Hail Mary: Dallas Cowboys 1975 Miracle Finish

July 30, 2011 by The Chancellor of Football

Roger Staubach lets fly against the Minnesota Vikings in the 1975 Hail Mary Game

There are some NFL games that last in the memory longer than others, especially when it comes to playoff games. None holds true more than the miracle finish that won the 1975 NFC Playoff game for the Dallas Cowboys over the Minnesota Vikings 17-14. Minnesota was trying to equal the feat of the Dolphins in terms of reaching their 3rd straight Super Bowl. Yet they had to get by the rebuilding Cinderella Cowboys who were in the midst of a rebuilding year. The window was closing for this great team to win that elusive Super Bowl.

After the upset loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV, the Purple People Eater defense had stayed among the league’s best while the offense had to be revamped. After going a few seasons without having adequately replaced Joe Kapp, the Vikings reacquired Fran Tarkenton in 1972 to add leadership and a grade A quarterback to the offense. Also in 1972, they acquired John Gilliam who became the first deep threat ever for the Vikings. In that first year, Gilliam teamed with Tarkenton to become the first Viking in team history to top 1000 yards in receiving.

They finally had some offense but needed one more element and got that boost in the 1973 draft. Chuck Foreman gave the Vikings their first great running back. Combining his skills with Gilliam and Tarkenton and the Vikings made it to the top of the NFC. However back to back Super Bowl losses to Miami and Pittsburgh dulled some of the luster to the 1973 and ’74 seasons. Yet they were seasoned and primed to win it all in 1975. Just have to get past a youthful Dallas Cowboys team that made the playoffs as a wildcard. Easy money….right??

After missing the playoffs in 1974 while transitioning in 14 new players, the Cowboys had said goodbye to familiar faces like Bob Lilly, George Andrie, Chuck Howley, Calvin Hill, and Walt Garrison. Players that had epitomized the era of the “Next Year’s Champion” Cowboys through their ultimate triumph in Super Bowl VI. From 1966-1972 this team was among the league’s elite playing for multiple championships. Yet as we make it into the mid 70s, those aging great players started to retire and a new breed of Cowboys started to infuse the roster. An Ed “Too Tall” Jones in place of a George Andrie, a D.D. Lewis to replace a Chuck Howley. Understand this team had plenty of veterans to lead this young team into this playoff game. MLB Lee Roy Jordan, OLB Dave Edwards, DT Jethro Pugh, and CB Mel Renfro were among the mainstays on defense.

On offense Roger Staubach had developed into a complete NFL quarterback. His ability to move within the pocket was enhanced with the installation of the “Shotgun” formation. Coach Landry had re-introduced a formation that was the birth-child of the early 1960s San Francisco 49ers and Coach “Red” Hickey. This hodge podge set of Cowboys made the pilgrimmage to Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium for an NFC Playoff Game. The ’75 Cowboys didn’t even win their division, they came in with a 10-4 record and seemed to go as far as their talent could take them…right??

To borrow a line from Chris Berman “That’s why they play the games!!”

Drew Pearson scoring on the “Hail Mary” with :18

Epilogue: It was this game that launched the mid to late 70’s Dallas Cowboys. Roger Staubach had already performed a great come from behind playoff game against the 49ers in the 30-28 epic1973 NFC Divisional Game out in Candlestick. Yet it was this second one that spread the belief in his team psychologically that they were never out of a ball game with Roger at the controls.

This was also the game that ushered in Drew Pearson as a playmaker that would be a scourge for many a Cowboy foe over the next decade or so in the playoffs. They would go on to win the NFC Championship in an upset blowout of the Los Angeles Rams in the LA Coliseum 37-7 before falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-17, in Super Bowl X.

As for the Minnesota Vikings a window was narrowing shut on their championship chances. The great line of Hall of Famer Carl Eller, Hall of Famer Alan Page, Jim Marshall, and Doug Sutherland was aging and wasn’t as dominant as in years past. In the 1976 season, Buddy Ryan was hired to coax one more good year out of this group. They got it even though they wore down toward the end of the season. They made it to their 3rd Super Bowl in 4 years, and 4th Super Bowl in 8 years total yet they lost to the Oakland Raiders 32-14 in the 11th edition.

