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It’s long overdue, but on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Booker Edgerson will finally be honored by having his name placed on the Buffalo Bills’ Wall of Fame. It’s safe to say that a lot of the fans in the stadium won’t have any idea who Edgerson is or what he meant to the Bills’ franchise when he played. Edgerson was signed by the Bills as an undrafted free agent out of Western Illinois in 1962 and became a fixture for the team at left cornerback for 8 seasons. He was a track star in college and used that speed to blanket the best receivers in the AFL during his career. When the American Football League came into existence in 1960, the game plan for the new league was to offer a wide-open, more exciting alternative to the “three yards and a cloud of dust” NFL. The league featured exciting offense and a lot of downfield passing and more scoring. The AFL’s biggest star in their first few seasons was Houston Oilers’ QB George Blanda, and in Edgerson’s first game ever in ’62, he intercepted Blanda twice, and had 6 picks in all as a rookie. In 1964 the Bills, coached by Lou Saban, dominated the AFL the old fashioned way – with a hard nosed running game featuring bruising fullback Cookie Gilchrist, and a stifling defense. Edgerson was a key player on that defense. Today, Darrelle Revis of the Jets, who is hurt and won’t be playing in the game on Sunday, is celebrated as the best defensive player in the league, as the NFL’s premier “lockdown” cornerback, whose job each week is to cover the opponents’ top wide receiver and take that player out of the game by not allowing him to contribute to his team’s offense. The term “lockdown” corner wasn’t used in the 1960s, but Edgerson was an early version of what Revis is doing in the NFL today. In those days the AFL was loaded with rifle-armed quarterbacks and fleet wide receivers, and the best of the best was Hall of Famer Lance Alworth of the San Diego Chargers. In 1963, the Chargers totally dominated the league behind a wide-open offense designed by coach Sid Gillman and orchestrated by QB Tobin Rote, throwing to Alworth and handing off to RB Keith Lincoln. The Chargers buried the Boston Patriots 51-10 in the title game, and were clearly the class of the new league. In 1964 the Bills proved the old adage that offense wins games but defense wins championships as they shut down the high-flying Chargers 20-7 in the AFL title game. Gillman complained afterwards that the bad field conditions at old War Memorial Stadium, plus the fact that Alworth was out with an injury, was the reason his team lost. Just to prove a point, in 1965 the Bills shut out the Chargers on their own home field, 23-0, to repeat as champs. Thanks mostly to Edgerson’s efforts, Alworth was a non-factor in the game. The San Diego speedster was widely regarded as the fastest player in the AFL, if not in all of pro football, but Edgerson is the only player to ever to catch Alworth from behind. Booker was also a nemesis of another AFL marquee player, Joe Namath of the Jets. In the season the Jets shocked the Colts to win Super Bowl III, the Bills were aging and on the decline, and only won one game. The win was over the Jets. They intercepted Namath 5 times and returned 3 for touchdowns, including one by Edgerson.

In an earlier post I documented players at each position that were not in the football Hall of Fame in Canton but deserved to be, and Edgerson was one of those mentioned. It’s not Canton, but the Bills’ Wall of Fame is still a great honor for the 71 year old Edgerson. He is active in charity work as the president of the Bills’ Alumni Association and can be seen around the stadium or in the field house on game days, talking to fans and just being a great ambassador for the team.  If you’ve seen him you’d probably agree with me that he still looks like he could suit up and play today. Congratulations on a well-deserved honor to one of the Bills’ all-time greats!

It was really sad to hear of the passing on Monday of one of the great legends of pro football, George Blanda, at the age of 83. He retired from the game in 1975 and still holds or shares at least 10 NFL records, but rattling off statistics wouldn’t do Blanda’s story justice. His journey in pro football is a remarkable one, and his 26 year career is almost, well, like 3 separate careers. After playing college ball at Kentucky under Paul “Bear” Bryant, he started with the Chicago Bears in 1949 and played with them until 1958. He was a quarterback, placekicker and also saw time as a linebacker, then in 1953 became the Bears’ regular signal caller. An injury forced him out of the lineup, however, and he never regained the starting position. While in Chicago he had a tempestuous relationship with owner/coach George Halas. Finally, he decided to retire in ’58 when Halas insisted that he give up quarterbacking and devote his career to  becoming a full time kicker. Those 10 years in Chicago would be considered a successful career for almost any player, but it turns out Blanda was just getting warmed up.

