Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: NapoleonBlownapart on May 12, 2021, 02:36:34 PM
Thanks.  did I win the prize 14 years later j/k

and

Stram was smart huh?  that's why that play became outlawed I believe. the goalposts were still on the goal line

btw - Chris Allen and I exchanged messages/emails between circa 1998 and his all too untimely passing in 2006.  I miss you Chris! I could ask you about Mckinnley Boston or Mickey Zofko and you would fire back with the most amazing info!  Chris Allen, the dean of NFL Historians


And now? Thanks GO! you rock and you have picked up very nicely for Chris.

Hi Napolean.

I share with you, and others here, the feeling of loss over our friend, Christopher Allen, as this year marks the 15th anniversary of his passing (hard to believe).

Like you, Chris Allen and I were pretty close in communications outside the message boards. We enjoyed talking Giants history as well as life in upstate New York (NOTE: after growing up in North Jersey, I spent my high school and college years in Central New York ... about an hour away from Chris A).

He will be missed but it is very clear his memory lives on by virtue of this board and those of us who remember him and his passion for Giants history.

Peace!

Just seeing this now. This era was the formulative years of my Giants Fandom and loyalty so the trivia question is pretty easy.

The Giants, of the late 70s, were desperately looking for decent offensive lineman. They looked to the Steelers who had a plethora of them and, in 1977, secured the infamous Gordon Gravelle, a left tackle, for a high draft pick (2nd round?). The following year, the Giants were in dire need for a center. Again, they looked to the Steelers and managed a trade for their backup to the legendary Mike Webster, i.e. Jim Clack, while the Giants gave the Steelers tackle John Hicks and receiver Ernie Pough ("pew!"). Both Gravelle and Clack were on the field for the Immaculate Reception and The Fumble.

First bonus is a slam dunk since we're talking about John "Frenchy" Fuqua who remains in the center of controversy over whether he touched the ball on that fateful play. The NFL Films series "A Football Life" dedicated a show to The Immaculate Reception and centered it on Frenchy, his flamboyant outfits as well as his speaking engagements which talk about the play ... "Did I touch it? Or, did I not?"

Looking back into my 1968-69 Giants highlight films, I believe you are looking for Henry Davis, whom the Giants traded to the Steelers, and suffered that neck injury in 1973. I don't know whom, or what picks, the Giants received for Davis.

Great questions! Keep 'em coming!

Peace!

Let's also not forget, during the 1987 Replacement Players games, that George Benyola completely mastered the art of incompetence during the much-forgettable Giants-Bills game where both he, and opponent kicker Todd Schopy for the Bills, missed a combined five (5) FGs. Benyola could have won it at the end of regulation and also in OT. As ugly a kicking effort you'll find in a game that remains one of the worst I've seen as a Giant fan.

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/10/19/The-New-York-Giants-original-hopes-of-defending-their/3320561614400/

Peace!

A little late to the party; I do beg everyone's pardon. For today, I declare with great excitement that I turned in my membership to the Land of Enchantment (will miss the green chile for certain) for a return to the Grand Canyon State to start the next chapter in my life (NOTE: as well as my family).

I am in the former BBWC Hall of Fame for my field goal kicking prowess as well as holding the record for the longest cow-pattie kick in the state of Alabama (NOTE: attested to by none other than the Tru Blu fan, in his darker, more handsomely days).

Most refer to me as the "k-man" here but I am fine with folks using my given name.

Peace, Chris (short for Christian) K.

Lenn - I agree with you 100% that those two games are the greatest in the history of the team for the reasons you mentioned. They remain the only two Giants games I watched where I ended up in tears - I was THAT moved watching them.

Peace!

Here's my detailed analysis of the game:

http://www.kartanoman.com/seasons/80s/1988/88wk01.html

This was an amazing win because the Giants did it without LT, an injured Leonard Marshall and Sean Landeta, Carl Banks and Mark Bavaro not in football shape after holding out most of the pre-season and the fact the Giants were playing the reigning NFL champions.

Peace!

Here's an informative site put together that chronicles the period in Packer history that followed Lombardi and preceded Holmgren ... known as the Packers "Gory Years"

http://www.the-kramerfamily.com/PACKERS-GORYYEARS.html

Giants fans can certainly empathize with what the pack went through during that period.

Peace!

I think we've referenced this play before in old history conversations at Adrienne's BBWC board; however, I found a YouTube video for it and wanted to share it with the group here.