The latter part of the 1970s saw the great play of the Vikings diminish as their stars retired or were phased out. Fran Tarkenton would go on to retire with more passing yards than any quarterback in NFL history with 47,003 yards. The day of the “Hail Mary” game dealt Tarkenton a more severe blow when he learned his father had died of a heart attack while watching the game in Georgia. He was standing in a CBS truck when he learned of his father’s passing.

Yet there is one lingering question from the “Hail Mary” game… Did Drew Pearson interfere with CB Nate Wright or did Nate Wright simply overrun the play?? While it can be noted that if you look at the play before the touchdown, you can see Preston Pearson lose his footing. So it doesn’t seem implausible…. Did he push off??

The Immaculate Reception: Before There Were Hail Marys

July 30, 2011 by The Chancellor of Football

NFL Films had a video of the 100 greatest touchdowns in NFL history that came out in the 1990s which labeled Franco Harris’ Immaculate Reception in the 1972 playoffs, as the greatest ever. It was a completely fair assessment.

It launched a Hall of Fame career for Franco, launched the greatest NFL playoff rivalry of the Super Bowl era, and was the birth of one of the greatest dynasties sports has ever seen. Although the Raiders did get revenge in the 1973 playoffs, Al Davis and the Oakland faithful vehemently disagree with the referee’s ruling that day.

Coach John Madden has said on numerous occasions how he disagreed with the officials not signaling touchdown when the play was over. the refs had a conference first before ruling the touchdown stood that gave Pittsburgh a 13-6 lead with 5 seconds left. So what led to the animosity and fame of this touchdown??

Before the rule changes of 1978, a deflected forward pass could only be caught by an offensive player unless it was touched first by a defensive player. It couldn’t bounce from one offensive player to another like we have now with a Hail Mary. By the way, The Hail Mary is also a nickname for a famous last second touchdown in the 1975 playoff win by Dallas over Minnesota and not the creation of Tom Landry…yet I digress. The Immaculate Reception had everything: drama, controversy, and extreme importance. What started the controversy is the lingering question: Did the ball hit Oakland Raider Jack Tatum or Pittsburgh’s John “Frenchy” Fuqua before deflecting to Franco Harris?

Franco Harris going in for a touchdown with the Immaculate Reception

Alright lets set it up for you: The Pittsburgh Steelers were experiencing their first real winning season in 39 years in 1972. They were powered on offense by a rookie running back from Penn St., Franco Harris. He had powered for 1,055 yards and 10 TDs to give the Steelers their first breakaway runner. He seemed to be the centerpiece for a team Chuck Noll had been building through the draft over the last 4 years. Pittsburgh had made the playoffs for the first time ever and on December 23, 1972 would host the Oakland Raiders in a AFC Divisional Playoff Game.

Meanwhile the Raiders had been mainstays in the postseason over the 6 previous seasons. They had made it to Super Bowl II before the 1970 AFL/NFL merger, and the 1968 and 1969 AFL Championship Games. After losing the first ever AFC Championship Game in 1970 to the Baltimore Colts, they were a team in transition and missed the playoffs in 1971. However with an infusion of new Raiders to put the team in the winner’s circle again, they won the AFC West and were back in ’72 and after that elusive first Super Bowl championship. First they had to go to Pittsburgh….

On a cold, dark and dreary day these two teams met and slugged it out in one of the most physical games of the era. We had two smothering defenses pounding the offenses into the ground and late in the 4th quarter the Steelers had a 6-0 lead. Desperate for some offense, John Madden inserted a young, mobile Kenny Stabler in for an anemic Darryle Lamonica which produced immediate results. On a last second desperation drive, the Raiders came scrambling downfield with their young QB in his first significant action in an NFL playoff game.

At the Steelers 30 with less than 1:30 to go, Stabler avoided the Steel Curtain, took off and scored on a 30 yard TD run to give the Raiders their first lead of the game 7-6. “The Snake” had done it!! A hero was born!! There was bedlam on the Oakland sideline and with 1:13 to go began to make reservations for they would host the AFC Championship Game against the undefeated Miami Dolphins.

