Past Venue: Municipal Stadium

Cleveland, OH
aka Cleveland Stadium, Lakefront Stadium



Year opened: 1931
Capacity: 81,000

Names:
Cleveland Municipal Stadium, 1931-96

Pro football tenants:
Cleveland Indians (NFL), 1931
Cleveland Rams (AFL), 1936
Cleveland Rams (NFL), 1937, 39-41, 45
Cleveland Browns (AAFC/NFL), 1946-95

Postseason games hosted:
NFL Championship, Rams 15 Redskins 14, Dec. 16, 1945
AAFC Championship, Browns 14 Yankees 9, Dec. 22, 1946
AAFC Championship, Browns 49 Bills 7, Dec. 19, 1948
AAFC First Round playoff, Browns 31 Bills 21, Dec. 4, 1949
AAFC Championship, Browns 21 49ers 7, Dec. 11, 1949
NFL American Conf. playoff, Browns 8 Giants 3, Dec. 17, 1950
NFL Championship, Browns 30 Rams 28, Dec. 24, 1950
NFL Championship, Lions 17 Browns 7, Dec. 28, 1952
NFL Championship, Browns 56 Lions 10, Dec. 26, 1954
NFL Championship, Browns 27 Colts 0, Dec. 27, 1964
NFL Eastern Conf. playoff, Browns 31 Cowboys 20, Dec. 21, 1968
NFL Championship, Colts 34 Browns 0, Dec. 29, 1968
AFC Divisional playoff, Colts 20 Browns 3, Dec. 26, 1971
AFC Divisional playoff, Raiders 14 Browns 12, Jan. 4, 1981
AFC Divisional playoff, Browns 23 Jets 20, Jan. 3, 1987
AFC Championship, Broncos 23 Browns 20, Jan. 11, 1987
AFC Divisional playoff, Browns 38 Colts 21, Jan. 9, 1988
AFC Wild Card playoff, Oilers 24 Browns 23, Dec. 24, 1988
AFC Divisional playoff, Browns 34 Bills 30, Jan. 6, 1990
AFC Wild Card playoff, Browns 20 Patriots 13, Jan. 1, 1995

Other tenants of note:
Cleveland Indians (MLB – AL), 1932-33, 36-93
Cleveland Stokers (NASL), 1967-68

Notes: Hosted college football Great Lakes Bowl in 1947. Hosted annual Navy vs. Notre Dame college football game on 11 occasions from 1932 to ‘78. The stadium was occasionally used by Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University football teams. Hosted University of Illinois vs. Penn State in 1959 and four Ohio State football games. The end zone bleachers, which served as center field seating for baseball, became known as the “Dog Pound” during Browns games from the mid-1980s on. The first event held at the stadium was a World Heavyweight Championship boxing match in which Max Schmeling successfully defended his title against Young Stribling.

Some inaccurate, but commonly believed, “facts” about the origins of the stadium were that it was built as a WPA project (while publicly financed, it was completed before the existence of the WPA) and that it was constructed with hopes of luring the 1932 Olympics to Cleveland (the groundbreaking occurred after the games had been awarded to Los Angeles).

Fate: Demolished in 1996 and replaced by Cleveland Browns Stadium, which stands on same site. Pieces of the stadium were put in Lake Erie to create two artificial reefs.

Past Venue: Nippert Stadium

Cincinnati, OH



Year opened: 1924
Capacity: 35,097, up from 12,000 when first completed. Capacity was at 24,000 at the time the Bengals played there.

Names:
James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium, 1924 to date

Pro football tenants:
Cincinnati Bengals (AFL), 1968-69

Postseason games hosted:
None

Other tenants of note:
University of Cincinnati, 1924-89, 91 to date
Moeller High School, 2006-08

Notes: The site was being used by the University of Cincinnati for football as early as 1902, when it was known as Carson Field (which is still the name of the playing surface, if not the structure). While ground was broken in 1916 for a brick and concrete structure, it wasn’t fully completed until 1924. The field was converted from grass to AstroTurf in 1970 and to FieldTurf in 2000. The stadium was closed for major renovation in 1990, during which season the football team played home games at Riverfront Stadium. Stadium named for Jimmy Nippert, who died of blood poisoning after receiving a spike wound while playing football for the University of Cincinnati. Nippert’s grandfather, James Gamble of Procter & Gamble, provided the final $250,000 that allowed for the facility to be completed.

