Tag Archives: sports

[August 16, 1968] Brown is the color of my true love team (the NFL in 1968)


by Marie Vibbert

Looking forward to the 1968 NFL season!

The only big news this year is that The New York Giants and New Orleans Saints have switched divisions.  The New York Giants had finished second in the Century Division last year and will bring competition to the Dallas-dominated Capitol Division.  Hopefully they will not just beat up on Philadelphia and Washington, but if they do, with the advantage of short bus rides to those cities, they’ll be all the more able to knock Dallas off their perch.


Yankee stadium where the Giants played the Packers last October; that's Frank Sinatra and Lee Remick in the foreground.

Meanwhile, the Saints finished dead last in the Capitol Division last year and might do better against the softer teams at the bottom of Century – namely Pittsburgh and St. Louis.  They should be pretty evenly matched with St. Louis, and it’ll be fun to see two hot weather teams wrestle it out early in the season, as they do September 29.

The league negotiated these moves to make the divisions more evenly matched, and if that comes to pass, it is good news for football fans.  Who wants to watch a one-sided slaughter?

At the draft earlier this year, the Minnesota Vikings traded for the first pick, which they spent on Ron Yary from UCSC, an offensive tackle.  This is the first time the number one draft pick was an o-lineman, and about time, I say!  Coaches underestimate the vital importance of the line.  And Yary is well worth the pick.  As a junior, he was moved to the offensive line from defensive line (where he was a PAC-8 all star) and was a consensus All-American as a junior and a unanimous choice in 1967. He was the 1967 winner of both the Outland Trophy and the Knute Rockne Award, awards that annually go to the nation's top collegiate lineman. During Yary's three seasons, the Trojans compiled a 24-7-1 record.  I think Minnesota will be well pleased with their pick for many years to come!

The beleaguered Vikings traded their QB Fran Tarkenton to New York for the draft pick.  Despite the player it gained them, I cannot agree with being so profligate.  Tarkenton threw four TDs in his first game, which was also the Viking’s first game, and no rookie quarterback has accomplished that feat since.  For the past six years, Minnesota has suffered the problems typical of a young team, and Tarkenton has been one of their bright spots, leading 8 of the first 10 wins the team had in his first three years.  Sure, they only had three wins last year, but remember they had three ties, too.  What Tarkenton needed was a stronger offensive line to give his arm time, and now they have it – but no Tarkenton.

We’ll see if Tarkenton provides the spark to take New York forward from their 7-7 season.  They’ll also be happy to be away from the constant spanking by the Cleveland Browns, and as that rivalry has been so one-sided lately no one will miss it.  While they managed to win one this year, the last time they won against their division rival was five years ago, losing six straight games!  I’d be nervous if I were Dallas!

The Giants play their first division game against Dallas on November 10th – though I wish it were in New York for the snow.  But if the fine weather and fine home field refs manage to squeak a victory for Dallas, they’ll have to face New York again in New York in December, and I guarantee they won’t win that one.  Not a fan of Dallas; I think the team is weaker than their record shows.  They got lucky with some simple mistakes and questionable calls in their playoff win against the Browns last year, as was clearly evident when they were easily defeated in the next round by Green Bay.


The Packers and the Cowboys face off at the "Ice Bowl" which culminated last season

Speaking of the Browns, yes, I am pleased that the only team to come close to them is leaving the division, but they don’t need the help.  Remember that their record in their “bad year” 1966 was 9-5, same as it was last year.  It was pure politics and stat voodoo that kept them out of the playoffs for one year.  Last year proved that. 

Running Back Leroy Kelly went for over 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight season, along with 11 touchdowns, while Ernie Green, now out of the shadow of Jim Brown, went for over 700 yards for the second year. Frank Ryan showed he’s not so old and beat up after all, throwing for 20 TD passes.

I think Browns head coach Blanton Collier’s done a lot to re-shape the team after the 52-14 playoff loss to Dallas.  (I have questions about the officiating in that game, but besides I guarantee the results would have been different in Cleveland.  Warm-weather teams don’t play hard in the cold.) Perhaps too much, but it can’t be denied that a lot of our stars are aging out and young blood will do them well. 

