any old timers on here play football (American) with no shoes?

[dwid]

I came across some footage of my dad and uncle playing football back in the day, didn't now my uncle set a bunch of records as a runningback at the lower levels but walked away because of a broken leg (which was one of 3 bones broken while he played, I am going to call him out on it next time I see him, he did get me during the Tulane Rice game like "why isn't McGuffie doing anything"). I knew my dad played defensive end and linebacker but also didn't take college recruitment serious (it was the 70s, apparently some small Christian school wanted him and some teammates and they partied too hard on the visit). Apparently they had kids drinking 6 and 12 packs on the way to the games on the team bus, smoking weed, popping pills (usually speed), my dad told me a story about a backup who dropped acid and my dad warned him and hes like "so what, im not going to play", sure enough, he got sent in there, too bad no footage from that.

Sounds crazy but not too different form today, kids smoke weed, pop adderall/ritalin (not quite as potent as the old speed pills but still....), and now massive amounts of pain pills like vicodin, have players doing heroin now because the crack down on pill mill doctors and pharmacies, prices going up, they can get the same type of thing for much cheaper with heroin, the stigma isn't there anymore as long as they don't shoot it (snorting it is big here, some look at it as the same as smoking weed). I mean to them its just diacetylemorphine, which is just morphine with acetone thrown on it making it cross the blood brain barrier twice as fast.

anyway, what I found interesting about my uncle is that he played barefoot, and in the footage there are quite a few other players without shoes as well. Has anyone played barefoot? it seems like an injury waiting to happen but any background on it would be nice. I am pretty sure the footage is from mid 60's to 70s because it is pee wee to high school and thats about the time period they would have played. Too bad no sound on these recordings.

Some of it isnt even adult run teams, just kids putting on helmets/shoulder pads and putting teams together and I guess my grandpa filming it (lots of film of random stuff as well, I am guessing the recorder thing cost him a bunch so he got his moneys worth).

I wish society was still like that. Nowadays if you want your kid to participate in some sport or activity you have to sign him up for something, there is no free play except for bball with the ghetto blacks which I take my nephew to. Sometimes its better than the league he is in, sometimes worse. I think it helps his game and I am friends with the cop that works the area, plus the old timers know me because I grew up there, so shouldn't be too dangerous in daylight.

glad I found these though, my grandpa had all kinds of newspaper clippings of the families accomplishments (lots of athletics) but it got washed away in Katrina. If only I can find newer footage of my cousin playing rb, he was good, the one I am looking for is against Newman with Peyton Manning playing. I remember my dad telling me it was Archie's kid and was like "who cares", I do remember a spectacular pass, he ran all the way to the right and threw it way down the field to the other side which was the first time I saw a qb make a throw like that.

mainly wanted to know about the barefoot thing but wouldn't mind talking about how frustrating it is to have everything so structured and no free play for kids, or just stories from playing during that time period or any time period. We all talk about sports lets hear some participation stories!

me, I was moved from runningback after freshman year, thought this new black kid wasn't **** (he went to the big leagues and still doing well, so wrong on that one). I played fullback and occasionally carried the ball, mostly receiving passes, we didn't use a lead blocker much but we ran screens all day long which got boring, played safety and moved to linebacker. Kept gpa high enough to stay eligible and quit school after injury my last year which was dumb. Ill think of some interesting stories later on from my playing days. I do know that the NFL player did make me up my game.

 

[white is right]

I came across some footage of my dad and uncle playing football back in the day, didn't now my uncle set a bunch of records as a runningback at the lower levels but walked away because of a broken leg (which was one of 3 bones broken while he played, I am going to call him out on it next time I see him, he did get me during the Tulane Rice game like "why isn't McGuffie doing anything"). I knew my dad played defensive end and linebacker but also didn't take college recruitment serious (it was the 70s, apparently some small Christian school wanted him and some teammates and they partied too hard on the visit). Apparently they had kids drinking 6 and 12 packs on the way to the games on the team bus, smoking weed, popping pills (usually speed), my dad told me a story about a backup who dropped acid and my dad warned him and hes like "so what, im not going to play", sure enough, he got sent in there, too bad no footage from that.

