Birth of the 'Hail Mary,' the 'Greatest Game Ever Played,' Palacio Prayer for the Celtics Answered - This DiSH for Dec. 28
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
Mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
Welcome back to another edition of this Day in Sports History, a member of the Sports History Network.
Speaker A: th, and on this day in: Speaker A:This was a divisional playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings at the old Alpine outdoor Municipal Stadium.
Speaker A:It'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 A: The Vikings took a: Speaker A:Dallas actually had some issues that day, whether it was the cold temp or something else.
Speaker A:Center John Fitzgerald was having trouble getting the ball back to Rodgers.
Speaker A:Staubach in the shotgun formation.
Speaker A:Low snap after low snap threw off Rodgers timing, and he was not happy.
Speaker A:Their drive after the Minnesota touchdown sputtered to a halt because Fitzgerald could not get the snap right.
Speaker A:On their final drive of the game, Fitzgerald was replaced by rookie Kyle Davis.
Speaker A:Now, 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 A:With 44 seconds remaining, the Cowboys faced a fourth and 17 from their own 25.
Speaker A:Here's Gary Bender and Johnny Unitas with a call for CBS that day.
Speaker B:Roger going down here, Drew Pearson.
Speaker B:And did he make the catch?
Speaker B:He did.
Speaker B:He made the catch.
Speaker A:Pearson toe tapped the sidelines with two feet for a pickup of 25 and a first down at midfield.
Speaker A:So that's how close the Cowboys came to losing this game.
Speaker A:A Pearson toe lands on the chalk.
Speaker A:This ball game is over and we're calling the Hail Mary something completely different at this point.
Speaker A:So there's only 32 seconds left and down four, the Cowboys need a touchdown.
Speaker A:Stahlbach remembered a play that Dallas had run the year before during the Thanksgiving Day game with Washington.
Speaker A:And we've actually talked about that game on this podcast.
Speaker A:It was the infamous Clint Longley game.
Speaker A:Well, Longley, who was subbing for the injured Stallback that day, hit Pearson in stride for a touchdown to beat the Redskins.
Speaker A:So Stallbach called the same play, with the only exception of having Pearson line up on the right instead of the left.
Speaker A:Here's the voice of the Minnesota Vikings, Joe McConnell with a call of what became known as the Hail Mary.
Speaker B:Roger takes the snap, pumps it one.
Speaker B:He's going long down the near sideline for Drew Pearson.
Speaker B:Pearson makes the catch at the five.
Speaker B:Touchdown.
Speaker B:Pearson goes in for the touchdown and the Cowboys score.
Speaker A:The pass was a little under thrown.
Speaker A:Pearson 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 A:But Pearson trapped the ball with his right against his leg and he slipped into the end zone for the touchdown.
Speaker A: t unheard and The Cowboys led: Speaker A:There 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 A:Talking 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 A:Head coach Tom Landry said, our only hope was to throw it up there and hope for a miracle.
Speaker A:It was Stahlbeck, a good Catholic kid from Cincinnati, who attached Hail Mary to the play.
Speaker A:Here he is remembering it 40 years later on the Dan Patrick Show.
Speaker C:We 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 C:And I said, I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary.
Speaker C:I was a Catholic kid from Cincinnati and that's the NFL's recognized.
Speaker C:That's the first time it was ever said.
Speaker A:Now one more thing to add to this story.
Speaker A:The term Hail Mary was actually used in football years before, but to describe something completely different.
Speaker A: In a: Speaker A:Later they did the same thing before scoring another six yard touchdown.
Speaker A:To which a player said after the game, that Hail Mary play is the best play we have.
Speaker A:So 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 A: cared about what happened in: Speaker A: he NFL started as the APFA in: Speaker A:Connie Mack, better known for his time as manager of Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Athletics, started up the first professional football league.
Speaker A:At the end of the season, three teams claimed that they were the champions of this new thing.
Speaker A:So on this day, they started a five team playoff played at Madison Square Garden.
Speaker A:It was the first indoor football game ever played and it featured the New York Knickerbockers and a team from Syracuse.
Speaker A:Now, 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 A: On this day in: Speaker A:This was the Baltimore Colts and the New York giants in the NFL championship game.
Speaker A:Colts quarterback Johnny Unitus said 40 years later that this game is the reason that pro football is what it is today.
Speaker A:45 million people were watching on their new television set, though none of those were in the New York metro area.
Speaker A:Sports on television had only been around for about a decade and NFL commissioner Burt Bell came up with local blackout rules.
Speaker A:It made no difference how many tickets were sold to the event.
Speaker A:If the game was in your backyard, you could not watch it on your tv.
Speaker A:Bell said that if people want to watch a game, buy a ticket.
