144-599: Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. After playing college football at Purdue , Dawson began his NFL career in 1957, spending three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and two with
288-403: A halftime period, and the first and third quarters are followed by a short break. Before the game starts, the referee and each team's captain meet at midfield for a coin toss . The visiting team can call either "heads" or "tails"; the winner of the toss chooses whether to receive or kick off the ball or which goal they wish to defend. They can defer their choice until the second half. Unless
432-401: A 10-yard-long chain between them, are used to measure for a first down. The chain crew stays on the sidelines during the game, but if requested by the officials they will briefly bring the chains on to the field to measure. A typical chain crew will have at least three people—two members of the chain crew will hold either of the two sticks, while a third will hold the down marker. The down marker,
576-525: A PAT attempt or successful field goal, the scoring team must kick the ball off to the other team. A safety is scored when the ball carrier is tackled in the carrier's own end zone. Safeties are worth two points, which are awarded to the defense. In addition, the team that conceded the safety must kick the ball to the scoring team via a free kick . Football games are played on a rectangular field that measures 120 yards (110 m) long and 53 + 1 ⁄ 3 yards (48.8 m) wide. Lines marked along
720-531: A champion. In 1952 , Layne led the Lions to their first NFL Championship in 17 years, and then did so again in 1953 for back-to-back league titles. They fell short of a three-peat in 1954 when they lost 56–10 to Cleveland Browns in the NFL championship game , a loss which Layne explained by saying, "I slept too much last night." In 1955 , the team finished last in their conference and Walker surprisingly retired at
864-453: A field goal instead. A group of officials, the chain crew, keeps track of both the downs and the distance measurements. On television, a yellow line is electronically superimposed on the field to show the first down line to the viewing audience. There are two categories of kicks in football: scrimmage kicks, which can be executed by the offensive team on any down from behind or on the line of scrimmage, and free kicks. The free kicks are
1008-457: A group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they could now hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, in a game between Yale and Princeton, both teams used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records. Each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0–0 tie. This "block game" proved extremely unpopular with both teams' spectators and fans. A rule change
1152-551: A half-century. As a sophomore in 1954 , Dawson's first as the Boilermakers ' quarterback, he was the NCAA 's leader in pass efficiency, while also playing defense and serving as the team's kicker. Behind a strong offensive line, he threw four touchdown passes in a 31–0 victory over Missouri , then later engineered a huge upset of Notre Dame , which had entered the contest on a 13-game winning streak. During three seasons (1954–1956) with
1296-690: A hoax, particularly because the quote was never published at the time, over the next half-century after this trade, the Lions had the sixth lowest winning percentage of any team in the NFL. The Lions have had multiple consecutive losing seasons and have been swept by division rivals constantly, and are 3–13 in postseason appearances since their 1957 championship, the worst record of any team; their three playoff wins were over Dallas in 1991 , and Los Angeles and Tampa Bay in 2023 . They have played in only two NFC Championship games since their 1957 championship, in 1991 and 2023 , with both being losses. In 2008 ,
1440-570: A knee injury suffered in the season's second game. The injury was at first feared to be season-ending, but after missing five games, Dawson went on to lead the Chiefs to road playoff victories over both the defending Super Bowl champion New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders . He then capped his year with MVP accolades in Super Bowl IV , the last game ever played by an American Football League team. In
1584-533: A large stick with a dial on it, is flipped after each play to indicate the current down and is typically moved to the approximate spot of the ball. The chain crew system has been used for over 100 years and is considered an accurate measure of distance, rarely subject to criticism from either side. Football is a full-contact sport, and injuries are relatively common. Most injuries occur during training sessions, particularly ones that involve contact between players. To try to prevent injuries, players are required to wear
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#17328695745901728-408: A long circumference of 28 to 28 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches (71 to 72 cm), and a short circumference of 21 to 21 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (53 to 54 cm). In college and high school play the ball has a long axis of 10 + 7 ⁄ 8 to 11 + 7 ⁄ 16 inches (27.6 to 29.1 cm), a long circumference of 27 + 3 ⁄ 4 to 28 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches (70 to 72 cm), and
1872-420: A minimum of 10 feet (3.0 m) on high school fields. Goal posts are padded at the base, and orange ribbons are normally placed at the tip of each upright as indicators of wind strength and direction. The football itself is a prolate spheroid leather ball, similar to the balls used in rugby or Australian rules football . To contain the compressed air within it, a pig's bladder was commonly used before
2016-528: A missed extra point. Prior to and during his sophomore year, he spent eight months in the Merchant Marine , serving with his friend Doak Walker. He missed the first six games of the season, and was replaced by Jack Halfpenny . The last game he missed was the team's only loss, to Rice, by one point. Texas went 10–1, won the Southwest Conference, and despite playing only half a season, Layne again made
2160-533: A missed extra point. After coming back once against Walker's number-8 SMU , Texas again found itself behind late in the game. Layne engineered a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that would have tied the game, but kicker Frank Guess pushed the extra point wide and the Longhorns lost 14–13. They fell to eighth, and finished behind SMU in the Southwest Conference, but gained an invitation to the Sugar Bowl , where Layne and
2304-496: A modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association , although Yale did not join until 1879. Yale player Walter Camp , now regarded as the "Father of American Football", secured rule changes in 1880 that reduced the size of each team from 15 to 11 players and instituted the snap to replace the chaotic and inconsistent scrum . While the game between Rutgers and Princeton
2448-518: A nightly basis but would still report for KMBC during the Chiefs football season and would fill in when other anchors were on leave. From 1977 to 2001, Dawson hosted HBO's Inside the NFL . He also worked as an analyst for NBC 's AFC coverage from 1977 to 1982. From 1985 to 2017, Dawson was the color analyst for the Chiefs' radio broadcast team. In 2012, Dawson was honored with the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award presented by
2592-428: A pass hits the ground without a player having caught it. A forward pass can be legally attempted only if the passer is behind the line of scrimmage; only one forward pass can be attempted per down. As in rugby, players can also pass the ball backwards at any point during a play. In the NFL, a down also ends immediately if the runner's helmet comes off. The offense is given a series of four plays, known as downs . If
