Clint Longley with rattlesnakes

 

 

Roger Staubach and Tom Landry

Clint Longley led Abilene Christian University to the NAIA championship and later came off the bench to pull out a Thanksgiving Day game for the Cowboys.

• Born in Wichita Falls TX in 1952, Howard Clinton Longley, Jr., grew up in Littleton CO where he played high school football. Not recruited by any college, Clint walked on at Abilene Christian and quickly earned the starting QB spot and a reputation as a free spirit.
• His coach at Abilene, Wally Bullington, went fishing with him. "Interesting guy," Bullington recalls. "Always had a story to tell. And he could really shoot a gun, and I mean from the hip! He had great hands." Bullington said that Clint could sidearm a ball 70y.
• Clint's favorite prey was rattlesnakes. One of his pals recalls that he wore boots, a cowboy hat, cutoff jeans, and a holster with two .38 pistols when hunting.
• The only discipline problem Bullington recalls having with Clint was the time he emptied a trash can full of rattlesnakes (dead, we hope) onto the floor of the trainer's room.
• His roommate recalls: "I'll never forget how Clint answered the phone. He either answered, 'This is the magnificent Clint Longley', 'This is the Purple Vindicator', or 'Longley's house of pleasure.'"
• As a junior, Clint set the school's passing record that still stands with 3,167y to lead Abilene Christian to the NAIA National Championship. The team included future Eagles RB Wilbert Montgomery as well as future boxer-actor Randall "Tex" Cobb.
• Having graduated in three years that spring, Longley declared himself eligible for the NFL supplemental draft. The Cincinnati Bengals chose him in June 1974. Needing a backup QB, the Cowboys gave the Bengals a provisional draft pick for Longley. It ended up being a sixth rounder.

So Clint reported to the Cowboys' training camp in Thousand Oaks CA.

• It may have been that camp or a later one, but Cowboy players recall hearing loud pops coming from one of the dorm rooms. The next morning, they noticed that the field behind the dormitory was littered with dead rabbits. Clint had been getting in some midnight target practice.
• Already known as "Snake Hunter," Longley earned another nickname, "The Mad Bomber," when his errant pass nearly skulled Coach Tom Landry in his tower during practice.
• Nevertheless, he survived the Turk and started the season as the third string QB behind veterans Roger Staubach and Craig Morton. When the disenchanted Morton got his wish and was traded to the Giants after two games, Longley moved up a notch to hold the clipboard and relay signals on the sidelines. However, he saw no action until the ninth annual Thanksgiving game in Dallas.

The Cowboys badly needed a victory over their division rival, Washington.

• Eleven days earlier, George Allen's Redskins had knocked off the Cowboys in D.C. 28-21. The defeat dropped Dallas's record to 5-5, two games behind the Skins and 2 1/2 behind the St. Louis Cardinals, who played in the NFC East at that time.
• The Cowboys had beaten Houston the previous Sunday, but both Washington and St. Louis won as well.
• Prior to the Turkey Day Clash, Washington DT Diron Talbot told reporters he hoped Staubach would run with the ball. "If you knock him out, you've got that rookie Clint Longley facing you. That's one of our goals. If we do that, it's great." Diron should have remembered the saying, "Be careful what you wish for."

Staubach started the game despite a bout with the flu. He would not have a good day.

• Dallas started the scoring with a 24y FG by Efren Herrera in Q1. The drive was kept alive by a fake punt that saw Duane Carrell pass to DB Benny Barnes for 37y. The Redskins' Mark Moseley booted three FGs to take a 9-3 lead at halftime.
• The home team's fortunes went from bad to worse at the start of Q3. On the first play after the kickoff, RB Walt Garrison lost a fumble. That set up a 9y swing pass from Billy Kilmer to former Cowboys RB Duane Thomas to push the lead to 16-3.
• Then the disaster that Talbot wished for struck. LB Dave Robinson nearly decapitated Staubach, knocking him woozy with 9:57 remaining in the period. Roger had completed only 3 of 11 for a mere 32y with an INT - fewer yards than Carrell gained on his one connection.

Landry motioned his 22-year-old backup into the fray. "Get in. Good luck."

• Later Longley said, "I was afraid they weren't going to send me in, but I was all they had." Garrison told the rookie when he entered the huddle, "Remember, Clint, we're the ones in white."
• As some fans exited the stadium, he promptly moved the O to a TD on a 35y pass to TE Billy Joe Dupree. Just like that, the lead was cut to 16-10.
• After stopping Washington, the Cowboys marched 70y. Garrison plowed over from the 1 to make it 17-16 and bring the crowd to life.

