CLASSIC: Teddy Roosevelt May Just Have Saved Modern (American) Football

CLASSIC: Teddy Roosevelt May Just Have Saved Modern (American) Football

Author: iHeartPodcasts April 17, 2026 Duration: 24:46

In recent years the public has become increasingly aware of the long-term dangers posed by sports injuries -- but at the turn of the 20th century this wasn't the case. Football players didn't wear protective gear, and in 1905 alone more than 15 players died from game-related injuries. Universities were on the verge of banning football entirely. President Roosevelt, himself a life-long fan of the sport, knew something must be done. Listen in to learn how the 26th President of the US may just have saved modern football.

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History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Ridiculous History
Podcast Episodes
CLASSIC: California Schoolchildren and the Great Squirrel War [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:18
In this week's Classic episode: In 1918, as the planet was consumed by World War I, the government of California found itself combating an unexpected and catastrophic enemy: Ground squirrels. The rodents were wreaking ha…
Don’t Be a Schmo Yo, Try a Yoyo! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:22
Most people think of yo-yos as a fun, old-school toy for kids: a pretty simple, clever device leveraging physics with a string and a weight. Yet as Ben, Noel and Max discover in today's episode, the story of the humble d…
The Ridiculous Secret of "Supreme" Pizza [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:45
The results are in: pretty much everyone loves pizza... but what doth a pizza make varies from place to place. Obsessed with a game-changing message from a former pizzaiolo on the inside, Ben, Noel and Max dive into the…
CLASSIC: When West Virginia Begged the USSR for Foreign Aid [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:53
In this week's Classic episode: Were it not for the coal mine, the town of Vulcan, West Virginia may well have never existed. As a rural and geographically isolated community, Vulcan relied on a single, small bridge for…
Knitting as Espionage, Part Two: Legendary Spies -- and One Traitor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:37
Espionage takes many forms. As Ben, Noel and Max learned in the first part of this two-part series, one of those forms was knitting. In today's episode, the guys explore the stories of phenomenal spies who used knitting…
Knitting as Espionage, Part One: Secrets in the Stitch [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:19
For a lot of folks in the modern day, knitting is more a relaxing hobby than a household necessity. However, not too long ago, this needlecraft was a genuine -- and effective! -- tool for spies. In the first part of this…
CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part II [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:47
Language is beautiful and, in many cases, continually evolving. As a result, we end up with hundreds of strange idioms and figures of speech that we use on a daily basis, with little to no understanding of what they orig…
CLASSIC: Idiomatic for the People II, Part I: What's in a word? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:54
Language is beautiful and, in many cases, continually evolving. As a result, we end up with hundreds of strange idioms and figures of speech that we use on a daily basis, with little to no understanding of what they orig…