American Football (NFL, College, etc.)

shin2 wrote: Steve Spurrier was the Niners' punter.

He was also the backup QB behind Brodie.

I was thinking about this last night. IIRC, this was before specialization, there was only a 40 man roster and a lot of coaches didn't want to "waste" a roster spot on somebody that could only kick. The Colts had Jim O'Brien who was a kicker/wr, Jim Turner was the Jets third string QB behind Namath and Parilli, Billy Van Heusen was punter/wr for the Broncos and of course the ultimate example was George Blanda over in Oakland.

I see the NFL is fooling around with changing the spot where kickoffs are made (again). Maybe they should just make it a rule that the kicker has to be a position player. Never gonna happen though. The coaches would throw a fit and the players association would scream bloody murder as well. Sure would make for some interesting kick-offs and FG attempts though.

^^ Can't leave off that list perhaps the most versatile player ever or at least in the last 50 years, current Patriots color man Gino Cappelletti. :victory:

Cappelletti led the American Football League in scoring five times and led or tied the NFL in scoring 5 times as well. He had two of the top five scoring seasons in pro football history – 155 points in 1964 and 147 points in 1961 (14-game seasons). Nicknamed the "Duke", he is the all-time leading scorer in the American Football League. Cappelletti is among the AFL's all-time top ten receivers, in yards and in receptions. He is the Patriots' third all-time leading receiver with 292 catches for 4,589 yards, and has attempted more field goals (334) than any other player in team history. During his pro career, he also returned punts and kickoffs, played defensive back, and even had one pass completion, for a touchdown. He holds the record for most touchdowns on Saturday games (10).

I was also going to mention Paul Hornung. In the early days of the Lombardi dynasty, he did just about everything offensively. And when he was suspended for a year for gambling, Jerry Kramer, the starting right guard took over the kicking duties.

gaijinmark wrote:I was also going to mention Paul Hornung. In the early days of the Lombardi dynasty, he did just about everything offensively. And when he was suspended for a year for gambling, Jerry Kramer, the starting right guard took over the kicking duties.

I believe Hornung still holds the record for most points scored in a season, a feat he accomplished back when the NFL season was only 12 games.

Hitomi #1--glad you mentioned Gino Cappelletti, a really good player in the old AFL.

Here's fourl more great versatile players for whom awards were named after:

Lou Groza--his namesake award is given annually to college football's best kicker. Groza was not only a terrific kicker for the Cleveland Brown, he was also an all-pro lineman.
Doak Walker--a candidate for the greatest player ever to come from the football-rich state of Texas (and that's saying something), his namesake award is given annually to college football's best running back. Walker, a legend at SMU and with the Detroit Lions, did everything: ran, caught, passed, punted, kicked, returned kicks, played defense. Just like Hornung, he led the NFL in scoring (twice) and was on multiple NFL championship teams (yep, the Lions at one time were very good).
Sammy Baugh--another candidate for the greatest player ever to come from the state of Texas, his namesake trophy is annually given to college football's best passer. First at TCU, then with the Washington Redskins, Baugh was not just versatile--he was arguably the best player of his time at three positions: quarterback, punter, and defensive back. In fact, one year he led the NFL in passing, punting, and interceptions. Statistically he's the second greatest punter in NFL history, and no one has led the league in passing more times than he did.
Jim Thorpe--his namesake award is given annually to college football's best defensive back. Like Walker, Thorpe did everything on the football field. Certainly on the short list of America's greatest athlete.

Hall of Famer Joe Perry dead at 84

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—Hall of Fame fullback Joe Perry, the first player with back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and nicknamed gThe Jeth for his sensational speed, died Monday. He was 84.

The San Francisco 49ers announced that Perry, also a World War II veteran, had died Monday in Arizona of complications from dementia.

Perry was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969 following a 16-year NFL career, 14 years with the 49ers and the other two for the Baltimore Colts.

A three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, Perry still stands as San Franciscofs all-time leader in yards rushing (7,344) and touchdowns rushing (50). He led the 49ers in rushing on eight occasions, including seven consecutive seasons from 1949-1955.

gI was deeply saddened to hear of Joe Perryfs passing earlier today,h 49ers owner John York said. gHe was a dear friend to my family and me and to the entire 49ers organization. He was also an intricate part of our rich history. A truly remarkable man both on and off the field, Joe had a lasting impact on the game of football and was an inspirational man to the generations of players that followed him. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to his wife, Donna, and his entire family. He will be sadly missed by all of us.h

Perry finished with 9,723 yards rushing on 1,929 carries with 71 touchdowns in 181 career games. He also had 2,021 yards receiving on 260 catches for 12 touchdowns. He broke the NFL record for most career yards rushing, a total that was later topped by Jim Brown.

Perry, who also spent a stint in the Navy and served during World War II, became the first player with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 1953 and f54.

