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In an earlier post celebrating the NFL’s 100th Anniversary, we featured the quarterbacks who helped grow the fledgling American Football League into an entity on par with the NFL that led to the merger of the two leagues. Most of those QBs, who kept the AFL afloat throughout the 1960s, were players who were shunned by NFL teams at some point. They flourished when given an opportunity and proved they belonged on the same field as the supposedly superior NFL signal callers. This week’s NFL 100 post will take a look back at the quarterbacks who starred in the established NFL in that same era of the ’60s. Surprisingly, the most successful field generals of that decade in the NFL traveled similar paths to stardom as the guys who toiled in the AFL. Green Bay’s Bart Starr for example, who won 5 championships in the ’60s and was MVP of the first 2 Super Bowls, began his NFL career as a little known 17th round draft choice of the Packers in 1956. He languished there as a backup until Vince Lombardi arrived as head coach in 1959. Under Lombardi’s tutelage Starr developed into the Hall of Famer he became. Known as perhaps the greatest passer of the decade and easily an equal of Starr was John Unitas of the Baltimore Colts. He was a ninth round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955 but didn’t make the team out of training camp. He worked in construction and played semi-pro ball in the steel city that year. In 1956 one of his semi-pro teammates was invited to try out for the Colts and Unitas joined him. They had no idea at the time, but the Colts had stumbled upon a player who would go on to lead them to 3 NFL titles, win 3 league MVP awards and be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There were a number of quarterbacks during the decade who fashioned successful careers with their teams but failed to deliver when it came to winning championships. Y.A. Tittle, who started in the 1950s guiding a high-powered offense in San Francisco and had even greater success after being traded to the New York Giants, is the best example. He was a Pro Bowler in 3 of his 4 seasons with the Giants and won NFL MVP in 1963. He also guided New York to the NFL championship game his first 3 seasons there, but lost in all 3 attempts to win the ultimate prize. Fran Tarkenton is another player who had an amazing career, but never reached the top of the mountain. He played for both the Giants and Minnesota Vikings in the ’60s and established himself as a future Hall of Famer, well into the 1970s in fact. Unfortunately, the Viking teams he played on were expansion outfits and his Giant tenure was when the iconic franchise was suffering through one of it’s worst periods.

Unitas, Tarkenton with coach Shula at the Pro Bowl

Out west, a pair of gladiators led their teams for most of the decade and were competitive but never reached the ultimate goal. San Francisco’s John Brodie and Roman Gabriel of the Los Angeles Rams are both borderline Hall of Famers but as of today haven’t been given that honor, despite having Hall-worthy credentials. A couple of underrated QBs of the era are Don Meredith of Dallas and Charley Johnson of the old St. Louis Cardinals. Meredith took over the Cowboys’ reins  from Eddie LeBaron in 1962 and guided the franchise through most of the rest of the decade, reaching NFL title games in consecutive years in the mid-60s. Unfortunately, his Cowboy teams suffered the same fate as many other squads of the era, losing both times to Lombardi’s Packers. Johnson served 2 years of active duty in the Army while playing for the Cardinals but still remained their signal caller for almost the entire decade. There was a lot of musical chairs among the quarterbacks of the 1960s NFL also, as teams looked for the right winning combination. The Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns found the right answers when they turned to former Ram backups. Bill Wade for the Bears in ’63 and Frank Ryan for the ’64 Browns delivered titles for those franchises. Sonny Jurgensen and Norm Snead were traded for each other after the 1963 season. After quarterbacking the Eagles for 7 years Jurgensen went on to play 10 more for the Washington Redskins and although he never got his team close to the playoffs, he earned Hall of Fame recognition. Snead finished out the decade with the Eagles but never got them anywhere either, and wound up as a journeyman QB with 3 other teams into the mid-’70s. When the Browns turned to Ryan as their starter in the early 1960s, Detroit acquired Cleveland’s old starter, Milt Plum, to lead their team for most of the rest of the decade. He had some success there but the Lions always wound up playing second fiddle to the Packers in the Western Division. The Pittsburgh Steelers were a mess in the 1960s. They started the decade trying to squeeze some life out of Bobby Layne, who had led Detroit to NFL titles in the 1950s but was playing out the string in Pittsburgh. They followed up the Layne era with names like Rudy Bukich, Ed Brown, Ron Smith, Bill Nelsen, George Izo, Kent Nix and Dick Shiner. Nelsen would have relative success in the NFL but only after being traded from the Steelers to Cleveland, where he finished out the decade upon the retirement of Ryan. Overall, the 1960s delivered similar results to the AFL as far as quarterback play was concerned. A few Hall of Famers, a couple of borderline HOFers, some backups who got opportunities and made the most of them, and a lot of journeymen keeping their careers afloat with different franchises.

