This Day In Sports History is part of the Sports History Network – The Headquarters For Your Favorite Sport’s Yesteryear.
EPISODE SUMMARY
In 1975, Roger Staubach hit Drew Pearson with a long ball at the end of game and the term ‘Hail Mary’ was born.
In 1902, before the NFL there was the … NFL. It was a different league that was started by Connie Mack of MLB fame. ON this day there was a five team indoor playoff played.
In 1958, the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants played ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played.’
In 2000, Boston Celtic Milt Palacio hit a unreal game winner to beat the New Jersey Nets.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS BACKGROUND
Relive the greatest moments in sports every day of the year. From the triumphs to the tragedies, the first to do it to the last time it happened, the unbelievable to the strange, This Day in Sports History is a 365-day journey remembering those significant events that made a lasting impact.
Takeaways:
- The term ‘Hail Mary’ was popularized in 1975 during a playoff game between the Cowboys and Vikings.
- Roger Staubach’s famous throw to Drew Pearson redefined the meaning of a desperate pass in football.
- The first professional football league was founded in 1902, marking the early history of the sport.
- The 1958 NFL Championship game is often credited for skyrocketing interest in professional football.
- The dramatic finish of the Colts vs. Giants game led to the introduction of sudden death overtime.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Sports History Network
- AP
- NBC
Transcript
Welcome back to another edition of this Day in Sports History, a member of the Sports History Network.
Speaker AYou can find more podcasts and more [email protected] It's December 28th, and on this day in 1975, the term hail Mary was introduced into the football dictionary.
Speaker AThis was a divisional playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings at the old Alpine outdoor Municipal Stadium.
Speaker AIt's not unusual for Minnesota to be cold in December, and it was a bit on the chilly side with the temperature hovering at 25 degrees and the wind chill making it feel like 17 at kickoff.
Speaker AThe Vikings took a 14:10 lead in the fourth quarter after a drive led mostly by Chuck Foreman's ground eating gains ended with Brent McClanahan going over from a yard out with a little more than five minutes to play in this one.
Speaker ADallas actually had some issues that day, whether it was the cold temp or something else.
Speaker ACenter John Fitzgerald was having trouble getting the ball back to Rodgers.
Speaker AStaubach in the shotgun formation.
Speaker ALow snap after low snap threw off Rodgers timing, and he was not happy.
Speaker ATheir drive after the Minnesota touchdown sputtered to a halt because Fitzgerald could not get the snap right.
Speaker AOn their final drive of the game, Fitzgerald was replaced by rookie Kyle Davis.
Speaker ANow, the reason why we're talking about this game is coming, but there was a play that happened on this final drive that is actually more impressive than the touchdown.
Speaker AWith 44 seconds remaining, the Cowboys faced a fourth and 17 from their own 25.
Speaker AHere's Gary Bender and Johnny Unitas with a call for CBS that day.
Speaker BRoger going down here, Drew Pearson.
Speaker BAnd did he make the catch?
Speaker BHe did.
Speaker BHe made the catch.
Speaker APearson toe tapped the sidelines with two feet for a pickup of 25 and a first down at midfield.
Speaker ASo that's how close the Cowboys came to losing this game.
Speaker AA Pearson toe lands on the chalk.
Speaker AThis ball game is over and we're calling the Hail Mary something completely different at this point.
Speaker ASo there's only 32 seconds left and down four, the Cowboys need a touchdown.
Speaker AStahlbach remembered a play that Dallas had run the year before during the Thanksgiving Day game with Washington.
Speaker AAnd we've actually talked about that game on this podcast.
Speaker AIt was the infamous Clint Longley game.
Speaker AWell, Longley, who was subbing for the injured Stallback that day, hit Pearson in stride for a touchdown to beat the Redskins.
Speaker ASo Stallbach called the same play, with the only exception of having Pearson line up on the right instead of the left.
Speaker AHere's the voice of the Minnesota Vikings, Joe McConnell with a call of what became known as the Hail Mary.
Speaker BRoger takes the snap, pumps it one.
Speaker BHe's going long down the near sideline for Drew Pearson.
Speaker BPearson makes the catch at the five.
Speaker BTouchdown.
Speaker BPearson goes in for the touchdown and the Cowboys score.
Speaker AThe pass was a little under thrown.
Speaker APearson made an adjustment on the ball, and whether he pushed defensive back Nate Wright in the process is still a sore spot for Minnesota fans.
Speaker ABut Pearson trapped the ball with his right against his leg and he slipped into the end zone for the touchdown.
Speaker AMinnesota's plea for a pass interference call went unheard and The Cowboys led 17:14 after the point after now this is a bit different than how we define a Hail Mary now.
Speaker AThere were still 24 seconds on the clock and Minnesota still had three timeouts, but Fran Tarkenton could not lead the Vikings downfield to return the favor and the Cowboys won the game to advance to the NFC Championship Game.
