Vintage football returns to Rock Island, Illinois. The Annual Vintage Football Game will be held Saturday, Sept. 10 at Douglas Park in Rock Island. Simon Herrera and Luke Shatek are the organizers of the event, which is co-hosted by Rock Island Parks and Recreation.

The purpose of the game is to celebrate the pro football history in the city of Rock Island and the surrounding Quad-City area. The teams selected to represent the era are the Rock Island Independents and the Moline Universal Tractors.

No admission will be charged. The teams will be wearing custom designed replica jerseys, leather helmets and using a 1920s style melon football. Come see how football was played when Rock Island had an NFL franchise. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and grab a spot right next to the field just as they did back in the 1920s. The game will be played rain or shine.

The vintage football teams will take the field to warm up around 11 am. Kids and fans are encouraged to come to the field to check out the melon footballs and talk with the players. Team and player introductions will begin at 12 pm. The coin toss will be at 12:30 pm, featuring Mayor Mike Thoms. The game will kick off at 12:30 pm and last about two hours.

Vintage football T-shirts, footballs and memorabilia will be available for sale. The Rock Island Parks and Recreation concession stand will be selling food, drinks and beer. Outside alcohol is not permitted.

The game will be held at the northeast end of the park adjacent to the main parking lot on the new multi-purpose field at Historic Douglas Park. The park has had many renovations and upgrades including the youth baseball field, dugouts, scoreboard, concession stand, ADA playground, restrooms and parking lot. Progress is still underway on lighting and turf renovations. To get involved or to donate to Friends of Douglas Park, contact kc76ers@msn.com.

For more information about the event, please call Rock Island Parks and Recreation at (309) 732-7275.