George Blanda with the Chicago Bears in the 1950s.

In 1959, the “Foolish Club”, a group of millionaires led by Lamar Hunt who were frustrated in attempts to acquire NFL franchises, decided to form a new league. Blanda came out of retirement to sign with the Houston franchise because, as he said, “I knew Bud Adams (Oilers’ owner) had a lot of money”. After battling over every dime with the cheap Halas in Chicago, George followed the money. He wound up becoming the new American Football League’s first star player, leading the Oilers to the first 2 AFL championships while orchestrating a wide-open, pass-happy offense that turned out to be the trademark of the new league. Despite his success, Blanda became the target of the media at that time who belittled the new league as a “Mickey Mouse” operation, and mocked the Oilers’ QB as an “NFL reject”. Blanda continued to be the face of the Houston franchise, as the AFL gained more respect into the mid-’60s, until he was released by the team in March of  1967. Again, had Blanda decided to actually retire at that point, his football career would have been considered a huge success.

Blanda with the AFL’s Houston Oilers in the 1960s.

However, Oakland Raiders’ owner Al Davis still saw a lot of value in Blanda, and signed him for the ’67 season as his kicker and backup quarterback to the “Mad Bomber”, Daryle Lamonica. With the Raiders, Blanda was pretty much relegated to the role that he had resisted in Chicago, as the team’s full-time kicker. He led the AFL in scoring in ’67 with 116 points. The 1970 season, however, turned out to be a magical one for the ageless wonder. It was the first season after the AFL and NFL merged so it was technically a return to the NFL for Blanda after 12 years. During that season, he had a remarkable run of winning games for the Raiders with clutch kicks and also as the quarterback, relieving Lamonica when he was injured or ineffective. His clutch play helped the team make the playoffs where they reached the AFC title game against the Baltimore Colts. When Lamonica was hurt in that game, Blanda replaced him and at 43 became the oldest QB to ever play in a championship game. He threw 2 touchdown passes and kicked a 48 yard field goal to almost single-handedly keep his team in the game, but the bubble burst when he threw 2 interceptions late in the game as the Colts pulled away and won. He continued on as the Raiders’ kicker, one of the last straight-ahead kickers in the game, before finally actually retiring in 1975, at age 48, after playing pro football in four different decades.  

Blanda quarterbacking the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s.

A humorous story that pretty much sums up Blanda’s career involves an episode of the 1970s television show Happy Days. The show was set in the 1950s in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the episode, Richie Cunningham and his friend Ralph Malph are watching a Packers-Bears game on TV, and debating whether Blanda is any good as a quarterback or whether he is washed up and should just quit. If you were a football fan, of course you got the joke, because at the time the show aired Blanda was STILL playing in the NFL.

Rest in peace, George Blanda, a true American sports legend.

Monday Night Football opens its’ regular season tonight with the annual opening week doubleheader, a tradition started a couple years ago  that has become quite popular. MNF has become a tradition in itself after humble beginnings in 1970. NFL football in 1970 was completely different than the game today, but there was so much “newness” going on at that time that the game was really starting to become the nation’s real national pastime. At the point where the NFL decided to try the Monday night experiment, the league had just merged with the American Football League and realigned itself into the National and American Conferences. Three NFL teams – Cleveland, Pittsburgh and the Baltimore Colts – were transferred into the AFC to balance out the 2 conferences. So even though the first MNF matchup between the Browns and New York Jets was technically a game between 2 AFC teams, it was far from that. The NFL had long claimed superiority over the NFL until the Jets and Kansas City Chiefs pulled off huge Super Bowl upsets and cemented the AFL’s place as an equally-talented league. The Browns-Jets matchup opened the MNF season in 1970 after the Chiefs had beaten the Vikings in SB IV, and Namath’s Jets were already over a year removed from their upset win over the Colts in SB III that changed pro football forever. The Browns were a proud NFL team that was getting its’ shot at quieting the brash, young upstart quarterback from the AFL, Joe Namath. The broadcast team for the game was not the famous trio that put MNF on the map – Frank Gifford, Don Meredith and Howard Cosell. Keith Jackson was the play-by-play man in the first season, but the following year moved to doing college telecasts for ABC and was replaced by Gifford. Cosell, of course, became the star of the MNF show over time and was hated by fans everywhere for his pompous attitude, but that was all part of the show. In fact, ABC’s Roone Arledge completely changed the way games were covered, introducing more sideline closeups of players and coaches and microphones to catch what was being said on the sidelines. There was more drama and showmanship brought into the broadcasts, and interviews of famous people by Cosell in the booth became commonplace. Ronald Reagan and John Lennon were just 2 of the people Cosell interviewed during the games. You were nobody if you hadn’t been interviewed by Cosell on MNF back then. Also, Cosell’s halftime highlight show became hugely popular.

