St. Louis Rams Quiz [L.A. Rams / Cleveland Rams, 1937 – ]:
1) Who coached the L.A. Rams to the 1980 Super Bowl (1979
season)? 2) The Rams have retired 3 uniform #”s, one being Bob
Waterfield. Who were the other two? 3) Most passing yards,
career? 4) Most TDs, career? Answers below.
Johnny Mac”s Football History / Red Grange
“The Roaring Twenties”…quite a time. The market was flying,
money was free and easy, the “women”s lib” movement was
underway, Prohibition no more than a pesky annoyance,
speakeasies flourishing under the less than watchful eye of local
law enforcement. America began its love affair with
celebrity…all manner of celebrity, from Al Jolson to Al Capone.
Sport was the natural attraction for the times. And the so-called
“Golden Age” of sports was not lacking for star quality.Babe
Ruth and Jack Dempsey, Bobby Jones and Bill Tilden, Paavo
Nurmi and Man o” War, all stars still easily recognizable to
today”s fan. Football also saw its first real superstar come of age,
Harold “Red” Grange.
All sports face a crisis. Some come early, as with football. Some
come in the wake of a seminal event, such as baseball faced after
the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Some occur as slowly as erosion,
with public interest waning over time, such as basketball faced in
the late 1970”s. Each sport was in dire need of saviors, someone
to grab the public”s imagination. Baseball was unbelievably
fortunate to have Babe Ruth, the epitome of a larger than life
character, come around exactly when they needed him.
Basketball was able to rally around the budding, friendly
rivalry between Bird and Magic to reinvigorate the game.
Having Jordan on the scene some years later didn”t hurt either.
But football faced its crisis early on. The sport was struggling to
get off the ground on a professional level (see earlier “Bar Chat”
for the details). Finances were shaky and collegiate players didn”t
look to play pro ball after graduation. They desperately needed a
major player to make a commitment and they got one…Red
Grange.
Born in 1903 in tiny Forksville, PA (amazing how many great
players came out of PA) the family moved to Wheaton, IL when
Harold was about 5. Not blessed with size at 5”11″ and 175
pounds, Grange was nonetheless a gifted athlete. What he lacked
in strength was more than compensated with speed and
quickness. He earned 16 letters in high school, competing in
baseball, football, basketball and track. To underscore his speed,
Grange was Illinois” state champion sprinter at 100 and 220
yards and also a state long jump champ. He worked summers on
an ice truck, which helped enhance his physical development.
That job led to his early nickname, “The Wheaton Iceman.”
Although he excelled at football, scoring 75 touchdowns and 532
points in his high school career, Grange seriously considered not
pursuing the sport when he enrolled at the University of Illinois.
His fraternity brothers were not thrilled with that decision,
eventually changing his mind with the help of a large wooden
paddle (of course such hazing would land them in court
today).
It would seem the frat boys had it right.in Red”s first game he
scored three touchdowns against Nebraska, including a 66-yard
punt return. He continued his successful sophomore campaign,
gaining 723 yards in seven games (5.6 yds per carry) and scoring
12 touchdowns. Illinois went undefeated and won the national
championship. Grange was a star, but not yet a legend. That
would change midway through his junior year. On October 18,
1924 Illinois lined up against Big-Ten rival Michigan. The
Wolverines were a powerhouse, with a 20-game unbeaten streak
and a defense that had yielded but 4 touchdowns in the previous
2 seasons. Grange returned the opening kick-off 95 yards,
portending an amazing performance. In quick order he shredded
the Michigan defense with touchdown runs of 67, 56 and 44
yards. Four TDs in the first 12 minutes of the game, totaling 262
yards. Exhausted, he went to the sidelines for a breather.
But he was not done yet…he retuned to score another rushing TD
and for good measure threw a 20-yard TD pass. Illinois upended
the Wolverines 39-14 as Grange totaled 402 all-purpose
yards.212 on the ground, 64 through the air and 126 on kick
returns. A legend was born.