 
Longley in action against the Redskins

• The Redskins refused to go down without a fight, regaining the lead early in Q4 on another TD by Thomas, this one a 19y run to make 23-17. (The two-point conversion had not been approved for the merged leagues even though the AFL had used it from the beginning.)
• Washington got an opportunity to pad their lead when they recovered a fumble and moved into FG range with five minutes remaining. However, DE "Too Tall" Jones blocked Moseley's 24y attempt.
• But shortly thereafter, RB Preston Pearson fumbled the ball back to the Redskins. However, Allen's O, playing conservatively, ran three plays and punted. That series did force Dallas to use all its timeouts. Still, Longley & Company had the ball with 1:45 left.
• On fourth-and-six, Clint passed to WR Bob Hayes for just enough to gain a first down at midfield as the clock went under a minute. After an incompletion, Longley threw long down the left sideline to Drew Pearson. Somehow, the CB, with no S help, let Drew get behind him. The pass hit the WR in stride at the 4, and he glided into the EZ to tie the score with 0:28 remaining. Herrera's PAT put the Cowboys in front. The play was Longley's own call, a modification of the one sent in by Landry.
• Kilmer's fumble killed the visitors' slim hopes of a miracle comeback and cemented Longley's place in Cowboy lore.
• Clint's final stats: 11-for-20 for 203y with 2 TDs and 0 INTs.

Naturally, reporters sought out the unlikely hero in the locker room.

• Asked about Talbot's pregame comment, Longley replied, "Yeah, I had heard about that Talbot quote earlier in the week, and it kind of hurt me." He added, "I wasn't nervous, but I sure was excited." He admitted he had never before played such a thrilling role, not even at Abilene Christian.
• OT Blaine Nye described Longley's performance as "the triumph of an uncluttered mind."
• "Football is an incredible game," said Landry. "This is what makes it so unbelievable. Anything can happen in football."
• A disappointed George Allen remarked, "I don't have very much to say. It was probably the toughest loss we ever had."

Staubach returned the following week.

• Clint threw only one more pass that season and completed it.
• The 8-6 Cowboys failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1965.

Longley remained on the roster for the 1975 season.

• He appeared in four games, starting the final game against the Jets - a 31-21 victory - when Staubach was again injured.
• He completed only 7 of 23 attempts for 102y with 1 TD and 1 INT.

Prior to the '76 season, Dallas signed QB Danny White after the World Football League folded.

• Staubach, who had never been particularly friendly with Longley, bonded quickly with White.
• As a result, Clint knew that his role with the Cowboys would be third string at best.

So he plotted a way to get himself traded.

• The stories vary somewhat, but Longley picked a fight with Staubach during training camp prior to the '86 season. One account says the fracas began when Longley made a racist remark about Drew Pearson after the WR dropped Clint's long pass during a workout. VP of player personnel Gil Brandt claims that Clint got frustrated after not being able to beat Roger in any of the little contests they staged to kill time during practice. At any rate, all agree that Staubach told Clint that "Somebody is gonna knock those Bugs Bunny teeth of yours in." When Longley asked, "Are you going to be the one?" Roger replied, "Yeah, I'd love to do it." So they met on a baseball diamond adjacent to the practice field. White says his job was to distract assistant coach Dan Reeves while his QB mates went at it. Roger won the fight, pinning Clint down before Reeves broke it up.
• When that episode didn't lead to a trade, Clint went one step further. Several days later, he told S Charlie Waters at lunch that he had figured out a way to get traded. "I asked him how," Waters said, "and he told me I'd find out that afternoon." When Staubach was slipping on his shoulder pads in the locker room, Lockley threw a blindside punch that crashed Roger into a set of weight scales, cutting his cheek enough to require stitches. Jones and LB D. D. Lewis restrained Staubach while DL Randy White grabbed Clint.
• The headline in The Dallas Morning News read, "Clint says he hates Roger." The story quoted Longley as saying, "If Roger wants me, I'll be in Dallas next week, and he knows where he can find me. If he wants to go 15 rounds in Memorial Auditorium, he can even promote it."
• That wouldn't be necessary since team president and GM Tex Schramm told Brandt to get rid of Longley immediately. So Gil traded him to San Diego for a first-round pick that the Cowboys later used to draft RB Tony Dorsett. Clint's Thanksgiving performance undoubtedly enhanced his trade value five rounds.

 

Tommy Myers

For the 1962 season, his sixth in Evanston, Ara Parseghian designed an explosive attack around the strong arm of his 6' 180 lb. sophomore QB and the soft hands of WR Paul Flatley .South Carolina wasn't prepared.