A confident Raider defense took the field expecting to thwart the Steelers final offensive attempt. After three failed passing attempts the Steelers were faced with a 4th and 10 from their own 40 yard line with :22 left in the game. The Raider defense had played a defensive masterpiece on the road. One more play and it was on to face the Dolphins. They hadn’t given up a touchdown all day…what could possibly happen?? Terry Bradshaw dropped back, this was the Steelers last chance, he scrambled to the right to avoid the rush and as two Raiders converged…Bradshaw stood his ground and heaved one down the middle to an open “Frenchy” Fuqua. However the late Jack Tatum was closing on the spot where Frenchy reached up to make the catch and….

A bloody playoff rivalry was born and from 1972-1976 these teams met every year in the playoffs. The Raiders gained some revenge in 1973 with a 33-14 thrashing. Then Pittsburgh turned the tables winning the 1974 and ’75 AFC Championships over Oakland before winning Super Bowls IX and X. Then when the Steelers were going for a three-peat, ran into a 13-1 Oakland team that defeated them 24-7, on their way to their first Super Bowl win in the 11th edition over the Vikings. It all started with the ’72 playoffs and The Immaculate Reception.

Tatum hitting the ball and Fuqua.

In Columbus Ohio in Winter 1991, I had the good fortune of running into Franco Harris and James Lofton who were there for the Archie Griffin Tennis Classic I believe. Anyway, sitting at the bar and prying him with beer I could not get Franco to admit the ball had bounced off Frenchy Fuqua and therefore should have been incomplete. “Come on, its just us sitting in a bar. Who would know?” I kept prodding him. Lofton was just laughing his ass off because Franco would just grin and shake his head every time I asked him.

Franco grabbing the ball just inches from the turf a second later.

It was cool talking football with him and for the record… I believe the ball bounced off of the back of Fuqua’s helmet. Follow the replay and you’ll see Fuqua flash in front of Tatum who the ball was headed for. If Tatum was in front of Fuqua, he would have put out his hands to knock the ball down, not brace for impact. When was the last time you saw a football hit someone on the shoulder pads and bounce 15 yards (45 feet) away?? Lets have it ….What say you?? Did the ball bounce off of Frenchy Fuqua or Jack Tatum??

Epilogue: My initial thought of the ball bouncing off Fuqua, maintained for decades, I have changed my mind. After blowing it up and slowing the footage down, you can see the ball move past Fuqua and hit somewhere on Jack Tatum’s right shoulder / chest. I magnified the footage and slowed it frame by frame. It’s still the greatest play in the history of the NFL and I know the debate will rage on.

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Epilogue: Now that we’re 3 years removed from Franco’s passing just days before his jersey was to be retired, its time to share how the Steelers should have had this moment many years before. I had been looking forward to it posting on social media as early as September expressing how great this moment would be with the once hated Raiders in town. Secretly I had worried about how late this was happening being it was a 50 year anniversary ofThe Immaculate Reception, with many of his contemporaries having passed. When I received the word of Franco’s passing from my wife who had gone to work before me I was devastated hence I’m jotting this down many years after the fact.

Contrary to popular belief I struggle when it comes to remembering our friends lost and there are so many times I learn of player’s passing when I wake up and see a historical article read more often than usual. With Franco it just seemed to hurt more as he was a great player from my youth as my love for football grew. Than meeting him a few times over the years his inviting personality made it feel like I had known him over the decades. In 2018 at the Pro Football Hall of Fame he not only gave me crap about prying him with beer to get him to talk about this famous play, he sat and drank with me and friends into the wee hours of the morning talking about great games cone by as though he knew Vance, Ryan and I for years.

This article nor my words will ever do him justice but the football world lost a tremendous man and his moment should have been much sooner.

RIP Franco Harris Pro Football Hall of Famer…Thanks for the memories

NFL’s Hot Stove: Chad Ochocinco, Steve Breaston, Namedi Asoumgha

July 28, 2011 by The Chancellor of Football

Newest Patriot: Chad Ochocinco

So here we are at the tail end of a manic Thursday, day 2 of the NFL’s condensed offseason. The New England Patriots pulled their second coup of the day by trading for Chad Ochocinco just hours after acquiring Albert Haynesworth from the Redskins. Now these were the moves we at Taylor Blitz Times had suspected Bill Belichick to make during the 2011 draft a few months back. Right now he has to be sitting at Patriots headquarters with a cheshire cat grin from ear to ear. As evidenced in last year’s playoff loss to the Jets, once you make it to the highest level in football, you need top shelf playmakers. With swirling talks about Namedi Asoumgha possibly going to the hated Jets, the Patriots come through with a brilliant counter move.

