When Football Was Football

Sports History Network
When Football Was Football

Each episode of “When Football Was Football” will take the listener back to the very early days of the National Football League. Your host, Joe Ziemba, will share a forgotten or lost story from one of the NFL’s two oldest teams: The Bears and the Cardinals. Team championships, individual exploits, or long-buried items of interest from the earliest years of the NFL will be dusted off and resurrected for the listener. Not for the football faint-of-heart since these programs will document when the struggling Bears nearly went out of business or when Cardinals’ players earned $15 a game and were proud of it! It’s NFL history—with a twist!

  1. UGLY PASSERS, BRICK WALLS, AND FEISTY CARDINALS!

    OCT 24

    UGLY PASSERS, BRICK WALLS, AND FEISTY CARDINALS!

    When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. EPISODE SUMMARY Since the Arizona Cardinals are the NFL’s oldest team, with roots extending back to 1899, there are many examples of unusual plays, strange accomplishments, and perhaps odd statistics! Most of this stuff has been relegated to history, and remains hidden on yellowed newspapers or dusty microfilm. In other words, once the game or experience is over, we’re likely never to hear about these occurrences again. As the months and years pass, the information becomes buried, if not simply forgotten. And many of these brief situations that were once in the spotlight soon completely fade, and probably deserve that fate! Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here. WHEN FOOTBALL WAS FOOTBALL BACKGROUND Each episode takes the listener back to the very early days of the National Football League. Author Joe Ziemba will share a forgotten or lost story from one of the NFL’s two oldest teams: The Bears and the Cardinals. Team championships, individual exploits, or long-buried items of interest from the earliest years of the NFL will be dusted off and resurrected for the listener. Not for the football faint-of-heart since these programs will document when the struggling Bears nearly went out of business or when Cardinals’ players earned $15 a game and were proud of it! It’s NFL history—with a twist!. See Joe's books below. Cadets, Canons, and Legends: The Football History of Morgan Park Military Academy When Football Was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL Music for the episode - https://www.purple-planet.com/

    22 min
  2. The NFL's Forgotten Gold Medalist!

    AUG 8

    The NFL's Forgotten Gold Medalist!

    When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. EPISODE SUMMARY As usual during the staging of the Summer Olympics, numerous stars are born, discovered, and revered forever based on their gold-medal winning performances. World-wide coverage of the numerous events is eagerly followed by millions and many of the champions quickly become household names. Recognition, riches, and honor quickly follow, although not necessarily in that order! But did you know that a member of the Chicago Cardinals football team was once an Olympic gold medal winner? Of course, you might think that this would certainly be the great Jim Thorpe, a Cardinal for just one game in 1928, since he won the gold medal in both the decathlon and the pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. But that would be too obvious… Later, halfback/sprinter Ollie Matson of the Cardinals grabbed both bronze and silver medals while representing the United States during the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. Lots of well-deserved medals for Ollie, but no gold… Yet there was one other Cardinal who achieved Olympic fame when he was the gold medalist in the decathlon at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Thousands cheered him, Knute Rockne once called him “the greatest,” but very few today have ever heard his name....... Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here. WHEN FOOTBALL WAS FOOTBALL BACKGROUND Each episode takes the listener back to the very early days of the National Football League. Author Joe Ziemba will share a forgotten or lost story from one of the NFL’s two oldest teams: The Bears and the Cardinals. Team championships, individual exploits, or long-buried items of interest from the earliest years of the NFL will be dusted off and resurrected for the listener. Not for the football faint-of-heart since these programs will document when the struggling Bears nearly went out of business or when Cardinals’ players earned $15 a game and were proud of it! It’s NFL history—with a twist!. See Joe's books below. Cadets, Canons, and Legends: The Football History of Morgan Park Military Academy When Football Was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL Music for the episode - https://www.purple-planet.com/

    20 min
  3. SHN Presents: This Day in Sports History - SHN Trailers

    JUN 26

    SHN Presents: This Day in Sports History - SHN Trailers

    When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. HIGHLIGHTED SHOW: THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY Relive the greatest moments in sports every day of the year. From the triumphs to the tragedies, the first to do it to the last time it happened, the unbelievable to the strange, This Day in Sports History is a 365-day journey remembering those significant events that made a lasting impact.  HOST: STEVE WHITE Steve White has spent most of his life behind a microphone. As a kid, he realized the power of the spoken word, hanging out with his dad while the pair talked to people around the world via ham radio. Later, Steve put that penchant for communication into practice and ventured into radio and TV. He worked for a few television stations in North Carolina doing sports reporting and anchoring before transitioning to voiceover in 2015. He’s voiced more than 80 audiobooks in a variety of genres. He’s never been much for awards, probably due to the fact he’s never won any but he loves the challenge of diving into new projects. His ‘This Day in Sports History’ evolved from a lifetime of watching, listening to, and going to ballgames, reading books, magazines, and newspaper articles about his favorite teams and sports heroes. It’s not only a labor of love but a voyage of discovery, finding those forgotten tidbits or fascinating things he never knew. Learn more about the show on the Sports History Network.

    4 min
  4. 120,000 Witness High School Football Game in 1937!!!

    APR 14

    120,000 Witness High School Football Game in 1937!!!