Howard Cosell

As for the first game itself, the Browns, with veteran Bill Nelsen at quarterback, future Hall of Famer Leroy Kelly having long since replaced Jim Brown as the featured back, and veteran split end Gary Collins running circles around a young, inexperienced Jet secondary, jumped out to a 14-0 lead. The Jets cut it to 14-7 at halftime, then Homer Jones made the biggest play of his career by returning the second half kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown to widen the Browns’ lead to 21-7. Namath rallied the Jets back to within 24-21, but late in the game threw an interception that LB Billy Andrews returned for a touchdown that climaxed a 31-21 Cleveland victory. The Browns gave the NFL old guard a small measure of revenge for the 2 previous Super Bowls with the win, but the sport was on its’ way to evolving into the entertainment giant it is today. Pete Rozelle’s vision of growing the game, with the merger, Monday Night Football and the Super Bowl, has grown beyond even his wildest dreams.

Since I wasn’t even alive yet when the 1946 football season began, the title of this post is a bit misleading. I don’t actually “remember” the 1946 season, but it’s worth a look back since this was an historic year for the pro game. For starters, the NFL made a change in the commisioner’s office, replacing Elmer Layden with Bert Bell. Bell presided over the league until his death in 1959, when Pete Rozelle took over. Bell’s tenure included the wild and wooly 1950s, when NFL games started to be televised and the league began to grow into the “monster” it is today.

A major rule change was made in 1946 also, as the “free substitution” rule  was withdrawn and changed to only allow 3 subs at a time. Another change made any forward pass which struck the goalposts automatically incomplete. The game changed for the city of Cleveland in a major way in 1946 also. At that time, the Rams were located in Cleveland, but the league allowed Rams’ owner Dan Reeves to move the franchise to Los Angeles. However, the All American Football Conference also began play in 1946, and Cleveland’s entry in this new league, the Browns, dominated play for the entire history of the AAFC and eventually became a dominant force in the NFL when the leagues merged.

The move of the Rams to L.A. was historic for 2 different reasons. First, it expanded the NFL to the west coast for the first time, opening up a whole new audience for the game. But that wasn’t the most important reason. For the 1946 season, the Rams signed the first 2 African American players to play in the modern NFL era, home-town UCLA stars Kenny Washington and Woody Strode. Other black players, most notably Fritz Pollard, had played in the NFL in its’ early years when the game was considered a “savage” sport, but league owners outlawed them from the league. So it was historic when Washington and Strode joined the Rams, a full year prior to Jackie Robinson, a gridiron teammate of Strode and Washington at UCLA, breaking the color line in baseball. Incidentally, that same season, Marion Motley and Bill Willis, also African Americans, played in the AAFC for coach Paul Brown’s Browns.

UCLA teammates, from left: Woody Strode, Jackie Robinson and Kenny Washington.

The Chicago Bears won the NFL title game in 1946, 24-14 over the New York Giants, but not without some controversy. Two Giants’ backs were questioned about an attempt by a New York man to fix the title game, and one was suspended.

The 2010 NFL season begins tonight, with the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints meeting the Minnesota Vikings in a rematch of the NFC title game last season. Who would have guessed that a city where the fans used to wear bags over their heads and call their team the “Ain’ts” would win a Super Bowl? Will any history be made this season?

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony for 2010 is now in the books, and the Hall of Fame preseason game has been played to officially kick off the new football season. Last week I blogged each day about players at each position who have been overlooked by the Hall voters. But I’ll close out the Hall of Fame posting today by sharing the classic photo above. In many ways, it’s like a “Where’s Waldo” puzzle. Yes, there’s something major missing from this photo. It’s a photo taken in 2009 at the ceremony in which Bills’ owner Ralph Wilson, Jr. and sack artist Bruce Smith were inducted into Canton. It’s a picture of all the members of the Bills who are in the Hall, with one glaring absence. That would be the team’s and the NFL’s one-time  leading rusher, O.J. Simpson. Simpson was surpassed by Thurman Thomas as the team’s all-time leading rusher, and has dropped to 16th on the league’s all-time rushing yardage list.  Unfortunately, “Juice” is seen more in the news in his orange prison jumpsuit in recent years than in his gold Hall of Fame blazer. That’s a real shame. Still, the photo is very memorable. The Bills Hall of Famers in the picture, starting from the left, are Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Marv Levy, Wilson, Joe DeLamielleure, James Lofton, Billy Shaw and Jim Kelly. One last note – the team with the most players in the Hall is one of the NFL’s oldest and most storied franchises, the Chicago Bears, followed by the Bears’ longest and fiercest rivals, the Green Bay Packers.