Speaker ATalking about the dramatic play after in the locker room, Pearson was quoted as saying, the chances on a play like that are slim and none.
Speaker AHead coach Tom Landry said, our only hope was to throw it up there and hope for a miracle.
Speaker AIt was Stahlbeck, a good Catholic kid from Cincinnati, who attached Hail Mary to the play.
Speaker AHere he is remembering it 40 years later on the Dan Patrick Show.
Speaker CWe won the game and after the game the an AP writer just said to me, what were you thinking about when you threw the ball?
Speaker CAnd I said, I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary.
Speaker CI was a Catholic kid from Cincinnati and that's the NFL's recognized.
Speaker CThat's the first time it was ever said.
Speaker ANow one more thing to add to this story.
Speaker AThe term Hail Mary was actually used in football years before, but to describe something completely different.
Speaker AIn a 1922 collegiate game between Georgia Tech and Notre Dame, the Irish actually said a Hail Mary in the huddle prior to scoring a six yard touchdown.
Speaker ALater they did the same thing before scoring another six yard touchdown.
Speaker ATo which a player said after the game, that Hail Mary play is the best play we have.
Speaker ASo a little better marketing back in the 20s and Hail Mary may have become the term for a six yard touchdown run rather than a desperation heave as time expires.
Speaker AOf course, who knows if we would even have cared about what happened in 1975 if what happened on this day back in 1902 had not happened.
Speaker ABefore the NFL started as the APFA in 1920, there was another league called the NFL that got its start in 1902.
Speaker AConnie Mack, better known for his time as manager of Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Athletics, started up the first professional football league.
Speaker AAt the end of the season, three teams claimed that they were the champions of this new thing.
Speaker ASo on this day, they started a five team playoff played at Madison Square Garden.
Speaker AIt was the first indoor football game ever played and it featured the New York Knickerbockers and a team from Syracuse.
Speaker ANow, that Syracuse team had a player on it named Pop Warner and they ended up beating New York 6 to nothing and then went on to win the first championship.
Speaker AOn this day in 1958, it was the greatest game ever played.
Speaker AThis was the Baltimore Colts and the New York giants in the NFL championship game.
Speaker AColts quarterback Johnny Unitus said 40 years later that this game is the reason that pro football is what it is today.
Speaker A45 million people were watching on their new television set, though none of those were in the New York metro area.
Speaker ASports on television had only been around for about a decade and NFL commissioner Burt Bell came up with local blackout rules.
Speaker AIt made no difference how many tickets were sold to the event.
Speaker AIf the game was in your backyard, you could not watch it on your tv.
Speaker ABell said that if people want to watch a game, buy a ticket.
Speaker ANever mind that Yankee Stadium had more than 64,000 people in the seats that day.
Speaker AThe Giants were the golden boys, with players such as Frank Gifford and Sam Huff.
Speaker ANew York also had a stout defense that was opportunistic, creating 40 turnovers that season.
Speaker AThe Colts were the blue collar lunch pail guys, led by Johnny Unus.
Speaker AJohnny Yu had actually recovered from an injury he'd suffered earlier in the year which had sent him to the hospital with broken ribs and a punctured lung.
Speaker AHe got off to a bit of a rough start in this game.
Speaker AHe fumbled on the opening series and then threw an interception on the next.
Speaker AThe Giants were only able to turn Those miscues into three points though.
Speaker AAfter two Gifford fumbles that the Colts pounced on in the second quarter, Baltimore got rolling.
Speaker ADon Ameche scored on a two yard run to make it 73 and the Colts later put together a 15 play 86 yard scoring drive that resulted in a 15 yard touchdown pass and from Unionus to Raymond Barry and The Colts led 143 at the half.
Speaker AThe Giants roared back in the second half with scores by Mel Triplett and Gifford and the Giants were back out in front, 17 to 14.
Speaker AThe Giants had the ball with two and a half minutes to play in this one and the game really came down to one big play and one tiny spot here's the call from that.
Speaker BDay finally to Gifford.
Speaker BGifford off the tackle smashes to about the 43 yard line and it's going to be close as Gifford hugs that football with a marketing making the tackle on him for Baltimore.
Speaker BMarquette, who came in on two is down on the field for Baltimore as timeout is taken for him and a.
Speaker AMeasure Marchetti was stunned for the day.
Speaker AHe made the tackle but he sacrificed his body.
Speaker AHis teammate Big Daddy Lipscomb fell on him and broke his leg at the ankle.
Speaker AIt took a while to take care of Marchetti on the field, get his leg stabilized and then get the game going again.
Speaker ABy the time the ball was spotted though, it was a few inches short of the first down, bringing up a fourth and inches.
Speaker AInstead of going for it, and to the dismay of his offensive line, Giants coach Jim Lee Howell decided to punt.
Speaker AA first down would have put the game on ice and the Giants would have been world champs.