2736-583: A player being paid to participate in a game of American football , although many athletic clubs in the 1880s offered indirect benefits, such as helping players attain employment, giving out trophies or watches that players could pawn for money, or paying double in expense money. Despite these extra benefits, the game had a strict sense of amateurism at the time, and direct payment to players was frowned upon, if not prohibited outright. Over time, professional play became increasingly common, and with it came rising salaries and unpredictable player movement, as well as
2880-427: A quarter ends, play continues until the down is completed. If certain fouls are committed during play while time has expired, the quarter may be extended through an untimed down . Games last longer than their defined length due to play stoppages—the average NFL game lasts slightly over three hours. Time in a football game is measured by the game clock. An operator is responsible for starting, stopping and operating
3024-456: A rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense , the team with possession of the oval-shaped football , attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or throwing it , while the defense , the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance the ball at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over
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#17328695745903168-494: A round ball. An 1875 Harvard–Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two Princeton athletes who were impressed by it. They introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to "selling refrigerators to Eskimos ". Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Columbia then agreed to intercollegiate play using a form of rugby union rules with
3312-713: A season of minor league ball for the Lubbock Hubbers baseball team of the Class C West Texas–New Mexico League . He went 6–5 with a 7.29 ERA, and had bids from the New York Giants , the Boston Red Sox , and the St. Louis Cardinals to join their staffs, but he preferred to go to the National Football League , where he could play immediately rather than grind out several years in the minor-league system. Bold means "active" record; as
3456-436: A secondary signal. Women can serve as officials; Sarah Thomas became the NFL's first female official in 2015. The seven officials (of a standard seven-man crew; lower levels of play up to the college level use fewer officials) on the field are each tasked with a different set of responsibilities: Another set of officials, the chain crew , are responsible for moving the chains. The chains, consisting of two large sticks with
3600-403: A separate sport from rugby, and the resulting five-yard lines added to the field to measure distances made it resemble a gridiron in appearance. Other major rule changes included a reduction of the field size to 110 by 53 + 1 ⁄ 3 yards (100.6 m × 48.8 m) and the adoption of a scoring system that awarded four points for a touchdown, two for a safety and a goal following
3744-574: A set of equipment. At a minimum players must wear a football helmet and a set of shoulder pads , but individual leagues may require additional padding such as thigh pads and guards, knee pads, chest protectors, and mouthguards . Most injuries occur in the lower extremities, particularly in the knee, but a significant number also affect the upper extremities. The most common types of injuries are strains , sprains , bruises , fractures , dislocations , and concussions . Bobby Layne Robert Lawrence Layne (December 19, 1926 – December 1, 1986)
3888-410: A short circumference of 20 + 3 ⁄ 4 to 21 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (53 to 54 cm). Football games last for a total of 60 minutes in professional and college play and are divided into two halves of 30 minutes and four quarters of 15 minutes. High school football games are 48 minutes in length with two halves of 24 minutes and four quarters of 12 minutes. The two halves are separated by
4032-416: A touchdown , and five for a goal from the field . Additionally, tackling below the waist was legalized, and a static line of scrimmage was instituted. Despite these new rules, football remained a violent sport. Dangerous mass-formations like the flying wedge resulted in serious injuries and deaths. A 1905 peak of 19 fatalities nationwide resulted in a threat by President Theodore Roosevelt to abolish
4176-463: A winning record, prompting speculation that Manning may have succeeded in lifting the curse. The following season the Lions won their first NFC North title, their first divisional title since 1993. On January 14, 2024, the Lions won their first playoff game since 1992 against the Los Angeles Rams and former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford . The Lions then won a divisional round game against
4320-460: Is a sport in which two competing teams vie for control of a ball, which can be kicked through a set of goalposts or run into the opponent's goal area to score points. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6, 1869 , between Rutgers and Princeton , two college teams. They consisted of 25 players per team and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with
4464-425: Is called on the offense. There are two main ways the offense can advance the ball: running and passing . In a typical play, the center passes the ball backwards and between their legs to the quarterback in a process known as the snap . The quarterback then either hands the ball off to a running back, throws the ball, or runs with it. The play ends when the player with the ball is tackled or goes out-of-bounds or
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4608-437: Is caught or recovered behind the line of scrimmage. If it is touched or recovered by the kicking team beyond this line, it becomes dead at the spot where it was touched. The kicking team is prohibited from interfering with the receiver's opportunity to catch the ball. The receiving team has the option of signaling for a fair catch , which prohibits the defense from blocking into or tackling the receiver. The play ends as soon as
4752-563: Is commonly considered the first American football game, several years prior in 1862, the Oneida Football Club formed as the oldest known football club in the United States. The team consisted of graduates of Boston's elite preparatory schools and played from 1862 to 1865. The introduction of the snap resulted in an unexpected consequence. Before the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position. However,
4896-403: Is known as a two-point conversion . In general, the extra point is almost always successful, while the two-point conversion is a much riskier play with a higher probability of failure; accordingly, extra point attempts are far more common than two-point conversion attempts. A field goal (FG), worth three points, is scored when the ball is place kicked or drop kicked through the uprights and over
5040-407: Is responsible for all kicking plays. The special teams unit of the team in control of the ball tries to execute field goal (FG) attempts, punts , and kickoffs , while the opposing team's unit will aim to block or return them. Three positions are specific to the field goal and PAT (point-after-touchdown) unit: the placekicker (K or PK), holder (H), and long snapper (LS). The long snapper's job
5184-421: Is to block members of the defensive line from tackling the ball carrier on running plays or sacking the quarterback on passing plays. The leader of the offensive line is the center, who is responsible for snapping the ball to the quarterback, blocking, and for making sure that the other linemen do their jobs during the play. On either side of the center are the guards (G), while tackles (T) line up outside
