Pigskin Dispatch

About Pigskin Dispatch

The host of the podcast is Darin Hayes who hails from Northwest Pennsylvania. The area is in the center of an NFL triangle approximately 100 miles away from Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

This dynamic helped to ingrain football into the fabric of the region. Darin played football as a youth and then officiated on the high school gridiron for almost 3 decades! 

His love of the game has spurned him to promote the positive aspects of football and preserve the game’s history with this podcast and his websites PigskinDispatch.com and CleteMarxComics.com.

Darin Hayes - Pigskin Dispatch Host

I grew up in North Western PA (still live there) and my earliest memories are in the early 70’s watching Steeler’s games with my Dad and Grandfather. The ’70’s Steelers had finally given some redemption for my Dad and Gramps after the longevity of suffering through some pretty terrible Steelers seasons in an area of the country that is filled with Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills fans along with those of  the Steelers, and that was my hook for football.

I loved watching High School, college and Pro football and even played a bit as a youngster. After college I still had the bug so I got involved in officiating HS football for 27 years. While still officiating I wrote for a couple of officiating websites and really got enamoured in the history of the game and it’s rules. This led me to May of 2020 starting PigskinDispatch.com to help give recognition to the good folks of football and also to preserve the history of the game.

What This Podcast Brings to the Table

The Pigskin Daily History Dispatch Podcast takes the listener through the historical events, people, inventions and plays that had some significance to the game of football on the date discussed.

We try to cover every angle, and look in every nook and cranny to bring these yester-year gridiron nuggets from all levels of American football all over the globe to help tell the story of American football. Check out our websites PigskinDispatch.com & CleteMarxComics.com for more positive football entertainment. So hold on as we are going to go no-huddle and throw quick slants to bring you the Pigskin Daily History Dispatch Podcast!

We present the 1976 Pittsburgh Panthers as national champions and a remarkable, rapid rebuild under coach Johnny Majors, led by Heisman winner Tony Dorsett. I speak with author David Finoli about his book, 1976 National Champion Pitt Panthers: Miracle on Cardiac Hill. We recount the team’s rise from a one‑win program to national prominence and...
Join us as Scott Perry returns to the podcast for a deep dive into the fascinating history of the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans. Scott argues that despite the move from Texas to Tennessee, the franchise possesses an unbroken identity that shapes everything we see on the field today. Scott frames the conversation around his...
Ed Kleese joins us once again as we present predictions for Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season and provide picks both straight up and against the point spread. I am 21- 11 straight up, and Ed leads 18- 14 against the spread. We proceed game by game and discuss our differing views on several...
Week two of the 2026 NFL season was manifestly momentous and historically significant, and I convey that central observation without equivocation. I was joined by Ed Kleese as we cataloged an array of notable milestones, among them Devin Lloyd’s exceedingly rare single-game compilation of a sack, multiple interceptions, and a touchdown; Patrick Mahomes’ ascension to...
We highlight Army’s back-to-back Heisman winners, Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, as the central subject. We explain how their teams dominated college football during World War II and in the immediate postwar years. We note that the 1944 team went 9-0 and won a national title while holding opponents to seven points or fewer, and...
We state the central fact: Army beat Navy 23 to 7 on December 2, 1944, ending Navy’s five‑year streak and cementing Army’s dominance in the wartime years. We describe how Army, led by Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, outscored opponents 504 to 35 and began a 32‑game unbeaten run. We note the game’s wartime setting...
I state that the Denver Broncos underwent a decisive transformation into a winning franchise, with 1976 serving as the pivotal turning point. I recount the team’s early struggles in the 1960s and early 1970s, when losses were frequent and the club lacked major achievements. I describe how the franchise rose to prominence by winning the...
We commence with our Week Two 2026 NFL selections, in which we undertake the task of picking every game and adjudicating outcomes both straight-up and against the spread. I, Darren Hayes, and my colleague Ed Cleese articulate rapid, sixty-second appraisals for each of the sixteen contests and embrace a disciplined method of record-keeping. We recapitulate...
We open by noting that Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season produced 791 points, tying the league record set in 2012. My co-host and I examine the many record-setting performances and notable statistics from the weekend. We detail high scoring affairs, rare final scores, and individual milestones, including the Bears’ 59-37 victory and Kenneth...
We state that the first clearly documented use of numbers on the fronts of football jerseys occurred on September 15, 1928, when the Presidio team in San Francisco wore front numbers. I explain that teams had used numbers on their backs since the early 1900s, but front numbering did not become common until that Presidio...

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