Newest Kansas City Chief: Steve Breaston

With all the noise being made in New England, the big winner could be the Kansas City Chiefs with the move to add Steve Breaston. Breaston rejoins Coach Todd Haley in Kansas City to team with DeWayne Bowe to give the Kansas City Chiefs a formidable set of receivers. Do you realize that Haley has a chance to go with some 3 receiver sets with Bowe, Breaston and draft pick Johnathon Baldwin out of Pitt. Don’t look now but Haley is mimicking the 3 receiver set he had in 2008 when he was the Cardinals offensive coordinator with Fitzgerald, Boldin, and Breaston. In his last two years, Breaston’s catch total was down with only 55 and 47 catches as the Cardinals struggled at quarterback. Yet if you go back to the 2008 season when there were two other marquee receivers and defenses couldn’t concentrate on him, he had 77 catches for 1,006 yards and 7 TDs. Matt Cassel has to be doing cartwheels.

As for Bowe, he had an explosive year pulling in 72 receptions for 1,162 yards and 15 TDs. A physical specimen at 6’2 221lbs with good speed, is only going into his 5th season and should be there for the Chiefs for years to come. With a strong running game to force more 8 man fronts Bowe had a field day against undersized DBs. With the addition of 6’4 228 lbs Baldwin, the Chiefs will field one of football’s largest set of receivers.

Now mark this down!! This team led the NFL in rushing attempts (556), yards (2,627), nearly had two thousand yard rushers with Jamaal Charles’ 1,467 and Thomas Jones’ 896. We haven’t even brought up Matt Cassel yet. All he did was complete 69.9% of his passes for 27TDs and only 7 interceptions. Breaston can only get open with so much attention elsewhere. The AFC West belongs to Kansas City

The Jets have their eye on Namedi Asoumgha and closing in

Namedi, Namedi, Namedi. Right now it looks like a battle between the Jets and the 49ers for his services after the Texans sign CB Jonathan Joseph from the Bengals. Right now the best rivalry since the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers is heating up. With all the talk of adding the valued Raider corner to their roster, the Patriots countered that move by trading for a quality receiver in Chad Ochocinco. So right now Namedi has two choices: Either play with a downtrodden franchise in San Francisco and be out of the playoff race by the end of September. Or he can sign with a team that just played in the last two AFC Championship games and team with Darelle Revis, and become this generations version of Hanford Dixon/ Frank Minnifield. Help get them over the hump to Super Bowl XVLI. I have a feeling he’s going to choose the latter. He could have stayed in Oakland if he wanted to lose. Yesterday, freshly anointed team captain Mark Sanchez said he would re-work his contract to make room for Asoumgha and they were already somewhere around $10 million under the cap.

We still think this is a Super Bowl caliber team and if they make this move to have the league’s top corner tandem, the road to Super Bowl XVLI will go through the Jersey Meadowlands.

Haynesworth to New England: Reach or Belichick Coup??

July 28, 2011 by The Chancellor of Football

Newest Bill Belichick reclamation project

The NFL lockout comes to an end and all hell has broken loose. A condensed free agent signing period has led to some interesting moves yet some have left us scratching our heads. Today’s head scratching incident comes courtesy of Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots and the acquisition of Albert Haynesworth. This disgruntled DT has left the Tennesee Titans and Washington Redskins in his wake with his “play when I want” mantra. Maybe Coach Belichick feels he can resuscitate Haynesworth’s competitive spirit like he once performed with Randy Moss and Corey Dillon. However there are a few notable differences.

