Getting home late from the potluck lunch at church on Sunday, Dec. 6, 1970, and the Lions are up, 6-3, late in the first half against the Cardinals in Detroit ...
Third down ... Hart fires to the end zone, but his receiver, Dave Williams, slips on the icy field. Lem Barney is there for his fifth interception of the season, and Detroit takes over at its 20 with its 9-3 advantage intact.
This game is a real rock-'em/sock-'em affair on a gray, frozen day between two of the up-and-coming NFC teams. The Cardinals have been among the league's hottest teams, and the Lions have gotten a lot of love this year as a sleeper contender.
"The gambler!" Brookshier raves, watching slow-motion of replay of Barney dive in front of Williams on the sideline. "The cornerback is either the hero or the goat, and I'll tell you--Lem Barney is one of the just super players."
JIM HART TRIPS, dropping back to pass! Cardinals will punt, with 10:05 to play ... Chuck LaTourette, a defensive back who also returns punts and kicks, punts to the Detroit 6 ...
Greg Landry evades tackler after tackler and scrambles to a Lion first down beyond the 20. (Another of Detroit's quarterbacks, by the way, Bill Munson, went to Utah State!)
I'm in the tank for Jim Hart, who went undrafted out of Southern Illinois but became the Cardinals' starting quarterback when Charley Johnson was recalled by the armed forces in 1967. But I was surprised when the Cardinals traded Johnson to Houston this offseason, and I imagine there'll be a lot of talk after this game of benching Hart in favor of Pete Beathard, the former USC star and Oiler quarterback.
Hart and the Cardinals can't get anything going, and Detroit starts subbing out some of its top skill-position players. The Lions, second place to Minnesota in the NFC Central, will be improving to 8-4; the Cardinals, first place ahead of Dallas in the NFC East, will drop to 8-3-1. Whitaker makes the key point that the Lions are battling for the top record among second-place finishers in the conference (and the playoff spot that comes with it) and that one of Detroit's four losses came on the record-breaking 63-yard field goal by Saints' Tom Dempsey.
Errol Mann's field goal makes it 9-3, Detroit, going into the second half ...
ReplyDeleteChiefs up, 10-0, late in the first half against Denver.
ReplyDeleteGiants and Bills are knotted at 6.
ReplyDeleteMiami 27 at Boston 13, but Tom Brookshier says that "they tell me Joe Kapp is starting to heat up up there ..."
ReplyDeleteSt. Louis has had only four first downs in this game, but the fourth one--on a Jim Hart pass to John Gilliam--has the Cardinals down to the Detroit 35 ...
ReplyDeleteNow the Dolphins are out to a 34-13 lead, as Larry Csonka carries in from the 1, and Baltimore leads Philadelphia, 16-3.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Hart hits Jackie Smith amid traffic, and Detroit is penalized, and the Cardinals have first-and-10 at the Lion 12 ...
ReplyDeleteMacArthur Lane down to the 9 ...
ReplyDeleteSteelers are up, 9-6, against Green Bay; NFL70 is the season of the field goal.
ReplyDeleteLane to the 7 ...
Third down ... Hart fires to the end zone, but his receiver, Dave Williams, slips on the icy field. Lem Barney is there for his fifth interception of the season, and Detroit takes over at its 20 with its 9-3 advantage intact.
ReplyDeleteThis game is a real rock-'em/sock-'em affair on a gray, frozen day between two of the up-and-coming NFC teams. The Cardinals have been among the league's hottest teams, and the Lions have gotten a lot of love this year as a sleeper contender.
ReplyDeleteNothing going for the Lions, and Herman Weaver's punt is fair caught at the Detroit 41 ...
BUT BARNEY INTERCEPTS HART AGAIN!
ReplyDelete"The gambler!" Brookshier raves, watching slow-motion of replay of Barney dive in front of Williams on the sideline. "The cornerback is either the hero or the goat, and I'll tell you--Lem Barney is one of the just super players."
ReplyDeleteStart of the fourth quarter at Tiger Stadium ...
ReplyDeleteThank God for YouTube, TV, the NFL and all of the people who've ever had anything to do with any of them. Thank God for fun.
ReplyDeleteDetroit advances to just inside St. Louis territory, but Fred Heron throws Greg Landry for the Cardinals' fifth quarterback sack of the game. There's some kind of problem with the long snap to punter Weaver, and the Cardinals are taking over at the Detroit 46 ...
ReplyDeleteDuring this commercial break, let's all go and gather our 1970 Cardinals and Lions football cards so we're ready for the exciting finish!
ReplyDeleteOK, I will. That's a great idea.
Still 9-3, Lions ... MacArthur Lane carries to the Detroit 43.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I got out the cards. I've learned that both Lane and Lion runner Altie Taylor went to Utah State!
Lane again ... no gain ... 33 yards on 10 carries.
Green Bay has surged ahead of Pittsburgh, 13-9.
JIM HART TRIPS, dropping back to pass! Cardinals will punt, with 10:05 to play ... Chuck LaTourette, a defensive back who also returns punts and kicks, punts to the Detroit 6 ...
ReplyDeleteGreg Landry evades tackler after tackler and scrambles to a Lion first down beyond the 20. (Another of Detroit's quarterbacks, by the way, Bill Munson, went to Utah State!)
ReplyDeleteBut drive stalls, and Detroit will be punting with less than 8 minutes to play ...
ReplyDeleteOne of the Cardinals' backup running backs, Roy Shivers, went to Utah State!
ReplyDeleteJIM HART FUMBLES!
ReplyDeleteSix minutes to go, and Detroit takes over at the St. Louis 32 with a 9-3 lead.
ReplyDeleteAnd there goes Mel Farr! The fourth-year runner out of UCLA sprints 28 yards off right tackle, through the end zone for the afternoon's first touchdown and into the stands for a Tiger Stadium Leap!
ReplyDelete16-3, Detroit.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the tank for Jim Hart, who went undrafted out of Southern Illinois but became the Cardinals' starting quarterback when Charley Johnson was recalled by the armed forces in 1967. But I was surprised when the Cardinals traded Johnson to Houston this offseason, and I imagine there'll be a lot of talk after this game of benching Hart in favor of Pete Beathard, the former USC star and Oiler quarterback.
Jack Whitaker:
ReplyDeleteAnd now the Cardinals
have encounter a new enemy, the clock
Five, thirty-four left
Time enough, but not too much
Hart and the Cardinals can't get anything going, and Detroit starts subbing out some of its top skill-position players. The Lions, second place to Minnesota in the NFC Central, will be improving to 8-4; the Cardinals, first place ahead of Dallas in the NFC East, will drop to 8-3-1. Whitaker makes the key point that the Lions are battling for the top record among second-place finishers in the conference (and the playoff spot that comes with it) and that one of Detroit's four losses came on the record-breaking 63-yard field goal by Saints' Tom Dempsey.
ReplyDelete