5328-437: Is to snap the football to the holder, who will catch and position it for the placekicker. There is not usually a holder on kickoffs, because the ball is kicked off a tee; however, a holder may be used in certain situations, such as if wind is preventing the ball from remaining upright on the tee. The player on the receiving team who catches the ball is known as the kickoff returner (KR). The positions specific to punt plays are
5472-588: The 1961 season , having completed only 21 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns in his five seasons of NFL play. Dawson signed with the American Football League's Dallas Texans on June 30, 1962. The move reunited him with Stram, who was beginning his third year as the Texans' head coach. In 1962 , Dawson led the league in touchdowns and yards per attempt, and was the Sporting News ' selection as
5616-496: The 2009 NFL draft , immediately after the supposed curse had expired, the Detroit Lions selected University of Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford first overall. Stafford was an alumnus of Layne's former school Highland Park High School and lived in a house on the same street as Layne's. In 2011 , Stafford's first full injury-free season, he led the Lions to their first playoff berth since 1999, but lost to Drew Brees and
5760-698: The AFL MVP . He also led Dallas to the first of three league titles in a thrilling double-overtime victory over the two-time defending champion Oilers in Houston. Dawson ran a ball-control offense in the 20–17 win, and tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to halfback Abner Haynes . The team moved north to Kansas City and was renamed to the Chiefs in 1963 . A pinpoint passer, Dawson's mobility helped him flourish in Stram's "moving pocket" offense. He would win four AFL passing titles and
5904-545: The American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Tom Landry . He was presented alongside fellow honoree Doak Walker . In 2006, he was a finalist on the initial ballot for pre-1947 inductees to the College Baseball Hall of Fame. He was a finalist again the following year. In a special issue in 1995, Sports Illustrated called Layne "The Toughest Quarterback Who Ever Lived." In 1999, he
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6048-756: The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in 1997. The BCS arrangement proved to be controversial , and was replaced in 2014 by the College Football Playoff (CFP). A football game is played between two teams of 11 players each. Playing with more on the field is punishable by a penalty. Teams may substitute any number of their players between downs; this "platoon" system replaced the original system, which featured limited substitution rules, and has resulted in teams utilizing specialized offensive, defensive and special teams units. The number of players allowed on an active roster varies by league;
6192-659: The Cleveland Browns . He left the NFL in 1962 to sign with the AFL's Chiefs (then known as the Dallas Texans), where he spent the last 14 seasons of his career, and rejoined the NFL after the AFL–NFL merger . In the AFL, Dawson led the league in completion percentage seven times, passer rating six times, and passing touchdowns four times. He was named Most Valuable Player in 1962 and selected to six AFL All-Star games. Dawson also guided
6336-804: The Detroit Lions from 1950 to 1958, and the Steelers from 1958 to 1962. Layne was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. His number 22 is retired by the Texas Longhorns and the Lions. Born in Santa Anna, Texas , Layne grew up on a farm in Coleman County just north of Santa Anna. His father, only 36, died of a heart attack when Layne
6480-538: The NCAA and the NAIA . The National Football League (NFL) has the highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world . Its championship game, the Super Bowl , ranks among the most-watched club sporting events globally. In 2022, the league had an annual revenue of around $ 18.6 billion, making it the most valuable sports league in the world. Other professional and amateur leagues exist worldwide, but
6624-687: The New Orleans Saints . In 2021, the Detroit Lions traded Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff in a blockbuster trade. Stafford went on to win Super Bowl LVI in his first season with the Rams, while the Lions started the 2021 season 0–10–1, and eventually finished 3–13–1, the second worst record in the NFL. Further, in the 63 years since the curse, the Lions also endured multiple playoff droughts lasting more than six years: including
6768-599: The New York Bulldogs for two draft picks and $ 50,000 cash to be paid in four installments, with a clause barring Layne from ever playing for the Cardinals: After Charles Bidwill death his wife Violet had inherited $ 50,000 worth of Bears stock and she offered it to Halas in exchange for Layne. Although Halas and Charles Bidwill enjoyed a long friendship, the relationship between the two teams soured after Violet married Walter Wolfner, so Halas refused
6912-406: The Pittsburgh Steelers , but he was unable to make an impact. Following his rookie season in 1957 , his status became more tenuous when the Steelers acquired future Hall of Famer Bobby Layne early in the 1958 season . Dawson was traded to the Cleveland Browns on December 31, 1959. However, after encountering similar problems in battling Browns quarterback Milt Plum , Dawson was released after
7056-543: The Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987. His number 16 was retired by the Chiefs and is the only number in franchise history to be worn by a single player. He was also named to the American Football League All-Time Team in 1970. In 1966, while still playing for the Chiefs, Dawson became sports director at KMBC-TV in Kansas City. On March 16, 2009, Dawson announced he would step down from anchoring on
7200-637: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers , marking the first time since 1957 that the Lions won two playoff games in a season. However, the Lions have yet to win a road playoff game since 1957. In the 2023-24 NFC Championship Game , the Lions held a 24–7 lead at halftime against the San Francisco 49ers , the team the Lions won their last conference championship against in 1957 , and a mirror image of the 49ers' blown lead in that game. The Lions’ defense gave up 27 unanswered points and failed to recover an onside kick as
7344-412: The center (C), are allowed to line up in or cross the neutral zone until the ball is snapped. Interior offensive linemen are not allowed to move until the snap of the ball. The main backfield positions are the quarterback (QB), halfback/tailback (HB/TB), and fullback (FB). The quarterback is the leader of the offense. Either the quarterback or a coach calls the plays. Quarterbacks typically inform
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#17328695745907488-409: The commissioner . NCAA and NFHS teams are "strongly advised" to number their offensive players according to a league-suggested numbering scheme. Although the sport is played almost exclusively by men, women are eligible to play in high school, college, and professional football. No woman has ever played in the NFL, but women have played in high school and college football games. In 2018, 1,100 of
7632-545: The forward pass , created the neutral zone , and specified the size and shape of the football. The sport is closely related to Canadian football , which evolved in parallel with and at the same time as the American game, although its rules were developed independently from those of Camp. Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also present in Canadian football. The two sports are considered
7776-411: The kickoff , which starts the first and third quarters and overtime and follows a try attempt or a successful field goal; the safety kick follows a safety. On a kickoff, the ball is placed at the 35-yard line of the kicking team in professional and college play and at the 40-yard line in high school play. The ball may be drop kicked or place kicked. If a place kick is chosen, the ball can be placed on
