*I was at my 25th college reunion this weekend, so you’ll have to
forgive me for the brevity of today’s chat.
NFL Quiz: Admittedly, these are pretty hard. 1) Jerry Rice
holds the record for most seasons with 50 or more receptions, 17.
Who are the other four with at least 11? [All played at least part
of their career in the 1990s.] 2) Who holds the record for most
pass receptions in a game, 20? 3) Who holds the record for most
seasons leading league in receptions with 8? [It’s not Jerry Rice]
4) Who holds the record for most receiving yards in a game with
336? Answers below.
Playoff Chase
It’s as exciting a stretch drive as baseball has ever seen. With
one week of play to go, here is the deal. In the American
League, one of these four will not make it into the playoffs.
[Thru Sunday’s play]
Chicago 94-61
Cleveland .92-64
Boston ..91-64
Yankees 91-64
And what makes it all the better is Boston plays New York the
final weekend while Chicago takes on Cleveland.
[Over in the N.L., Houston leads Philadelphia by just a game in
their wildcard race.]
But speaking of Chicago, despite a 2 -game lead over division
foe Cleveland, they still have a chance to make baseball history;
as in becoming the first team to lose a 15-game lead (the margin
between themselves and Cleveland back on August 1).
So I thought we’d look at one of the more famous collapses, the
1964 Philadelphia Phillies, who blew a 6 -game lead with just
12 to play. To review:
Sept. 20
Phillies .90-60
Cincinnati 83-66 6 back
St. Louis ..83-66 6
What followed were ten straight losses by the Phils.
Sept. 21, 1964
Cincinnati 1, Phillies 0
Chico Ruiz stole home in the sixth inning – with two outs and
future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson at the plate – to jolt the
Phillies and cut their first-place lead to 5 games.
Sept. 22
Cincinnati 9, Phillies 2
Chris Short had his worst outing of the season, allowing six runs
in 4 1/3 innings as the Phils’ lead dwindled to 4 over second-
place Cincinnati and five over third-place St. Louis.
Sept. 23
Cincinnati 6, Phillies 4
Alex Johnson hit the Phils’ first homer in nine games, but it
didn’t prevent the Reds from sweeping the three-game series and
cutting Philadelphia’s lead to 3 games. Vada Pinson slammed
a three-run homer in a four-run seventh, an inning that wiped out
the Phils’ 3-2 lead.
Sept. 24
Milwaukee 5, Phillies 3
One day after 63,000 World Series applications were received,
Jim Bunning pitched decently – allowing three runs in six
innings – but lost. After the game, Phils manager Gene Mauch
talked about the Braves’ “flubby-dub” hits and lucky breaks.
Sept. 25
Milwaukee 7, Phillies 5 (12 innings)
Despite game-tying two-run, two-out homers by Johnny Callison
in the eighth and Richie Allen (an inside-the-parker) in the 10th,
the Phils lost their fifth straight. The same day, the Reds swept a
doubleheader from the Mets, slicing the Phils’ lead to 1
games.
Sept. 26
Milwaukee 6, Phillies 4
The Phils took a 4-0 lead into the fifth and a 4-3 lead into the
ninth. But Rico Carty’s three-run, ninth-inning triple off Bobby
Shantz continued the Phillies’ misery, reducing their first-place
lead to a half-game over the Reds and 1 games over the Cards.
Sept. 27
Milwaukee 14, Phillies 8
Callison slammed three homers but the Braves slammed
Bunning, collecting 10 hits and seven runs off the future Hall of
Famer in three innings. Bunning was pitching on two days’ rest.
The Reds swept another DH from the Mets and, stunningly,
moved into first place, a game ahead of the fading Phils.
Sept. 28
St. Louis 5, Phillies 1
Short, making his fourth start in 11 days, didn’t pitch badly
(three runs in 5 1/3 innings), but the Phils managed just five hits
off Bob Gibson and Barney Schultz. The loss knocked the Phils
into third place, 1 games behind first-place Cincinnati and a
half-game behind second-place St. Louis.
Sept. 29
St. Louis 4, Phillies 2
Sore-shouldered Dennis Bennett lasted just 1 1/3 innings as the
Phils lost their ninth straight. The flu-stricken Callison sat out
until delivering a pinch single in the seventh. As he stood on
first, Callison’s hands were shaking so badly that he was unable
to button his warm-up jacket, so Cards first baseman Bill White
did it for him. [I hope White washed his hands afterwards.]
Sept. 30
St. Louis 8, Phillies 5
Tim McCarver’s two-run homer started the scoring and sparked
the Cards to the win. Bunning, pitching on two days’ rest again,
allowed six runs in three innings and absorbed the club’s 10th
straight loss. Winner Curt Simmons, a former Phillie, raised his
record to 16-2 against his ex-teammates. More numbers: Allen
and Callison had a combined total of zero homers and one RBI in
six games played against the Cards and Reds during the slump.
