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Don, thanks for your comments. There was a similar situation (though more bizarre) on the 1974-76 Los Angeles Rams. Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom had gone out of his way to give black QBs a chance. When he owned the Colts, he wasted a high draft choice in 1971 on Karl Douglas, who couldn't play...

Don, do you remember the quarterback situation on the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers? There was a player's strike during training camp. Some players went in, most stayed out initially. The Steeler's 3rd string QB, Joe Gilliam, went in and looked good in the preseason games. He started the first six...

Fred Biletnikoff had the 190-yard game against the Jets in the 1968 AFL Title Game. He destroyed loud-mouthed Jet corner Johnny Sample, who was benched. The Raiders lost when Daryl Lamonica threw a lateral behind the receiver and the Jets recovered. Two weeks later they beat the Colts in Super...

I went to my bookshelf and pulled out my copy of Bernie Parrish's book, They Call It A Game. Chapter Twelve is titled- "Fixing Anyone." Parrish writes: "There arer four basic ways to fix a football game: (1) Through a referee; (2) through an important player, or more subtly (3) through the...

I read the book by Bernie Parrish, They Call It A Game. Parrish didn't write that he participated in fixed games. He said that he played in games where he "felt something was wrong." When some writers pressed him on that point on a 1971 TV show, Parrish could not name any specific games. In a...

The black NFL player mentioned above was Bubba Smith. He claimed that Super Bowl III was suspicious in how it turned out. That was Namath's Jets beating the Colts, whom Smith played for. Some have speculated that the Colt's owner, Caroll Rosenbloom, went along with a fix in that game, as well as...

I neglected to mention Cowens in my above post. He would give 7 foot centers a lot of trouble by all-out hustle, plus an excellent outside shot.

I saw the Celtics play in person twice in the early 70s. Havlicek would run and run, moving without the ball. His opponents couldn't keep up with him.

I echo the above positive comments on Reggie White. Those comments cost Reggie a LOT of money. He lost a network job as a football analyst for one thing, plus endorsements. In a column after his death, the sports columnist for the Nashville Tennessean was still chastizing him for the Wisconsin...

I saw Reggie White play several times for Tennessee. His first 3 years, 1980-82, he was inconsistent. He really played well as a senior in 1983, however. I remember a game I attendedwhere he sacked the opposing quarterback again and again.

When I was a child, I saw Frank Gifford play for the Giants on TV. He was what was called a "Triple Threat." At running back, he could throw the option pass, and was an excellent receiver. After sitting out the 1961 season (the Bednarik hit) he came back in 1962 as a WR. He often made...

Yes, Ole Missbeat LSU 21-0 in the 1960 Sugar Bowl. This rematch was and is very unusual. Cannon was held to 8 yards in 7 carries. I remember seeing it on TV. Johnny Vaught's method was to recruit as many fullbacks as possible. He would then make linemen out of many of them. That way he had a...

I am an old-line SEC fan. I can remember (I was 9 years old) when Billy Cannon ran a punt back 89 yards to beat Ole Miss on Halloween night 1959. Next week, my Tennessee Vols stopped Cannon 6 inches from a two-point conversion to upset top ranked LSU 14-13. Isaw Cannon's punt return on ESPN a...

The hoariest cliche about boxing is, "There aren't any good heavyweights around today meaning the present champion is overrated." That has been a staple of conversation since the end ofWorld War II whether the champion was black or white. I read most of the boxing magazines between the...

The following is from a book by a well-known pro football star published in 1964. He lists the top four WR's (called flankers then) in the NFL circa 1963 while discussing a teammate: "He has covered the league's best flankers one-on-one--such flankers as Tommy McDonald, Buddy Dial, Red...

I remember in the 70's, it would be said that the Raiders did things differently. They had a left-handed quarterback (Stabler) and the halfback blocked for the fullback. I don't remember any special mention about Hubbard and Van Eeghen being white. When O.J. Simpson played in the 1974 Pro...

Lou Holtz coached at Arkansas through the 1982 season, going to minor bowls the rest of his tenure. However, Holtz got in trouble at Arkansas when it became known that he was a supporter of "ultraconservative" North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms. Holtz had known Helms when he coached at NC State...

Billy Bruton was a black man who had played in the Negro Leagues before signing with the Braves. I remember during my childhood seeing him play on the Game Of The Week many times. Bruton played for the Milwaukee Braves from 1953-60 and the Detroit Tigers from 1961-64.

I remember this game. It was the 1978 Orange Bowl between Arkansas and Oklahoma. Some 5 or 6 black players (the team's stars) were suspended by Holtz, one of them was Ben Cowins, the teams leading rusher. The Little Rock NAACP demanded their immediate reinstatement. Holtz didn't back down and...

Drew Pearson caught the Hail Mary pass from Roger Staubach in the Cowboy's 1975 playoff win at Minnesota. The pass from Manning to Stokely was a great play. I saw Peyton Manning play at Neyland Stadium several times in person. His trademark both then and now was precision and efficiency...

I was watching the highlights of the Colt-Charger game last night. A Charger DB recovered a fumble (I believe) and went out of bounds. He then spiked the ball in out of bounds territory as hard as he could.

ESPN Classic sometimes shows NFL Films, Lost Treasures. Volume I of this series is perhaps the most interesting. It covers 1962-65. Throughout, narrator Steve Sabol marvels at the brutality of the hitting 40 years ago. Sabol says something like, "The players may be bigger and faster now, but...

Speaking of Roger Carr, I remember reading that he was so frightened of Howard Schnellenberger, Colt coach in Carr's rookie year, that he almost quit. Another time I readan interview with Carr were he told how cornerbacks would ride him hard for being white and would play him too close because...

Ray Renfro, father of Mike and grandfather of Clint, played WR for the Cleveland Browns 1952-63. Ray Renfro was considered the fastest WR in Pro Football during the 1950's. Mike wasn't as fast as his father, though a very good receiver.

In the October 1974 issue of Sport Magazine there was a story by Phil Musick titled: "Terry, Are You Really That Dumb?" This was just before the Steelers won their first Super Bowl, and is a pretty good article. The gist of the story is that Bradshaw's problem isn't a lack of intelligence, but...