7920-407: The neutral zone was created along the width of the football before the snap. Scoring was also adjusted: points awarded for field goals were reduced to three in 1909 and points for touchdowns were raised to six in 1912. Also in 1912, the field was shortened to 100 yards (91 m) long, two 10-yard-long (9.1 m) end zones were created, and teams were given four downs instead of three to advance
8064-420: The pallbearers . "My only request," he once said, "is that I draw my last dollar and my last breath at precisely the same instant." In 1958 , the defending NFL champion Lions traded Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers in early October for Earl Morrall and two draft choices. Layne responded to the trade by supposedly saying that the Lions would "not win for 50 years." While this story has been called
8208-407: The punter (P), long snapper, upback , and gunner . The long snapper snaps the football directly to the punter, who then drops and kicks it before it hits the ground. Gunners line up split outside the line and race down the field, aiming to tackle the punt returner (PR)—the player who catches the punt. Upbacks line up a short distance behind the line of scrimmage, providing additional protection to
8352-611: The single-wing formation , so his rights were quickly traded to the Chicago Bears . He was offered $ 77,000 to play for the Colts, but George Halas , who attended the Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama and sat with Cherry and Layne after the game, "sweet talked" him into signing with the Bears. He promised a slow rise to fame in the "big leagues" with a no-trade understanding. After one season with
8496-628: The 12-game season. His replacement, Tobin Rote , finished the season and led the Lions to victory in the championship game in Detroit, a 59–14 rout of the Cleveland Browns . After the second game of the 1958 season, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Buddy Parker , formerly in Detroit, arranged a trade on October 6 that brought Layne to the Steelers. During his eight seasons in Detroit, the Lions won three NFL championships and Layne played in four Pro Bowls , made first-team All-Pro twice, and at various times led
8640-413: The 1966 season. Once the merger was completed, it was no longer a championship game between two leagues and reverted to the NFL championship game, which came to be known as the Super Bowl . College football maintained a tradition of postseason bowl games . Each bowl game was associated with a particular conference and earning a spot in a bowl game was the reward for winning a conference. This arrangement
8784-552: The 225,000 players in Pop Warner Little Scholars youth football were girls, and around 11% of the 5.5 million Americans who report playing tackle football are female according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. The role of the offensive unit is to advance the football down the field with the ultimate goal of scoring a touchdown . The offensive team must line up in a legal formation before they can snap
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#17328695745908928-489: The All-Southwest Conference team all four years he played, and played on teams that won all three Conference Championships available to them (none was named in 1944 due to World War II). He won his first career start, in 1944, when he was managed by his future football coach Blair Cherry, versus Southwestern, 14–1, in a complete-game, 15-strikeout performance. Similar to football, he missed the 1945 season because he
9072-584: The Bears in 1948 , during which Layne was the third-string quarterback behind both Sid Luckman and Johnny Lujack , Layne refused to return and tried to engineer his own trade to the Green Bay Packers , while the Bears opposed a separate attempt by the Chicago Cardinals . Halas, preoccupied with fending off a challenge from the AAFC but also didn't want him to play for his rivals in the league, traded Layne to
9216-578: The Boilermakers, Dawson threw for 3,325 yards and 29 touchdowns, leading the Big Ten Conference in that category during each year. He was named third-team All-American in 1956 . He was an All-Big Ten quarterback during the 1955 and 1956 seasons. While at Purdue, Dawson was initiated into the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity . Dawson was the fifth overall selection in the 1957 NFL draft , taken by
9360-483: The Chiefs all-time career leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions, attempts, rushing yards by a quarterback, and rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. Only his touchdowns records still stand. He also held the single season passing touchdown record from 1964 until it was broken in 2018. He held the single season passing yards record from 1964 until 1983. He was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1979 and
9504-471: The Chiefs led the Oakland Raiders 17–14 late in the fourth quarter. Facing third and long, a run by Dawson apparently sealed victory for the Chiefs, but as Dawson lay on the ground, he was speared by Raiders' defensive end Ben Davidson , who dove into Dawson with his helmet, provoking Chiefs' receiver Otis Taylor to attack Davidson. After a bench-clearing brawl, offsetting penalties were called, nullifying
9648-422: The Chiefs lined up in a huddle popularized by Dawson, where the quarterback stands in front of the other 10 offensive players instead of standing in the middle with the players making a circle around him. American football American football , referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football , is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on
9792-571: The Chiefs to three AFL championships and the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl IV , of which he was named MVP . He retired from professional football after the 1975 season and later served as the sports director at KMBC-TV in Kansas City and color analyst for the Chiefs Radio Network. His demeanor and style earned him the nickname " Lenny the Cool " from his teammates. Dawson
9936-641: The Hall of Fame ring and plaque to his old friend and teammate Doak Walker, but was hospitalized with intestinal bleeding in Pontiac after a reunion dinner with his former Detroit teammates. He returned to Lubbock on November 12, but three days later was hospitalized again. He died of cardiac arrest on December 1 in Lubbock and was buried there. Doak Walker and three other members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were among
10080-404: The Lions. Manning placed a bathtub filled with whiskey (in place of water, owing to Layne's hard-drinking) and a cup of salt in an endzone at Ford Field to perform a chant over it with actor Jeff Daniels in an attempt to lift the curse. After starting their 2022 season 1–6, the Lions performance notably improved after the episode aired; they won eight of their remaining ten games to end with
10224-542: The Longhorns beat number-six Alabama . As a result of his 10-of-24, 183-yard performance, Layne won the inaugural Miller-Digby award presented to the game's most valuable player. The Longhorns finished ranked fifth, the best finish in Layne's career. Layne finished 6th in Heismann voting that season as well. Layne finished his Texas career with a school-record 3,145 passing yards on 210 completions and 400 attempts and 28 wins. Layne
10368-508: The NFL had established itself as America's premier professional football league. The dominant form of football at the time was played at the collegiate level . The upstart NFL received a boost to its legitimacy in 1925, however, when an NFL team, the Pottsville Maroons , defeated a team of Notre Dame all-stars in an exhibition game . A greater emphasis on the passing game helped professional football to distinguish itself further from
