Gridiron America Radio

This documentary tells the story of the moment when a film producer christened the Dallas Cowboys "America's Team," setting a decades-long debate over whether or not the franchise deserves that lofty designation. It details America's obsession with the Cowboys and the team's rise to mythic levels. With the disappearance of Western icons such as John Wayne, America was looking for new heroes and found them in the team with the blue star on their helmets. The one-hour show features interviews with former Cowboys players such as Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Drew Pearson, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and NFL Films producer Bob Ryan – the man behind the historic nickname – each reflecting on the cultural significance of the Cowboys in America and how the team represents the entire nation.

Prior to the 1967 NFL season, the state of Louisiana did not have a football team. That the city of New Orleans was granted a team was due, in large part, to local sports entrepreneur Dave Dixon, who had petitioned for a permanent team to be assigned to the city with 5 years of exhibition games — which regularly sold out the 80,000 seat Tulane stadium. At the time the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL) were in the process of merging, pending congressional approval. What originated as the brainchild of Dixon was brought to life in a backroom deal between Congressman Hale Boggs, Senator Russell Long, and NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, which effectively finalized the merger between the AFL and the NFL — and thus the New Orleans Saints were born. Since then, the legacy was losing and near loss, as a hurricane in 2005 almost destroy city, but not its soul. However, in 2006 the losing ended with one blocked punt and since then the soul of city, in the eyes of many, was reborn into a city of winners and finally, in 2009, champions.

In the first of what we hope is many Sports History Network and Canadian Football Podcast Network crossover events, "Super Fan" Mike Smith-Knutsen, the unofficial Edmonton Elks historian and co-host of The Turf District podcast, joins Scott and Greg to talk the history of the legendary franchise from its early days to its 21st Century rebranding. We talk about legends and barrier breaking players like Normie Kwong and Warren Moon, the history of Commonwealth Stadium, the new name of the team, and much more! And though the old team name is retired, we could not but help at the end to share with you one of the catchiest football marches ever heard in North America.

Not only are the Packers the only fan-owned team in any of North America’s major pro sports leagues, but Green Bay—population 104,057—is also the smallest city with a big-time franchise. The Packers are, in other words, unlikely candidates to be pro football's preeminent team. And yet nobody in the NFL has won more championships. The story of Titletown, USA, is the greatest story in sports. This documentary chronicles the what the team team means to its town and town, and a fan base. No other team in pro sports is so bound to the place that gave birth to it. Here is the continuing legacy of the Packers and of Green Bay—from the days of the French fur traders who settled on the shores of La Baie in the seventeenth century, to the team’s pursuit of its fourteenth NFL championship in its second century.

Once you get to know the nine teams of the CFL, you quickly realize that not only does the league have a lot of moxie, but they have some great personalities and characters. For instance, there is Joe Kapp and Angelo Mosca, fierce competitors on and even off the field. Who can forget that time the geriatric hall of famers exchanged punches at a charity event, the incident of which was fortunately caught on camera. For every CFL fan there is a personality they either love or hate, like Henry Burris, Leo Cahill and the all time winningest coach Wally Buono. 

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 every major sports story for three decades, from the travails of Muhammad Ali to the tragedy at Munich. Featuring a sprawling cast of athletes such as Jackie Robinson, Sonny Liston, Don Meredith, and Joe Namath, Howard Cosell also re-created the behind-the-scenes story of that American institution, Monday Night Football. Cosell's endless complexities are brilliantly explored in this haunting work that reveals as much about the explosive commercialization of sports as it does about a much-neglected media giant who should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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 venture failed and the franchise was disbanded after the 1950 season.  However, Baltimore was presented with a second chance for an NFL team three seasons later when the Dallas Texans franchise was cancelled by the league. NFL Commissioner Bert Bell challenged the city to sell 15,000 season tickets within six weeks. The successful sale took just over four weeks and, on January 23, 1953, Carroll Rosenbloom became the principal owner of the new Baltimore Colts. In 1954, Weeb Ewbank was named the Colts' head coach and he began a steady building program that put his team over .500 for the first time in 1957. The Colts didn't have another losing season for the next 14 years. Powered by a sensational young quarterback, Johnny Unitas, and a strong supporting cast that included such future Pro Football Hall of Famers as Artie Donovan, Gino Marchetti, Raymond Berry, Lenny Moore and Jim Parker, the Colts won NFL championships in both 1958 and 1959 and again in 1968. The 1958 NFL title clash against the New York Giants, played before the largest television audience ever up to that time, did much to increase fan enthusiasm for pro football. With Unitas craftily engineering long drives that led to the tying field goal and winning touchdown, the Colts won 23-17 in overtime. Both the Colts and Ewbank were involved in a second game 10 years later that would share ranking as a pivotal game in creating far-reaching fan enthusiasm. The game was Super Bowl III and the Ewbank-led New York Jets stunned the heavily-favored Colts 16-7. Under Don Shula, who replaced Ewbank in 1963, the Colts won NFL Western conference championships in 1964 and 1968. Shula moved to Miami in 1970 but the Colts, who had moved to the new American Football Conference at the time of the merger, won the first AFC Eastern division title and Super Bowl V. Robert Irsay, who acquired the Los Angeles Rams franchise in 1972, engineered an historic trade of teams with Carroll Rosenbloom that year. Twelve years later on March 28, 1984, Irsay moved the Colts to Indianapolis, where they now play in Lucas Oil Stadium. 