Sounds crazy but not too different form today, kids smoke weed, pop adderall/ritalin (not quite as potent as the old speed pills but still....), and now massive amounts of pain pills like vicodin, have players doing heroin now because the crack down on pill mill doctors and pharmacies, prices going up, they can get the same type of thing for much cheaper with heroin, the stigma isn't there anymore as long as they don't shoot it (snorting it is big here, some look at it as the same as smoking weed). I mean to them its just diacetylemorphine, which is just morphine with acetone thrown on it making it cross the blood brain barrier twice as fast.

anyway, what I found interesting about my uncle is that he played barefoot, and in the footage there are quite a few other players without shoes as well. Has anyone played barefoot? it seems like an injury waiting to happen but any background on it would be nice. I am pretty sure the footage is from mid 60's to 70s because it is pee wee to high school and thats about the time period they would have played. Too bad no sound on these recordings.

Some of it isnt even adult run teams, just kids putting on helmets/shoulder pads and putting teams together and I guess my grandpa filming it (lots of film of random stuff as well, I am guessing the recorder thing cost him a bunch so he got his moneys worth).

I wish society was still like that. Nowadays if you want your kid to participate in some sport or activity you have to sign him up for something, there is no free play except for bball with the ghetto blacks which I take my nephew to. Sometimes its better than the league he is in, sometimes worse. I think it helps his game and I am friends with the cop that works the area, plus the old timers know me because I grew up there, so shouldn't be too dangerous in daylight.

glad I found these though, my grandpa had all kinds of newspaper clippings of the families accomplishments (lots of athletics) but it got washed away in Katrina. If only I can find newer footage of my cousin playing rb, he was good, the one I am looking for is against Newman with Peyton Manning playing. I remember my dad telling me it was Archie's kid and was like "who cares", I do remember a spectacular pass, he ran all the way to the right and threw it way down the field to the other side which was the first time I saw a qb make a throw like that.

mainly wanted to know about the barefoot thing but wouldn't mind talking about how frustrating it is to have everything so structured and no free play for kids, or just stories from playing during that time period or any time period. We all talk about sports lets hear some participation stories!

me, I was moved from runningback after freshman year, thought this new black kid wasn't **** (he went to the big leagues and still doing well, so wrong on that one). I played fullback and occasionally carried the ball, mostly receiving passes, we didn't use a lead blocker much but we ran screens all day long which got boring, played safety and moved to linebacker. Kept gpa high enough to stay eligible and quit school after injury my last year which was dumb. Ill think of some interesting stories later on from my playing days. I do know that the NFL player did make me up my game.

I recall Tony Franklin being a barefoot kicker. I also recall maybe Rich Karlis for Denver doing it. Supposedly they could control the ball better. Maybe it's a country thing but my parks were always filled with broken beer and soda bottles and dog poop....

 

[dwid]

I recall Tony Franklin being a barefoot kicker. I also recall maybe Rich Karlis for Denver doing it. Supposedly they could control the ball better. Maybe it's a country thing but my parks were always filled with broken beer and soda bottles and dog poop....

hah, on the playing field too? that would suck being tackled. Ive read about barefoot running developing muscles better in the feet and legs, I make sure my kids run barefoot and even have minimalist shoes, which was hard to find a pair that actually looked cool. I just don't know how it would work running the football, my uncle was a runningback, im gonna put a video up of a few clips, want to put more but need to get a new computer, especially with these old formats its hard to get on here.

[video=youtube;bLuamxu5ZqI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLuamxu5ZqI[/video]
wish i had the cpu to put more on there, wanted to put more homeruns but just stuck to the stuff where lots of collisions to try and see how it was done, cuz it looks like some kids are barefoot and others either have shoes or cleats, im guessing it was a big game cuz the coach got picked up by kids and parents

 

[davidholly]

Barefoot? Hell no, imagine someone stepping on your foot with cleats. I'm biased though, everytime I walk outside barefoot I end up getting my foot cut open.

