NFL History Facts.

Bo Jackson

Tampa Bay selected Auburn star Bo Jackson first overall in 1986, despite his warning that he would not play for the club. He declined to sign and chose the Kansas City Royals. The Los Angeles Raiders drafted him in the seventh round in 1987, opening the door to his two-sport professional career.

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The Philadelphia Eagles chose University of Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger with the first pick of the first NFL draft on February 8, 1936. They traded his rights to the Chicago Bears, but he never played in the league. The first Heisman Trophy winner was also a remarkable exception to the usual journey from college stardom to an NFL career.

Carl Lewis

Dallas used the 334th overall selection in the 1984 draft on Carl Lewis, hoping his speed could translate to wide receiver. He never reported to the Cowboys. Instead, he won four gold medals at that summer’s Los Angeles Olympics and ultimately collected nine Olympic golds over his career.

Leland Melvin

Leland Melvin was an 11th-round choice of the Detroit Lions in 1986. His later career took him to NASA, which selected him for astronaut training in 1998. He flew on STS-122 in 2008 and STS-129 in 2009—an extraordinary journey from a football draft to the International Space Station.

Kelvin Kirk

Wide receiver Kelvin Kirk was Pittsburgh’s choice at No. 487, the final selection in 1976. That was also the year Paul Salata began the “Mr. Irrelevant” celebration in Newport Beach. Kirk never played for the Steelers, but his selection started a tradition that gave the draft’s last player an unexpectedly festive spotlight.

An automobile showroom

Team representatives gathered at Ralph Hay’s Hupmobile automobile showroom in Canton, Ohio. Their organization was known as the American Professional Football Association before adopting the NFL name in 1922. Jim Thorpe became its first president. One of football’s most consequential meetings happened in a place built to sell cars.

Chicago Stadium

Bitter cold and snow prompted a move from Wrigley Field to an indoor arena. The Bears beat the Portsmouth Spartans 9–0 on December 18, 1932, using a shortened field and modified rules. The building had hosted a circus the previous week. This was playoff football in decidedly unusual surroundings.

Basketball sneakers

The Giants borrowed basketball shoes from Manhattan College to improve traction on the frozen Polo Grounds field. There were not enough pairs for everyone, so ends and backfield players wore them. New York scored four fourth-quarter touchdowns and won 30–13. The improvised footwear gave the game its lasting nickname.

Steelers and Eagles

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh pooled players for 1943 as World War II depleted NFL rosters. They played home games in both cities and finished 5–4–1. Their nickname blended Steelers and Eagles. The partnership lasted one season; Pittsburgh combined with the Chicago Cardinals in 1944 instead, producing a different temporary team.

Ernie Nevers

On November 28, 1929, Nevers supplied every point in the Cardinals’ 40–6 win over the Bears. He scored six touchdowns and added four extra-point conversions himself. It was an extraordinary combination of scoring duties: the same player provided both the touchdowns and the kicks that completed the team’s total.

Halfback Fred Gehrke

Rams halfback Fred Gehrke proposed the horn design and personally painted the team’s leather helmets after owner Dan Reeves approved it. He also took them home for touch-ups after games. The idea helped establish the helmet as a canvas for team identity, and Gehrke received the Hall of Fame’s Pioneer Award in 1972.

Moved them from the goal line to the back of the end zone

The NFL moved the goalposts from the goal line to the end line in 1974, adding the depth of the end zone to kicks from the same spot. It was part of a wider package of changes that also introduced a sudden-death overtime period for preseason and regular-season games.

Tom Tupa

Cleveland’s Tom Tupa scored the first successful NFL regular-season two-point conversion in Week 1 of 1994. The punter, backup quarterback and holder took the snap on a designed run rather than setting up a kick. The AFL had used two-point tries earlier, but that option disappeared at the 1970 merger before the NFL adopted it in 1994.

A snow-clearing tractor

With New England and Miami tied 0–0 late in the 1982 game, Mark Henderson drove a snow-clearing tractor onto the field and cleared a spot for kicker John Smith. Smith made a 33-yard field goal for a 3–0 Patriots win. The equipment operator became part of football lore in the game remembered as the Snowplow Game.

Returned an intercepted two-point attempt for two points

Atlanta led 28–27 after a late touchdown and tried for two more points. Berry intercepted the conversion pass and returned it 99 yards for two Kansas City points instead. That flipped the lead to 29–28, and the Chiefs ran out the clock. Berry had already returned another interception for a touchdown earlier in the game.

Ebbets Field

Brooklyn’s football Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 23–14 at Ebbets Field. NBC carried the game on its experimental New York station, W2XBS, using just two cameras. Some viewers watched at the World’s Fair. Long before elaborate replay booths, this small production opened a new chapter in the NFL’s television story.

Heidi

On November 17, 1968, NBC switched many viewers from the Jets–Raiders AFL game to Heidi with 65 seconds remaining. Oakland then scored twice and won 43–32. Fans who lost the football broadcast missed the comeback, and their angry calls helped make the interruption one of television’s most famous sports mishaps.

CBS and NBC

CBS and NBC both televised the Packers–Chiefs championship game in January 1967. CBS had the NFL television package, while NBC carried the AFL. The shared broadcast reflected the two-league arrangement behind the new championship. Green Bay won 35–10 in a game officially billed then as the AFL–NFL World Championship Game.

A Super Ball

Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt associated the championship’s name with the Super Balls his children played with. He used Super Bowl during the 1966 merger discussions and even wrote that the nickname could be improved. The first game’s official title remained AFL–NFL World Championship Game, but Hunt’s shorter suggestion quickly caught on.

A napkin

Oscar Riedener sketched the trophy’s basic design on a napkin during a meal with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. Tiffany made the championship trophy for the first Super Bowl in 1967. The familiar name came later: the trophy was named for Vince Lombardi before Super Bowl V, following the legendary coach’s death.