Today's Tidbit... Ripley’s Thoughts on Football, Believe It or Not

Robert Ripley published his first Believe It or Not cartoon covering the weird and wonderful in 1918 and was not yet famous when he put pen to paper to give his take on football history.

In the cartoon below, Ripley covers:

• Tandem blocking – stacking blockers in the backfield before the seven men on the line of scrimmage rule came into effect

• Pulling, pushing, hurdling, and assisting – made famous by Harold Weeks of Columbia, who leaped over the line striking defenders feet first

• Sole leather helmets and nose guards – sole leather is a hard substance, but not as unyielding as plastic helmets and face masks

• Punting – made more healthy thanks to the roughing the fullback / punter rule

Ripley, Robert, 'The Rough Old Day,' Spokesman-Review (Spokane), December 7, 1919.

Ripley provided commentary on the old days versus the new while pointing out the competitiveness of some smaller colleges in 1919. Of course, of the six schools mentioned, only one plays FCS today, and another dropped football. (Click to enlarge the article.)

What would Ripley think about today’s game? Would he believe it or not?

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