach with the 1962 San Diego Chargers of the American Football League when he signed a flanker Lance Alworth to a contract after a spirited bidding battle with the National Football League’s San Francisco 49ers.Davis recalls his feelings when he snagged this first big AFL prize of the budding inter-league war of the 1960s. "Lance Alworth was one of maybe three players in my lifetime who had what I would call ‘it.’ You could see right from the start that he was going to be a super-star."Lance epitomized the glamorous, crowd-pleasing, deadly effective approach to football the Chargers exhibited in the early years of the AFL, enjoying nine exceptional years in San Diego before shifting to Dallas for a final two years with the 1971 and 1972 Cowboys. His patented leaping catches and blazing after-the-catch runs are legendary. Statistics many times are misleading, but in Alworth's case, they are not.In 11 pro seasons, he caught 542 passes for 10,266 yards, a ...

Herb Adderley 2008-01-21 10:48:00 When Herb Adderley reported to his first Green Bay training camp in 1961 as the Packers’ No.1 draft pick, he had the unenviable task of competing against future Hall of Fame running backs Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung for a starter’s spot. Midway through the season, however, Packers coach Vince Lombardi decided to try the former Michigan State star as an emergency replacement for injured starting cornerback Hank Gremminger.Adderley, using his speed and marvelous instincts, quickly demonstrated he had what it took to be an NFL cornerback. The 6-1, 205-pound Philadelphia native took immediate command in the Packers' defensive backfield and, within two years, had won All-NFL honors, acclaim he was to earn four more times in 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1969. A speed-burning ball hawk, Herb amassed 48 interceptions, returning them for 1,046 yards and a 21.8-yard average, with seven touchdowns during his 12-year career with the Packers (1961-69) and Dallas Cowboys (1970-72). He doubled as a kick ...