In the words of Grantland Rice:
A streak of fire, a breath of flame
Eluding all who reach and clutch
A gray ghost thrown into the game
That rival hands may never touch
A rubber bounding, blasting soul.
And so Red Grange was transformed from a star player to “The
Galloping Ghost.” Football had a bona fide hero. He didn”t slow
down much his senior year, capping his career with a signature
game against Ivy power Penn. [This was 1925 and the Ivy
League was a major force in college ball.] The game was played
in Philadelphia and was widely hyped. Grange did not
disappoint. He rushed for a career high 237 yards and 3
touchdowns on a muddy field while accounting for 363 all-
purpose yards. The Illini upset Penn 24-2. Grange finished off a
stellar collegiate career with a win over Ohio State the following
week. In 20 games he amassed 2,071 yards rushing, caught
14 passes for 253 yards, completed 40 of 82 passes for 575 yards
and scored 31 TDs. Nine times he had TD runs of over 50 yards.
Rumors were swirling over his turning pro. Grange announced
the day after the Ohio State game that the rumors were true. He
had signed up with promoter C.C. “Cash and Carry” Pyle, a local
theater owner. Old Cash and Carry had concocted an elaborate
scheme with George Halas of the Chicago Bears. Grange was
guaranteed around $3,000 per game (a huge sum for the time)
along with a piece of the gate. He dove right into his pro career,
debuting on Thanksgiving Day 1925, shortly after the Illinois
season ended. The Bears were a typical franchise of this time,
struggling to stay afloat. Their last game prior to signing Grange
drew 7,500 fans. Grange”s debut attracted a standing -room-only
crowd of 36,000. Rumor has it that Halas cried when counting
the gate receipts. To capitalize on his new found star, the Bears
embarked on a whirlwind tour, playing 19 games in 67 days
(some regular season and some exhibition). Grange played in 17
of them, attracting good crowds more often than not.
Perhaps the most important of these was a contest against the
New York Giants. The Giants were struggling more than most,
looking to get a stronghold in the east for a sport widely
considered to be popular only in the mid-west. Tim Mara, who
founded the club with an initial $500 investment, was out of
pocket some $45,000. He desperately needed a shot in the arm
(not to mention a shot in the wallet).
Along came Grange. His appearance at the Polo Grounds on
Dec. 6, 1925 drew over 65,000 fans. This was after he scored 2
touchdowns in a hard fought game in Philadelphia the day
before! [I told you it was a whirlwind schedule.] Grange played
well, scoring a touchdown on an interception return (yes, he
played both ways) and doing his usual combo of running, passing
and receiving in the Bears 19-7 victory. More important though
was the gate.an NFL record of $143,000. It convinced Mara
that football would make it in New York and the Giants went on
to be among the most successful franchises in sport. Grange got a
whopping $30,000 from that one game alone.
When his tour completed in January, Red had scored a fortune.
Some $90,000 in salary and gate receipts coupled with $75,000
in endorsements put Grange on easy street. Along with Pyle, he
tried to buy a piece of the team from Halas, but old Papa Bear
wasn”t selling. Miffed at that, the pair decided to start their own
league, the American Football League, in 1926. Naturally,
Grange was the centerpiece, playing for the New York football
Yankees. The league folded quickly, lasting but one season.
The Yankees, due largely to Grange”s presence, were able to join
the NFL. Early in the 1927 season, in a game ironically against
the Bears, Grange suffered a severe knee injury and was never
the same. He sat out the entire ”28 campaign, but returned with the
Bears in 1929. His value as a running back diminished, he
nonetheless starred in the defensive backfield for 6 seasons,
culminating in a game saving tackle in the 1933 Championship
game (a 23-21 Bears victory over the Giants). One motivation
for his return was the stock market Crash of ”29, which hit him
hard (he wasn”t alone in this regard). As is the case with many
successful people, Grange rebounded from this by becoming rich
all over again in real estate, insurance and motivational speaking.
He also worked as an analyst on Bears games for 14 years.
