Super Bowl Quiz: I tried to come up with one that is relatively
easy and one that is harder. 1) In Super Bowl IV, Kansas City 23-
Minnesota 7, name 3 of the 4 rushers for K.C. that day
(operating out of the running back slot). 2) In Super Bowl IX,
Pittsburgh 16 – Minnesota 6, name the Steelers front four which
helped limit the Vikings to 17 yards rushing on 21 carries.
Answers below.
Johnny Mac”s Football History
For those of you who grew up watching “situational” football, the
story of “Slinging” Sammy Baugh will seem quaint. Baugh was
the first glamour QB, changing the game from one of running and
defense to a more wide-open offense (although the Ravens are
doing their best to regress). But Sammy was more than a great
quarterback, he was also an excellent defensive cornerback and
possibly the finest punter to ever live. A real triple threat.
Think of it…Deion goes in for a few plays on offense and the
announcers go crazy. We have nickel packages, dime packages,
“third-down” specialists (running backs who never actually run
with the ball) and some teams actually have two place kickers;
one to kick off and another for field goals. Situational specialists
are the norm today. Granted, all things progress and the type of
game played these days doesn”t lend itself to the 60-minute men
of yesteryear, but you have to respect the overall skills of those
players. Perhaps the best of them all was Baugh.
Born in Texas in 1914, Sammy, at 6”2″ and 180 lbs., was the
epitome of a long, tall Texan. A three-sport star in high school,
he was a hot commodity for the local colleges. The University of
Texas recruited him for football, but Sammy wanted to play
baseball and basketball as well. Tiny TCU and their head baseball
coach, Dutch Meyer, won out over the more prestigious UT by
allowing Baugh to indulge his multi-sport wishes. Meyer soon
became head football coach as well.
Baugh blossomed into a star under Meyer. As a junior, he helped
TCU to a 10-1 record and a berth in the Sugar Bowl. He was the
starting tailback, but also played defensive back and punted. In
the wing formation, popular at the time, running backs often
threw the ball and Baugh developed into an outstanding passer.
The Sugar Bowl was played in a quagmire that year, making the
passing game nonexistent. Thus, field position was the order of
the day, and Baugh was called on to punt 14 times, compiling a
48-yard average. He also intercepted 2 passes and had a 45-yard
run to lead the Horned Frogs to a hard fought 3-2 victory.
Sammy continued to progress in his senior campaign, completing
109 of 219 passes for 1,890 yards and leading TCU to the first
ever Cotton Bowl. They beat a good Marquette team 16-6 with
Baugh being named a Co-MVP of the game. The following
summer he quarterbacked the college all-stars to an improbable 7-
0 win over NFL champion Green Bay.
Sammy”s baseball exploits in college were good enough for the
Cardinals to sign him to a minor league contract. But a few
months bouncing around in busses persuaded Baugh to give pro
football a shot. The Redskins had just moved to Washington
from Boston and looked to Baugh to be a marquee player for
them. He was signed to a one-year $8,000 contract, making him
the highest paid player on the team. With barely a week of
practice under his belt, he replaced an injured Cliff Battles in the
opener of the 1937 season. Baugh completed 11 of 16 that day
for 116 yards as the Skins beat the Giants 13-3. He continued as
a starter, eventually leading Washington to the NFL title game
against the Chicago Bears. That game may have changed the face
of pro football. Running and defense had been the order of the
day and the Bears, known as the “Monsters of the Midway,” were
the acknowledged leaders of that brand of play. Baugh lit ”em up
with the forward pass, throwing touchdowns of 55, 78 and 33
yards en route to a 28-21 victory. He also played every offensive
and defensive play for the entire game.
The Redskins remained a force in the NFL, meeting the Bears
three times between 1940 and 1943 for the championship. The
1940 game was the most lopsided loss in title game history, with
the Bears crushing Washington 73-0. Baugh had driven the team
downfield early in the game, only to have a sure touchdown
dropped in the end zone. Asked later what difference that catch
might have made he drawled, “I suppose we would have lost 73-
7.”