From left: Ray Guy, Steve Tasker, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson.

When it comes to special teams, NFL coaches pretty much all preach the same sermon – they are just as important as offense and defense, they are 1/3 of the entire team and practice time should be equal to what offense and defense get, they can win or cost a team games. So, if special teams are that important, why are special teams players consistently ignored at Hall of Fame voting time? There are lots of players who played on special teams who ARE in the Hall, like Lou Groza, Sammy Baugh and Paul Hornung for instance, but they got in due to their play on offense and defense. Baugh was a terrific punter but if he hadn’t been a quarterback he wouldn’t be in the Hall. Groza and Hornung were outstanding placekickers but it was their play at tackle and halfback that got them in. It could be argued that George Blanda’s kicking ability got him elected as much as his QB play, but still, he probably wouldn’t be in if he had only kicked. When Jan Stenerud became the first placekicker to be elected, it was a big deal and the expectation was that his election would open the floodgates for all the other kickers, punters, return men, specialists, etc. to start getting elected. Of course, that didn’t happen. There still isn’t one pure punter in the Hall. And nowadays the “long snapper” is a specialty position. Will there be a day when players are voted in solely as long snappers? To me that’s a stretch, but then again, the position is important enough today that every coach employs one. The first pure punter who should be inducted into Canton has to be the Raiders’ Ray Guy. In fact, the assumption is it’s just a matter of time for him. He is clearly the most outstanding punter of all time and it can be argued that he revolutionized the position.  Speaking of revolutionizing the game, when it comes to the “gunner” position on kick coverage, Steve Tasker of the Bills was the master. If any non-kicking special teams player deserves to be inducted, it is Tasker. He was a demon on kick coverage, a punt and kick-blocking machine and an occasional return man. Tasker was a player opposing teams specifically game-planned for. Billy “White Shoes” Johnson was a dynamic return man with the Falcons and Oilers, known for his outlandish end zone dances and, of course, for wearing white shoes. The fact that he reached the end zone so many times on returns that his end zone dances became legendary tells you all you need to know about his kick return abilities. 

Above from left: Travis Williams, Pete Gogolak (and holder Daryle Lamonica), Mel Gray.

Two other return men who deserve a look are the Packers Travis Williams, who rivaled HOFer Gale Sayers in the 1960s as the NFL’s top return man, and the Cardinals’ Mel Gray. Williams played some at running back and Gray was a decent receiver, but mostly they made their name in the league returning kicks. The father and son combination of Terry and Eric Metcalf  is unique. Both had decent careers as running backs and were similar type players. They both excelled in the kick return game. For historical reasons alone, perhaps Pete Gogolak should get some love from the voters. He was the first soccer-style placekicker. Talk about revolutionizing the game! There isn’t one straight-on placekicker left in football today. The last of the straight-on kickers, Washington’s Mark Mosely, was good enough to be considered for Canton also. In the AFL, players like Gene Mingo, Speedy Duncan, Gino Cappelletti and Jim Turner all excelled at some facet of special teams, or “bomb squads” as they were affectionately called back then.

Above: Reggie Roby (left), Brian Mitchell.

Besides Guy, any conversation about HOF punter possibilities has to include Jerrell Wilson of the Chiefs and Reggie Roby, who punted for various teams, mostly the Dolphins. The fact that Roby wore a watch when he punted infuriated some players and enhanced the notion to some that punters “aren’t real football players.” And of course, that kind of macho thinking has worked against even the greatest punters as far as their chances for getting voted into Canton. One other kick returner who deserves a mention is Brian Mitchell. He was a major threat on returns and also just a general all-around great special teamer, and besides Tasker, the next best choice of non-kicking bomb squadder who is deserving.

Above from left: Jim Marshall, Walter Johnson (71).

Below:  Alex Karras.

