If the Dolphins had ended up with Mike Phipps and the Browns had ended up with Bob Griese in the great distribution of Purdue quarterbacks, it would've been a very different life for all of them and me.
Almost every football card from this era I can today identify by merely seeing a little bit of the sky and maybe the top of the haircut of the player. I have very strong feelings about almost all of the players that Don Criqui announces as starters on the Oakland offense and Cleveland defense at the start of this game. But one thing I still need to learn more about, all of these years later, is how Topps determined which players would be depicted on cards and which would not. Raiders right-guard Mickey Marvin and Browns left defensive end Marshall Harris, nose tackle Henry Bradley and right cornerback Clinton Burrell are just total mysteries to me; I don't believe they were ever depicted on Topps cards. The other 18 guys still feel like they are members of my extended family.
Criqui, such a pro, squeezes in the following between a downed Ray Guy punt into the stiff wind and an incomplete Brian Sipe overthrow with it: "All of America felt their heartbreak at Lake Placid, but now Tai Babalonia and Randy Gardner compete again--joined by Peggy Fleming, Linda Fratianne and Dorothy Hamill--in the first World Professional Figure Skating Championship, … plus, the hilarious antics and basketball wizardry of Meadowlark Lemon & The Bucketeers--all on the season premier of NBC SportsWorld."
Late in the first quarter, there's no score in Cleveland.
"But I think something's about to break," says John Brodie.
I really appreciate YouTube user "Raiders 247TV" for posting this game, but I really wish he/she would've elected to not fast forward through the commercials.
So the Browns get the ball right back after a turnover, and, on third down from the 13, it appears that Cleveland is on the board. But the officials rule that Reggie Rucker is unable to get both feet down in the corner of the end zone. Brian Sipe, the AFC's leading passer in 1980, is now three-for-15 passing today, in 4-degree Cleveland Municipal Stadium. (Criqui reports that the wind chill was 37 below earlier today.)
Cockroft comes on for a 30-yard try, and this one misses, too. So we're still scoreless.
Earlier in this game, Criqui noted that Sipe was a 13th-round draft choice out of San Diego State in 1972. "Computers aren't always right," concludes Criqui.
This game is being played Jan. 4, 1981, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, and it's about the most beautiful place I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteIf the Dolphins had ended up with Mike Phipps and the Browns had ended up with Bob Griese in the great distribution of Purdue quarterbacks, it would've been a very different life for all of them and me.
ReplyDeleteOf course, what a different world it might've been had Sam Rutigliano or Dick Vermeil prevailed over the Raiders in this season.
ReplyDeleteAlmost every football card from this era I can today identify by merely seeing a little bit of the sky and maybe the top of the haircut of the player. I have very strong feelings about almost all of the players that Don Criqui announces as starters on the Oakland offense and Cleveland defense at the start of this game. But one thing I still need to learn more about, all of these years later, is how Topps determined which players would be depicted on cards and which would not. Raiders right-guard Mickey Marvin and Browns left defensive end Marshall Harris, nose tackle Henry Bradley and right cornerback Clinton Burrell are just total mysteries to me; I don't believe they were ever depicted on Topps cards. The other 18 guys still feel like they are members of my extended family.
ReplyDeleteCriqui, such a pro, squeezes in the following between a downed Ray Guy punt into the stiff wind and an incomplete Brian Sipe overthrow with it: "All of America felt their heartbreak at Lake Placid, but now Tai Babalonia and Randy Gardner compete again--joined by Peggy Fleming, Linda Fratianne and Dorothy Hamill--in the first World Professional Figure Skating Championship, … plus, the hilarious antics and basketball wizardry of Meadowlark Lemon & The Bucketeers--all on the season premier of NBC SportsWorld."
ReplyDeleteLate in the first quarter, there's no score in Cleveland.
"But I think something's about to break," says John Brodie.
Q2 ...
ReplyDeleteEarly in the second quarter, Don Cockroft comes on to try a 47-yard field goal, and it just goes nowhere.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate YouTube user "Raiders 247TV" for posting this game, but I really wish he/she would've elected to not fast forward through the commercials.
ReplyDeleteSo the Browns get the ball right back after a turnover, and, on third down from the 13, it appears that Cleveland is on the board. But the officials rule that Reggie Rucker is unable to get both feet down in the corner of the end zone. Brian Sipe, the AFC's leading passer in 1980, is now three-for-15 passing today, in 4-degree Cleveland Municipal Stadium. (Criqui reports that the wind chill was 37 below earlier today.)
ReplyDeleteCockroft comes on for a 30-yard try, and this one misses, too. So we're still scoreless.
Earlier in this game, Criqui noted that Sipe was a 13th-round draft choice out of San Diego State in 1972. "Computers aren't always right," concludes Criqui.
ReplyDeleteExcellent. Brian Sipe was member of the 1961 Little League World Series winning team from El Cajon, Calif. He's now the quarterbacks coach at San Diego State, and, at 64, he looks fantastic.
ReplyDelete