    When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. EPISODE SUMMARY On this episode of “When Football Was Football,” we’ll take a break from covering professional football and journey back to 1937 for a celebration of one of Chicago’s most prominent annual sporting events: the Prep Bowl. Each year, the high school season in the city would conclude with the enormously popular clash between the champions of the Chicago Catholic League and the Chicago Public League. Things have changed over the years, of course, but for decades the Prep Bowl easily garnered one of the largest attendances of any sporting competition in the United States. Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here. WHEN FOOTBALL WAS FOOTBALL BACKGROUND Each episode takes the listener back to the very early days of the National Football League. Author Joe Ziemba will share a forgotten or lost story from one of the NFL’s two oldest teams: The Bears and the Cardinals. Team championships, individual exploits, or long-buried items of interest from the earliest years of the NFL will be dusted off and resurrected for the listener. Not for the football faint-of-heart since these programs will document when the struggling Bears nearly went out of business or when Cardinals’ players earned $15 a game and were proud of it! It’s NFL history—with a twist!. See Joe's books below. Cadets, Canons, and Legends: The Football History of Morgan Park Military Academy When Football Was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL Music for the episode - https://www.purple-planet.com/

    23 min
  5. In The Beginning: An NFL Interview With Joseph T. Sternaman

    MAR 1

    In The Beginning: An NFL Interview With Joseph T. Sternaman

    When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. EPISODE SUMMARY And, you may ask, who is Joseph T. Sternaman? Sternaman was more commonly known as Joey Sternaman during his professional football playing days from 1922 through 1930. As such, Joey was actually the very first quarterback of the Bears when the team incorporated in Chicago in 1922. He was also the head coach of the Duluth Kelleys in 1923 as well as the player/owner/coach of the short-lived Chicago Bulls in 1926 when that team was a member of the original American Football League. And, for a short time, he was also a part-owner of the Chicago Bears! Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here. WHEN FOOTBALL WAS FOOTBALL BACKGROUND Each episode takes the listener back to the very early days of the National Football League. Author Joe Ziemba will share a forgotten or lost story from one of the NFL’s two oldest teams: The Bears and the Cardinals. Team championships, individual exploits, or long-buried items of interest from the earliest years of the NFL will be dusted off and resurrected for the listener. Not for the football faint-of-heart since these programs will document when the struggling Bears nearly went out of business or when Cardinals’ players earned $15 a game and were proud of it! It’s NFL history—with a twist!. See Joe's books below. Cadets, Canons, and Legends: The Football History of Morgan Park Military Academy When Football Was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL Music for the episode - https://www.purple-planet.com/

    18 min
  6. 1948: The Last Hurrah of the Chicago Cardinals

    FEB 4

    1948: The Last Hurrah of the Chicago Cardinals

    When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. NETWORK SPONSORS Row One - the vintage shop for sports history fans! EPISODE SUMMARY Cardinals’ fans are familiar with the long, sad story concerning the current championship dry spell for the club that has now stretched into its 76th year. That will be 76 years this fall without an NFL title, the longest such streak in the National Football League, as well as in all professional sports! On this episode of “When Football Was Football” here on the Sports History Network, we’ll travel back to 1948 when the Cardinals franchise achieved its most successful regular season. And, what a season it was! Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here. WHEN FOOTBALL WAS FOOTBALL BACKGROUND Each episode takes the listener back to the very early days of the National Football League. Author Joe Ziemba will share a forgotten or lost story from one of the NFL’s two oldest teams: The Bears and the Cardinals. Team championships, individual exploits, or long-buried items of interest from the earliest years of the NFL will be dusted off and resurrected for the listener. Not for the football faint-of-heart since these programs will document when the struggling Bears nearly went out of business or when Cardinals’ players earned $15 a game and were proud of it! It’s NFL history—with a twist!. See Joe's books below. Cadets, Canons, and Legends: The Football History of Morgan Park Military Academy When Football Was Football: The Chicago Cardinals and the Birth of the NFL Music for the episode - https://www.purple-planet.com/

    23 min
  7. SHN Presents: NO NONSENSE, OLD SCHOOL WEIGHTLIFTING HISTORY - SHN Trailers

    12/17/2023

    SHN Presents: NO NONSENSE, OLD SCHOOL WEIGHTLIFTING HISTORY - SHN Trailers

    NO NONSENSE, OLD SCHOOL WEIGHTLIFTING HISTORY is presented by the Sports History Network, the headquarters for sports yesteryear. ABOUT SHOW: My name is Mark Morthier, and I host yesterday’s Sports on the Sports History Network. As many of you know from reading my articles and listening to my podcasts, I am not only an avid weightlifter but a fan of the sport as well. I’m excited to share my newest adventure, a show dedicated to promoting weightlifting, while also looking back at some weightlifting history. I’ll share some of my own stories and interview weightlifters from both past and present. I competed in Olympic Weightlifting from 1981 to 1989 and powerlifting from 2011 to 2019. Although I wasn’t what one might call “a naturally gifted lifter,” I managed to clean & jerk 140 kilos/308 lbs at 179 lbs body weight. In my later years, I achieved a 600-pound deadlift and a 431-pound front squat in my mid-fifties. Although I was more successful in powerlifting, setting New Jersey and New York State records in Masters Competitions, I’ll always consider myself an Olympic Weightlifter. I’ve also written a book on weight training titled No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training, which is available on Amazon. NO NONSENSE, OLD SCHOOL WEIGHTLIFTING (Amazon affiliate link) I hope that you will enjoy the show, and please leave a comment or offer a suggestion. And if you’re an Olympic lifter, past or present, let me know if you’d like to set up an interview, and I’ll do my best to have you on the show. Stay strong and God bless!

    6 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Each episode of “When Football Was Football” will take the listener back to the very early days of the National Football League. Your host, Joe Ziemba, will share a forgotten or lost story from one of the NFL’s two oldest teams: The Bears and the Cardinals. Team championships, individual exploits, or long-buried items of interest from the earliest years of the NFL will be dusted off and resurrected for the listener. Not for the football faint-of-heart since these programs will document when the struggling Bears nearly went out of business or when Cardinals’ players earned $15 a game and were proud of it! It’s NFL history—with a twist!

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada