Gridiron America Radio

The riveting story of the unprecedented merger between the well-established National Football League and the upstart American Football League, giving birth to the modern-day NFL. The merger also created the uniquely American spectacle called the Super Bowl, which transformed sports and culture in America. 

Howard Cosell was one of the most recognizable and controversial figures in American sports history. His colorful bombast, fearless reporting, and courageous stance on civil rights captured the attention of listeners everywhere. No mere jock turned "pretty-boy" broadcaster, the Brooklyn-born Cosell began as a lawyer before becoming a radio commentator. In "telling it like it is," he covered nearly...

In 1953, the city of Baltimore was awarded a new National Football League franchise. The team was nicknamed the Colts, the second pro football club to bear that name in a seven-year period. Earlier in 1947, a Baltimore Colts team was founded in the All-America Football Conference. Three years later, as part of the peace agreement between the AAFC and NFL, the Colts became an NFL member. But this v...

There have been quite a few CFL players to make their way to the NFL. Stars like Cameron Wake, Brandon Browner, and Joe Horn, in fact, all got their big breaks at the CFL (for the B.C. Lions, Calgary Stampeders, and Memphis Mad Dogs, respectively). There have also been a handful of NFL players who have taken their talents to Canada. One such player is Johnny Manziel, who, unfortunately, seems to h...

After a disappointing 1977 season, the '78 Steelers dominated the opposition, winning 14 game in the NFL's first 16 game regular season. Pittsburgh then dismantled the defending AFC champion Broncos in the first round of the playoffs before crushing divisional rival Houston in the AFC title game, 34-5. In Super Bowl XIII, Bradshaw, the 1978 NFL MVP, set a then Super Bowl record with 318 yards and...

Originally nicknamed by the media during the highlight film in 1978, the Dallas Cowboys, also known as America’s Team, stuck as The Voice of God opened with the nickname, and it continues to represent the team today. During the opening game of the 1979 season, the announcer for CBS called the Dallas Cowboys by their new nickname, and from that point on, it became part of the team as fans, announce...

Fritz Pollard grew up in Rogers Park, Illinois, a largely white suburb of Chicago. The seventh of eight children, young Fritz experienced racism first hand and learned from his family how to pick his battles and subdue his emotions in order to achieve his goals in a predominantly white world. A three-sport athlete at Lane Tech High, Pollard had notions of attending Dartmouth to follow in the foots...

Unless you’re a member of the 2009 Montreal Alouettes or a die hard fan, the mistake made in the Grey Cup game that year is what will be remembered by most who think about it. The city of Cleveland watched its pro sports teams suffer for 52 long, miserable years before its championship drought ended in 2016. Pins in the tragic roadmap of that journey include The Drive and The Fumble for the Browns...

A poignant documentary that chronicles the 1985 season of the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL, and of team owner John Bassett and his final battle with cancer. Had John Bassett been healthy one cannot but help but wonder how he would have countered Donald Trump's tremendous negative influence as he sought to move the league to the autumn and put the final nails in the coffin of a league that many sa...

In 1974 and most of 1975, the World Football League positioned itself as a rival of the National Football League. Though it didn't succeed in placing franchises throughout the world as they initially hoped (Honolulu being the most distant franchise from the Continental U.S.), the players and hardcore fans loved the game and the league. Through interviews with the executives, players and fans this...

On a football Sunday morning on what should have been the start of the CFL preseason for Scott and Greg, the pair sit down with Jack Gilden to discuss his book, "Collision of Wills", about the relationship of Johnny Unitas and Don Shula and the times they lived in. They discuss Jack's interviews with the Unitas family, Don Shula, Joe Namath and Earl Morrall, as well as the history of Baltimore foo...

The 14-minute piece takes an in-depth look at the unique and friendly feud that has fueled football fans in Ottawa for generations.  It’s a territorial rite of passage between those located in the South Side Stands and those in the North Side Stands at the grounds of Lansdowne Park. The piece weaves through the history and myth that surrounds the now epic chants that echo off each grandstand...

