Two old American Football League rivals, the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders, hook up on this week’s NFL schedule, and that makes this week’s Thursday Throwback feature an easy choice. It was a game played between these 2 teams on November 17, 1968 that turned into one of the most famous games in pro football history, that affectionately became known as “The Heidi Game”. The reason for the moniker is that the game had an unbelievable ending, but that ending was missed by the nation’s television viewers because network executives made the dubious decision to switch over to the network movie – Heidi – at it’s scheduled time of 7 PM, even though the game hadn’t ended yet. The Joe Namath-led Jets held a 32-29 lead when the game was pre-empted, and the entire East coast audience missed the ending, as the Raiders rallied to score 2 touchdowns to pull out a 43-32 win. It was an exciting game, as expected, between a pair of AFL powerhouses. After the Jets went ahead, Oakland’s Daryle Lamonica completed an apparent TD pass to Charlie Smith that was called back due to a penalty, prompting Jet defensive back Johnny Sample to taunt Lamonica, saying “Nice try, Lamonica, better luck next year.” However, the “Mad Bomber” was far from finished, as he led a drive down the field culminating in a 43 yard scoring pass to Smith to give Oakland a 36-32 lead. The Jets then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Raider special teamer Preston Ridlehuber scooped it up and ran it into the end zone to up Oakland’s lead to 43- 32 and secure the victory.
Joe Namath in action in the “Heidi” game
The decision to pre-empt the game was a public relations nightmare for NBC. The network switchboard was overwhelmed by calls from irate football fans after Heidi started, and the next day, national newscasters made a major story of the blunder. NBC’s Huntley – Brinkley Report aired the missed final minute of the game, complete with Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis’ play by play. CBS’ Harry Reasoner playfully announced the “result” of the game: “Heidi married the goat-herder.” In 2005, TV Guide named the game one of television’s most unexpected moments, and Jennifer Edwards, the movie’s star, in an interview, commented: “My gravestone is going to say, “she was a great moment in sports”. One positive thing did come out of the gaffe, however. At the time, the AFL was still considered the “ugly step-child” of pro football, an inferior product to the established NFL. The uproar caused by the “Heidi” incident opened some eyes as to just how popular the AFL had grown among the sports viewing public. A lot of the Throwback Thursday features I’ve posted this year have interesting follow-up stories, and this one was no exception. Even though they lost a heartbreaker on this day, Namath’s Jets got their revenge in the AFL championship game, as they beat the Raiders 27-23 to win the AFL title and earn a trip to the Super Bowl against the mighty Baltimore Colts, where they pulled off possibly the biggest upset in pro football history by trouncing the Colts. After the AFL champs had been soundly beaten in the first 2 Super Bowls by Green Bay, Namath and the Jets made history in a game one sportswriter called “the day the AFL came of age.”
Heidi movie poster