The 49ers retired Perryfs No. 34 jersey in 1971.

Perry was a member of gThe Million Dollar Backfieldh featuring four future Hall of Famers in Perry, Hugh McElhenny, John Henry Johnson and Y.A. Tittle. For three seasons from 1954-56, they formed a fearsome foursome. The group remains the only full-house backfield to have all four of its members voted into the Hall of Fame.

Perry regularly attended enshrinement ceremonies at the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, supporting 49ers ownership and former players.

Perry and McElhenny also were teammates at Compton Junior College. Perry scored 22 touchdowns in his first season.

Perry was later discovered by 49ers tackle John Woudenberg while playing running back for the Alameda Naval Air Station Hell Cats. Woudenberg promptly told 49ers owner Tony Morabito and head coach Buck Shaw about Perry, the team said. Perryfs first season with San Francisco was in 1948. He played for Baltimore from 1961-62, then wound up back with the Niners in his final season of 1963.

An undrafted free agent, Perry ran for 562 yards and 10 touchdowns as a rookie, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. He dominated again the next year with 783 yards, eight TDs and a 6.8 yards per carry average.

gaijinmark wrote:Hall of Famer Joe Perry dead at 84.

Joe the Jet. A halfback-type who played the fullback position. He and John Henry Johnson were probably the preeminent fullbacks of their day . . . that is until Jim Brown, and later Jim Taylor, came along. He certainly had a long productive career in the NFL.

Ex-Dolphins player Mandich dead at 62
Tue Apr 26, 11:49 pm ET

MIAMI – Jim Mandich, who won two Super Bowl rings with the Miami Dolphins and later became a popular radio announcer for the team, died Tuesday at age 62.

The Dolphins confirmed the death of Mandich, who was also a star at Michigan. He was diagnosed with bile-duct cancer in early 2010, but continued to work on game broadcasts last season.

Mandich was a tight end for the Dolphins when they achieved the NFL's only perfect season in 1972, and he helped them repeat as Super Bowl champions the following year.

Besides working as a color commentator for most of the past 20 seasons, Mandich hosted a radio call-in show and luncheons for the Dolphins Touchdown Club.

"I was sad to hear about Jim's passing," said Hall of Fame head coach Don Shula, who coached Mandich in 1970-1977. "I always looked at him as a guy who was bright, well prepared and competitive. He was someone who I could count on as a player and was instrumental in the success we had during his time with the Dolphins."

Mandich won a wide following for his unabashed support for the home team and his signature call "All right, Miami!" But he was also candid in his criticism, such as when Bill Parcells gave up control of football operations before last season.

"He was a hired gun. He was a personality," Mandich said. "He came in; he leaves two years later. I feel like taking Listerine and washing my mouth out, because it doesn't feel good to me."

Before being drafted in Shula's first year with the Dolphins in 1970, Mandich was a Michigan captain in 1969, leading the Wolverines to a Big Ten co-championship and an appearance in the Rose Bowl. He was a first-team All-American and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

"I've played in a perfect season and in Super Bowls," Mandich said in 2008. "But I'm proudest of playing for the maize and blue."

Mandich played for the Dolphins until 1977, then spent one season with Pittsburgh before retiring. He had 121 career receptions, including 23 for touchdowns.

bmwracer wrote:Ex-Dolphins player Mandich dead at 62

Two recollections about Jim Mandich:

He was the captain of the 1969 Michigan team which upset a heavily favored Ohio St. team. That game was the first encounter between Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, a rivalry which was later dubbed The 10-Year War. I watched that game in the electronics section of a department store; I still remember the scene at the end of the contest when the Michigan fans stormed the field and lifted Mandich on their shoulders.

Mandich was the starting tight end on the Miami Dolphins' back-to-back Super Bowl championship teams (the 1972 team was the only undefeated team in NFL history). The Dolphins teams of the early 70's went to three straight Super Bowls, and I'm still convinced if it weren't for a fluke play at the end of their play-off loss to the Raiders, they would have gone to four straight Super Bowls. Anyway, Mandich was an integral part of those great teams: a good blocker and reliable receiver.

shin2 wrote: I'm still convinced if it weren't for a fluke play at the end of their play-off loss to the Raiders, they would have gone to four straight Super Bowls.

The only clip I could find of that play shows up at about 2:20 here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbKP5HxybKY
Some good stuff about those great Dolphins' teams as well.

But I don't consider that as much of a fluke play as this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xMDIcsUMmA

Edit: I see that Cam Newton was the first pick in the NFL draft. I predict he will have a better NFL career than the last Heisman winning quarterback from Auburn, Pat Sullivan.

(That's called "damning with faint praise".)

gaijinmark wrote:

The only clip I could find of that play shows up at about 2:20 here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbKP5HxybKY
Some good stuff about those great Dolphins' teams as well.