Sammy got a measure of revenge in 1942, leading the Redskins to
a 14-6 victory. The Bears were awesome that year, having gone
11-0 in the regular season while outscoring the opposition 376-
84. But Baugh threw for a TD and pinned the Bears deep in their
own end all day with some great punting, including a quick kick
for 85 yards.
Then, in 1943, Sammy had perhaps the finest all-around year in
football history. He became the first and only player to lead the
league in passing, punting, and interceptions. Remember, I mean
picking passes off, not throwing them. He once threw 4 TDs and
intercepted 4, all in one game, a 42-20 pasting of Detroit. Again,
it was Chicago who awaited the Skins in the title contest. Baugh,
on defense, tackled quarterback Sid Luckman early in the game
and suffered a concussion. Unfortunately, Sammy did not return
and the Skins lost 41-21.
Remember, Baugh accomplished all this in the old double-wing
formation, not overly conducive to a passing attack. Before the
1945 season, Washington finally switched to a T-formation and
he responded with a great year, completing an astonishing
70.33% of his passes, easily a record. [It wasn”t until 1982 that
this mark was broken when the Bengals Kenny Anderson
completed 70.55%.] That same season, Sammy led the Redskins
to the title game, a 15-14 loss to the Rams in sub-zero weather.
Washington rarely challenged from then on, but Baugh continued
his assault on the record book. On Sammy Baugh Day in 1947,
he lit up the Cardinals for 365 yards and 6 touchdowns as the
Skins routed the eventual champs, 45-21. In 1948 he set a
Redskins record by throwing for 446 yards in one game.
Before retiring in 1952, Baugh would lead the league in passing
seven times. His career punting average of 45.1 yards, and his
single season best of 51.4, still stand as the NFL standards. Plus
his 31 interceptions leave him behind only Darrell Green and
Brigg Owens in Washington history.
But, as is the case with so many greats, Sammy”s post playing
days were not as successful. He took a head coaching job with
Hardin-Simmons University in 1955, limping to a 23-28 five-year
record. That didn”t prevent the fledgling AFL from tapping him
as the first head coach for the then New York Titans, now the
Jets. Two seasons of 7-7 followed, which actually puts him
pretty high on the list of career winning percentage for Jets head
coaches. That says much more about the Jets ineptitude than it
says about Baugh”s coaching abilities. A final stint at Houston in
1964 (4-10) ended his coaching career.
Sammy was among the 17 charter members of the Pro Football
Hall of Fame and he”s also in the College Football Hall. He
remains active at age 84, tooling around the golf course regularly
and sponsoring a yearly tournament for charity. In this age of
increasing specialization, we will never see his likes again.
[Sources: “Slinging Sammy: The Man Who Would be King,”
Alicia Seymour; Game Day Magazine; Sports Biographies /
Hickoksports.com; ESPN Classic.]
Jason Kidd / Dirtball
Basketball”s Jason Kidd had seen trouble before, but once he
made his way to Phoenix he seemed to get his act together. Then
last week, police in Paradise Valley received the following 911
call from his wife, Joumana.
“There”s just a bad history here. I told him this would be the last
time, and he popped me right in the mouth.This is minor
compared to what I usually go through.”
And so it came to pass that Olympic gold medalist and NBA All-
Star Jason Kidd was arrested for misdemeanor assault, joining
backcourt mate Penny Hardaway on the All-Dirtball Team.
Hardaway had been accused five days earlier of threatening the
mother of his 8-year-old daughter with a gun, though this charge
was later dropped.
And how did the whole incident between Jason and Joumana
start? According to the AP and the police report, Joumana asked
Jason if he would watch and feed their 2-year-old son, T.J., while
she went to the gym. Kidd then took a french fry from the boy”s
plate, and his wife told him not to eat the child”s food.
“Jason then turns towards Mrs. Kidd and spits the french fry at
Mrs. Kidd, striking her in the face,” the police report said. “Mrs.
Kidd turns away from Jason. Jason then strikes Mrs. Kidd in the
face while holding a container of yogurt in his hand.” Joumana
then ran upstairs to her bedroom and locked the door but Jason
kicked it open. Unreal. Throw the guy in the slammer.