At one point Dillon and Moss had played at competitive levels that were legendary. Randy Moss set the rookie record with 17 touchdowns with a 1,300 yard campaign and was the impetus for the highest scoring team in NFL History (at that time) in the Minnesota Viking’s 556 point 1998 campaign. Corey Dillon while in the midst of playing for a perennial loser sat in complete embarrassment in 2000 when Inside the NFL was there to interview Cincinnati Bengals players about “Had the Bengals become the JV of the NFL.” He answered questions with a fire that burned from his eyes and the next week he took it out on the Denver Broncos rushing for an NFL record 278 yards on just 22 carries destroying Walter Payton’s previous record of 275. Destroy? Yes destroy. When Walter Payton set the record 22 years before he had rushed 40 times. When Dillon broke the record in 2000 he had 6 runs for -6 yards and on the other 16 carries?? He ran 16 times for 284 yards….yet I digress Dillon and Moss had other notable games that were amongst the best in NFL history. Albert Haynesworth??

He has had several flashes where he dominated games yet never seemed to put it together over a complete season. He has been dogged with onfield and off field incidents like the stepping on Cowboys center Andre Gurode in a pile up that got him suspended in Tennessee or when in the midst of a $100 million dollar contract, he defacto deactivated himself because he didn’t want to play in Washington Coach Mike Shanahan’s 3-4 defense. For a player who seemed to dog it when it was time for him to shine, you’d think $41 million reasons to excel, in guaraneed money last year, would spring from the competitive juices and kick-start a star whose play can be second to none when fully channeled. So what does Belichick see in Haynesworth?? What makes him think he can turn it around??

Well we had been critical of Bill Belichick’s moves during the draft period and if this works, he Vince Wilfork (The []_[]) can give them the equivalent interior pass rush in the AFC as what may be the Detroit Lions in the NFC with Ndamokung Suh and Nick Fairley. Its hard to believe it can work because the times when Randy Moss and Corey Dillon were brought in, he had veteran laden teams headed by Tedy Bruschi, Tom Brady, and Rodney Harrison. However the feeling that Haynesworth may revert back to his selfish ways and put himself ahead of the team seems to be the uphill battle that most fans and pundits will have to be convinced of.

We’ll have to stay tuned to see if this reclamation project of Bill Belichick’s is a success. What do you think will happen??

Jerry Kramer Belongs In The Hall of Fame – HOF Edition

July 26, 2011 by The Chancellor of Football

Jerry Kramer leads Elijah Pitts on a sweep during Super Bowl I

Originally Published 26, July 2011 w/Postscript 29, May 2019

When you think of the Green Bay Packers of the 1960’s, two images come to mind. Of course that of Vince Lombardi, and then the image of Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston leading Paul Hornung or Jim Taylor on a power sweep. It was this fundamental approach to football that made the Packers perennial champions and lifted their greatest players to Hall of Fame status. Except for one glaring omission. Packers Guard Jerry Kramer.

Vince Lombardi once said that football will always be a game of blocking and tackling. His teams executed the blocking side of that equation with lethal precision. The great Green Bay Packer machine that churned out 5 NFL championships in the 1960s was powered by the offensive line and the power sweep was their principle play.

On many a Sunday afternoon, Kramer would do battles with the likes of Dick Modzelewski, Stan Jones, and his battles with All Pro Alex Karras were epic. Kramer led the way for both Taylor and Hornung to both make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In fact, it was a sweep where Kramer led Hornung to the clinching touchdown to defeat the defending champion Cleveland Browns in the 1965 title game at Lambeau. This was the first of a series of three straight championships won by the Packers and the only such 3-peat achieved in the championship game era.

An unlikely odyssey began with his being drafted out of the University of Idaho and being driven to be the best he could be by hard nosed coach, Vince Lombardi. Fourth round draft picks are not assured roster spots and Jerry didnt crack the starting lineup until his 2nd season in 1959. He was sandwiched between two Pro Bowl linemen in C Jim Ringo and T Forrest Gregg. Yet by 1960, all 3 were making the NFL’s signature all star team where Jerry became a regular.

Kramer was voted All Pro 5 times and was a member of the NFL’s 50th anniversary team.

How do you gauge impact?? For most NFL linemen this would be hard to equate because rarely can a specific game or play come down to a key block that everyone saw. After missing the 1961 NFL Championship Game with a badly injured ankle in Green Bay, Kramer not only returned to play in the 1962 Title Game, he also handled place kicking duties that day. While blocking Giant Dick Modzelewski all day he also kicked 3 field goals for the difference in Green Bay’s 16-7 victory. A feat that is unsung in football annals. Where winds gusted up to 50 m.p.h., and forced each team to run the football even more than usual.

