November 24, 1963 -- Plenty of Americans remember what they were doing on Nov. 22, 1963, the day President Kennedy was assassinated. It led to an odd situation two days later.
The American Football League postponed its week's games, so the Bills and Patriots did not play on the 24th as scheduled. However, the rival National Football League opted to play its games that Sunday. The contests weren't televised, as coverage of the news story took precedence.
NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle said at the time, "It has been traditional in sports for athletes to perform in times of great personal tragedy. Football was Mr. Kennedy's game. He thrived on competition."
Rozelle later said that playing the games was his single biggest regret about his tenure. The NFL learned a lesson from the weekend. It cancelled games the week after September 11, 2001.
--- Budd Bailey
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