Speaker AInstead, after the punt, The Colts had two minutes to go 86 yards, a couple of runs by Lenny Moore and two crucial connections with Raymond Barry, the Colts marched down the field.
Speaker AThe term two minute drill had never been used prior to this game, but it's exactly what it was.
Speaker AUnitas took the Colts to the Giants 13 and with seven seconds left, Steve Myra kicked the tying field goal.
Speaker AWhen the clock went to Triple zeros and the scoreboard read 17:17, nobody knew what was going to happen next.
Speaker ANow I am not saying that to try to drum up drama for this one.
Speaker AThere had never been a sudden death overtime in the NFL.
Speaker AGames that ended in a tie stayed a tie.
Speaker ABut this was a championship game.
Speaker AA champion needed to be determined.
Speaker AThe Giants won the coin flip and so they got the ball first but they had to punt it away again.
Speaker AOnce again Barry was crucial to Baltimore moving the ball down the field.
Speaker AHe caught a few more unit passes.
Speaker ABerry caught 12 of Unit 12 completions for 178 of the 361 yards through the air that day unit and the Colts went back to the ground game with Ameche Blanker out to the right.
Speaker BThe left hand split, the fake to Dupre, the handoff to amici's at the 30, the 25 down to the 20 yard line.
Speaker BSo the Baltimore coast have first down 10 yards to go in the New York Giant 20.
Speaker AAmeche carried the ball 14 times for 59 yards, that one being his longest of the day.
Speaker ANow here is where an interesting thing happened.
Speaker ANBC lost the live video feed from the stadium.
Speaker AThe production staff was in a panic to solve the issue quickly.
Speaker AFortunately, a drunk fan wandered onto the field and delayed the game long enough for NBC to re establish connection and broadcast the dramatic ending for television viewers.
Speaker AThe funny part was that it was learned later that the drunk fan was actually a very sober NBC production assistant, delaying the game intentionally so they could reestablish the connection.
Speaker ASo after order was restored on the field, the nation was able to watch the dramatic finish.
Speaker BThey're down about a yard and a half to go.
Speaker BHe is now connected on 27 out of 40.
Speaker BThe coast at the line of scrimmage.
Speaker BFlanker to the right, the ends are tight, Unitis takes.
Speaker BHe gives to Ameche and the ball game is over.
Speaker BAlan Amici has spurs a touchdown and the ball.
Speaker AThis game had a huge impact.
Speaker AInterest in the NFL skyrocketed.
Speaker ASeason ticket sales around the league soared.
Speaker AThe NFL averaged more than 40,000 a game the next year and never looked back.
Speaker APete Roselle was named the commissioner prior to the following season.
Speaker AAnd with the memory of this game still fresh in everybody's mind, Roselle was able to put together a national television contract, increasing the scope and popularity of the game.
Speaker AAlright, how about another exciting game ender?
Speaker AWell, the scope and impact of this one was Nowhere close to that 58 NFL title game and really was not more than just a mark in the win column.
Speaker ABut it's fun to revisit.
Speaker ASo let's go back to 2000.
Speaker AIn a regular season NBA game between the New Jersey Nets and the Boston Celtics.
Speaker AThe nets led by two with 1.7 seconds left and they had the ball out of a timeout at mid court.
Speaker AAll they really had to do was successfully inbound the ball.
Speaker AInstead this happened.
Speaker ACeltics looking for a miracle.
Speaker ANets just try to hold on.
Speaker AKnocked away, thrown up and good.
Speaker AGood.
Speaker AIncredible.
Speaker BAbsolutely incredible.
Speaker AThat was Boston's Milt Palacio with the steal and then the game winning three as the horn sounded.
Speaker AIt was his only shot of the game and he was mobbed by his teammates like they'd won a championship.
Speaker ATime now for today's Nothing to Do with Sports Fun Fact.
Speaker ADid you know that Anson Williams, you know, that guy who played Potsy on Happy Days, was The nephew of Dr.
Speaker AHenry Heimlich, the inventor and namesake of the Heimlich maneuver.
Speaker AHey, this is Steve White, the host of this Day in Sports History.
Speaker AThanks for listening to this episode.
Speaker AIf you enjoyed the episode or you're a fan of the podcast, can I ask you to do me a favor?
Speaker AI made the shortlist for the best sports Talk podcast in 2024.
Speaker AThere are some well known folks in category such as the Kelce Brothers, Scott Van Pelt, Bill Rhoden and I can use all the help that I can get.
Speaker AI'll put a link in the show Notes that will take you to the page and if you have a moment, click that link and cast your vote for my podcast.
Speaker AI would certainly appreciate it.
Speaker AThanks to all of those who have voted and again, thanks for listening.
Speaker AHave a great day.
Speaker AI'll talk to you tomorrow.
Speaker AThis has been an original Thrive Suite production this has been an original Thrive Suite production.