Kramer went 3 for 4 on field goals and an extra point on battered legs from blocking on a brutally cold day. One so cold one of the cameramen suffered from frostbite as the stadium had many bonfires to keep players and officials warm. Although fellow Packer Ray Nitschke was voted game MVP, we find it hard to believe Kramer didn’t get the vote for being able to kick on a day when even YA Tittle and Bart Starr passed sparingly. This was a season in which Tittle had thrown for an NFL record 33 TDs on the year.

Just like any skill position, you’re gauged by how well you play in the big games. Aside from the great line play of the Packers in their run to 5 titles there are individual efforts where Kramer’s greatness was showcased. In the 1965 NFL Championship Game the clinching touchdown was a Green Bay sweep to the left where Kramer can be seen making two blocks as he escorts Paul Hornung into the endzone.

After the 1967 season the Packers found themselves in position for that elusive 3 peat when they faced the Dallas Cowboys. However conditions were worse for this game than they were in the 1962 NFL Championship Game. The famed “Ice Bowl” was played at a -15*F and a negative wind chill close to -70* below zero.

Yet with the game on the line the Packers began a march that culminated in their being stuck just 1 yard from the winning touchdown. After 2 shots at it, Bart Starr took the Packers final timeout. With the season and perhaps the dynasty of the Packers in his hands, it was his wedge block on Jethro Pugh that Bart Starr followed into the endzone to win it with :16 left. So of the 3 NFL Championship Games that concluded the dynasty he had a hand in several key plays.

Bart Starr follows Jerry Kramer’s block to clinch the Ice Bowl 21-17 to give the Green Bay Packers 3 championships in a row

Did you know that Kramer has already been picked as the Guard for the 1960’s NFL’s All Decade Team as selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee?? How can he not be in the Hall of Fame as a player??

Some think it could be due to having an injury plagued career but he lined up for 11 years and made countless blocks that led to his entire backfield being immortalized in Canton when you include Bart Starr. If Jim Parker of the 1950’s Colts and Johnny Unitas’ chief protector, was the standard bearer for all tackles and made the Hall of Fame. The same can be said for Mike Webster at center for the Pittsburgh Steelers and one of the team’s anchors. He too made the Hall of Fame. Where does that leave a guard who:

Was a 5 time All Pro,
Was a 5 time World Champion,
Member of the All Decade Team for the 1960’s voted by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee
Was voted one of the Guards on the NFL’s 50th Anniversary Team commemorating the greatest players from the league’s 1st 50 seasons.

I’ll tell you where that leaves him, an overdue member of the Pro football Hall of Fame. One of the unique aspects is that most offensive linemen live in a world of anonymity. Yet Jerry Kramer is one of the most recognizable faces of all the famous Packers. He has been the keeper of the flame for his former Packer teammates through a series of books and has been a great ambassador of the game. A long overdue title he has rightfully deserved is that of a Hall of Famer.

Ladies and Gentlemen, for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I present to you Green Bay Packer legend, Jerry Kramer.

The Chancellor right before entering The Pro Football Hall of Fame wearing an autographed Jerry Kramer jersey from the family. Its time he is enshrined.

We have to get this right and I believe they will in 2018. Please lend your thoughts as well by writing in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the address below. Please be respectful and positively lend your voice:

Please write & nominate #64
Send letters to:
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attention Senior Selection Committee
2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton,
OH 44708

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Postscript: 28, May 2019: An end to an incredible journey happened last August in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jerry’s long awaited induction was a celebration for of course Green Bay Packer fans, and all of us who were a part of the Facebook campaign Alicia had begun back in 2011. To which Alicia asked me to be a part of when her idea was just taking shape.

Once Jerry announced it would be Alicia who would be his presenter, the months leading up to the ceremony had a double celebration feel to it. We joked about the time when it really hit you the moment was going to happen. For me it was when we took this picture as Rich Eisen was right above us announcing everyone take your seats. The Gold Jacket broadcast was just minutes away.

The highs and lows shared over the years made it one where the ultimate high of Jerry’s enshrinement could only be matched by the smile he had that entire weekend.