It’ll be strange to see the Browns without place kicker Lou “The Toe” Groza, who has announced his retirement – yes for the second time, but this time for real.  He made 11 of his 23 field goals last year and is the last member of the original Browns team from 1946. For twenty-one seasons he has been a reliable offensive tackle and kicker, helping the team win eight league championships. He holds the NFL record for most points scored by a single player, most field goals made and most extra points made.  234 field goals, 641 extra points, and 1,349 points total!  For a man who started out on the offensive line! 1,603 points if you count the pre-NFL years.  Groza, at 44, has much of life ahead of him, but the game of football will forever be changed by his presence.

He will be succeeded, but not replaced, by Don Cockroft, who was drafted out of Adams State last year in the third round, a gifted young kicker who will have the advantage of a year studying under Lou.

The Browns spent their early draft picks shoring up the defense.  Marvin Upshaw from Trinity will be the only rookie on the tough D-line.  John Garlington and Wayne Meylan, from LSU and Nebraska respectively, will join the linebacker core.  With a strong, veteran offensive line and two great running backs behind them, Frank Ryan won’t have much to worry about at QB but hiding when and where he hands the ball off. 

The season looks pretty soft, too, starting off with the Saints and the Cowboys, who, I repeat, are not as good as their record shows, with two pretty-much guaranteed wins against Pittsburgh and one more chance to beat up New York as a non-division game.  I know I say this every year, but this time I feel almost bored with how sure I am.  The Browns will go all the way.  The Cowboys will find when they have a real division rival in the Giants they won’t even make the playoffs. 

But the real winners are the fans.  This promises to be a hard-hitting, hard-playing season.





[February 10, 1967] Match made in Heaven (1966 NFL Season Overview)


by Marie Vibbert

It’s an active time for the National Football League, and the 1966 season that culminated this January will be remembered as one of the most exciting. Football continues to evolve and change. Last year, the NFL split the Eastern and Western conferences into two divisions each, and added a new official, the Line Judge, brought on specifically by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran “the scrambler” Tarkenton: he was so fond of running all over the backfield to avoid sacks that another official was needed to make sure he didn’t cross the line of scrimmage before throwing the ball.

Another change was adding a new team, bringing the number of teams in the NFL to 15. Now, the even numbers we’ve enjoyed for scheduling have been disrupted. The odd team out is the newly-added Atlanta Falcons in the Eastern Conference with my (Cleveland) Browns. There are plans to add a second team soon, possibly in Philadelphia or Miami. It’s said that Atlanta was added a year early, instead of joining next year with a partner, so that the NFL's rival, the American Football League (AFL) wouldn’t get them. To handle the odd number of teams, every team had a bye week, playing 14 games over 15 weeks.

The season started with controversy for my Browns. We were all justifiably proud that Jim Brown was going to star in a major Hollywood movie, The Dirty Dozen, filming during the off-season, but when production delays meant he would miss the start of training camp, team owner Art Modell threatened a hefty fine. Jim Brown responded by simply retiring from the game, rather than pay the owner. Jim Brown is still in his prime, and was the lead rusher in the league last season. The hole he left may never be filled, and I hope Mr. Modell doesn’t cross the street when I’m driving by. Let’s not forget this is also the man whose feud with Paul Brown cost us the best coach in football back in ‘63.


The Cleveland Browns on the cover of LIFE!

This was the first time since 1963 that my Browns didn’t make the playoffs, despite an offense that regularly racked up points and finished the season 9-5. (Tied with the Eagles in second place and with a better conference record…they also had a tied record and better conference percentage than the second place team in the Western Conference, the Baltimore Colts. HOW do they determine playoff positions again?! I’m writing a letter to the commissioner.) The Browns scored a hefty average of 28.8 points per game. If only their defense had been as strong. It’s so odd not having the Browns in the postseason. Is this what other team’s fans feel like?

The Western Conference did have an unusual season, with the unbeaten Cardinals playing the unbeaten Cowboys in week six to a 10-10 tie! It looked like the division would never be decided, but in week seven, both teams suffered their first losses–Dallas losing of course to the Browns.

In the Eastern Conference, the Packers have been unquestionably dominant, defending their league title. They finished 12-2, losing only to San Francisco and their arch-rivals, Minnesota. It’s hard to believe this is the team that had the worst record in the league in 1958 before Vince Lombardi turned them around. Who doesn’t love a rags-to-riches story? While Lombardi has stepped down, his picks are still beefing up the team, like Safety Willie Wood, a college quarterback no one wanted until Lombardi saw his true talents and put him to work.