Still, the Gamecocks struck first, recoverng a fumble at the Wildcat 23 and quickly taking a 6-0 lead. However, Myers led NW to the next 22 points. Then the visitors got scores from two future pros. HB Billy Gambrell raced 78 yards and QB Dan Reeves ran for four and added a two-point conversion to close the gap to 22-20.

Then Myers took over again, engineering two more TD drives for a 37-20 triumph. The final stats credited him with 20 of 24 for 275 yards and two TDs. He also ran for another score.

Paul Flatley

Philadelphia was excited about their "Whiz Kids" fighting for their first National League pennant since 1915. However, the city took a break from baseball to concentrate on the National Football League. Two defending champions were meeting in the Saturday night season opener. How was this possible?

• The Eagles were two-time NFL champions, having defeated the Los Angeles Rams 14-0 in the 1949 championship game.
• Their opponents were the Cleveland Browns, winners of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) all four years it existed. When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, the NFL added three of its teams: the Browns, the Baltimore Colts, and the San Francisco 49ers.

The NFL intentionally scheduled Cleveland against the Eagles in the opening game to create excitement but also to show that the upstart Browns were no match for mighty Philadelphia. "The worst team in our league could beat the best team in theirs," proclaimed George Preston Marshall, owner of the Washington Redskins, during the AAFC's existence.

It may seem strange to say this about a Hall of Fame coach but Paul Brown has always been underrated. The term "genius" is over-used, but "Football Genius" fits Brown because of his many innovations.

Paul Brown

Greasy Neale

Otto Graham

Dub Jones

Russ Craft

Bucko Kilroy

Chuck Bednarik

Johnny Majors

Tony Dorsett

The Pitt Panthers' first game of the 1973 season brought a double debut.

• Johnny Majors replaced Carl de Pasqua as coach.
• Tony Dorsett played his first game at TB.

Neither would have willingly chosen the venue for their coming out party: "Between the Hedges" at Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia.

Johnny had made his first order of business the recruitment of Dorsett, probably the most heralded RB to come out of western PA. Tony had run for over 1,000 yards in both his junior and senior years for Aliquippa High School. His 4.3 speed in the 40 attracted attention from "a zillion" colleges, as he said, including Ohio State and Penn State. However, both Woody Hayes and Joe Paterno wanted him to play DB. Majors assigned his assistant, Jackie Sherrill, to shadow Dorsett. Jackie's mom made pecan pies for the Dorsett family. Because "I was a mama's boy," Tony chose nearby Pitt.

Dorsett had already made dazzling debuts at two earlier levels of football.

• Although "afraid to play football," Tony tried out for a sixth-grade Pop Warner team because he wanted to be like his four older brothers. Placed on the kickoff team, he managed to catch the ball and then rambled 75y for a TD.
• After playing rover at 135 lbs as a sophomore, Tony moved to RB for his junior year of high school. The coach called for a swing pass to start his first game. Dorsett took it in and raced 75y for a TD.

Bear Bryant brought his second Aggie club to the Los Angeles Coliseum for a Friday night encounter with UCLA. Red Sanders' Bruins were ranked #1 in the pre-season AP poll, thanks in large measure to the hoopla surrounding junior TB Ronnie Knox.

• Knox had first gained national attention as a high school star. With his stepfather Harvey acting as his agent without using that title, Ronnie had played for three high schools in California. Harvey had been accused of auctioning his stepson to the highest bidder when he finished high school.
• At any rate, he had gone to California to play for Pappy Waldorf. However, dissatisfied with Cal's limited offense that didn't use Ronnie's talents, Harvey transferred him to UCLA. The year he sat out in Westwood under NCAA rules only heightened the anticipation of his debut.

Sanders tried his best to alleviate the pressure on Knox. In pre-season practice, Red declared his acclaimed rookie was his fourth-string TB who would be lucky to see action at all in the opening game, especially since he suffered a painful injury that made the index finger on his throwing hand swell up.

True to his word, Sanders started 5'7" Doug Bradley at TB.

• However, Bradley immediately fumbled the opening kickoff, giving A&M a scoring opportunity on the 20.
• However, the Bruins intercepted a pass to stop the visitors. Then, on first down, Bradley lost 13y.
• At that point, Sanders went to Knox on the sidelines and put a fatherly arm around him. After a reverse gained 6, out trotted Wonder Boy. The crowd neither booed nor cheered, instead sitting in curious, electric silence.

