Not sure quite what to make of this, but I thought I’d throw it out there. In the first photo, we see coach George Halas playfully pulling on quarterback Sid Luckman’s hair during the Bears’ 73-0 walloping of the Redskins in the 1940 title game. . . .

And in the second photo we see coach Jimmy Conzelman doing the same thing to backs Elmer Angsman (7) and Charley Trippi (62) after the Cardinals beat the Eagles for the ’47 title. I ask you: What was it in that era about coaches pulling players’ hair? (And does this explain why players now douse them with Gatorade?)