I like the Packers, even if they defeated the Browns in last year’s Championship in Green Bay. I know the Browns will return to the title game soon, they have so rarely been out of it.

And speaking of the title game…

It’s hard to talk about the NFL this year without also talking about the AFL. The upstart league has done what previous challengers could not: it has won television contracts and it bid for top free-agents and draft picks against NFL teams. Quarterback Joe Namath was selected by the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals, but chose a sweeter deal with the AFL's New York Jets, and showed great promise in his rookie season in 1965. The winless Jets became the winning Jets when they started Namath from their seventh game on, and they have not looked back. He’s getting better every season.

(The AFL of course claims that the NFL fired the first shot in this war by signing placekicker Pete Gogolak to the New York Giants when he had already been contracted to the AFL’s Buffalo Bills.)

Everyone wondered what the NFL would do to defeat their new, popular rival. Much to the surprise of everyone, they opted for a friendly agreement. The AFL and NFL have signed peace accords, agreeing to a common draft to end the bidding wars, and promising to merge together no later than 1970. Until then, they would play one game a year together while maintaining separate schedules.


NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, who oversaw the league unification

For the first time, the NFL would pit their champion against the champion of another league, a championship of championships some are calling “The Super Bowl.” Given how unusual this was, logistics proved challenging and a location and date were not announced until December! Still, the world was ready to watch whenever it landed, with NBC televising for the AFL and CBS for the NFL, simulcast on both coasts!

The AFL-NFL World Championship was played January 8th in the beautiful Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, ensuring that neither league could complain of home field advantage. Kansas City would use the AFL’s longer, narrower ball, and Green Bay the NFL standard. The AFL’s two-point conversion rule would not be used.

While many felt that no team from the younger and less experienced league could be a match, the Chiefs came into this game with a lot to brag about. Their 11-1-1 record was just a tie behind Green Bay’s. Their high-powered offense stomped over other teams with a trio of talented running backs, Mike Garrett, Bert Coan, and Curtis McClinton, each running over 500 yards for a combined 2,274 rushing yards on the season. Quarterback Len Dawson threw for 26 touchdowns and 2,527 yards of his own through the air. On the other side of the ball, their defense was packed with all-league players, including a secondary that racked up interceptions like they had been attending the other team’s throwing practices. The two safeties split 10 interceptions between them and defensive back Fred Williamson had four to himself. In their final game, they trounced the Buffalo Bills, a team I personally thought would put up more of a fight, 31-7. If any team in the AFL could put the nay-sayers to rest, it would be the Chiefs.

As the game started, it looked like that was exactly what they would do.

But first a note of special interest to Galactic Journeys readers: The opening of the Super Bowl was science fiction themed, with two adventurous souls in rocket packs flying around the field to meet in the middle. What a spectacle!


And the Jets aren't even playing…

The game started with back-to-back punts by both teams, then the Packers had a fantastic drive to come up 7-0. The Chiefs answered with a drive to the 33, but they couldn’t kick it in. However, they came back strong in the second quarter with a 6-play, 66-yard drive that tied the game.

At halftime, the score was 14-10 Green Bay, but it still felt like anyone’s game.

But then at the start of the third quarter, on a third-down play the Packers defense came alive and forced the Chiefs quarterback to throw a wobbly, weak ball that was intercepted and run back for 50 yards. From this point, the Packers defensive line had Quarterback Dawson’s number. Kansas City only managed 12 yards of offense in the entire third quarter. Green Bay buried Dawson on two consecutive sacks, so the team was forced to punt on their own 2 yard line.


Modern-day Blitz

Kansas City bravely fought on, but never scored again in the competition. The final score was Green Bay 35, Kansas City 10, and no one could deny that it was the interception by Willie Wood that broke the AFL’s back.

It seemed a fulfillment of what many predicted, that while it has been more successful than previous competing leagues, the AFL is not playing at the level of the NFL. Will the AFL survive this clear and public humiliation, broadcast live on two major networks? Or will they quietly die off like other competing leagues of the past, leaving their best teams to be scavenged by the NFL well before their dreams of league-marriage?

Stay tuned for "Superbowl" II!