10512-564: The NFL has a 53-man roster, while NCAA Division I allows teams to have 63 scholarship players in the FCS and 85 scholarship players in the FBS, respectively. Individual players in a football game must be designated with a uniform number between 1 and 99, though some teams may "retire" certain numbers , making them unavailable to players. NFL teams are required to number their players by a league-approved numbering system, and any exceptions must be approved by
10656-608: The National Football League. The change was a success, as Layne led the Southwest Conference in passing yards, made the All-Conference and All-American teams, and finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting to John Lujack of Notre Dame . The Longhorns, after beating #19 North Carolina , started the season ranked third. They then beat #15 Oklahoma , but as happened in 1945, Texas was again denied an undefeated season by
10800-509: The Pro Football Hall of Fame for his longtime contributions as a sports broadcaster. At the beginning of his final season as the Chiefs radio analyst, the Chiefs named their broadcast booth at Arrowhead Stadium after Dawson. In 1979, Dawson was enshrined in the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame, followed by induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and Purdue 's Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2008, he
10944-456: The Southwest Conference became defunct in 1996, these records have essentially become permanent Drafted into the National Football League by the Pittsburgh Steelers , Layne was the third overall selection in the 1948 NFL draft and was the second overall selection in the 1948 AAFC Draft by the Baltimore Colts . Layne did not want to play for the Steelers, the last team in the NFL to use
11088-460: The advent of artificial rubber inside the leather outer shell to sustain crushing forces . At all levels of play, the football is inflated to 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 13 + 1 ⁄ 2 psi (86 to 93 kPa), or just under one atmosphere, and weighs 14 to 15 ounces (400 to 430 g); beyond that, the exact dimensions vary slightly. In professional play the ball has a long axis of 11 to 11 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (28 to 29 cm),
11232-498: The all-conference team. In the Cotton Bowl Classic following that season, Texas beat Missouri 40–27, and Layne played perhaps the best game of his career. He set several NCAA and Cotton Bowl records that have lasted into the 21st century. In that game, he completed 11 of 12 passes and accounted for every one of the team's 40 points, scoring four touchdowns, kicking four field goals, and throwing for two other scores, thus he
11376-550: The ball 10 yards (9.1 m). The roughing the passer penalty was implemented in 1914, and eligible players were first allowed to catch the ball anywhere on the field in 1918. On November 12, 1892, Pudge Heffelfinger was paid $ 500 (equivalent to $ 16,956 in 2023) to play a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club . This is the first recorded instance of
11520-435: The ball is caught, and the ball may not be advanced. Officials are responsible for enforcing game rules and monitoring the clock. All officials carry a whistle and wear black-and-white striped shirts and black hats except for the referee, whose hat is white. Each carries a weighted yellow flag that is thrown to the ground to signal that a foul has been called. An official who spots multiple fouls will throw their hat as
11664-430: The ball. An offensive formation is considered illegal if there are more than four players in the backfield or fewer than five players numbered 50–79 on the offensive line. Players can line up temporarily in a position whose eligibility is different from what their number permits as long as they report the change immediately to the referee, who then informs the defensive team of the change. Neither team's players, except
11808-476: The biggest disappointment in his football career was having never won a championship for the Pittsburgh Steelers and specifically, Art Rooney . By the time Layne retired before the 1963 season, he owned the NFL records for passing attempts (3,700), completions (1,814), touchdowns (196), yards (26,768), and interceptions (243). He left the game as one of the last players to play without a face mask and
11952-411: The college game during the late 1930s. Football, in general, became increasingly popular following the 1958 NFL Championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants , still referred to as the "Greatest Game Ever Played". The game, a 23–17 overtime victory by the Colts, was seen by millions of television viewers and had a major influence on the popularity of the sport. This, along with
12096-543: The conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. After playing McGill University using both American (known as "the Boston game ") for the first game and Canadian (rugby) rules for the second one, the Harvard players preferred the Canadian style of having only 11 men on the field, running the ball without having to be chased by an opponent, the forward pass, tackling, and using an oblong instead of
12240-495: The conservative NFL to expand to Dallas and Minnesota in an attempt to destroy the new league. Meanwhile, the AFL introduced many new features to professional football in the United States: official time was kept on a scoreboard clock rather than on a watch in the referee's pocket, as the NFL did; optional two-point conversions by pass or run after touchdowns; names on the jerseys of players; and several others, including expansion of
12384-413: The crossbars of the defense's goalposts. In practice, almost all field goal attempts are done via place kick. While drop kicks were common in the early days of the sport, the shape of modern footballs makes it difficult to reliably drop kick the ball. The last successful scoring play by drop kick in the NFL was accomplished in 2006; prior to that, the last successful drop kick had been made in 1941. After
12528-534: The deal and traded the future hall of famer to the Bulldogs for $ 50,000 and two draft choices. He also demanded a clause in the contract that Layne could never be sold or traded to the Cardinals. Halas took the $ 50,000 from the trade and bought off the stocks from Violet Bidwill. With Layne at quarterback, the Bulldogs won only one game and lost 11, but Layne played well and developed quickly. Layne compared one season with
12672-399: The defense is to prevent the offense from scoring by tackling the ball carrier or by forcing turnovers . Turnovers include interceptions (a defender catching a forward pass intended for the offense) and forced fumbles (taking possession of the ball from the ball-carrier). The defensive line (DL) consists of defensive ends (DE) and defensive tackles (DT). Defensive ends line up on
12816-430: The defensive backfield. They are divided into two types: middle linebackers (MLB) and outside linebackers (OLB). Linebackers tend to serve as the defensive leaders and call the defensive plays, given their vantage point of the offensive backfield. Their roles include defending the run, pressuring the quarterback, and tackling backs, wide receivers, and tight ends in the passing game. The defensive backfield , often called
12960-472: The ends and sides of the field are known as the end lines and sidelines . Goal lines are marked 10 yards (9.1 m) inward from each end line. Weighted pylons are placed the sidelines on the inside corner of the intersections with the goal lines and end lines. White markings on the field identify the distance from the end zone. Inbound lines, or hash marks , are short parallel lines that mark off 1-yard (0.91 m) increments. Yard lines , which can run
13104-404: The ends of the line, while defensive tackles line up inside, between the defensive ends. The primary responsibilities of defensive ends and defensive tackles are to stop running plays on the outside and inside, respectively, to pressure the quarterback on passing plays, and to occupy the line so that the linebackers can break through. Linebackers line up behind the defensive line but in front of
