I-AA Fan
June 3rd, 2009, 03:00 PM
The Mahoning Valley is steeped in football tradition. From the first pro team and the NFL hall-of-fame, to the nations oldest high school rivarly. With dozens of legendary coaches, and hundreds of legendary players, the Valley is considered by many to be the birth place of American Football. The city of Youngstown is in the heart of the Mahoning Valley, and is locked in this same tradition of pig iron and pigskin. It has been called "the new cradle of college coaching", boasting the Stoops brothers (Oklahoma and Arizona), the Pellini brothers (Nebraska), Michigan State's Mark Dantonio, Marshall's Mark Snyder, and Mark Mangino of Kansas, who pulled a midnight shift working in a turnpike tollbooth when he was an assistant for the YSU football team. That team was coached by current Ohio State skipper Jim Tressel. The Pellinis's and Stoops actually played on the same Youngstown prep ball club coach by the Stoop's father. Even some of football's most well-known announcers ...such as Ron Jaworski, Pat McGuire, and Bob Davie (former ND skipper and announcer) all played their college ball at Youngstown. TV's Al Bundy may not have thrown 4 touchdowns for Polk High ...but in real life, TV's Ed O'Neill was a Ytown native and two-time All-American DE for Youngstown State. Denise Bebartolo York (and her father Edward Debartolo prior to that), owner of the San Francisco 49ers resides in Youngstown. Although perhaps more legend than fact, it is said that for close to 100 years, the hospitals of Youngstown & Warren placed a miniature football in the cribs of newborn boys.
Perhaps less known is that the valley is the home of games most famous (or infamous) invention ...the penalty flag. In the game of football, a penalty flag is thrown when a rules infraction occurs during a game. The creation of that penalty flag was in Youngstown, Ohio over 60 years ago.
It was conceived by then Youngstown College head coach, Dwight 'Dike' Beede and first used on Oct. 17, 1941. The flag was first used in a game pitting Youngstown College (today Youngstown State University) against Oklahoma City University at the Youngstown’s Rayen Stadium. Today the penalty flag is used in every competitive football game throughout the world.
Before the introduction of the penalty flag, the officials used horns and whistles to signal a penalty. This made it difficult for fans and the media to know that there was an infraction on the field because they could not hear the signal.
Beede said, "I always disliked the fish horn signal, figured it was a nuisance, irritating to the ears."
After the game, Jack McPhee, who was an official during the first game the penalty flag was used said, "Through the use of the signal flag, everyone in the stadium knows that something is wrong. It’s been a big help."
Beede came up with idea of the flag and had his wife sew it together. His wife, Irma Beede, later became known as the ‘Betsy Ross of Football’ because she sewed the first flags together. Contrary to popular belief, the flags were not yellow or white & black. He asked her to make a flag that had a bright color (red) with white stripes. The flags were put together using pieces of the Beede’s daughter’s old Halloween costume for the red part of the flag and an old sheet for the white part. She used some lead sinkers from Beede’s fishing tackle box to weigh it down. It was 16 inches square with the weight all at one end of the flag. The flag has been modified over the years and today it is yellow cloth that has sand in it to weigh it down.
Beede came to an agreement with then Oklahoma City Coach Os Doenges to use the flags as an experiment. Beede proceeded to ask the game officials to use the flag.
"Do me a favor boys, instead of using the horns, try dropping these flags on violations. The fans never hear the horns. Besides its just an experiment."
The four game officials Hugh McFee, Jack McFee, Bill Renner, and Carl Rebele all agreed to use the flag.
Jack McFee later used the flag at an Ohio State-Iowa game which happened to have the league’s commissioner, Major John Griffith, as a spectator. He became very curious why the officials were throwing "rags" in the air when a penalty was called. Griffith was impressed with the idea after McFee explained what was going on after the game.
The flag was officially introduced by McFee and Griffith at the 1948 American Football Coaches rules session.
McFee carried the original flag for many contests including games of Princeton-Yale and various Ohio State games until it faded. He made his way to the Rose Bowl, where the flag was tossed in front of 100,000 fans.
Two of the original flags are on display in YSU's Mosure Hall of Gridiron Glory on the fourth level in Stambaugh Stadium. Others are known to be at the Rose Bowl, Ohio Stadium, and with the Beede family.
http://www.ysupenguins.com/football/graphics/PenaltyFlagLV.jpg
Perhaps less known is that the valley is the home of games most famous (or infamous) invention ...the penalty flag. In the game of football, a penalty flag is thrown when a rules infraction occurs during a game. The creation of that penalty flag was in Youngstown, Ohio over 60 years ago.
It was conceived by then Youngstown College head coach, Dwight 'Dike' Beede and first used on Oct. 17, 1941. The flag was first used in a game pitting Youngstown College (today Youngstown State University) against Oklahoma City University at the Youngstown’s Rayen Stadium. Today the penalty flag is used in every competitive football game throughout the world.
Before the introduction of the penalty flag, the officials used horns and whistles to signal a penalty. This made it difficult for fans and the media to know that there was an infraction on the field because they could not hear the signal.
Beede said, "I always disliked the fish horn signal, figured it was a nuisance, irritating to the ears."
After the game, Jack McPhee, who was an official during the first game the penalty flag was used said, "Through the use of the signal flag, everyone in the stadium knows that something is wrong. It’s been a big help."
Beede came up with idea of the flag and had his wife sew it together. His wife, Irma Beede, later became known as the ‘Betsy Ross of Football’ because she sewed the first flags together. Contrary to popular belief, the flags were not yellow or white & black. He asked her to make a flag that had a bright color (red) with white stripes. The flags were put together using pieces of the Beede’s daughter’s old Halloween costume for the red part of the flag and an old sheet for the white part. She used some lead sinkers from Beede’s fishing tackle box to weigh it down. It was 16 inches square with the weight all at one end of the flag. The flag has been modified over the years and today it is yellow cloth that has sand in it to weigh it down.
Beede came to an agreement with then Oklahoma City Coach Os Doenges to use the flags as an experiment. Beede proceeded to ask the game officials to use the flag.
"Do me a favor boys, instead of using the horns, try dropping these flags on violations. The fans never hear the horns. Besides its just an experiment."
The four game officials Hugh McFee, Jack McFee, Bill Renner, and Carl Rebele all agreed to use the flag.
Jack McFee later used the flag at an Ohio State-Iowa game which happened to have the league’s commissioner, Major John Griffith, as a spectator. He became very curious why the officials were throwing "rags" in the air when a penalty was called. Griffith was impressed with the idea after McFee explained what was going on after the game.
The flag was officially introduced by McFee and Griffith at the 1948 American Football Coaches rules session.
McFee carried the original flag for many contests including games of Princeton-Yale and various Ohio State games until it faded. He made his way to the Rose Bowl, where the flag was tossed in front of 100,000 fans.
Two of the original flags are on display in YSU's Mosure Hall of Gridiron Glory on the fourth level in Stambaugh Stadium. Others are known to be at the Rose Bowl, Ohio Stadium, and with the Beede family.
http://www.ysupenguins.com/football/graphics/PenaltyFlagLV.jpg