Red Grange was a charter member of both the College and Pro
Football Hall of Fame. He died in Florida in 1991 at the ripe old
age of 87, where he was reported to have mastered the intricacies
of the butterfly ballot (sorry, couldn”t resist).
Grange was a humble man by today”s standards. [Hell,
Muhammad Ali is humble by today”s standards!] He once
commented, “They built my accomplishments way out of
proportion. I never got the idea I was a tremendous big shot. I
could carry a football well, but there are a lot of doctors and
teachers and engineers who could do their thing better than I.”
Juxtapose that to Reggie, and “the magnitude of being me.”
Once, when on a White House visit, the team was introduced to
Silent Cal Coolidge. Told they were members of the Chicago
Bears, old Cal said “Glad to meet you fellers. I always enjoyed
animal acts.” Guess that”ll keep you humble.
Grange was a giant, deserving of mention with the stars of his
day. He meant as much to his sport as any player could. He was
the right guy at the right time.
[Sources: “ESPN Sports Century,” Football Hall of Fame,
University of Illinois, New York Times / Dave Anderson.]
PGA Tour Qualifying School
This week marked the conclusion to the Tour”s annual “Hell
Week.” 166 golfers were applying for their Tour card, 50 of
which would receive it.
You may be aware that only the Top 125 on the PGA Tour”s
money list receive an exemption from qualifying for tournaments
the following year. Those who fail to finish in the Top 125 thus
have to re-qualify for their cards by competing in a grueling 6-
round tournament with their peers.
Of the 166 who then go through the Q-school, as it”s called, the
top 50 and ties qualify for their 2001 playing card. The next 50
and ties qualify for the junior Buy.Com tour. The rest receive
restricted Buy.Com privileges.
This year Stephan Allan was the medalist, finishing 32-under-par
for the 6 rounds, 400. [Two par-72 courses were employed.]
PGA vet Frank Nobilo, who had lost his card this year, qualified
to come back. But some big names (for golf junkies, at least)
failed to make the grade…Casey Martin, Brian Watts, Mike
Springer, Brad Fabel, Robert Gamez, and Scott Gump.
And then there were the tour veterans who didn”t even qualify for
a Buy.Com exemption.Willie Wood, Mike Hulbert, Dave
Stockton, Jr., and Curt Byrum being a few of the “bigger” names.
The pressure to maintain a high level of proficiency on the PGA
Tour is incredible. While the money is huge for the top players
these days, those near the bottom of the Top 125 are probably
“only” clearing about $250,000 (including endorsements). And
then you have to add in the fact that they may not keep their
playing privileges, year after year.
Including those who received their tour cards through Q-school,
that”s only 175 (plus some foreign players and those who receive
special exemptions) who are eligible to compete; an incredibly
small number.
Contrast that with other sports, particularly in light of the
tremendous amount of expansion that has taken place in each of
these. Expansion has significantly diluted the talent pool. And
in looking at the four major sports leagues, you can
conservatively say that 200-250 in each shouldn”t really be
playing. And in most cases, the lesser players in these leagues
are earning substantially more than $250,000.
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/7/74: #1 “Kung Fu Fighting”
(Carl Douglas…just an awful tune) #2 “I Can Help” (Billy
Swan) #3 “When Will I See You Again” (The Three Degrees)
Rams Quiz Answers: 1) Ray Malavasi coached the Rams to the
”80 Super Bowl, a game which the Rams lost to the Steelers, 31-
19. 2) Merlin Olsen and Jackie Slater are the other two to have
their uniform #”s retired. 3) Passing yards, career: Jim Everett,
23,758. 4) TDs, career: Eric Dickerson, 58.
NFL Notes: The Cleveland Browns are averaging just 214 yards
of offense per game (66.7 rushing / 147.5 passing). The
Baltimore Ravens defense is giving up only 231 yards per game.
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
*Recognizing that most of you don”t read my “Wall Street
History” pieces, you still may want to take a look at the 12/1 and
12/8 ones for a little history of Anheuser-Busch.