13248-499: The feet, hands, head, or sides, with the objective being to advance it into the opponent's goal. Rutgers won the game 6–4. Collegiate play continued for several years with games played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia , Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19, 1873, to create a standard set of rules for use by all schools. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet (122 m × 76 m) were specified. Harvard abstained from
13392-513: The first championship game between the AFL and their NFL rivals. The NFL champion Green Bay Packers won easily, 35–10, but Dawson performed fairly well, completing 16 of 27 passes for 210 yards and one touchdown, with one interception. Dawson was selected by his peers as a Sporting News 1966 AFL All-League player. Though he threw for more than 2,000 yards in each of the previous seven campaigns, Dawson's 1969 season with Kansas City would be his most memorable because of his dramatic comeback from
13536-817: The first down under the rules in effect at that time. The Chiefs were obliged to punt, and the Raiders tied the game on a George Blanda field goal with eight seconds to play. Taylor's retaliation against Davidson not only cost the Chiefs a win, but Oakland won the AFC West with a season record of 8–4–2, while Kansas City finished 7–5–2 and out of the playoffs. Dawson announced his retirement in May 1976, shortly before turning 41. Dawson ended his career in 1975, having completed 2,136 of 3,741 passes for 28,711 yards and 239 touchdowns, with 181 interceptions. He also gained 1,293 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns in his career. Dawson retired as
13680-416: The football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive . Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal . The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. American football evolved in the United States, originating from
13824-419: The game clock based on the direction of the appropriate official . A separate play clock is used to show the amount of time within which the offense must initiate a play. The play clock is set to 25 seconds after certain administrative stoppages in play and to 40 seconds when play is proceeding without such stoppages. If the offense fails to start a play before the play clock reads "00", a delay of game foul
13968-618: The game unless major changes were made. In response, 62 colleges and universities met in New York City to discuss rule changes on December 28, 1905. These proceedings resulted in the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, later renamed the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The legal forward pass was introduced in 1906, although its effect
14112-424: The game, Dawson paced the Chiefs to a win over the NFL's heavily favored Minnesota Vikings by completing 12 of 17 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, and rushing for 11 yards. The performance was especially notable given that Dawson had been mistakenly linked to a gambling scandal (by an unrelated gentleman who was named Donald Dawson) in the days leading up to the game. On November 1, 1970,
14256-443: The ground or a tee; a holder may be used in either case. On a safety kick, the kicking team kicks the ball from their own 20-yard line. They can punt, drop kick or place kick the ball, but a tee may not be used in professional play. Any member of the receiving team may catch or advance the ball. The ball may be recovered by the kicking team once it has gone at least ten yards and has touched the ground or has been touched by any member of
14400-434: The guards. The principal receivers are the wide receivers (WR) and the tight ends (TE). Wide receivers line up on or near the line of scrimmage, split outside the line. The main goal of the wide receiver is to catch passes thrown by the quarterback, but they may also function as decoys or as blockers during running plays. Tight ends line up outside the tackles and function both as receivers and as blockers. The role of
14544-539: The illegal payment of college players who were still in school. The National Football League (NFL), a group of professional teams that was originally established in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, aimed to solve these problems. This new league's stated goals included an end to bidding wars over players, prevention of the use of college players, and abolition of the practice of paying players to leave another team. By 1922,
14688-448: The innovations introduced by the new American Football League (AFL) in the early 1960s, helped football to become the most popular sport in the United States by the mid-1960s. The rival AFL arose in 1960 and challenged the NFL's dominance. The AFL began in relative obscurity but eventually thrived, with an initial television contract with the ABC television network. The AFL's existence forced
14832-460: The last year of the supposed curse, the Lions lost all sixteen games. As for the Steelers, they won the Super Bowl that year, as well as in their previous appearance (in Detroit ) in 2006, and became one of the most dominant teams in the NFL, though this took place after Layne's career, winning six Super Bowls: 1974 ( IX ), 1975 ( X ), 1978 ( XIII ), 1979 ( XIV ), 2005 ( XL ) and 2008 ( XLIII ). In
14976-451: The league in over a dozen single-season statistical categories. Following the trade, Layne played five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Though he made the Pro Bowl two more times, he never made it back to the playoffs, and the team's best finish was second in the conference in 1962 . During his last year in the NFL, he published his autobiography Always on Sunday . Later he stated that
15120-429: The offense advances ten or more yards in the four downs, they are awarded a new set of four downs. If they fail to advance ten yards, possession of the football is turned over to the defense. In most situations, if the offense reaches their fourth down they will punt the ball to the other team, which forces them to begin their drive from farther down the field; if they are in field goal range , they might attempt to score
15264-445: The plane of the two end lines. The crossbar of these posts is 10 feet (3.0 m) above the ground, with vertical uprights at the end of the crossbar 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 m) apart for professional and collegiate play, and 23 feet 4 inches (7.11 m) apart for high school play. The uprights extend vertically 35 feet (11 m) on professional fields, a minimum of 10 yards (9.1 m) on college fields, and
15408-630: The players felt they had too many obligations with family and jobs. Texas went 60–10 overall, and 41–2 in the SWC during Layne's final three years in Austin. When his career was over, Layne had a perfect 28–0 conference record and set several school and conference records during his time on the team, including a few that still stand today. Between baseball and football, he was All-Conference an astounding eight times and won four conference championships. In 1948, after earning his degree in physical education, Layne played
15552-448: The point(s)-after-touchdown (PAT) or conversion, which is a single scoring opportunity. This is generally attempted from the two- or three-yard line, depending on the level of play. If the PAT is scored by a place kick or drop kick through the goal posts, it is worth one point, typically called the extra point. If the PAT is scored by what would normally be a touchdown, it is worth two points; this
15696-541: The primary proponents of the rugby-style game, compromised and did not request the name of the sport be changed to "rugby". The terms " gridiron " or "American football" are favored in English-speaking countries where other types of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. American football evolved from the sports of rugby and soccer . Rugby, like American football,