Fate: Still in use.


(Lower view is more recent, showing renovations. Top view shows stadium as it appeared when Bengals played there)

1958: Buck Shaw Hired as Head Coach of Philadelphia Eagles

On February 14, 1958 the Philadelphia Eagles announced that Lawrence “Buck” Shaw had been hired as head coach. The Eagles most recently had endured two disappointing seasons under Hugh Devore.

Since Earle “Greasy” Neale, who built the club into a two-time NFL champion, was let go in 1950, the team had gone through four head coaches, from Bo McMillin, who resigned after two games in ’51 due to health reasons, through Wayne Millner, Jim Trimble, and Devore.

The 58-year-old Shaw had been a star player under Head Coach Knute Rockne at Notre Dame (where he was a teammate of the legendary George Gipp) and, with Rockne’s encouragement, went on to coach at Santa Clara, Nevada, and North Carolina State before moving into the pro ranks as the original head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in the AAFC in 1946. “The Silver Fox”, as he was dubbed due to his full head of gray hair, stayed at the helm for nine years and his record with the 49ers, who became part of the NFL in 1950, was a solid 71-39-4. From there, he had become the first head coach at the Air Force Academy, and resigned after going 9-8-2 in two seasons.

While it was publicly stated that Shaw was signed to an extended contract, it was actually a one-year deal with an option on both sides for a second (the term was at the coach’s request). Shaw also had business interests in California and made clear that he would handle his coaching duties from June through December only, which, even in an era in which pro coaching was not yet a year-round occupation, was still somewhat unusual.

Fortunately for Shaw, while the team had played poorly in the previous three seasons (a combined 11-23-2), they had drafted well. The first four picks in ’57 alone proved valuable to the team’s future – FB Clarence Peaks from Michigan State, Wake Forest HB Billy Barnes, HB Tommy McDonald from Oklahoma, and QB Sonny Jurgensen out of Duke.

While Jurgensen started some games in his first year and showed promise, the new coach made clear at his introductory press conference that, in emphasizing the passing game, he intended to obtain an experienced and accomplished quarterback, and did so with the acquisition of 32-year-old Norm Van Brocklin from the Rams (The Dutchman was unhappy with the LA organization, especially Head Coach Sid Gillman, and was threatening to retire if not traded).

Peaks and Barnes both saw substantial action in ’57, but Coach Devore had taken criticism for his handling of the diminutive McDonald. Too small to play halfback (5’9”, 172 pounds), the coach stubbornly resisted suggestions that he be moved to flanker until late in the season. The immediate results were spectacular, and under Van Brocklin’s tutelage, McDonald developed into an outstanding deep threat.

Shaw was soft-spoken, rarely raising his voice, and acted much as the organization’s CEO, letting his strong group of assistants handle the details. Offensive line coach Charlie Gauer was highly regarded, and Van Brocklin largely directed the offense. Jerry Williams proved to be an innovative and highly-effective defensive assistant. Shaw handled administration (which he did ably), made personnel decisions, and set the overall tone.

With a new home field (the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field) as well as head coach and quarterback, the Eagles looked to improve in 1958. The record (2-9-1) was actually worse than in ’57, but the team was in the process of rebuilding and did show signs of turning around.

Van Brocklin threw the ball well (and often – he led the NFL with 374 pass attempts and 198 completions), and was an outstanding team leader. Barnes joined The Dutchman as a Pro Bowl selection, leading the club in rushing with 551 yards and gaining another 423 on 35 pass receptions. McDonald caught just 29 passes, but 9 of them were for touchdowns and he gained 603 yards for a 20.8 average gain. Pete Retzlaff, who had been buried on the depth chart at halfback after being obtained from the Lions, was nurtured by Van Brocklin and blossomed into an outstanding end – he caught 56 passes to co-lead the NFL along with Baltimore’s Raymond Berry. Veteran end Bobby Walston continued to be a reliable receiver and also handled the placekicking.

The team had been sound defensively under Devore, and contained solid players in DE Tom Scott, DT Jess Richardson, LB Bob Pellegini, HB Tom Brookshier, and safeties Jerry Norton and Lee Riley. However, players at the other positions proved less adept. Such was also the case with the offensive line, where former All-Pro linebacker Chuck Bednarik had moved to center, but holes remained elsewhere. As Van Brocklin said after the season, “We bled for linemen. After last year, Barnes and Peaks are lucky to be alive.”