The Phillies won their last two but it was too late.
Final standings
St. Louis ..93-69
Phillies 92-70
Cincinnati 92-70
St. Louis then won the World Series, 4-3, over the Yankees.
[Source for the above, the Philadelphia Inquirer / Sam Carchidi]
Stuff
–Great Presidents Cup action on Sunday. [I missed the rest of
it.] Chris DiMarco once again showed why he’s terrific in team
competition but, geezuz, it would be nice if he won something on
the regular tour.
–While the big boys were in Virginia, Robert Gamez set a
record at the Texas Open when he won for the first time in 15
years; the longest such stretch between victories.
–Michelle Wie is slated to turn pro by her 16th birthday, Oct. 11.
Evidently she has already signed up with the William Morris
Agency and can be expected to see compensation of about $10
million her first year through endorsements alone, including an
$8 million deal with Nike. Father B.J. also said Michelle will not
bypass the LPGA for the men’s tour. I don’t believe it.
–AP College Football poll
1. USC
2. Texas
3. Virginia Tech
4. LSU ..plays Tennessee Monday night [rescheduled due to
Rita]
5. Florida
6. Florida State
7. Georgia
8. Ohio State
9. Miami
10. Tennessee
–South Florida had its biggest win ever, a 45-14 pasting of #9
Louisville.
–Wake Forest looked like crap again in a 22-12 loss to Maryland
as a bunch of us alumni sat through the boredom. The tailgate
before the game was good, however. And at the end of the day,
sports fans, isn’t that what really matters?!
–USA Today had the following tidbits. As of last week’s USA
Today Coaches Poll, five of the top six teams started black
quarterbacks. Nine of the 22 top-rated QBs in Division I-A are
black. But, only three of 119 Div. I-A head coaches are.
–The Baltimore Orioles have told Rafael Palmeiro to stay home
the rest of the season after the dirtball attempted to finger
teammate Miguel Tejada as being the reason why he tested
positive for steroids. Tejada admits he gave Palmeiro vitamin B-
12 tablets, and last anyone checked the substance is, err,
contained in freakin’ fish, chicken and dairy products for
crying out loud. Like, hey, Raffy, welcome to Bar Chat’s
“Dirtball Hall of Fame,” lifetime achievement category.
–Barry Bonds has not ripped his Achilles tendon yet but we
remain hopeful.
–What a frustrating start to the NFL season for my Jets. We
need a quarterback pronto. But if you are a Cincinnati Bengals
fan, with their 3-0 start you have to be ecstatic. It’s the year
America discovers Chad Johnson that’s for sure.
–Nice piece on the Yankees’ Derek Jeter on “60 Minutes.” Then
Monday morning the Daily News blared the story that Jeter
received a threatening letter from some piece of scum for dating
white women. It warned him to “stop or he’ll be shot or set on
fire,” according to the FBI. This same letter writer has
threatened other prominent African-American men, including
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
–This will make you think twice about overdoing it with the
weight-lifting. I just saw where the New York Rangers’ 22-year-
old goaltender Dan Blackburn called it quits. Blackburn suffered
a career-ending shoulder injury while lifting.
–Ashton Kutcher, 27, married Demi Moore, 42 .not that there
is anything wrong with that.
–I have to admit, I was scrambling to remember last season’s
details as I watched the first episode of “Desperate Housewives.”
–Tommy Bond, the bully in the “Our Gang” and “The Little
Rascals” serials of the 1930s died at the age of 79.
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/25/65: Actually, this is such an
awesome week here’s the top ten.
#1 “Eve Of Destruction” (Barry McGuire)
#2 “Hang On Sloopy” (The McCoys)
#3 “You Were On My Mind” (We Five)
#4 “Catch Us If You Can” (Dave Clark Five)
#5 “Help” (Beatles)
#6 “The ‘In’ Crowd” (Ramsey Lewis Trio)
#7 “Like A Rolling Stone” (Bob Dylan)
#8 “It Ain’t Me Babe” (Turtles)
#9 “Heart Full Of Soul” (Yardbirds)
#10 “Laugh At Me” (Sonny Sonny Bono lone single hit)
But wait .there’s more!