After running a fake punt with the WB carrying the ball out of Sanders' single wing attack, Knox booted a 55-yarder to the Aggie 11. Up in the stands, a proud stepfather proclaimed to all around him, "That's nuthin' – wait'll Ronnie warms up."

On the next Bruin series, Knox hit WB Jim Decker for 11, then E Johnny Hermann for 7.

• He fooled A&M by carrying the ball himself off a fake pass "with a smashing, heavy-legged drive reminiscent of the Bruins' last All-America TB Paul Cameron."
• Bryant shook his head on the sidelines. Knox was as good as advertised, only A&M had no way to prepare for him.

Early in Q2, Knox fired a perfect pass on the dead-run to Hermann for UCLA's first TD.

• The newcomer threw two more TD aerials, the third over Bryant's All-American HB John David Crow to Decker.
• With the D holding the visitors to 193y, the Bruins won 21-0.

Afterwards, the press was more interested in interviewing Harvey Knox outside the locker room than Sanders inside.

• "Where would that game have been without Ronnie?" asked the stepfather. "Where? I'll tell you. Nuthin' to nuthin' to nuthin'."
• When asked about the upcoming game at Maryland, Harvey proclaimed: "Maryland? That Goose Tatum. Why, if Ronnie doesn't throw for five or six TDs, I'll disown him."
• Sanders was less effusive but admitted that he was not surprised by the way Knox had played.
• As for Ronnie himself, he showered endlessly, waiting for everyone to leave so he wouldn't have to face the press.

The following week, Maryland knocked UCLA off its lofty perch with a 7-0 victory in rain and mud that negated the Bruins' speed.

• The game turned when UCLA drove to the Terrapin 1 but fumbled on the first play of Q2.
• Maryland took the second half kickoff and drove 79yd for the game's only tally.
• Knox was 9-13 for 96yd but struggled in the second half after suffering a mild shoulder separation that contributed to two costly INTs. Only a Terp fumble inside the Bruin 5 kept the game close.

UCLA finished the regular season 9-1, winning the Pacific Coast Conference. They were upset in the Rose Bowl by Michigan State, 17-14.

Billy Sims

Ottis Anderson

Jim Brown at Syracuse

Jim Brown Place-Kicking

 

 

 

 

 

Jim Brown with Cleveland Browns

At Manhasset High School on Long Island, Jim Brown earned 13 letters in football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, and track. His senior year, he averaged 14.9 ypc in football and 38 ppg in basketball. He earned a football scholarship to Syracuse.

• Since freshmen were ineligible for varsity competition, Jim didn't begin play until his sophomore year in 1954. He was the second leading rusher on the football team and second leading scorer in basketball for the Orangemen, averaging 15 ppg. He also earned letters in track and lacrosse.
• His junior year, Brown rushed for 666y (5.2 per carry), averaged 11.3 in basketball, and made second team All-American in lacrosse as well as football.
• As a senior, Jim moved up to first team All-American in football (986 yd, third in the nation despite Syracuse playing only eight games, and 6.2 ypc) and lacrosse (43 goals in 10 games to tie for the national scoring lead). In the last regular season game against Colgate, Brown rushed for 197yd, scored six TDs and kicked seven PATs for 43 points, an NCAA record at the time.
• In the Cotton Bowl, the Syracuse Stallion ran for 132 yd, scored three TDs, and kicked three PATs. However, TCU blocked one of his kicks to eke out a 28-27 win.

The Cleveland Browns selected Brown with the sixth pick in the first round of the 1957 NFL Draft. This gave Cleveland a Brown Bonanza – Jim Brown playing for Coach Paul Brown and the Cleveland Browns.

Jim did not disappoint the city of Cleveland. Here were his stats for his rookie season (1957) in which he played in all 12 regular season games at FB.

202 rushes, 942y, 9 TD, 78.5 ypg, 4.7 ypc

The 942 yd rushing led the league. The Browns won the Eastern Conference but lost to the Western champions, the Detroit Lions, 56-17, in the championship game. Brown made every all-NFL team and was voted Rookie of the Year.

Jim never missed a game in nine seasons in the NFL, all with the Browns. He led the league in rushing yardage eight of the nine seasons (amassing a "measly" 996y in 1962). He surprised the football world by abruptly retiring after the 1965 season in order to concentrate on his movie career.

Jim Brown is the only man ever inducted into both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fames as well as the Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Fran Tarkenton

Norm Van Brocklin rejoices with his Vikings

Tarkenton inducted into
Hall of Fame 1986

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QB Dennis Claridge connecting with Bill Huge vs. Michigan

Bill "Thunder" Thornton

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