The reverence, class, love and respect for Jerry was evident in the moment he “officially” had on his Gold Jacket as PFHoF David Baker and Commissioner Goodell applauded on stage. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,, including yours truly. The triumphant end of a 40 year post career odyssey.

There was only time for smiles while enjoying Jerry’s triumphant moment.

“Hey big guy!” The laughs at the Hall of Fame party were priceless.

An enshrinement celebration for an immortal finally having his moment in the sun was shared exponentially with the entire Kramer family.

Jerry was besieged by fellow Hall of Famers in Gold Jackets offering congratualtions. These were not only his Packer teammates.. we’re talking Hall of Famers from the 1960’s through the 2000’s from all over the NFL & AFL. The Chancellor was right there to soak it all in and share in the celebration.

At an event of a lifetime of course you take as many pics as you can yet the lasting images are the snapshots captured in your mind.

The best one for me was as we revelled into the evening snapping pics, Chris Berman, Jerry, and Jeremy Schapp regaled and told stories in a lounge area right behind us. Jeremy, a sports journalist in his own right, is the son of legendary sportswriter Dick Schapp.

The two books Dick cowrote with Jerry, “Farewell To Football” and “Instant Replay” were the books given to me to read back in 1977 that cemented my love of football in the first place. So you can understand why this moment stood out…

I can’t fully express my gratitude to Jerry, his daughters Alicia, Diana and sons Daniel, Matthew Cole, and Tony for the invitation to be there. It was an event so uplifting all of us that were in Canton continue to share pics and stories as though it happened yesterday. Thank you.

Alicia admiring her father’s HOF ring last year after reception ceremony at Lambeau.

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Hall of Fame postscript on Kevin Greene & 2016 trip

Hall of Fame postscript on Robert Brazile

Hall of Fame postscript on Ken Stabler

Everson Walls Belongs In the Hall of Fame

July 24, 2011 by The Chancellor of Football

Butch Johnson and Everson celebrate Walls 4th quarter redzone interception in the ’81 NFC Championship Game. Yes, same quarter as The Catch

In the history of football, one of the hardest positions to judge or gauge performance is cornerback. Many times they’re overlooked when we speak of their careers as a whole because they rarely have a lot of tackles or hard hits. So we tend to think of defenisve linemen or linebackers first. However after the NFL instituted rule changes that favored the passing game in 1978. A more fluid athlete was needed to turn and run with receivers who could no longer be hit beyond 5 yards of the scrimmage line. The day of the super physical Mel Blount type cornerback was over and a new type of player would emerge.

The Dallas Cowboys of 1980 saw a secondary in flux with many of their great ’70s players aging, and teams piled points on ’em after years of abuse. They gave up 311 points or nearly 20 a game. Mel Renfro had retired a few years back and Cliff Harris’ left after the 1979 season and the secondary was having epic breakdowns.

Even in Roger Staubach’s famous come from behind victory over the Redskins in the 1979 finale, the defense had given up 34 points at home in that game. So losing an All Decade performer in Cliff Harris and injuries to Randy Hughes magnified Cowboys problems. By the time the 1980 playoffs began, the Cowboys couldn’t cover a child with a blanket. Cornerback Aaron Mitchell got lit up by Alfred Jenkins ( 4 rec. 155 yds, 1 TD) of the Atlanta Falcons in a playoff game known for being Danny White’s first great comeback. They prevailed 30-27 but a defensive back upgrade was top priority in the 1981 NFL Draft.

Enter Everson Walls, a lanky fast cornerback the Dallas Cowboys drafted out of Grambling in 1981. He was a clearly brought in to be a cover man first and run supporter second. He burst onto the scene in his rookie year when he led the NFL in interceptions with 11 while making the Pro Bowl as a rookie. Coming a year after Lester Hayes breakout 1980 campaign when he totaled 13 interceptions, Walls season was somewhat overlooked. While pundits duked it out over which cornerback was the best of the new breed, Walls interception totals didn’t drop over the ensuing years as Hayes did once stickum was outlawed.

After the strike shortened year of 1982 in which the NFL only played 9 regular season games, Walls led the NFL again in interceptions with 7. Teams were avoiding throwing in his area and he gambled his way to a better season than his first. Projected over a 16 game season, he would have equaled the 13 that Lester Hayes had in his near record breaking campaign in 1980. After having 11 the year before?? Now that is an encore.

