We ended up traveling all day yesterday. We stopped at
Hershey’s Chocolate World, but Mary was exhausted just walking from the parking
lot, so we decided to head to Cleveland. We’re camped in
Woodside Lake Park, a private campground
with a small lake that in the summer would probably be filled with kids. Our
campsite is not particularly charming, but it is obvious that about 2/3
rd
of this campground is filled with summer residents who like the swimming,
fishing nearby, and recreational activities.
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Early football padding
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Mary is having another bad day, trying to breathe, so I’m
off on my own to the
Pro Football
Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. I last planned a trip here in 1965 when the
Balza family was on a trip to Washington, D.C, when the Hall was only 2 years
old. This year marks the 100
th anniversary of the NFL, which started
with a bunch of teams from small Midwestern towns. A lot of teams came and went
in those early years, but by 1931, Green Bay was the only team not in a city
which also supported a baseball or basketball professional team. I found the
stories around the early years of the NFL to be quite fascinating. For example, the Duluth team was renamed "Ernie Nevers Eskimos" in 1926 after they signed this star college player.
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1926 Ernie Nevers Eskimos
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Besides the
artifacts, there was a lot of videos: the last-minute turnaround games, the
innovations in offensive plays and defensive formations, individual records,
and the key football dynasties. (Interestingly Green Bay’s dominance of the
30’s and today’s dominance of the Patriots are not included). The highlights of
the museum were: 1) the ESPN science behind the game exhibit: some of the
unique player characteristics that let them dominate the game (leaping and
stretching ability, or able to track and catch two footballs at the same time,
one with each hand). 2) the locker room presentation of some of the hall of
fame greats featuring Vince Lombardi and George Hallas as the coaches. And 3)
the film presentation of the road to the Superbowl, highlights of last year’s
season.
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Vince Lombardi
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