Sonny Jurgensen (9) in his early Eagle days

It’s time for another Throwback Thursday feature with the NFL entering week nine of its’ season, and two old NFL franchises, the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles, are matched up this week. That will take us back to a playoff game between these two teams, played on New Year’s Eve, December 31st, 1988 at Chicago’s Soldier Field. The game was a coaching matchup of two men who served together on the Bears’ coaching staff during their 1985 Super Bowl run, Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan. Ditka was a Chicago icon dating back to his playing days with the team in the 1960s, while Ryan, during his time as the defensive coordinator of the team in the Ditka regime, stole as much of the spotlight as he could from the head coach since his defensive unit was the strength of the team. There was no love lost between the 2 men, and Ryan left to take the Eagles’ head coaching position in 1986. The game itself was no masterpiece, at least allegedly, since there wasn’t much of the action visible to the fans in the stadium or on television. A deep fog descended on the field making visibility difficult for the players, coaches and officials. The game, won by the Bears 20-12, would go down in NFL lore as “The Fog Bowl”.

Bears, Eagles enjoying “Fog Bowl” action

The Chicago “Monsters of The Midway” defense, although a couple of years removed from their ’85 championship, was still a formidable unit and held the Eagles to 4 Luis Zendejas field goals on the day. Randall Cunningham, Philly’s elusive quarterback, threw for 407 yards in the game but couldn’t get his team into the end zone. He was intercepted 3 times and sacked 4 times. Bears’ QB Mike Tomczak also threw 3 picks, but was able to find his wide receiver, Dennis McKinnon, through the fog for a 64 yard touchdown to open the scoring in the first quarter. When Neal Anderson scored on a 1 yard run for the Bears in the second quarter to up the Bears’ lead to 14-6, the game was pretty much over. The teams spent the rest of the afternoon trading Zendejas and Kevin Butler field goals and feeling their way through the fog. McKinnon was able to make himself visible enough to catch 4 passes for 108 yards and his TD, and a pair of Eagles, running back Keith Byars and tight end Keith Jackson, also had over 100 yards receiving, making up most of the passing yardage from Cunningham. Unfortunately for the Bears, they would get torched 28-3 by Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers the following week in the NFC Championship game, and San Fran would go on to win the Super Bowl.

Bears’ fans express their sentiments during the “Fog Bowl” game

One of the most important figures in the 100 year history of the NFL being celebrated this year is former commissioner Pete Rozelle. He wasn’t considered very important when he first took over the job in 1959 following the death of then-commissioner Bert Bell. He was a young general manager of the Los Angeles Rams at the time and wasn’t a popular choice for the commissioner’s post. It took 23 ballots by the owners to get him confirmed for the job. He took over at age 33 and wasn’t shy about making changes to the game during his tenure. The NFL at the time was a 12 team league playing their games in half-filled stadiums and television wasn’t much of a part of the league’s plan, as only a few teams had local or regional TV contracts. He took over the same year a rival circuit, the new American Football League, was being formed with a plan to start play in 1960. Rozelle took immediate action to counter the new league. The NFL added an expansion franchise in Dallas and a year later in Minnesota, and allowed the foundering Chicago Cardinals franchise to move to St. Louis, effectively cutting off the AFL’s path to 3 different cities they were considering. The AFL’s Dallas franchise, owned by league founder Lamar Hunt, was forced to move to Kansas City after 3 seasons and an AFL team slated to be placed in Minnesota had to be quickly relocated to Oakland before it even started play. Rozelle recognized the power of the media to promote the game early on and negotiated a deal with the CBS network to carry NFL games regionally. He also championed the cause of shared revenue with the owners, which they agreed to. The shared revenue model still exists today and is a major reason the league is as competitive as it is. The owners awarded Rozelle with a five year contract to remain in his job in 1962. He faced a couple of his most important decisions the next seasons. Prior to the 1963 season, Rozelle suspended Green Bay’s Paul Hornung and Detroit’s Alex Karras for gambling, a powerful move on his part. In November of that year, however, he made a decision that he later said was his biggest regret during his tenure as commissioner. He allowed NFL games to be played on the weekend of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, a decision that was widely criticized. The rival AFL had cancelled their games and drew praise for that decision. Also, the AFL had negotiated a television contract of its’ own with NBC and began competing for players with the established league, landing a big fish when the New York Jets signed Joe Namath. When the New York Giants signed Buffalo placekicker Pete Gogolak, it started an all-out war between the leagues to “raid” each other’s rosters for star players. Established NFL stars like John Brodie, Mike Ditka and Roman Gabriel signed “future” contracts with AFL teams. Rozelle, realizing the battle between rival league owners was hurting the game, worked behind the scenes with Cowboys’ executive Tex Schramm and Chiefs’ owner Hunt among others to negotiate a merger of the two leagues. The negotiations were successful and in 1966 the merger was announced. Due to television commitments, the two leagues remained separate until 1970 but a common draft was instituted and an annual AFL/NFL Championship game was set up to be played after each season. During this time the AFL added expansion franchises in Miami and Cincinnati.

