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The scheduled game from the NFL for week seven that will be the Throwback Thursday feature for this week is between two old AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. There are many games to choose from over the years in this storied rivalry that were unforgettable – the first game ever played between the teams, in Miami’s first year in the AFL in 1966, the Bills’ first win over the Dolphins after going 0-for-the 1970s, in the first year of the Chuck Knox era, Joe Ferguson’s epic game in the Orange Bowl when he outdueled Dan Marino in his rookie year, Jim Kelly’s end zone dive to secure a win in 1989, or any of the many Bills’ wins in the Marv Levy era. Since the 2 teams meet twice a year every season, there will be other opportunities to feature those games.

Instead, I decided to feature a game from 1975 that included one of the most bizarre officiating calls in NFL history. The Bills, with O.J. Simpson leading the way, were a good team in the 1970s, but could never get over the hump when it came to competing with Don Shula’s Dolphin teams. Miami dominated the series, but that domination bordered on the ridiculous as Buffalo was completely swept for the entire decade, losing twice a year to the Fish every year from 1970 through 1979. But on December 8, 1975, the Dolphins got some unexpected help on their way to a 31-21 win over the Bills in the Orange Bowl. That old stadium was a house of horrors for Buffalo, but they left south Florida that day incensed over a call that left them out in the cold as far as having a chance to win the game, and put a major crimp in their playoff hopes. Considering the way they totally dominated the Bills for the whole decade, Miami didn’t need any help, but got some in a major way in this game. The Bills had staged a major comeback, from a 21-0 deficit, led by some stellar play from Simpson and Ferguson, and trailed by a mere field goal, 24-21, when Miami running back Mercury Morris fumbled the ball, and Bills’ lineman Pat Toomay ran over to attempt to recover the ball. He did, which appeared to give the Bills possession and a chance to take the lead. However, head linesman Jerry Bergman ruled that Morris had not fumbled, and Toomay was assessed a personal foul penalty for “roughing the official”, a call not heard of in the league before (or since), giving the ball back to the Dolphins with a first down. They proceeded to drive for a touchdown that sealed the win, a victory that the Bills felt was tainted. Bills’ owner Ralph Wilson may have been the most angry of anyone in the organization, as he called for Bergman to be fired and threatened to not send his team on the field for any future games that Bergman officiated. Wilson’s quote: “Anyone that incompetent should not be allowed to officiate and should be barred from football.”

Bergman became one of Buffalo sports fans’ most hated villains, and he received over 1,500 critical letters from fans. His wife said that one letter, addressed only to “Blind as a Bat Bergman, Allegheny County” managed to find its’ way to their mailbox. It didn’t help the situation that at the time, Dolphin coach Shula was head of the league’s competition committee, and the general assumption around the NFL was that he “owned” the officials.

Don Shula