Jimmy Zambo
Who? That”s what I said when I read this wire story on Sunday.
It seems that Zambo was a pop idol in Hungary and thousands
attended his funeral on Saturday. He was 42 and died in a rather
bizarre way.
It seems that two weeks earlier, Zambo was lying in bed when a
cock”s crowing upset him. So Jimmy leaned out the window and
fired two shots with a pistol, apparently to scare the cockster
away.
So what does Jimmy do? He decides to show his wife there were
no more bullets in the weapon, put it to his head and pulled the
trigger. Dohh!
Eddie Donovan / RIP
Donovan, the architect of that great New York Knicks team that
won the NBA championship in 1970, died Saturday at the age of
78.
In the spring of 1964, Donovan was the Knicks coach but was
also responsible for the draft (along with scout Red Holzman).
That year he drafted an unknown from Grambling, Willis Reed.
Replaced as coach in January 1965, Donovan became the general
manager. The draft of ”65 brought Bill Bradley, Dave Stallworth
and Dick Van Arsdale; Cazzie Russell was picked in 1966; and
then in 1967, Donovan selected Walt Frazier and Phil Jackson.
Shooting guard Dick Barnett had been acquired from Los
Angeles in 1965, but it was in December 1968 that Eddie
Donovan pulled off one of the great trades in the history of
sports, obtaining power forward Dave DeBusschere for Walt
Bellamy and Howard Komives.
Bellamy was an outstanding center but a bit of a malcontent and
the trade enabled Reed to move from power forward to his more
natural center position. DeBusschere then became a monster at
the power slot.
So with Red Holzman at the helm (he had been named head
coach in 1967), the Knicks beat the Lakers in the dramatic Game
7 where an injured Reed hobbled onto the court, providing the
inspiration for the Knicks to persevere.
Donovan had actually left the Knicks two months before to head
up the operations for the expansion Buffalo Braves. By 1974 he
had turned the Braves into a playoff team. Then in 1975 Eddie
returned to the Knicks but the team was on a slide he couldn”t
stop. Ahh, just typing this brings back great memories of one of
the most enjoyable teams to watch of any sport. Reed,
DeBusschere, Bradley, Frazier, Barnett.and later Monroe and
Lucas for the 1973 championship edition. [Source: Richard
Goldstein / New York Times]
Alan Webb
On more than one occasion I have written of the fact that no high
school runner had broken 4 minutes in the mile since Marty
Liquori did so all the way back in 1967.
Well, this Saturday, Alan Webb of South Lakes High School in
Virginia finally did it, turning a 3:59.8 in a meet in Manhattan
where he was the only high school runner in the event.
That Webb accomplished this terrific feat is no surprise. He had
run a sub 4-minute split at the Penn Relays last spring. So let”s
quaff an ale to the Webman! [In case you haven”t noticed, we are
always looking for excuses to quaff ales here at Bar Chat.]
Top 3 songs for the week of 1/23/61: #1 “Wonderland By Night”
(Bert Kaempfert) #2 “Exodus” (Ferrante & Teicher) #3
“Calcutta” (Lawrence Welk…is that a Top Three or what?
Actually, they”re all pretty good tunes). By the way, #4 that
week was The Shirelles “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.”
Super Bowl Quiz Answers: 1) The 4 rushers for K.C. in SB IV
were Mike Garrett, Wendell Hayes, Warren McVea, Robert
Holmes.I bet if you played Strat-O-Matic Football as a kid you
got this. 2) Steelers Front Four for SB IX: Joe Greene, L.C.
Greenwood, Dwight White, Ernie Homes. While the Vikings
were only mustering 17 yards on the ground, the Steelers racked
up 249 on 57 carries; Franco Harris, 34 for 158, and Rocky
Bleier, 17 for 65, led the way. In case you forgot, Chuck
Foreman was the Vikings top rusher in those days but he picked
up only 18 yards on 12 carries.
Next Bar Chat, Wednesday.
