Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss why the 1905 Army-Navy game moved from Philadelphia to Princeton, why it returned in 1906, and what became of two key decision makers.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss how the markings on football fields changed over time, particularly the numbers that identify the locations on the field.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss the life and times of Eddie Eagan, a sometime Yale football player who won gold medals in the Summer and Winter Olympics.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss Gene Roberts’ career, a player who set a record or three that may never be broken, having led the NCAA, NFL, and the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (Canada East pre-CFL) in scoring in particular seasons.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss the origins of pass defenses, and specifically, whether man-to-man or zone defense came first. The answer might surprise you.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss why end zones were first decorated in 1927, the originator of one design, and his younger brother, who made another important contribution to the game. The younger brother also played in a game against Carlisle in 1912, which is how Jim Thorpe literally enters the picture.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss the origins of football’s doinks, and the posters that preceded it. We cover the use of the work doink in American newspapers up to the point the John Madden applies it to kicked balls hitting the goal posts and bouncing the wrong way.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss the first Midwestern football game, which differs from the story as normally told. The Chicago Football Club, comprised largely of English immigrants, played college teams beginning in 1875, but you likely will not guess which school they played.

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Watch or listen to the podcast here or on other podcast feeds. You can read the original Tidbit below.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss the first TD pass into the end zone, which followed rule changes in 1912. Several games in New England were candidates, but only one included a confirmed pass over the goal line.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss a 1939 game during which Notre Dame switched jerseys at halftime. We cover the history of jersey colors, why the color traditions and rules changed, and Darin’s possible role in a high school rule change.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss football’s first championship game, for which the teams were determined based on their standings in the 1881 season. It was also the last game played before they instituted the points-based scoring systm.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss the history of goal posts, particularly several key changes in their location and design. Harvard comes into play for one key redesign and our neighbors to the north gave us the fork or slingshot design most fields use today.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss the early history of Asian and Pacific Islander players in American football. We talk in detail about Walter Achiu and his journey from Honolulu to Dayton, which led him to become the first AAPI player in the NFL in 1926.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss how football fields came to be 100 yards long and 160 feet wide. It mostly results from the Anglo-Saxons measuring their fields based on furlongs, and early 1600s system of measuring furlongs using chains, with a few twists and turns along the way.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss a collection of former Yale stars who played a game in celebration of Yale’s bicentennial in 1901. Some were past their prime, but the number of All-American players on the squad made it the most accomplished football team ever to take the field.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss the life and story of Johnny Poe, one of six Poe brothers who played for Princeton. Johnny took an unusual path, deciding against a life in business or the law, and instead chose a life of adventure, which led to his death in battle.

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Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss the evolution of safety standards for player equipment. The focus of football early rules was the protection other players on the field. Then, a shift occurred in which the equipment standards protected the players wearing the equipment.

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I joined Nathan Sager of Hamilton (ON), 790 RISP, and his Substack to discuss How Football Came To Pass, though we also ventured into NIL’s impact on college football and the upcoming CFL rule changes.

It’s a fun listen, which you enjoy directly from his Substack or using one of the many podcast services linked on his page. In addition, Nathan provides an written summary of the podcast, so check that out so you know what’s coming.

How did the forward pass begin and why did they struggle throwing the ball for a decade? Find your answers by clicking on the book.

Pigskin Dispatch Podcast’s Darin Hayes and I discuss an important transition in the development of footballs; the point when manufacturers introduced flush valves that allowed balls to be inflated without unlacing the ball. We cover a couple of funny stories and may provoke a thought or two.

Watch or listen to the podcast here or on other podcast feeds. You can read the original Tidbit below.

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