Among defensive linemen missing from the Hall of Fame whose bust should have been added long ago is former Minnesota Viking Jim Marshall. In fact, while researching this post I was shocked that he wasn’t in. I had always assumed he was. He played 20 years in the NFL. At the time of his retirement he was the league’s all-time iron man, having played 302 consecutive games (since surpassed by Brett Favre). He had an NFL record 29 opponent’s fumbles recovered in his career, and was just an iconic figure in the league. Unfortunately, of course, he was also Jim “Wrong Way” Marshall, going down in history as the guy who returned a recovered fumble 66 yards the wrong way against the ’49ers, resulting in a safety. I find it hard to believe that this one bad play is keeping him out of Canton. The late Walter Johnson, an outstanding defender for the 1960s Cleveland Browns, should also get much more consideration than he does for induction. Johnson was to the Browns defense in his era what HOF teammate Gene Hickerson was to the offense – a catalyst for the team’s success. He played 13 seasons and was a perennial Pro Bowler. Alex Karras had a tremendous career with the Detroit Lions, competing for 12 years and playing in 4 Pro Bowls, and also being named to the all-decade team for the 1960s. His chances for induction were hurt immeasurably by his one year suspension in 1963 for gambling. Paul Hornung was also suspended that same season, and he is in Canton. A couple of other players from the ’60s who probably will never get in but deserve a closer look are Roosevelt Grier, former Giant and one-time member of the Rams’ “Fearsome Foursome” defensive front, and Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb. Grier was an outstanding defender but was overshadowed on that fabled Ram line by HOFers Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen. Lipscomb was huge and always seemed like a man playing among boys, and was an outstanding player. He was a 3-time Pro Bowler and MVP of the game twice. He died of a heroin overdose at the age of 31 a few months after winning the Pro Bowl MVP in the 1962 game. 

Above from left: Rich “Tombstone” Jackson, Houston Antwine, Tom Sestak (70) with HOF teammate Billy Shaw.

The American Football League, of course, produced great defensive linemen who have been overlooked by the Canton voters. One player who should get more consideration at least has a Hall worthy nickname – Rich “Tombstone” Jackson of the Denver Broncos. He was a 3 time all-star and a tremendous pass rusher, but his career was cut short by a severe knee injury. Houston Antwine was a 6-time AFL all star with the Boston Patriots and a member of the all-AFL team. Tom Sestak’s situation is similar to that of Walter Johnson. Sestak was to the dominant Buffalo Bills defense what HOF teammate Billy Shaw was to the Bills’ offense.  Sestak was a 4 time AFL all star in his injury-shortened career, and was a unanimous choice 3 times. Only 6 players were unanimous all-league selections that many times in the 1960s – Sestak and 5 other NFL players who are all in Canton.

Above: Ron McDole (left), Curley Culp.

A couple of players who started their careers in the AFL and transitioned into the NFL in the ’70s, Ron McDole and Curley Culp, deserve a closer look. McDole, the “Dancing Bear”, was a standout defensive end on the same Bills’ defense that Sestak played on. That team held opposing rushers without a touchdown for 17 consecutive games during their dominant 2 year title run. McDole moved on to Washington and was a solid player for George Allen’s “Over the Hill Gang” in the ’70s when most figured his best days were behind him. Culp was a prototype nose tackle in the 3-4 defense of Bum Phillips’ Houston Oiler teams in the ’70s after starring for the Chiefs in the AFL.  He was a 6 time Pro Bowler and is credited in some circles as being the first to play the nose tackle position.

Above: L.C. Greenwood (left), Harvey Martin (79) with HOF teammate Randy White.

Two more examples of players who are under-appreciated because of being overshadowed by high-profile teammates are L.C. Greenwood and Harvey Martin. Greenwood, famous for wearing gold cleats, was a second banana to Mean Joe Greene with the Steel Curtain defense of the ’70s, but an outstanding defender and worthy of Canton consideration. Martin was overshadowed by Randy White, although he was voted co-MVP of Super Bowl XII along with White. Martin, who died in 2001, was a 4 time Pro Bowler and a member of the all-decade team for the ’70s.

Probably the most deserving modern day player among defensive linemen is Chris Doleman,  who played 15 seasons with the Vikings, ’49ers and Falcons and was an 8 time Pro Bowler. It may just be a matter of time for Doleman to get in, since he has the longevity and the numbers. Also, former Chicago Bear Richard Dent has been a finalist 6 times but still hasn’t garnered the votes to get elected.