Everson Walls battling a rookie Jerry Rice in 1985

One of the reasons that Walls gets overlooked is he played for the Dallas Cowboys after their Super Bowl appearances of the late 70s. This was the era in which the Dallas Cowboys lost three consecutive NFC Championship games, so the stars of this time weren’t lionized by NFL pundits like their 70’s counterparts. Much of this can be attributed to the 1981 NFC Championship Game in which Dwight Clark soared high to make “The Catch” and Walls was falsely treated as a goat for allowing it.

Yet many of those same pundits forget that earlier in the game Walls had made several key plays which included 2 interceptions to halt 49er drives. One of which occurred at the goal line. He had played an exceptional game even in that defeat.

The Cowboys were a playoff team in 1983 yet teams threw away from Everson Walls at all costs. However in 1985 he re-emerged to lead the NFL again with 9 interceptions. By doing so he became the only player in league history to lead 3 times in interceptions. It was at this point there had to be a reason for this gambler from Grambling picking off so many passes.

In John Madden’s second book “One Knee Equals Two Feet”, John cited the reason for Walls high totals a byproduct for teams having to throw over 6 foot 9, Ed “Too Tall” Jones. Jones was the defensive end on Walls side but that isn’t true. If you look at the 1977 and 1978 seasons, the Doomsday Defense II and “Too Tall” were at their zenith. In ’77 the Cowboys were the last team to win the Super Bowl with a team that was #1 on offense and defense yet the highest interception total was 5 by Benny Barnes. In the ’78 season in which they returned to the Super Bowl the highest cornerback total was 3. Walls with 11, 7 (projected 13), and 9 interception totals dwarf those with an aging Jones in front of him.

What are we saying? Its time to give credit where credit is due. When you think of impact at cornerback you think of interceptions and the ability to battle the league’s best. Walls faced Roy Green, Hall of Famer Art Monk, and Mike Quick who were the NFC’s best and came out on top in many battles. Walls would go on to finish with 57 interceptions over his 12 year career. He was a 4 time Pro Bowler yet was a first team All Pro just once. How does that happen when he led the league in interceptions 3 times?? Sportswriters are at fault for the All Pro snub and none pushed for him since he wasn’t a high round draft pick the beat writers would advocate for.

The Cowboys were penalized after losing the Battle of Champions to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XIII, and the fallout includes the early 80s Cowboys when it comes to Hall of Fame consideration. While most short sighted columnists would remind you that his Dallas Cowboys never won a Super Bowl as reason for the snub.

Yet one of the most important roles in his career was when he teamed with Mark Collins, and Perry Williams to give the New York Giants 3 excellent corners to shut down the Buffalo Bills 3 receivers in Super Bowl XXV. Early in that game it was Walls who caught James Lofton after a deflected pass gained Buffalo 61 yards and into Giant territory. Three plays later on a crucial 3rd down it was Walls who broke up a pass for Thurman Thomas that forced the Bills to settle for a field goal. Had he not caught Lofton or stopped the Bills from gaining a first and goal, how could that have affected a game in which the Giants won just 20-19?? So he was a Super Bowl champion, so scratch that off the list of why he doesn’t belong.

He was forever immortalized on the cover of Sports Illustrated after that game.

Super Bowl XXV Cover Pic of Everson Walls

Two weeks ago, Everson Walls was inducted into the Grambling Hall of Fame. In recent years this consummate teammate made headlines by donating a kidney to former Cowboy Ron Springs in a gesture that says more about the man than his playing ability. He is an excellent ambassador to the game of football, signing autographs and constantly meets and communicates with fans through social media and Cowboys engagements. However it was his exploits as one of “Thurman’s Thieves” that made it all possible.

Please lend your thoughts as well by writing in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the address below. Please be respectful and positively lend your voice:

Please write & nominate #24 Everson Walls
Send letters to:
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attention Senior Selection Committee
2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton,
OH 44708

For induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I present to you Everson Walls

Coaches and players from the past advocated for on Taylor Blitz Times in order:

Robert Brazile 2011 (inducted 2018)