Speaker A:Never mind that Yankee Stadium had more than 64,000 people in the seats that day.
Speaker A:The Giants were the golden boys, with players such as Frank Gifford and Sam Huff.
Speaker A:New York also had a stout defense that was opportunistic, creating 40 turnovers that season.
Speaker A:The Colts were the blue collar lunch pail guys, led by Johnny Unus.
Speaker A:Johnny 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 A:He got off to a bit of a rough start in this game.
Speaker A:He fumbled on the opening series and then threw an interception on the next.
Speaker A:The Giants were only able to turn Those miscues into three points though.
Speaker A:After two Gifford fumbles that the Colts pounced on in the second quarter, Baltimore got rolling.
Speaker A:Don 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 A:The 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 A:The 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 B:Day finally to Gifford.
Speaker B:Gifford 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 B:Marquette, who came in on two is down on the field for Baltimore as timeout is taken for him and a.
Speaker A:Measure Marchetti was stunned for the day.
Speaker A:He made the tackle but he sacrificed his body.
Speaker A:His teammate Big Daddy Lipscomb fell on him and broke his leg at the ankle.
Speaker A:It took a while to take care of Marchetti on the field, get his leg stabilized and then get the game going again.
Speaker A:By the time the ball was spotted though, it was a few inches short of the first down, bringing up a fourth and inches.
Speaker A:Instead of going for it, and to the dismay of his offensive line, Giants coach Jim Lee Howell decided to punt.
Speaker A:A first down would have put the game on ice and the Giants would have been world champs.
Speaker A:Instead, 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 A:The term two minute drill had never been used prior to this game, but it's exactly what it was.
Speaker A:Unitas took the Colts to the Giants 13 and with seven seconds left, Steve Myra kicked the tying field goal.
Speaker A: zeros and the scoreboard read: Speaker A:Now I am not saying that to try to drum up drama for this one.
Speaker A:There had never been a sudden death overtime in the NFL.
Speaker A:Games that ended in a tie stayed a tie.
Speaker A:But this was a championship game.
Speaker A:A champion needed to be determined.
Speaker A:The Giants won the coin flip and so they got the ball first but they had to punt it away again.
Speaker A:Once again Barry was crucial to Baltimore moving the ball down the field.
Speaker A:He caught a few more unit passes.
Speaker A:Berry 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 B:The left hand split, the fake to Dupre, the handoff to amici's at the 30, the 25 down to the 20 yard line.
Speaker B:So the Baltimore coast have first down 10 yards to go in the New York Giant 20.
Speaker A:Ameche carried the ball 14 times for 59 yards, that one being his longest of the day.
Speaker A:Now here is where an interesting thing happened.
Speaker A:NBC lost the live video feed from the stadium.
Speaker A:The production staff was in a panic to solve the issue quickly.
Speaker A:Fortunately, 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 A:The 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 A:So after order was restored on the field, the nation was able to watch the dramatic finish.
Speaker B:They're down about a yard and a half to go.
Speaker B:He is now connected on 27 out of 40.
Speaker B:The coast at the line of scrimmage.
Speaker B:Flanker to the right, the ends are tight, Unitis takes.
Speaker B:He gives to Ameche and the ball game is over.
Speaker B:Alan Amici has spurs a touchdown and the ball.
Speaker A:This game had a huge impact.
Speaker A:Interest in the NFL skyrocketed.
Speaker A:Season ticket sales around the league soared.
Speaker A:The NFL averaged more than 40,000 a game the next year and never looked back.
Speaker A:Pete Roselle was named the commissioner prior to the following season.
Speaker A:And 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 A:Alright, how about another exciting game ender?
Speaker A:Well, 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 A:But it's fun to revisit.
Speaker A: So let's go back to: Speaker A:In a regular season NBA game between the New Jersey Nets and the Boston Celtics.
Speaker A:The nets led by two with 1.7 seconds left and they had the ball out of a timeout at mid court.
Speaker A:All they really had to do was successfully inbound the ball.
Speaker A:Instead this happened.
Speaker A:Celtics looking for a miracle.
Speaker A:Nets just try to hold on.
Speaker A:Knocked away, thrown up and good.
Speaker A:Good.
Speaker A:Incredible.
Speaker B:Absolutely incredible.
Speaker A:That was Boston's Milt Palacio with the steal and then the game winning three as the horn sounded.
Speaker A:It was his only shot of the game and he was mobbed by his teammates like they'd won a championship.
Speaker A:Time now for today's Nothing to Do with Sports Fun Fact.
Speaker A:Did you know that Anson Williams, you know, that guy who played Potsy on Happy Days, was The nephew of Dr.
Speaker A:Henry Heimlich, the inventor and namesake of the Heimlich maneuver.
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