A Quarterback Duel of a Different Nature (Running in the 70s)

In 1972, the NFL got a chance to see a quarterback duel of a different nature, one the likes of which the league, at least after 1950, had not previously seen. The teams involved were the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, two long-time division rivals from the old Black and Blue Division, otherwise known … Read more

From Okinawa to Wrigley Field: WWII Vets Outflank Halas!

As we celebrate our first anniversary of “When Football Was Football” on the Sports History Network, we can look back at a wide variety of episodes from the golden days of football in the Chicago area. While we’ve covered topics such as the first-ever indoor football games held in Chicago, the individual heroics of players … Read more

Three Unique Chicago Bears: John “Bull” Doehring, Lloyd “Shorty” Burdick, and George Trafton

a trio of players from the Chicago Bears that you may have never heard about. After all, they played nearly a century ago and except for one, never received much public–or lasting-acclaim. Throughout the years, the National Football League has seen its share of rogues, complainers, whiners, and personality problems among its players…but we’ll just … Read more

Bears Vs. Packers History: The Story of the First-Ever Meeting

In the long, long history of the National Football League, one rivalry usually grabs your interest immediately: the Bears and the Packers! Some even think that it is the oldest rivalry in the league and we’ll talk about that in a moment as well.  The Bears vs. Packer history runs deep. However, the focus of … Read more

Was Paddy Driscoll the First Superstar of the NFL?

As kids, we all looked up to our favorite athletic heroes. After all, they were taller than us, so looking up at them, was a realistic requirement as well as a figure of speech. In this episode of “When Football Was Football” we’ll look back at the life and career of a pro football hall … Read more