The personnel were overhauled as needed (they traded or released 20 players in 1958), and the Eagles improved to 7-5 in 1959 and 10-2 in ’60, when they won the NFL Championship. Important acquisitions included rookies J.D. Smith (OT), Joe Robb (DE), and Gene Johnson (DB) in 1959 and Maxie Baughan (LB) and Ted Dean (RB) in ’60 as well as veterans Stan Campbell (G) and Don Burroughs (FS).

Shaw made clear prior to the 1960 season that it would be his last, and he went out on top (he is pictured at top celebrating with #11 Van Brocklin & #60 Bednarik). In making his retirement official the day after the Eagles won the championship, he said “I can’t think of a better time to bow out. I can’t soar any higher than being head coach of a world championship professional football team. It was a distinct pleasure coaching the Eagles, and I can’t pay too high a tribute to this 1960 team. It was a team of tremendous desire, a team that just would not accept defeat.”

Shaw returned to California and retirement with a 90-55-5 overall record as a pro head coach (AAFC and NFL) and 2-1 in the postseason. He was remembered long afterward as a quiet but firm gentleman who demanded top performance and molded a championship team (McDonald compared him to Bud Wilkinson, his coach at Oklahoma).

Much to the consternation of Van Brocklin, who believed he had been promised the job, assistant coach Nick Skorich was named as Shaw’s successor. After contending in 1961, the injury-plagued Eagles dropped to the basement in ’62 and ’63. They would not return to the postseason until 1978.

Past Venue: Wrigley Field

Chicago, IL



Year opened: 1914
Capacity: 46,000

Names:
Weeghman Park, 1914-20
Cubs Park, 1920-26
Wrigley Field, 1926 to date

Pro football tenants:
Chicago Tigers (APFA), 1920
Chicago Bears (APFA/NFL), 1921-70
Chicago Cardinals (NFL), 1931-37, 39

Postseason games hosted:
NFL Championship, Bears 23 Giants 21, Dec. 17, 1933
NFL Championship, Redskins 28 Bears 21, Dec. 12, 1937
NFL Western Division playoff, Bears 33 Packers 14, Dec. 14, 1941
NFL Championship, Bears 37 Giants 9, Dec. 21, 1941
NFL Championship, Bears 41 Redskins 21, Dec. 26, 1943
NFL Championship, Bears 14 Giants 10, Dec. 29, 1963

Other tenants of note:
Chicago Whales (MLB – Federal League), 1914-15
Chicago Cubs (MLB – NL), 1916 to date
Chicago Sting (NASL), 1977-82, 84

Notes: The Bears obtained a portable bleacher section that added approximately 9000 seats to the normal stadium capacity for football games. In addition to the dates noted above, the NFL Cardinals played two home games at Wrigley Field in 1920 and one in 1958. Hosted college football games up until 1938, and again between Northwestern and Illinois, Nov. 20, 2010, although the presence of extra box seats added by the Cubs after the Bears left brought the end line of the east end zone uncomfortably close to a wall, and thus all offensive plays had to be run in the same direction. Hosted NHL Winter Classic, Chicago Blackhawks vs. Detroit Red Wings, 2009.

The stadium was originally named for Charlie Weeghman, owner of the Chicago Whales of major league baseball’s short-lived Federal League. When that league folded, Weeghman, as part of a syndicate that included William Wrigley Jr., bought the NL’s Chicago Cubs, who moved into the new stadium. The Cubs have owned it since 1916. It is the last surviving Federal League ballpark.

Fate: Still in use.

1976: Jets Hire Lou Holtz as Head Coach

On February 10, 1976, the New York Jets announced that they had decided to dip into the college ranks to fill their head coaching vacancy. Lou Holtz, most recently the coach at North Carolina State, was named to the post.

The hiring was in line with a recent trend in the NFL toward taking on successful college coaches. UCLA’s Dick Vermeil had just been hired by the Eagles and John McKay of USC was chosen to be the first head coach of the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 39-year-old Holtz was not well known nationally, but had built a reputation as a college head coach who could turn struggling programs around. The Jets, who had not produced a winning season since 1969, hoped that the amateur magician could work the same magic at the pro level. Holtz received a five-year contract.

