Most of the photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs, 20 to 200 megabytes in size) from the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) Many were digitized by LOC contractors using a Sinar studio back. They are adjusted by your webmaster for contrast and color in Photoshop before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here.

Washington, D.C., 1920. "Gripp, Mathew, [Nathan] Lahn, Troske -- Gallaudet U." Gridiron stars of the first college for the deaf, credited with inventing the football huddle in the 1920s as a way to keep its signed plays secret. View full size.
And the men were steel. Interesting bit about "the huddle." I had no idea it originated with a deaf football team. Makes sense though.
Before the 1933 rule change forward passes had to be made way back from the line of scrimmage- at least 5 yards back. They were all long range bombers in 1920! Stealth? In the 20's audibles went something like "Ralph, go right and catch it!"
[Unless, like these guys, you can't hear. - Dave]
Today's Top 5