Sports' Forgotten Heroes

The podcast delves into the remarkable career of Mel Hein, a legendary figure in NFL history known for his exceptional skills as both a center and a linebacker. Celebrated as one of the greatest centers of all time, Hein is the only offensive lineman to ever win the NFL MVP award, a testament to his extraordinary impact on the game. He played 15 years with the New York Giants, earning accolades su...

Chuck Foreman was one of the NFL's most feared fullback's of the 1970s. In fact, he might have been the best fullback in the game during those years. Drafted in the 1973 first round by the Minnesota Vikings out of the University of Miami, Foreman was told by Vikings Head Coach Bud Grant that he would be the focal point of the Minnesota offense, but the way they would use him, despite the fact that...

In 1946, a new professional football league launched - The All America Football Conference (AAFC) and the strongest team created was the Cleveland Browns. It was filled with superstars and an eventual legend at coach - Paul Brown. In the backfield was another budding superstar, Marion Motley. Standing at 6-foot-1 and weighing 232-pounds was, by today's standards, not exactly HUGE. But, in 1946, 6-...

Fritz Pollard is not a name most football fans are familiar with. Yet, his place in NFL History is about as iconic as any. Pollard is the first African-American to coach and NFL team. To be fair, he was a co-head coach. In 1920, with the Akron Pros of the American Professional Football Association, the APFA, later to re-brand itself as the NFL, Pollard led the Pros to an 8-0-3 season and the APFA...

There was a time when  NFL  rosters were significantly smaller than they are today. Back in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, even into the 60s, teams did not carry as many players as they do today. Of course, less players means more playing time - and not just on one side of the line of scrimmage. In fact, most players played on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Not only that, several played...

Ace Parker was a terrific multi-sport star - especially football and baseball. Baseball, though, was his first love and he tried to make it as a Major League Baseball player with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1937 and 1938. However, as good as he was throughout his college career at Duke University and in the minor leagues, he just couldn't crack through only hitting .179 during his two seasons. H...

In 1920, the Negro National League started play and the historic Kansas City Monarchs took the field for the first time. Leading the way was a 5-foot-7 two-way ballplayer who was about to embark on a journey that didn't end until 1938 - Bullet Joe Rogan. What no one knew then was that Rogan was going to put up numbers that ultimately led him into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Rogan is...

The name "Wahoo Sam Crawford" might not sound familiar to many Major League Baseball fans. But, it's probably quite familiar to fans of the Detroit Tigers. Wahoo Sam played for the Tigers back in the early 1900s. He was a phenomenally good hitter. In fact, if not for Ty Cobb, one could argue that Wahoo Sam might be the greatest to ever play for the Tigers. He had a career batting average of .309 t...

Back in the early 1900s, the National League was the only game in town. It was Major League Baseball, thus the name the "Senior Circuit". In 1901, Ban Johnson, and others, joined the game with the American League and it was granted Major League status in 1903. Both leagues operated as separate entities, but met every year in the World Series. In 1913, the Federal League was a minor league, but it...

Jake Daubert was a star for the Brooklyn Robins and Brooklyn Dodgers during the early 1900s and finished his career with the Cincinnati Reds. He played during baseball's deadball era and was about as good as anyone. His play at first base was second-to-none and, at the plate, you would be hard-pressed to find many who could handle the bat as well as he did. In fact, when Daubert's career came to a...

The 1955 U.S. Open Golf Championship was supposed to be the crowning achievement to one of the greatest careers in the history of sports. Golf enthusiasts and sports fans all thought the U.S. Open, staged at San Francisco's Olympic Club, was a virtual lock for Ben Hogan to win. In fact, Hogan almost proved everyone to be right. The Hawk calculated what he needed to shoot to win on this "terror" of...

The name "Shoeless Joe Jackson" is one of the most famous in baseball history. A key figure to the dominant Chicago White Sox of the late 19-teens, Joe led the team to the World Series Championship in 1917 when he hit .304 in the 6-game series. However, we all know the story of what happened next. In 1919, the White Sox threw the Series against the Cincinnati Reds and a year later, despite batting...