 

[Bronk]

About 100 years ago, my grandfather played in the first football game he ever saw and did so in bare feet.

Before WWI, there was an indian school (Baylor County Indian School) near his West Texas town that was sponsored by the local Methodist church. When that school lost its teacher to illness, my great -grandmother volunteered to teach there until a perminant teacher was hired. My grandfather was assigned to ride there with her and go to school there for as long as she taught.

There was an indian man in the community who had played football at Haskell Institute in Kansas and he would organize the boys at the school into teams and coach them in football. My grandfather had never played football but had read about the game.

All the boys played in bare feet, so grandpa pulled off his boots and joined right in.

Next week: my father plays football without a facemask in the early 1950s.

 

[Carolina Speed]

I grew up in the mid to late 70's playing football in the backyard with friends; after elementary school football season was over and yes, we sometimes played barefooted, but normally we put on shoes or cleats.

When I got into junior high in the early 80's, we didn't play backyard ball as much. We played for the junior high team and went on to wrestle and play baseball and then on into high school, and then a little college ball.

Back then, in the 70's, all the neighborhood kids went outside and played all kinds of sports. There were no video games for us.

 

[jaxvid]

I grew up in the mid to late 70's playing football in the backyard with friends; after elementary school football season was over and yes, we sometimes played barefooted, but normally we put on shoes or cleats.

When I got into junior high in the early 80's, we didn't play backyard ball as much. We played for the junior high team and went on to wrestle and play baseball and then on into high school, and then a little college ball.

Back then, in the 70's, all the neighborhood kids went outside and played all kinds of sports. There were no video games for us.

I too played a lot of backyard sports as a kid in the 1970's. I cannot remember a single time playing football bare-footed. It sounds crazy. How easy would it be for your toes to get crunched? Is that something they did down south? We always made fun of bare foot hicks, maybe that's where it comes from. Where I grew up we wore shoes---and had indoor plumbing--and electricity!

 

[Carolina Speed]

I too played a lot of backyard sports as a kid in the 1970's. I cannot remember a single time playing football bare-footed. It sounds crazy. How easy would it be for your toes to get crunched? Is that something they did down south? We always made fun of bare foot hicks, maybe that's where it comes from. Where I grew up we wore shoes---and had indoor plumbing--and electricity!

ROFL jaxvid, that's too funny. Yes, during the summer as kids, we often ran around barefooted down here in the south and sometimes instead of going inside to put our shoes or cleats on, we just stayed outside and played barefooted, but mostly, as I said, we usually wore shoes or cleats.

Yes, we had indoor plumbing and electricity also, but not until the 90's when I was in my mid 20's.:grin:

 

[Don Wassall]

I've never heard or read about anyone playing football barefoot at the college or pro level. Even when the Three Stooges played football in the 1930s they wore shoes (which were funny as hell Stooges shorts).

 

[jaxvid]

ROFL jaxvid, that's too funny. Yes, during the summer as kids, we often ran around barefooted down here in the south and sometimes instead of going inside to put our shoes or cleats on, we just stayed outside and played barefooted, but mostly, as I said, we usually wore shoes or cleats.

Yes, we had indoor plumbing and electricity also, but not until the 90's when I was in my mid 20's.:grin:

Yeah in the summer sometimes we would do stuff without shoes. I don't remember specifically but we would play baseball for hours and I'm sure some guys did without shoes, we were on grass the whole time. But football was played in the fall, and in the north it gets too cold even in the early fall to go with out shoes, so that's probably the difference.

 

[Quiet Speed]

That video is some kind of treasure. I can remember playing football on the beach with bare feet a few times. That’s not for everyone. You have to have quick burst, hip-swivel, flexibility and agility. Having a dark tan most of the time, these things came natural to me.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

My great uncle played high school football in the Mississippi Delta in the late 40s/early 50s. He was a halfback who was also a state 100 yard dash record holder. He played wearing a leather helmet, but as far as I know, he did wear cleats. Jim Miller punted barefoot for Ole Miss back in the late 70s, and he was an All-American. I remember playing backyard football barefoot a few times.