*October 7, 1916 - In a mismatch game of epic proportions, John Heisman leads Georgia Tech to a crushing 222-0 victory over Cumberland College (out of Lebanon, Tennessee). Heisman vowed revenge against Cumberland after they had humiliated Georgia Tech the previous year in a baseball game by the score of 22-0.
Curiously enough, Cumberland disbanded their football team before the 1916 season, but Heisman demanded they field a team to play Georgia Tech, otherwise they would be required to pay a $3,000 forfeit fee. In lieu of paying the fee, Cumberland rounded up a team of fraternity brothers willing to play and took to the field. Georgia Tech scored a touchdown on its first play. Cumberland fumbled on the next play, which Georgia Tech returned for another touchdown and the rout was on.
Ahead at halftime, 126-0, Heisman told the Georgia Tech players, "We’re ahead, but you just can’t tell what those Cumberland players have up their sleeves. They may spring a surprise. Be alert, men.".
The game ended with no first downs for either team. Georgia Tech scored every time on its first, second or third play. Cumberland did once complete a pass for a 10-yard gain, but it did little good on fourth-and-22.
*October 7, 1923 - Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback/running back Paddy Driscoll of the Chicago Cardinals becomes the first player in NFL history to score four rushing touchdowns and throw for another touchdown in a single game while leading the Cardinals to a 60-0 thrashing of the Rochester Jeffersons.
The feat wasn't duplicated by any player until September 21, 2008 when Ronnie Brown, running back for the Miami Dolphins, scored 4 rushing TDs and threw for another touchdown in a stunning 38-13 victory over the New England Patriots.
*October 7, 1934 - Glenn Presnell of the Detroit Lions place kicked a 54-yard field goal against the Green Bay Packers, winning the game 3-0. The kick was the longest, verifiable field goal in the history of the NFL to that point. Presnell later said, when asked about the kick, "I remember John Schneller, an end, said, 'Why don't you try a field goal; it's as good as a punt.?' We were going to have to punt anyway. Ace held (Ace Gutowski was the holder) and it hung up, hung up and dropped over the bar 54 yards away. That turned out to be the margin of the game, 3-0."
Presnell's 54-yard field goal held the record for almost 19 years until Bert Rechichar, kicking for the Baltimore Colts, drilled a 56-yard field goal on September 27, 1953 in a 13-9 upset of the Chicago Bears. Rechichar scored all the Colts' points during the game, kicking two field goals, an extra point and scoring a touchdown on an interception return. During his ten-year career, Rechichar hit only 31 of the 89 field goals he attempted, but the 56-yarder he connected on against Chicago stood as the league's best until 1970, when Tom Dempsey of the New Orelans Saints shocked the NFL world by making a 63-yard field goal.
*October 7, 1984 - Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears becomes the NFL's all-time leader rusher in a game against the New Orleans Saints, surpassing Jim Brown's career total of 12,312 yards.
Also that day, Boomer Esiason, one of the most prolific left-handed quarterbacks in NFL history, starts his first game for the Cincinnati Bengals against the Houston Oilers. Esiason leads the Bengals to a 13–3 win over Houston and scored the game's only touchdown.
*October 7, 2001 - Starting at center in a game against the Baltimore Ravens, Bruce Matthews of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans plays in his 283rd NFL game and surpasses Jim Marshall for first place on the NFL's all-time list for games played among non-kickers.
Tomorrow, Week 5 game predictions...
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