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Gary Danielson, CBS deliver old-time homage to Red Grange during Illinois-Michigan
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Gary Danielson and Brad Nessler have broadcasted college football games at CBS for a long, long time. But not quite long enough to be around in 1924 when Red Grange opened Memorial Stadium with a 6-touchdown performance against Michigan.
Almost 100 years to the day later, No. 22 Illinois hosted No. 24 Michigan in a rededication to Memorial Stadium that was complete with spiffy throwback uniforms from a century ago and modern helmets that had a leather look to them. It was a complete throwback by the Fighting Illini to celebrate their past with Grange and the stadium that is a memorial to the university’s students who died in World War I.
Well, CBS got into the act on its national broadcast of Saturday’s game, releasing a black-and-white re-enactment of the setting, circa 1924, complete with Danielson and Nessler in the appropriate clothes (and hats, of course) of the time. It was a charming addition to an already glorious day at Illinois, which set out to knock off the defending national champion 100 years and 1 day after the famous Grange game on Oct. 18, 1924.
We're taking you back in time to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Red Grange's breakout performance against the Wolverines.
It's No. 24 @UMichFootball at No. 22 @IlliniFootball on CBS and @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/tkcjj4ejUq
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 19, 2024
Maybe appropriately, Illinois led Michigan 6-0 in the 2nd quarter in a low-scoring game that might’ve been fitting for a Big Ten struggle in 1924 — or some would joke in 2024, too. Regardless, CBS was celebrating the occasion with its own tribute to Grange and the stadium he helped open with a bang.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
