Check out this image from the 1904 Mythical National College Championship. No one could really agree on how the teams were selected, which is why it is called mythical. On the official record books Michigan, Minnesota, and Penn State were considered co-champions. Everyone however believed that Penn state really had to prove themselves in this game played @ Harvard in their brand new stadium. The debate rages as to who the true champions were that year.
However, the point I am making is where football got the name “gridiron”. Take a very close look at the field in 1904. Notice anything different? Yup, it is an actual grid of squares. The game was primarily a more organized version of rugby, and those grids really meant something. American Football consisted of a lot of blocking, tackling, and driving the ball forward inch by inch, where each grid square obtained was considered a major victory. The forward pass was not even really a thing yet. It was a a slug fest, brute strength of a team pushing forward to get to the next square on the field.
Well, I write this because that is exactly how today felt. Football in 1904. Pushing my way through, driving bare knuckled through grass and mud to carve out one more day on my 365 list.
Guy Reams (217)
365 Member
