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EPISODE SUMMARY
When we think of really big men who have had a positive impact on the National Football League, some familiar names readily come to mind, such as Ed “Too Tall” Jones, William “The Refrigerator” Perry, Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb, and many others.
But here in Chicago, a gentleman who was not nearly as large as some of the aforementioned athletes provided a massive contribution to the NFL and may have even saved it! Hugh Light “Shorty” Ray was only 5-5 and 135 pounds, but his dedication, innovation, and persistence helped ease the league into a new era at a time when professional football was still looked upon as the poor stepchild of the collegiate version.
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/
