When Arch Ward was the Chicago Tribune's sports editor, he found time to start or play a role in starting the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Golden Gloves boxing, the All-American Football Conference, and the College All-Star Game.
The man was a promoter who found ways to involve the public in his adventures, knowing their involvement would extend their relationship with the events. Ward started the Chicago Charities College All-Star game in 1934. The annual games continued until 1976, after which the NFL ended preseason All-Star games.
For decades, the College All-Star game signaled the start of a new football season. The game took the top college seniors from the previous season (and occasional minor league players), gathered them in Chicago for a few weeks of training, and had them play the defending NFL champs in the exhibition season opener.
Football's increased complexity, the potential for injuries, and the fact that the College All-Star game took most of the players selected in the top rounds of the draft away from their new teams made the game untenable.
An interesting aspect of the game in the early days was that fans nationwide voted the players onto the roster. The Chicago Tribune managed the process but encouraged newspapers and other organizations across the country to promote voting, and the local rags gathered and counted the ballots submitted to them before reporting the results to the Tribune for the nationwide tally.
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