History
Arch Ward, the sports editor of the Chicago Tribune, in 1934 came up with the idea of a pre-season game between the NFL champions and a team of college all-stars to benefit the newspaper's charity fund. All of the games were played at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The first meeting, on Aug. 31, 1934, ended in a scoreless tie. In the early years, the college players did pretty well against the pros. The NFL champions dominated in later years, however, losing only once after 1955.
In 1976, the game was suspended and finally called off because of a heavy rainstorm late in the third quarter, with the Pittsburgh Steelers holding a 24-0 lead.
That was the last game of the series. There were two main reasons for the demise. First, pro football salaries had reached a much higher level, many college players who were unwilling to take part in the game for fear of injury. Second, fan interest had declined substantially because of the NFL's dominance.