University of North Carolina Athletics
Cedars History Report
September 11, 2002 | General
Playing on Labor Day Weekend
By Rick Brewer, SID Emeritus
Many fans may find it hard to believe that games over the Labor Day weekend are relatively new to college football schedules.
Since the sport was first played in the late 1800's, most teams did not begin action until at least mid-September. In fact, Carolina generally opened its season the last Saturday in September until the mid-1950's.
Still, the end of football and the beginning of college basketball rarely overlapped as they do now.
There were a couple of reasons for the earlier start of the football season.
A change in academic calendars was a factor. When many schools switched to an earlier start of classes, football schedules did the same.
Beginning the season earlier also allowed schools to build open dates into their schedules. This hadn't always been possible in the past, but coaches felt a break in the season would benefit their players.
Of course, the biggest reason openers shifted to early September and even late August was the addition of an 11th game to the regular-season schedule in 1970.
Now with a 12th game being allowed in certain seasons, almost all opening games will probably be played before Labor Day.
Prior to this year's game with Miami, Carolina had surprisingly played only 14 games over Labor Day weekend.
The first came in 1976 against Miami with the Tar Heels scoring a 14-10 victory.
This game featured what many coaches refer to as "The Swinging Gate" play. Carolina fans also remember it as "The Shoestring Play." That's what Duke called it in upsetting the Tar Heels, 17-13, in 1969.
In the 1976 game Carolina was facing a Miami team which had one of the best defenses in the nation. But, Tar Heel coaches had noticed that when the Redskins huddled defensively, most of their players had their backs to the line of scrimmage.
Early in the second quarter Carolina was backed deep in its own territory. As the rest of the offense waited, quarterback Bernie Menapace walked backwards to apparently get a clearer look for the play the coaches wanted to run.
As the defense continued to huddle, the ball was quickly snapped to wingback Mel Collins. Collins raced 69 yards untouched down the left sideline for a 7-3 UNC lead.
However, Miami scored later in the period and maintained a 14-7 lead into the fourth quarter. Carolina finally won the game on a nine-yard pass from Menapace to Collins.
Unquestionably, Carolina's most impressive win over Labor Day was a 45-0 rout of Clemson in 1996. The Tar Heels rolled up 429 yards of offense to just 91 for the Tigers. Leon Johnson ran for 109 yards himself, caught three passes for 51 yards, bolted 67 yards on one play and scored twice on runs of one and three yards.
Clemson, meanwhile, crossed midfield only three times against the Tar Heel defense and never drove further than the Carolina 39.
Now with all the changes on campus and in the game itself, Labor Day games such as these are going to become an almost regular part of the Tar Heel schedule.
Rick Brewer is in his fourth decade with the University of North Carolina athletic department and brings a unique historical perspective to TarHeelBlue.com. A native of North Carolina, Brewer served as UNC's Sports Information Director from 1975 until his retirement from full-time work in 2000. Email Rick Brewer at rbrewer@uncaa.unc.edu.
