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I made the above post before I read the ESPN article. Raddatz struck out Mantle 44 times in 63 at bats.

If my memory is correct, Dick Raddatz used to strike out Mickey Mantle again and again. Mantle, in his latter years, had trouble with overpowering pitchers such as Raddatz. But, so did other hitters. Raddatz didn't come in and face one batter, he would sometimes pitch several innings of an...

I remember seeing something strange in the news during Spring 2002 after the successful invasion of Afghanistan. It seems that there were complaints (not sure who) that the American forces shown had "too many white males." TheDefense Deptwas supposedly going to hire a black "diversity...

The last team to start 4 white DB's was the St.Louis Cardinals around 1980. Roger Wehrli, Lee Nelson,and Kevin Greene were three of them. I have a mental block on the other name. I remember listening to KMOX radio's footballtalk show. Black (and white)fans called in to criticize the Cardinals...

Alabama had a black QB at the start of the 1991 season (or in spring practice). He lost his job to Jay Barker who played QB as Bama won the 1992 National Title. My Tennessee Vols had the first black QB in the SEC from 1972-74, Condredge Holloway. Holloway was from Huntsville, Alabama. Bear...

This is a second-hand story, but one the people on this Forum might want to hear. My brother used to teach at a upper-crust private school. A few years ago, at an alumni gathering, he met a former student who had played football(don't know how long or how much) at a major college. He told my...

I remember a Sports Illustrated article about Bengal WR Cris Collinsworth during his rookie year in 1981. Collinsworth was mildly miffed about being compared to Lance Alworth, who had been retired for a decade. Collinsworth said, "I want to be compared to guys like James Lofton." Lofton was, of...

Steve Owens had continual injury problems after a 1000 yard season in 1971. Ironically, the Lions had drafted him because of the durability Owens had shown at Oklahoma. Owens seemed to be rounding back into form in mid-season 1974. I well remember seeing him in the Thanksgiving Day game that...

I happened to see Tim Dwight have a great game against the 49ers in 1999. It was a Monday Night game. Dwight returned a punt for a TD, weaving across the field. Late in the game, he caught a short pass over the middle. A 235 pound linebacker grabbed him from behind. Dwight shook him off and went...

Gary Collins wasn't considered just "A reliable possesion receiver." He was known as a clutch player who scored TDs. Here is Bernie Parrish, from his book: "Frank Ryan could score with a killer's instinct from inside his opponent's 20-yard line, especially when he threw to Gary Collins on...

The running backs played a different game 40 years ago also. For instance, you didn't run on third and long. You passed for the necessary yardage. Cleveland didn't run Jim Brown on long yardage or when they fell 2 TDs behind. I remember hearing the announcers saying that if Cleveland fell...

The 1964 Brown-Colt NFL Title game had several notable features. It pitted Jim Brown against Johnny Unitas. This meant the best running back ever going against the best quarterback in a NFL Title game. I don't think this ever happened before or since. The Browns and Colts had played in two...

Sometime in the early 1970's, Howard Cosell made an interesting remark. Cosell said, "Race car drivers are better athletes than are baseball players." Yes, Cosell said that. I don't have it in front of me, but Cosell repeated it in one of his books. He mentioned the extraordinary hand-eye...

It's interesting that Colonel Reb hadlitle idea who Jim Taylor was. Taylor was one of the most famous players of the 60s. He was in Sport magazine many times, which was the symbol of "making it" in those days. The Packers under Lombardi were perennial champions and contenders. Taylor had several...

Paul Zimmerman wrote The Thinking Man's Guide To Pro Football in 1970. He was then a sportswriter for the NY Post. He published a revised version in 1984. Zimmerman also wrote The Last Season of Weeb Ewbank and Duane Thomas and the Fall of America's Team. In the late 70's, he joined Sports...

I remember (age 11) seeing the NY Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles on TV in late 1961. The Giants had to win totake the Eastern Conference title. Charlie Conerly came off the bench to relieve Y.A. Tittle. Conerly hit a long TD pass to clinch the game. I still remember the announcer saying...

Regarding Don's comment about how QB was supposed to be majority black by now, I can recall predictions in this vein back around 1974. It was being said then that more than half of NFL QB's would be black in 10 years, meaning by the mid-80's.

Colonel Reb, I was an SEC (Tennessee Vols) fan during the period. Tennessee had two black starters when they won the SEC in 1969. They were Lester McClain (a fair player) at WR and Jackie Walker at LB. Walker was an amazing player at about 185 pounds. He set an NCAA record by returning 5...

Yes, John David Crowe was one of the top RBs of the late 50s and early sixties. However, some of your details are incorrect. Jim Brown led the NFL in 1960 with 1257 yards, with Jim Taylor second with 1101. Crow was third, throwing some TD option passes as well. Some people indeed thought that...

Take a look at McElhenny's run against his former 49er teamates in 1961. He fakes out Abe Woodson and Jim Johnson (Rafer's brother and HOF).

Have you ever seen a highlight film of Hugh McElhenny? I remember seeing him play on TV with the NY Giants in 1963at the end of his career. The announcers would say that he was the greatest halfback ever to play in the NFL.

I can tell you how the sports columnists would react to this site and topic, if they ever notice it. They would say, "Well, Bo Jackson couldn't have played in the SEC in 1965. The evil racism of that time has been stamped out. Whites are inferior to African-American athletes. So shut up your...

There was a paperback book published in 1990 called, The Pro Football Chronicle. The authors were sportswriters from the Washington Times. It seemed to be a counter to Boswell's baseball books. It had a lot of useful info, including game stats for many famous players. There was a roundup for...

As Colonel Reb says, Archie Manning was a great runner at Ole Miss. I remember during the 1969 season, seeing a film of Archie running 80 yards for a TD against Kentucky. He dropped back, then took off down the field.

I was in Neyland Stadium for the 1990 Tennessee-Notre Dame game won by ND 34-28. The Vols came back to cut the lead to a touchdown and recovered an onside kick with about two minutes left. Andy Kelley threw for Alvin Harper who was breaking open at the goal line. A Notre Dame DB reached up and...