But I don't consider that as much of a fluke play as this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xMDIcsUMmA

Edit: I see that Cam Newton was the first pick in the NFL draft. I predict he will have a better NFL career than the last Heisman winning quarterback from Auburn, Pat Sullivan.

(That's called "damning with faint praise".)

Thanks for the clips. The first one was very interesting. I really liked those Dolphin teams of the early 70's--despite the fact that the 72 team went undefeated, I think those teams have been underrated. The players interviewed in the clip--Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield, Dick Anderson, Manny Fernandez, Bob Kuechenberg--were all terrific players. Anderson and Kuechenberg should be in the HOF; I don't think there's five safeties or five guards in the last 40 years who played their positions better than those two. Fernandez was a quick, undersized nose tackle who played that position differently than others who manned that position; he wasn't a space eater but was very active up the field and laterally. In the Super Bowl in which the Dolphins capped their undefeated season, he had the best game any defensive lineman ever had in the history of that event.

The other clip of the Immaculate Reception--well, to mix sports metaphors, that play was the Babe Ruth of fluke plays.

Re: Cam Newton--I think Carolina will regret taking him with the first pick (but I've been wrong so many times before). It would have been better imo to have traded away that draft slot for a bunch of other draft choices in order to acquire more players that they sorely need in so many areas.

Alan Faneca announced his retirement. A terrific player, especially as a run blocker (there aren't a lot of skilled ones left), he should be a cinch for the HOF. But I'm still waiting for another great guard, Bob Kuechenberg to get in, and it looks like that's not gonna happen. :shakehead:

I just found out that Coach Homer Smith passed away about a month ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/sports/football/15smith.html


This is sad news. Coach Smith was a great great coach and a fine gentleman. While he was a head coach at several different schools, it was his work as an assistant coach, primarily an offensive coordinator, that he will be long remembered for in the football community. A true intellectual, professorial in both demeanor and attitude, he was a tremendous teacher. And as an offensive coordinator, he was as good a play caller as I've seen at the collegiate level.

Newest inductees in the college football hall of fame:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/ncaa/05/17/hall-of-fame.ap/index.html?sct=cf_t2_a5

That Nebraska QB Tommie Frazier was not one of the inductees is egregious and shows that those voters are idiots. :beatyou:

Huge news in college football: The Vest is out at Ohio State--Head Coach Jim Tressel is forced to resign from The OSU.
As with other high profile cases, whether in sports, politics, business, entertainment, etc., it's not the initial offense but the ensuing cover-up that comes back to bite you in the ass.

shin2 wrote:
As with other high profile cases, whether in sports, politics, business, entertainment, etc., it's not the initial offense but the ensuing cover-up that comes back to bite you in the ass.

As all that started to unravel I was reminded of that great American philosopher Richard Pryor when he said:

"Somebody been lying to someone about something!"

That saying also applies to Canadian art teachers.

USC is stripped of its 2004 BCS national championship. This action stems from the improprieties involving Reggie Bush. The title is vacated, which means there will be no official BCS national champion for 2004.

This action, while rightfully punitive and ethically legitimate, is largely symbolic. In reality, USC was by far the best team in college football that year. The undefeated Trojans beat a previously unbeaten Oklahoma team in the Orange Bowl 55--19 to win the national championship. That margin of victory, while large, is really not indicative of how lopsided the game was. SC could have put up 70 on the Sooners and held them to just 7 but they got bored by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.

Well, at least USC will have one less trophy to display in Heritage Hall. That said, the Associated Press, which also crowns a national champion, has decided not to take that title away from USC for that year. I guess the AP folks are more tolerant of cheaters.

shin2 wrote:I guess the AP folks are more tolerant of cheaters.

Or they're composed of 'SC grads.

John Mackey, the great TE for the Baltimore Colts passed away at the age of 69. A member of the pro football hall of fame, he was one of the greatest players of his generation. He played during a time when, in order to be considered an elite TE, you had to be an outstanding blocker as well as an excellent receiver. Mackey was both, as well as an awesome runner after the catch. Off the field he headed the players' union for a time and fought vigorously for players' rights and benefits. Sadly, in recent years he suffered from terrible dementia.

I remember reading once that he never ate on game day because he wanted to be in an angry mood at game time. The fury and toughness he displayed in games will certainly be an integral part of his legacy.

^ I just read his obit earlier today.

Wonder if the dementia was a result of playing football all those years...?

BMW

Wonder if the dementia was a result of playing football all those years...?

It sure is starting to seem like it could be a factor... but the word dementia covers a lot of ground. It's not a disease... it's a symptom. Or a group of symptoms. And they've already linked 50 odd diseases and contributing causes for the onset of dementia. Alzheimer's being the big one. (Sort of a hobby horse for me. Both my Mom and my Grandma died of Alzheimer's. And neither of them played football.)

However he developed the condition, I'm very sad. It's a crap way to go, and he was one hell of a player.