15840-429: The primary variants of gridiron football . American football is the most popular sport in the United States in terms of broadcast viewership audience. The most popular forms of the game are professional and college football , with the other major levels being high-school and youth football. As of 2022 , nearly 1.04 million high-school athletes play the sport in the U.S., with another 81,000 college athletes in
15984-422: The punter. In football, the winner is the team that has scored more points at the end of the game. There are multiple ways to score in a football game. The touchdown (TD), worth six points, is the most valuable scoring play in American football. A touchdown is scored when a live ball is advanced into, caught, or recovered in the opposing team's end zone. The scoring team then attempts a try, more commonly known as
16128-401: The receiving team. The three types of scrimmage kicks are place kicks, drop kicks, and punts. Only place kicks and drop kicks can score points. The place kick is the standard method used to score points, because the pointy shape of the football makes it difficult to reliably drop kick. Once the ball has been kicked from a scrimmage kick, it can be advanced by the kicking team only if it
16272-631: The rest of the offense of the play in the huddle before the team lines up. The quarterback lines up behind the center to take the snap and then hands the ball off, throws it, or runs with it. The primary role of the halfback, also known as the running back or tailback, is to carry the ball on running plays. Halfbacks may also serve as receivers. Fullbacks tend to be larger than halfbacks and function primarily as blockers, but they are sometimes used as runners in short-yardage or goal-line situations. They are seldom used as receivers. The offensive line (OL) consists of several players whose primary function
16416-499: The role of minority players, actively recruited by the league in contrast to the NFL. The AFL also signed several star college players who had also been drafted by NFL teams. Competition for players heated up in 1965, when the AFL New York Jets signed rookie Joe Namath to a then-record $ 437,000 contract (equivalent to $ 4.23 million in 2023). A five-year, $ 40 million NBC television contract followed, which helped to sustain
16560-477: The rules were permanently changed in 1972 . In his freshman season, Layne became a very rare player (in that era) to start his first game. He missed his second game due to an injury and was replaced by future North Texas transfer Zeke Martin , but Layne played the rest of the season and led the Longhorns to within one point of the Southwest Conference Championship when they lost to TCU 7–6 on
16704-622: The same year. During the recruiting process, Dawson had to choose between the Ohio State University in Columbus and Purdue University in Indiana . While he was reluctant to take over Woody Hayes ' split-T offense with the Buckeyes, the true reason he selected Purdue stemmed from the rapport he had established with assistant coach Hank Stram , beginning a friendship that would last for more than
16848-503: The secondary, consists of cornerbacks (CB) and safeties (S). Safeties are themselves divided into free safeties (FS) and strong safeties (SS). Cornerbacks line up outside the defensive formation, typically opposite a receiver to be able to cover them. Safeties line up between the cornerbacks but farther back in the secondary. Safeties tend to be viewed as "the last line of defense" and are responsible for stopping deep passing plays as well as breakout running plays. The special teams unit
16992-525: The soon-to-be-defunct New York Bulldogs as worth five seasons with any other NFL team. In 1950, he was traded to the Detroit Lions for wide receiver Bob Mann , and the Lions agreed to make the final three payments to Halas (Halas later remarked that the Lions should have continued the yearly payments indefinitely to him in view of Layne's performance). For the next five years, Layne was reunited with his great friend and Highland Park High School teammate Doak Walker, and together they helped make Detroit into
17136-539: The sport does not have the international popularity of other American sports like baseball or basketball ; the sport maintains a growing following in the rest of North America, Europe, Brazil, and Japan. In the United States, American football is referred to as "football". The term "football" was officially established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season , when the sport first shifted from soccer-style rules to rugby-style rules. Although it could easily have been called "rugby" at this point, Harvard, one of
17280-698: The sport. For his on-the-field exploits, Layne was inducted into a vast assortment of halls of fame. These included the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1960, the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1963, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967, the state halls of fame in Michigan and Pennsylvania , and the Texas High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1973. In 1981, he received the Golden Plate Award of
17424-439: The sports of soccer and rugby . The first American football game was played on November 6, 1869 , between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton , using rules based on the rules of soccer at the time. A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp , the "Father of American Football", established the snap , the line of scrimmage , eleven-player teams, and the concept of downs. Later rule changes legalized
17568-405: The top of his game. As Walker had been the team's kicker, Layne took over the kicking duties in 1956 and 1957 , and in 1956 led the league in field-goal accuracy. In 1956, the Lions finished second in the conference, missing the championship game by only one game. In 1957, the season of the Lions' most recent NFL championship, Layne broke his leg in three places in a pileup during the 11th game of
17712-641: The unexpected finish, Layne was named All-Conference again and finished eighth in Heisman Trophy balloting to Glenn Davis of Army . In 1947 , Blair Cherry replaced Dana X. Bible as head coach at Texas and he decided to install the T-formation offense. Cherry, Layne, and their wives spent several weeks in Wisconsin studying the new offense at the training camps of the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals of
17856-411: The width of the field, are marked every 5 yards (4.6 m). A one-yard-wide line is placed at each end of the field; this line is marked at the center of the two-yard line in professional play and at the three-yard line in college play. Numerals that display the distance from the closest goal line in yards are placed on both sides of the field every ten yards. Goalposts are located at the center of
18000-408: The winning team decides to defer, the losing team chooses the option the winning team did not select—to receive, kick, or select a goal to defend to begin the second half. Most teams choose to receive or defer, because choosing to kick the ball to start the game allows the other team to choose which goal to defend. Teams switch goals following the first and third quarters. If a down is in progress when
18144-399: The year of the trade, the Lions did not make the playoffs for twelve consecutive seasons (1958–1969; 1971–1981; 1984–1990; 2000–2010). In October 2022, Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning - who once led his Indianapolis Colts to a blowout victory over the Lions on Thanksgiving Day in 2004 - dedicated an episode of his ESPN series "Peyton's Places" to the curse and its effects on
