1979 Topps football card of former tight end Russ Francis, who played 13 seasons in the NFL for the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and twice a second team All Pro. Francis was a member of the 49ers’ Super Bowl XIX champion club. He was involved in pro wrestling and also was a pilot and was president of a charter flight airline. Unfortunately, Francis perished recently in a plane crash in Lake Placid, New York.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams clash on this week’s NFL schedule, and we’ve chosen a game played between these 2 long-time clubs to feature for this week’s Throwback Thursday post. The contest was played on October 2, 1955 at the L.A. Coliseum. In the ’50s, both teams had reputations. The Rams were known as an offensive powerhouse, led by their future Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin. The Steelers, on the other hand, were an annual bottom feeder but always played tough defensively. Both teams were coming off opening week victories, but the Rams were favored due to a better 1954 finish. After a scoreless first quarter Los Angeles took advantage of their home field to jump out in front 17-0 by halftime. Fullback Deacon Dan Towler ran in from a yard out to open the scoring, then after a Les Richter field goal Van Brocklin connected with Bob Boyd on a 74 yard bomb for another touchdown.
Pittsburgh regrouped in the second half. Lynn Chandnois scampered into the end zone from 8 yards out, followed by a 1 yard quarterback sneak by Jim Finks . When Chandnois scored again on a 2 yard run, the Steelers took the lead. However, in what would come to haunt them later, they missed both extra points on the last 2 scores, and their lead was only 19-17. Van Brocklin righted the Rams’ ship in the fourth period, finding Tom Fears on a 17 yard touchdown pass to regain the lead at 24-19. The lead didn’t last long, however. On their next possession, Pittsburgh defensive back Richie McCabe, who had intercepted Van Brocklin earlier in the game, scooped up a Ram fumble and raced 50 yards to paydirt and suddenly the Steelers were back in front 26-24 and poised for an upset win.
Los Angeles refused to buckle and drove into position for Richter to kick a game winning 32 yard field goal in the waning seconds to pull out the victory 27-26. Boyd was the offensive catalyst for the Rams with 3 catches for 114 yards and his long touchdown. Obviously the missed extra points were costly for Pittsburgh. The teams’ fortunes went in opposite directions as the season progressed also. The Rams won the Western Division title while Pittsburgh languished to a 4-8 mark and a sixth place finish in the Eastern Division.
Rams’ Bob Boyd hauls in a Van Brocklin pass
Used from 1971 until 2002, this is a logo of a college football team that plays in the Ivy League, the Harvard University Crimson. One of the oldest programs in history, the school began play in 1873. They’re also one of the most successful teams in Ivy League history with a .677 winning percentage over the years to go with 12 national championships and 17 conference titles. Many Crimson alumni have enjoyed pro careers, and they include Matt Birk, John Dockery, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Pat McInally, Kyle Juszczyk, Tyler Ott, Dan Jiggets, Anthony Firkser and Cameron Brate.
1955 Bowman football card of former pro fullback “Deacon” Dan Towler, who played 6 seasons in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams. In those 6 years he earned 4 All Pro and Pro Bowl honors, and helped the Rams win the NFL championship in 1951. He also was the league’s leading rusher in 1952 and had the most rushing touchdowns in ’52 and ’54. After his playing days ended Towler became a pastor in Pasadena, California, was chaplain of Cal State University and served as president of the Los Angeles Board of Education. He passed away in 2001.
For this week’s Throwback Thursday feature, we’ll highlight the Dallas Cowboys for the second week in a row, this time with a game played against a team they meet on the week 6 NFL schedule, the Los Angeles Chargers. It was played on November 5, 1972 at the Chargers’ old home in San Diego and was a match between the defending Super Bowl champion Cowboys and the sad sack Chargers, who were 2-5-1 under coach Harland Svare at that point. The new realignment of the merged leagues, the NFL and AFL, was only in it’s third year in ’72, so this was the first ever meeting between the 2 franchises.
There were no surprises for the first 2 1/2 quarters, as the Cowboys scored early. Mike Montgomery scooped up a fumble and returned it 54 yards for the opening touchdown. Then, after a Toni Fritsch field goal, Dallas’ offense took over. Walt Garrison rumbled 9 yards for a score, quarterback Craig Morton found Mike Ditka open from a yard out for another, then, early in the third quarter, Morton scrambled 7 yards to paydirt to give his club a commanding 31-0 lead over the overmatched Chargers.