In many ways, the Bears embody and even define the NFL. Chicago is the second-oldest franchise in existence today. They are also one of the NFL's most decorated and storied franchises, having more retired numbers and Hall of Famers than any other team. From "The Monsters of the Midway" to "Sweetness" to "The Super Bowl Shuffle" to points beyond, this iconic franchise represents football in America...

Scott and Greg sit down with professional football historian and co-host of The World of Football podcast, Randy Snow and talk about the National Football League, Canadian Football League and Arena Football League moments he has shared with his children, and showing us how football has the power to bring families together with memories to last a lifetime. They also discuss Randy's love and long su...

For those players who remain, the scars still run deep when it comes to the infamous “Ice Bowl,” played December 31, 1967, between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. There are players even today who suffer the ravages of frostbite and lung damage from a game many of the players never thought should have been played. As one player said, “It was just too damn cold. Who plays football in that...

The story of the rise and fall of the United States Football League, focusing on two owners: John Bassett, who wanted the league to compete in the spring; and Donald Trump, who wanted to take on the NFL and play in the fall.

This documentary tells the story of the overnight relocation of the Baltimore Colts to the city of Indianapolis. It explores the reactions of the fans, the various actions and interviews with the teams owner and finally how the band kept the spirit of a professional football team alive until the arrival of the Baltimore Ravens in 1996.

On Saturday, December 24, 1977, The Oakland Raiders and the then-Baltimore Colts collided in what would go down in history as one of the most exciting and memorable games in professional football. In an AFC Divisional Playoff game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, the Raiders and the Colts slugged it out for nearly four hours. The contest would be decided in double-overtime, and would be forever r...

Wearing borrowed uniforms, practicing on obscure college campuses, and led by a former Marine Corps W.W. II fighter ace as commissioner, the American Football League (AFL) debuted in the Fall of 1960 to challenge the monopoly of the well-established National Football League. Within ten years it had won two Super Bowls and had forced a merger with its rival, splitting the NFL into the National and...

A bold challenge, a fearless experiment and ultimately, a spectacular failure. In 2001, sports entertainment titans Dick Ebersol and Vince McMahon launched the XFL. It was hardly the first time a league had tried to compete with the NFL, but the brash audacity of the bid, combined with the personalities and charisma of Ebersol and McMahon and the marketing behemoths of their respective companies -...

Paul Woods is a journalist, Canadian football historian and author of Bouncing Back: From National Joke to Grey Cup Champs , which chronicled the Toronto Argonauts winning the championship in 1983 after 31 years of futility and misery.  In this episode, Paul discusses with Scott and Greg the history of the Argonauts, including the John Candy years, as well their recent issues both on and off...

When it comes to great teams in Raiders history, many teams come to mind. Between the 70's and 80's, the Oakland Raiders were the winningest team in all of professional sports. However no team epitomized the Oakland Raiders quite like the team of 1976. No team was as crazy off the field, especially with their owner's approval. No team struck quite as much fear into opposing teams on the field. &nb...

Who better to talk about and teach about the legends and history of Notre Dame football than God himself? In this documentary are reflections on the careers of famous head coaches Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy, and its Heisman Trophy winning players. It also examines Notre Dame's rivalries with USC and Army and some of Notre Dame's greatest games.

What do Teddy Roosevelt, Knute Rockne, George Carlin, the Atomic Bomb, the Hail Mary Prayer, Marcia Brady’s broken nose and “American Pie” all have in common? The Forward Pass. As ubiquitous as it is now, throwing the football was once unimaginable. For the first four decades of football’s existence, the forward pass was illegal. However, with rising safety concerns surrounding the game of footbal...

The Edmonton Eskimos finished their season with a record of 14-4 (their best performance since 1989 in which they went 16-2). The Calgary Stampeders, the defending Grey Cup champions, finished with the same record as the Eskimos after the regular season. However, Edmonton clinched first place in the division (and a playoff bye) by virtue of defeating Calgary in two of three regular season contests...