Frail and looking more like a college professor than a football coach, Holtz had put together a 33-12-3 record, including four bowl appearances in as many seasons at NC State. It had been a losing program prior to his arrival, and he had achieved similar success at William & Mary before that.

“I have great confidence in myself,” Holtz said at his introductory press conference. “I believe in God, Lou Holtz and the New York Jets in that order. Coaching is coaching no matter what level you're at. You need a good staff and you need athletes and you need people who want to win. That's what I intend to have here.”

While Holtz was known as an offensive-minded coach in college, he made clear that defense would be his first priority in New York.

The Jets went 3-11 in 1975, with the lowest-ranked defense in the NFL. Head Coach Charley Winner, the designated successor to Weeb Ewbank following his retirement after the ’73 season, was fired nine games into his second year on the job. Offensive coordinator Ken Shipp took over in the interim to finish out the dismal season.

One of the initial concerns that the new coach had to deal with was veteran QB Joe Namath, who had openly suggested a trade rather than continue to take a battering with the woeful Jets. While Holtz indicated that he still wanted the 11-year veteran on the team, he also said “If Joe wants to play for us again and help us, fine. If he doesn’t, we’ll find someone else.” With their first pick in the ’76 draft, they took QB Richard Todd, who, like Namath, came out of Head Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s program at Alabama.

Beyond that, the offensive line was aging and the running game hindered by the loss of FB John Riggins, who had played out his option and signed as a free agent with the Redskins. Walt Michaels, an assistant under Ewbank in better days, was brought back as defensive coordinator to sort out the unit that had performed so abysmally in 1975.

Things did not go well for Holtz or the Jets in 1976. The coach tried to inject a college spirit into the team, and it fell flat. He wrote a fight song for the players that became a source of ridicule and had them line up by height along the sideline for the national anthem prior to each game. In short, he simply was not prepared for the pro game at that point in his career (and admitted as much years later).

The team, very much in turmoil, was still bad, too. There were 14 rookies on the roster, including Todd. While RB Clark Gaines, a first-year player who made the club as a free agent, was a pleasant surprise, many of the others proved not to be keepers. Gaines led the team in both rushing (724 yards) and pass receiving (41 catches).

The battered Namath threw for just 1090 yards with four touchdowns and 16 interceptions in his final season with the Jets. Todd started six games and the team won two of them. While he caught only 31 passes for 391 yards, TE Rich Caster was still highly regarded, and WR David Knight contributed 20 receptions for 403 yards (20.2 avg.).

The defense continued to be dreadful, ranking 26th in the league – only the expansion Buccaneers and Seahawks ranked lower. They intercepted 11 passes and registered a mere 16 sacks for the season. Still, FS Burgess Owens and SS Phil Wise played well, and LB Greg Buttle earned all-rookie honors and offered hope for the future.

The team’s final record was again 3-11, although Holtz didn’t last to the end. He accepted an offer to return to college coaching at Arkansas and left the Jets with one game remaining. As he stated upon announcing his decision, “God did not put Lou Holtz on this earth to coach in the pros.” Director of Player Personnel Mike Holovak (formerly head coach of the Patriots) served as interim coach for the season finale, a 42-3 shellacking at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Holtz stayed at Arkansas for seven years before moving on briefly to the University of Minnesota and then Notre Dame. After stepping down as head coach of the Fighting Irish, he moved to the broadcast booth for two seasons and returned to college coaching once more at South Carolina, retiring for good in 2004.

Overall, Holtz compiled a 249-132-7 record as a college coach, going 12-8-2 in bowl games spread across six different programs, and won a national championship with Notre Dame in 1988. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, but his brief failure in the NFL likely soured any likelihood of being pursued by a pro team (although the Vikings reportedly showed some interest at the time he left Notre Dame in 1996).

As for the Jets, Walt Michaels was promoted to head coach in 1977 and, after a third straight 3-11 campaign, they began to show improvement. Helped along by some good drafts, New York eventually reached the playoffs in 1981 and ’82.