Pete Rozelle after the NFL/AFL merger was successful

By 1970, pro football was beginning to grow into the television monster it has become today. The annual championship game, which would become known as the “Super Bowl”, became the top sporting event in the country if not the world. Today the game has almost reached the status of becoming a national holiday. Before the leagues could effectively merge, Rozelle had to convince 3 NFL owners to move their franchises to the newly formed American Football Conference, since the NFL had 16 teams and the AFL only 10. Cleveland and Baltimore, two teams that had been merged from the old All American Conference in 1950, were chosen along with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rozelle also came up with the idea of a weekly prime time game, and with his vision Monday Night Football was born and another network, ABC, was added to the league’s revenue stream. The man who was regarded as professional sports’ most successful commissioner presided over its’ golden era, but wasn’t without his troubles over the years. Oakland Raiders’ owner Al Davis was a constant nemesis, beginning in the days of the merger when Davis, who was AFL commissioner at the time, had to give up his post to allow Rozelle to preside over the newly merged leagues. He battled in the courts with Rozelle over moving his franchise from Oakland to Los Angeles and back again. (The Raiders are planning another move, to Las Vegas, next season.) When the Raiders won the Super Bowl following the 1980 season, Rozelle was put in the awkward position of having to award the Lombardi Trophy to Davis.

Rozelle presents the Lombardi Trophy to Al Davis

Rozelle retired from the commissioner’s post in 1989, citing health issues. Davis would later say he regretted giving Pete so much grief during his time as commissioner, and felt that he may have contributed to Rozelle’s health issues. Rozelle left with the sport in great shape and left behind a legacy that is unmatched by anyone in the game’s 100 years when it comes to how much he helped grow the game. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985 while still serving as commissioner and in 1990 the league instituted the Pete Rozelle Award to be given to the MVP of the game he helped create, the Super Bowl. Rozelle passed away of brain cancer in 1996. Taking a look at the sport today compared to when he took over: a 12 team league now has 32 franchises, the Super Bowl is the world’s most popular sporting event, the league’s players are among the most recognizable sports heroes and the annual draft of college players has become a cottage industry in itself.

Rozelle presides over the 1966 draft, on a blackboard

For one of this week’s NFL 100 features, we’ll look at a character who left a long and lasting legacy in the league as a player, coach and studio analyst, Mike Ditka. When he joined the Chicago Bears as a rookie tight end in 1961, he proceeded to redefine the position from what was always a blocker, almost an extra lineman next to the tackle, to a legitimate receiving threat. In that rookie year, he caught 58 passes and scored 12 touchdowns, a Bears’ rookie record, and was named NFL Rookie of The Year. He played 5 total seasons with Chicago and was a Pro Bowler in all of them. His rugged style of play earned him the nickname “Iron Mike”, as he not only changed the tight end position with his receiving ability but also was known for his yardage gained after the catch, regularly trucking defensive backs and linebackers on his way to picking up extra yards. A contract dispute with owner George Halas got Ditka traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1967. He played there for 2 years and then was traded to Dallas where he played his final 4 seasons. The highlight of his Cowboy days came in 1971 in Super Bowl VI when he scored a touchdown to help the team defeat the Miami Dolphins 24-3 to give legendary coach Tom Landry his first championship.

Mike Ditka, All Pro Bears’ tight end

Ditka retired in 1972 and was immediately hired to join Landry’s coaching staff in Dallas. He spent 9 years there, learning from the best. The Cowboys made the playoffs in 8 of those seasons and won the Super Bowl again in 1977. While serving as an assistant on Landry’s staff, Ditka wrote a letter to Halas, who he had a strained relationship with, saying he would like to return to Chicago as the Bears’ head coach when he was ready. Halas took him up on that request in 1982 when he went out on a limb and hired his old tight end to lead the Bears. Ditka held a team meeting upon taking the job and promised the players that if they stuck with him he would have them “in the dance” within 3 years. By 1985 he delivered. His ’85 Bears club reached “the dance”, the Super Bowl, and demolished the New England Patriots 46-10 in the game. Although it was the only title Ditka would win in Chicago, that ’85 Bears team is considered one of the greatest of all time, especially the defense. They had swagger, led by coach Ditka, his flamboyant quarterback, Jim McMahon, Walter Payton and William “The Refrigerator” Perry and even put together a video, the “Super Bowl Shuffle”, before they had qualified to play in the game. They were a confident bunch.

Tom Landry, Ditka’s coaching mentor

During the 1988 season Ditka suffered a heart attack and was expected to not be available for most of the season. However, he was back on the sideline as an advisor the next game and returned to his full time duties as head coach the following week. A couple of losing seasons in the early 1990s led to his firing in Chicago in 1992. He went on to coach the New Orleans Saints for 3 years, beginning in 1997, but that stint was largely forgettable and was “highlighted” by an ill-fated move in which Ditka traded his entire stock of draft picks to Washington for the rights to running back Rickey Williams, who never panned out in the Crescent City. Overall, it’s hard to think of the NFL’s 100 year history without mentioning Ditka. He and Tom Flores are the only 2 people who won championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach in league history, and Ditka was the first to achieve this. Today he is an icon in Chicago. He owns a chain of restaurants and regularly is on sports talk radio shows in the Windy City. He was a regular football studio analyst on ESPN for years before being dropped for voicing political opinions. Saturday Night Live had a running skit for years featuring Bill Swerski’s Superfans, a group of mythical Bears fans, including George Wendt, who worshipped “Coach Dikka”. Ditka, in 1988, was honored to be the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

Coach Ditka Halloween costumes were once popular in Chicago