Jim Bottomley played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1922 to 1933. During his 11 years with the Redbirds, Bottomley just might have been the best first baseman in the National League. If he wasn't you'd be hard-pressed to find another first baseman who was better. During that 11 year span, Bottomley hit .325, whacked 181 home runs and knocked in 1,105. In 1928, he won the National League MVP. Fou...

Sid Gordon broke into the Majors in 1941 with the New York "baseball" Giants, bounced back-and-forth between the minors, served for two years during World War II and then made it back to the big league club in 1946; and proceeded to put together a terrific career. In fact, from 1948 through 1952 he established himself as one of the game's best by averaging 27 home runs a year, over 97 RBI a year,...

He is the only quarterback - ever - to only play for 10 seasons and lead his team into the championship game every year of his career. He won the championship seven (7) times. And, yet, when the discussion about who is the greatest QB of all-time comes up, very few football fans mention the name Otto Graham. He played for the Cleveland Browns when they were "born" as an AAFC (All America Football...

In 1967, a new basketball league was born, the ABA (American Basketball Association) with teams in 11 cities including Indianapolis, Oakland, New Orleans, Denver and Dallas. The ABA also put a team in Pittsburgh, the Pipers. After a slow start, the Pipers got it going and twice won as many as 14 games in a row. In fact, the Pipers finished the season with a record of 54-24. They won the Eastern Co...

Steve Wright played 12 years in the NFL as an offensive lineman with the Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders and a two detour into the USFL with Oakland Invaders. His story is quire remarkable considering how he wound up a starter despite being undrafted out of the University of Northern Iowa. But his determination and persistence not only helped him make the Cowboys...

Art Ross is a true hockey legend. Not only was he a superb player before and during the formative years of the NHL, but he was also an innovator. In fact, many of Ross's innovations are still evident in today's game, beginning with the puck. But, it was on the ice where Ross made a name for himself. A tough and rugged defenseman, Ross was one of the top 2 or 3 players on the ice when hockey was in...

There have been so many dominant teams in the history of professional football and, in particular, teams with dominant defenses. In recent times, the 2007 New England Patriots who went 16-0 before losing in the Super Bowl. This year (the 2023 season), the Baltimore Ravens defense has been somewhat dominant, and their teams of the early 2000s were as tough as nails. Back in the 80s there were the C...

In the 1940s and into the 1950s, the NFL had a troubled franchise. Originally known as the Boston Yanks, the team played in Boston (with a slight detour in 1945) from 1944 through 1948. They relocated to New York for the 1949 season and renamed themselves the New York Bulldogs. In 1950, they called themselves the Yanks and after the 1951 season, they called it quits. Now, the NFL could not move fo...

Thanksgiving Day, 1924 . The recently-established tradition of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers football team hosting the Pennsylvania State Nittany Lions on the afternoon of the national autumnal holiday continues. Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer is sent to cover the Pitt-Penn State “Keystone Classic” of 1924; in so doing, he discovers a throughline of the football-on-Thanksgiving tradition...

The greatest players to have ever appeared in a Major League Baseball game are honored and immortalized in Cooperstown, New York at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Players like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson. Ted William and Joe DiMaggio. Mickey Mantle and Stan Musial. Of course there's Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Tom Seaver and more recently Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mariano Rivera. B...

In 1941, the USGA cancelled the U.S. Open because of World War II. But the strange thing about the cancellation is the fact that the USGA still staged a tournament, the Hale America National Open. Now, while it was moved from Interlachen in Minnesota to the new Ridgemoor Country Club just outside of Chicago, there were very few differences between the Hale America and a U.S. Open. Ridgemoor was an...

The CFL, Canadian Football League, launches its 2022 campaign on Thursday, June 9 when the Calgary Stampeders host the Montreal Alouettes. On Friday, June 10 the Winnipeg Blue Bombers start their journey to try and win a third-straight Grey Cup when they host the Ottawa Redblacks. Winnipeg has quite the history. They were the first western-based team to win the Cup when they topped Hamilton 18-12...

Sam Byrd had a bright future ahead of him in baseball. A solid hitter and an even better outfielder, he had one huge issue facing him. He played for the New York Yankees and there was guy named Babe Ruth ahead of him. So, Byrd took his seat on the bench and patiently waited for an opportunity. When he got a chance to play, he did well. But never enough to supplant Ruth. In his spare time, Byrd not...