18288-408: The young league. The bidding war for players ended in 1966 when NFL owners approached the AFL regarding a merger, and the two leagues agreed on one that took full effect in 1970. This agreement provided for a common draft that would take place each year, and it instituted an annual World Championship game to be played between the champions of each league. This championship game began play at the end of
18432-463: Was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns before being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the third overall pick of the 1948 NFL draft and traded to the Chicago Bears . Layne played one season with the Bears, and then with the New York Bulldogs in 1949,
18576-661: Was awarded the Walter Camp Distinguished American Award . In 2006, Dawson was interviewed for the NFL Network documentary America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions chronicling the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs season . Dawson teamed with Depend in 1998 to encourage men to visit their doctors and to be screened for prostate cancer . Dawson was married to his high school sweetheart from 1954 until her death in 1978. He had two children. He later remarried and remained married until his death. In 1991, Dawson
18720-566: Was credited with creating the two-minute drill . Doak Walker said of him, "Layne never lost a game...time just ran out on him." Following his retirement as a player, Layne served as the quarterback coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1963 to 1965 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965. He was a scout for the Dallas Cowboys from 1966–67. He later unsuccessfully sought the head coaching job at Texas Tech , his last professional involvement with
18864-475: Was diagnosed with prostate cancer . On August 12, 2022, Dawson's family announced that he had entered hospice care at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas . He died on August 24, at the age of 87. The Chiefs wore a decal with the number 16 on their helmets for the entire 2022 season in honor of Dawson. Before their first offensive play of the preseason game the day after his death,
19008-524: Was eight years old. His mother, Bea, was so destitute, she could not afford to keep the family together. Layne's two sisters stayed with his mother while he was sent to Fort Worth to live with his aunt and uncle, Mimi and Wade Hampton. The Hamptons eventually adopted Layne and moved to Highland Park, Texas, which was then a suburb just north of Dallas . He attended Highland Park High School in University Park . Layne's best friend and football teammate
19152-559: Was fellow future hall of famer Doak Walker , the Heisman Trophy winner in 1948 for the SMU Mustangs and a pro teammate with the Detroit Lions. In his senior year, Layne was named to the all-state football team, played in the Oil Bowl All-Star game, and led Highland Park to the state semifinals where they fell to eventual state champions San Angelo, 21–20. One of the most successful quarterbacks ever to play for Texas, Layne
19296-485: Was in the Merchant Marines, but returned to play three more seasons. In 1946, he threw the school's first and second no-hitters and posted a 12–4 record. In 1947, he went 12–1 and led Texas to a third-place finish in the first NCAA baseball Tournament. In 1948, he went 9–0 and again helped Texas win the Southwest Conference, but though they qualified for it, Texas decided not to attend the 1948 NCAA tournament because
19440-418: Was initially minimal due to the restrictions placed on its use. The idea of a 40-yard-wider field was opposed by Harvard due to the size of the new Harvard Stadium . Other rule changes introduced that year included the reduction of playing time from 70 to 60 minutes and an increase of the distance required for a first down from 5 to 10 yards (4.6 to 9.1 m). To reduce infighting and dirty play between teams,
19584-473: Was named one of the game's outstanding players. In 1946 , the Longhorns were ranked first in the preseason for the first time, but after beating #20 Arkansas , they were upset by #16 Rice and later by unranked TCU . They went 8–2, finished third in the conference, ranked fifteenth nationally, and missed out on any bowl games. Layne led the Southwest Conference in total offense (1420 yards), total passing (1115 yards), and punting average (42 yards). Despite
19728-440: Was necessary to prevent this strategy from taking hold, and a reversion to the scrum was considered. However, Camp successfully proposed a rule in 1882 that limited each team to three downs , or tackles, to advance the ball 5 yards (4.6 m). Failure to advance the ball the required distance within those three downs would result in control of the ball being forfeited to the other team. This change effectively made American football
19872-537: Was one of the first inductees into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame and made the Cotton Bowl's All-Decade team (1937–1949) for the 1940s. Later, both of Layne's sons, Rob and Alan, played college football. Robert L. Layne Jr., was a kicker for Texas, playing on the 1969 national championship team, and Alan played tight end for TCU in 1973 . Layne was one of the best pitchers to ever play at Texas . He made
20016-542: Was profitable, but it tended to prevent the two top-ranked teams from meeting in a true national championship game, as they would normally be committed to the bowl games of their respective conferences. Several systems have been used since 1992 to determine a national champion of college football. The first was the Bowl Coalition , in place from 1992 to 1994. This was replaced in 1995 by the Bowl Alliance , which gave way to
20160-556: Was ranked number 52 on the Sporting News ' list of Football's 100 Greatest Players. After retirement, Layne spent 24 years as a businessman back in Texas in Lubbock , working with his old college coach, Blair Cherry. His business ventures included farms, bowling alleys, real estate, oil, and the stock market. In his younger days, he was often accompanied by Alex Karras , and was well known for his late-night bar-hopping and heavy drinking. It
20304-580: Was said of him, "He would drink six days a week and play football on Sunday", and Layne would in fact drink during games - this heavy drinking may have contributed to his death. Layne is reported to have stated: "If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken a lot better care of myself." That line was later used by baseball player Mickey Mantle , a Dallas neighbor and friend of Layne's, who also died in part due to decades of excess alcohol consumption. Layne suffered from cancer during his last years. In November 1986, he traveled to Michigan to present
20448-538: Was selected as a league All-Star six times, ending the 10-year run of the league as its highest-rated career passer. From 1962 to 1969, Dawson threw more touchdown passes (182) than any other professional football quarterback. In 1966, Dawson led the Chiefs to an 11–2–1 record and a 31–7 win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFL Championship Game , earning his team the honor of representing the AFL in Super Bowl I ,
20592-409: Was selected to four straight All- Southwest Conference teams from 1944 to 1947, and was a consensus All-American in his senior year. World War II caused a shortage of players, and rules were changed to allow freshmen to play on the varsity, thereby allowing Layne a four-year career. Freshman play was sporadically allowed by various conferences during wartime, but would not be allowed universally until
20736-531: Was the seventh son of a seventh son and 9th of 11 children overall. He attended Alliance High School in Alliance, Ohio . He was MVP of the football team and was named outstanding Ohio back of the year by the International News Service . A three-sport athlete, Dawson set school records in football and basketball, and was the first athlete in 13 years to be named first-team all-state in both sports during
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