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 have blown his shot at football redemption in the CFL. The players in this list, however, are unlike Manziel, have been the tops in both leagues.

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 four touchdowns in Pittsburgh's 35-31 victory over the Cowboys in a matchup that determined who would be forever known as the "Team of the 70's."  CFL America Radio has been recognized as one of the Top 15 Canadian Football League Podcasts by Feedspot @ www.feedspot.com

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, announcers, and even team members, used the nickname. Coach Tom Landry wasn’t thrilled by the new nickname for his team and felt strongly that the name would push their opponents to play harder. However, as strongly as he felt against the name, he really had no choice. The nickname for the Dallas Cowboys did not come without controversy, and even today, teams across the league battle it out to determine who America’s Team really is. CFL America Radio has been recognized as one of the Top 15 Canadian Football League Podcasts by Feedspot @ www.feedspot.com

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 footsteps of his older brother Leslie. But fate intervened. During a stopover in Providence in January 1913, Fritz had his first view of the Van Wickle gates sparkling in the sun; his career at Brown had begun. During the 1915 and 1916 Brown football seasons, Pollard achieved legendary status, compiling “firsts” as frequently as he gained first downs. The first black to play in the Rose Bowl (1916), Fritz was also named to Walter Camp’s All America Team, and was the first African American in Camp’s backfield. Nicknamed “the human torpedo,” Pollard had almost single-handedly defeated Yale and Harvard (Brown’s first win over the Crimson) in 1916. The Bruins were the first college team to defeat both Ivy powerhouses in the same season. For his exploits at Brown, Pollard was elected to the National College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 — the first African American ever chosen. As a professional player, Pollard continued to garner “firsts” in spite of the overt racism of the period. He was among the first African-Americans in the APFL and NFL leagues and, along with Jim Thorpe, was the major gate attraction. A Black man playing football in a predominantly white environment was a novelty in the 1920s. Fritz Pollard was the first African American to play on a championship team (1920), as well as the first Black quarterback (1923) and coach (1919). Pollard’s efforts on behalf of African American athletes were Herculean. He organized Black teams such as the Chicago Black Hawks and the Brown Bombers in order to promote integrated competition in professional football. A true renaissance man, Pollard broke barriers of every sort — in business and the entertainment industry, as well as in sports. At various times, he ran a newspaper, an investment advisory firm, and a coal company. His outgoing, engaging personality smoothed many a pathway in the business and professional worlds, and even led to some dabbling in politics.

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; The Shot and The Decision for the Cavaliers and The Catch and a couple of curses for the baseball team. They’re the kinds of things that can haunt teams and cities, that worm their way into the psyche of fans and sometimes even the teams themselves.  A similar moment was created for Riders fans on Nov. 29, 2009. We’ll probably always think of The 13th Man when we look back to that game but when you look at it from the Alouettes’ perspective, that’s somewhat unfair. As then-Als head coach Marc Trestman explains there were 100 other moments in that classic of a game that helped shape the outcome and it wasn’t just the one that lives forever in highlight packs.

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 say could have been successful had smart men like Bassett had more influence and been the guiding force.

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 documentary chronicles the short-lived professional league that is mostly forgotten by casual football fans.