#11 “You’ve Got Your Troubles” (Fortunes)
#13 “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” (Animals)
#14 “Baby Don’t Go” (Sonny & Cher .my favorite of theirs)
#15 “Unchained Melody” (Righteous Brothers)
#16 “I Got You Babe” (Sonny & Cher)
#17 “Do You Believe In Magic” (Lovin’ Spoonful)
#19 “California Girls” (Beach Boys)
#20 “Some Enchanted Evening” (Jay & The Americans)
#26 “Liar, Liar” (Castaways)
#28 “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” (James Brown)
#38 “It’s The Same Old Song” (Four Tops)
#39 “Nothing But Heartaches” (Supremes)
#41 “Who’ll Be The Next In Line” (Kinks)
#45 “Yesterday” (Beatles debut position on chart)
#48 “In The Midnight Hour” (Wilson Pickett)
#66 “A Lover’s Concerto” (Toys)
#78 “Steppin’ Out” (Paul Revere & the Raiders)
#79 “Everyone’s Gone To The Moon” (Jonathan King
underrated tune)
#85 “Everybody Loves A Clown” (Gary Lewis & the Playboys)
#134 “Let’s Hang On” (4 Seasons would climb to #3 later)
NFL Quiz Answers: 1) Seasons with 50 or more receptions:
Aside from Rice’s 17, Andre Reed had 13, and Cris Carter, Tim
Brown and Shannon Sharpe each had 11. 2) Terrell Owens holds
the record for receptions in a single game, 20, set on 12/17/00.
Tom Fears had 18 in 1950 while with Los Angeles and New
York Jets running back Clark Gaines had 17 in a single game,
9/80. [Had to throw Gaines in since he went to Wake Forest.] 3)
Don Hutson, Green Bay (1935-45), still holds the record for most
seasons leading league in receptions with 8, including 5 straight.
Lionel Taylor, Denver, led the league 5 times. 4) Flipper
Anderson still holds the record for receiving yards in a single
game, 336, while with the Los Angeles Rams, 11/26/89.
Receiver Tidbits:
–Lance Alworth (1962-72) is the only one to have five games of
200 yards. [Rice had 4]
–The highest average gain, career (min. 200 receptions), is held
by Homer Jones, 22.26 yards per reception on 224 catches,
1964-70. Jones had his most productive years with the Giants,
including his best season, 1967, where he hauled in 49 for a 24.7
average, including 13 touchdowns. One of the more exciting
players in the history of the game.
–But back to Don Hutson, here is a piece I did on him five years
ago.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on 1/13/13, Don Hutson attended
the University of Alabama where he was an all sports star with a
baseball career seemingly on the horizon. But in 1935 he joined
the Green Bay Packers and went on to become the most
dominant player at one position in football history.
You have to understand that in 1935, the forward pass was still
an evolving weapon. Don Hutson helped change this as he was
to become the first real pass receiver. It was Hutson who
developed techniques like hooking back for the ball and dropping
to his knees for a low pass.
Green Bay’s coach at the time, Curly Lambeau, also deserves
some credit for it was Lambeau who was one of the true
innovators of the game.
In 1936, the average number of pass attempts for a team was just
15 (with only 37% being completed). By 1939 the number had
grown to 20 and would go up from there.
When Hutson entered the NFL, the record for receptions in a
season was 24. By 1942 he had upped that to 74.
In fact, Don Hutson was an All-Pro in each of his 11 seasons
(retiring after 1945 at the age of 32) and he was league MVP in
both 1941 and 1942.
Before Hutson, double coverage on a receiver was unheard of,
but he was so spectacular he was often triple-teamed.
Sportswriter Peter King once wrote, “Hutson was football’s
DiMaggio, a graceful runner who never looked as if he was
trying hard. He also had some sprinter in him. At Alabama he
had run the 100-yard dash in 9.8 seconds. The grainy, fluttering
film I’ve seen of Hutson shows a 6’1” man, much taller than
most of the defensive backs who covered him. But his leather
helmet rode high on his head, making him appear a little nerdy.”
In Hutson’s last season, in a game against Detroit, he caught 4
TD passes in one quarter, plus he kicked 5 extra points (the team
scored a 5th TD) for 29 points; a record which still stands.
Hutson retired with 488 receptions for 7,991 yards (16.4 avg.).
He led the league in receptions in 8 of his 11 years and also led
the NFL in total TDs 8 times.
Remember, too, that back during his time teams played
anywhere from just 10 to 12 regular season games. Yet,
incredibly, his 99 career TD receptions remained a record until
1989 when Steve Largent finally passed him. Do the math and
you find that Hutson caught a TD pass every 4.9 receptions
…compared to Jerry Rice and his 7.9 mark.
Finally, recall that almost all of the players of this era played
both ways. Hutson, at 185 lbs., was seen to be too light to play
defensive end so he was employed in the secondary where he
picked off 30 passes, once leading the league.
Hutson was a member of the first class inducted into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame back in 1963. He died in 1997.
So quaff an ale to one of the 3 greatest football players of all
time. I\’\’ll let you argue who the other two were. [Editor says Jim
Brown and Gale Sayers if you don’t just look at career stats.]
Next Bar Chat, Thursday .and next week James Buchanan!!!