It was at this point that San Diego signal caller John Hadl, one of the AFL’s top stars in the 1960s, regained some of that old AFL magic. He got his team on the board to wrap up the third quarter scoring with a 46 yard TD pass to Chuck Dicus, and carried that momentum into the final quarter. Hadl and the Chargers mounted a furious comeback as the balding QB fired 3 scoring passes, 42 yards to Gary Garrison, a second one to Dicus from 20 yards out and a 47 yard bomb to Dave Williams. Although the Charger comeback struck a little fear in the Cowboys, they did manage to sneak in another Fritsch field goal among the onslaught, and eventually extinguished the fire to pull out a 34-28 win. Amazingly, Hadl’s 4 scoring passes came on only 11 completions for the day, and he also was victimized for 3 interceptions. The Chargers outgained Dallas in both rushing and passing yards, but 4 turnovers sealed their fate. 1972 would be Hadl’s last year with the Chargers, as they traded him to the Los Angeles Rams prior to the ’73 season. He would earn All Pro honors with the Rams that year.
Walt Garrison churns out yardage (James Flores photo/Getty Images)
Used from 1945 until 2006, this is a logo of a college football team that plays in the Ivy League, the Dartmouth Big Green. Way back in 1881 was the first year the school fielded a team, and over the years they have accumulated 27 conference titles, a national championship and produced 15 consensus All Americans. Former Big Green players who have enjoyed careers in pro football include Nick Lowery, Jeff Kemp, Reggie Williams, Jay Fiedler, Casey Cramer, Dave Shula, Swede Youngstrom and one Pro Football Hall of Famer, Ed Healey.
1968 Topps football card of former wide receiver Gary Garrison, who spent 12 years in the pro game in the AFL and NFL, all but 1 season with the San Diego Chargers. Nicknamed “The Ghost”, he was a four-time Pro Bowler and a member of the Chargers’ Hall of Fame, as well as being named to the franchise’s 50th Anniversary team. Garrison, along with teammate Dennis Partee, co-founded the coin-operated video game manufacturer Cinematronics in 1975.
Two NFL franchises that have had epic battles over the years meet this week on the league schedule – the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. We’ll feature them in this week’s Throwback Thursday post, with a divisional playoff game played on December 23, 1972 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Dallas, as defending Super Bowl champs, was favored over the NFC West Division champion 49ers despite being a wild card team. The 49ers used their home field advantage to jump out to an early lead as Vic Washington returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Dallas settled down and got on the scoreboard as starting quarterback Craig Morton led a drive that resulted in a Toni Fritsch field goal to cut the margin to 7-3. In the second quarter veteran San Fran signal caller John Brodie engineered a pair of scoring drives, both ending in 1 yard Larry Schreiber touchdown runs to put his club up 21-3. Morton, although mostly ineffective, got Dallas back in the game as he led the Cowboys on another drive that yielded a second Fritsch field goal, then hit Lance Alworth with a 28 yard TD throw to cut the lead to 21-13 at halftime.
Both teams’ defenses tightened in the third stanza with the only scoring coming on another 1 yard Schreiber run. The 49ers now entered the final quarter with a seemingly commanding 28-13 lead, made to look even more insurmountable by how poorly Morton was playing. After seeing his starter complete only 8 of 21 throws for a paltry 96 yards to go with a pair of interceptions, Dallas coach Tom Landry decided to insert Roger Staubach to lead the offense, and Captain Comeback delivered. The Cowboys scored 17 unanswered points in the final quarter, first adding another field goal before Staubach rifled a pair of touchdown passes – to Billy Parks from 20 yards out to bring the score to 28-23, then adding the winning points with a 10 yard toss to Ron Sellers to give the defending champs a 30-28 victory, earning a trip to the conference title game. Parks wound up catching 7 passes for 136 yards and the winning touchdown, but another major contribution to the win came on the ground from Calvin Hill, who provided 125 valuable yards on 18 carries.
Their success for the ’72 season would end on this day, however, as the Cowboys were manhandled the following week in the NFC Championship game by the archrival Washington Redskins, 26-3.That win by Washington’s “Over The Hill Gang” earned them a trip to Super Bowl VII, where they fell to the NFL’s only unbeaten team in history, the Miami Dolphins.
Roger the Dodger leading Cowboy Comeback
Retro logo of an FCS division college football team that plays in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. They began play in 1922 and have won a total of 10 conference titles. The school is winless in 3 bowl appearances, including a pair of losses in the Tangerine Bowl. Former Golden Eagles who have gone on to play pro football include Lonnie Warwick, Larry Schreiber, Jim Youngblood and Elois Grooms.
1974 Topps football card of former pro running back Vic Washington, who enjoyed a 9 year career in the professional game. He was a star back in the Canadian Football League in the late 1960s, helping the Ottawa Rough Riders win 2 Grey Cup championships, and garnering the Grey Cup MVP award in ’69. He brought his game to the NFL with San Francisco in 1971 and earned Pro Bowl honors that year. He finished his playing days with Houston and Buffalo. After retiring, he battled injuries which led to divorce, drug addiction and homelessness, and passed away in 2008 at the age of 62.