Past Venue: War Memorial Stadium

Buffalo, NY
aka Civic Stadium



Year opened: 1937
Capacity: 46,500, up from 35,000 upon opening

Names:
Roesch Memorial Stadium, 1937
Grover Cleveland Stadium, 1937
Civic Stadium, 1938-60
War Memorial Stadium, 1960-88

Pro football tenants:
Buffalo Indians/Tigers (AFL), 1940-41
Buffalo Bisons/Bills (AAFC), 1946-49
Buffalo Bills (AFL/NFL), 1960-72

Postseason games hosted:
AFL Eastern Division playoff, Patriots 26 Bills 8, Dec. 28, 1963
AFL Championship, Bills 20 Chargers 7, Dec. 26, 1964
AFL Championship, Chiefs 31 Bills 7, Jan. 1, 1967

Other tenants of note:
Buffalo Bisons (minor league baseball), 1961-70, 79-87

Notes: Built as a WPA project with construction commencing in 1935. The stadium was popularly referred to as “The Rockpile”. The NFL's Chicago Cardinals hosted five home games at the stadium (1938, 40, 42, 43, 58), the Philadelphia Eagles one in 1942. The stadium was also used for track events and stock car racing, and by the Canisius College baseball and football teams for an unspecified period. It was used for the filming of most of the baseball scenes in the movie “The Natural” (1984).

Fate: Demolished in 1988 and now the site of a high school athletic field. The northeast and southeast entrances were preserved

1936: First NFL Draft Held

The NFL’s annual draft of college talent has become a big and highly-anticipated offseason event. The brainchild of Eagles owner Bert Bell (who would go on to become league commissioner; pictured at right), the first one was held at Philadelphia’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel on February 8, 1936.

Bell’s Eagles had come into being in 1933 and were a struggling club. With teams free to sign any player coming out of college that they wanted, strong clubs had an advantage in the bidding for talent and Bell recognized that this was bad for the overall competitive balance of the league. His suggestion that the NFL organize an annual draft, in which the weaker teams would get first choice of the best talent coming out of the college ranks, was adopted by the owners on May 19, 1935. While the format of the draft has changed over the years, the basic element in which the teams draft in inverse order of their finish during the previous regular season has remained the same.

The first draft consisted of nine rounds, with the Eagles, owner of the NFL’s worst record at 2-9 in 1935, going first and the Giants, who had gone 9-3, choosing last (Detroit had won the Championship game over New York, but had a lesser regular season record at 7-3-2. Currently, the NFL champion drafts last in each round, regardless of regular season record).


With the first overall pick, Philadelphia chose the Heisman Trophy-winning back from the University of Chicago, Jay Berwanger (pictured at left). Berwanger had no interest in playing pro football, and the Eagles ended up trading his rights to the Bears, who also had no luck in signing him.

The second choice, HB Riley Smith from Alabama, did play two seasons for the club that drafted him, the Redskins, but his career was cut short by injury. The first five picks were all backs (Bill Shakespeare of Notre Dame by Pittsburgh, Iowa’s Dick Crayne by Brooklyn, and Jim Lawrence of TCU by the Cardinals). The first lineman chosen was tackle Joe Stydahar by the Bears, with the sixth overall selection, and he went on to a Hall of Fame career.


Including Stydahar (pictured at right), four of the players chosen in the 1936 draft ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The others were FB Tuffy Leemans of George Washington, taken in the second round (18th overall) by the Giants; end Wayne Millner of Notre Dame, picked by the Boston Redskins with the 65th overall choice in the eighth round; and Colgate G Dan Fortmann, another selectee of the Bears, taken in the ninth (and final) round as the 78th overall choice.

End Paul “Bear” Bryant of Alabama was selected by the Dodgers in the fourth round, but he passed up pro football for the more secure opportunity of becoming an assistant coach at the college level (he was offered $175 per game to play for Brooklyn). Of course, he would go on to have a long and outstanding career as a college head coach.

The last player chosen, G Phil Flanagan from Holy Cross, was taken by the Giants but played instead with the Boston Shamrocks of the rival AFL (second version). In total, 81 players were selected by the nine teams.

While the introduction of the draft didn’t have an immediate effect on the league’s competitive balance – the Eagles, for instance, again had the league’s worst record during the 1936 season – over time teams like Philadelphia and the Chicago Cardinals were able to contend for and win championships in the late 1940s, helped significantly by players obtained through the draft. It would become a pattern that other clubs would emulate in the decades that followed.