The scene is the first Monday Night strike game of the 1987 season - an October 05, 1987 matchup between the 49ers and Giants. What could have been had the regulars played on this night ... especially since this would have been a rematch of the Giants' 49-3 conquest over their heated rivals from the west coast in the divisional playoffs the previous season. Instead, a terrible strike yielded an even more terrible scenario: replacement players filling in for the regulars with the final results counting in the standings!

I remember this game very well in that I never had a chance to watch it due to the fact that, at the time, I was a freshman at the College of Saint Rose in Albany and a freaky snowstorm, the day before, dropped a foot of snow in the Capital District that destroyed many trees whose limbs fell on power lines and killed power in our area for over three days.

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/aly/Past/1987_Oct/Oct_4_1987.htm

No power, no classes, no soccer match that afternoon ... and no Monday Night Football (though we caught part of the game on a battery powered transistor radio). 1987 was a really strange year for snow as I also remember, just before I graduated high school in Ilion that year, three inches of snow were dumped on us June 2nd ... after we had near 80 degree day prior ... but now I digress.

The Giants were ill-prepared to deal with the strike. GM George Young's reluctance to be pro-active in preparing for the signing of replacement players was clearly evident during both this game and the remainder of the strike. The 49ers, on the other hand, were far more prepared and their players had no problem in handling the Giants' replacement team.

The end result was a 41-21 loss that put the Giants at 0-3 for the season. If anything positive could be taken from the game, a futile display that saw Bill Walsh unleash the wishbone offense on Parcells' scrubs, a 46-yard TD from QB Jim Crocicchia to WR Lewis Bennett not only gave the Giants a tenuous 7-3 lead, it was also the greatest catch in the history of Monday Night Football (at least it was voted as such at the time). Here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyTvYupNxOI&feature=related

Here's the NY Times write-up on the game:

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/06/sports/unfamiliar-giants-fail-to-stop-49ers-or-tailspin.html

What's interesting was that pass interference was never called on the play!

As for Lewis Bennett, he did not go on to NFL stardom but, instead, was convicted of manslaughter in 1988, after pleading guilty for stabbing to death his wife Diedre in New Haven, CT.

Peace!

Brian - well done!

If I may ask you to review two typos ... one that Webster caught (i.e. Ron Johnson vs. Brown) and the other being the 1969 season opener against Minnesota was a dramatic last minute 24-23 victory ... and one of the most treasured games in my video archive (though I only have the final quarter of it). In it, Don Hermann snagged the game winner from Fran for the huge upset.

Again, thank you for a super post!

Peace!

I pulled this one up and thought this was worth sharing. Motts pudding jars starring Alex Webster, Fran Tarkenton, Ron Johnson and Tucker Fredrickson ... a REAL classic!

Enjoy!

http://www.fuzzymemories.tv/screen.php?c=1422

It was a week #8 contest at Arrowhead Stadium.

Peace!

At least the Giants achieved some measure of "revenge" for "The Fumble" in 1979 when the Kansas City Chiefs had their rendition of "The Fumble" that Harry Carson picked up and ran in for the winning TD with barely a minute left in the game ... a 21-17 Giants win. Even at that, it almost didn't end that way as Livingston drove the Chiefs inside the Giants' 10 yard line but couldn't get in ... thanks to outstanding coverage by the defensive backs.

Peace!

A 23-17 final at the Vet in Philly; however, despite a beating to the tune of eight sacks, Joe Pisarcik brought the team from 23-3 back with a chance to actually win the game in the final moments. Unfortuntately, they couldn't get it in and walked away with a close loss. In all, an entertaining game and the new-look Giants, now wearing white pants with their away uniforms (dissing the disco blue pants worn from 1975-78), played hard for their coach and gave fans hope for the future ... a hope that faded quickly with losses to the Cards, Skins, Eagles at home and Saints but was restored when rookie Phil Simms led the way for five wins in the next six games.

Peace!

It's one of the few games from 1977-present that I don't have a complete game of in my Giants video archive.

Pisarcik was beaten up so badly in this game that he had to sit out the following week's contest at home against Philly; a game in which Randy Dean played in and los 17-13.

Gordon Gravele was largely responsible for an inordinate number of  Giants' quarterbacks took from the blind side from 1977 until they shipped him off to the Rams midway during the 1979 season when Tom Nevelle came in and steadied the ship when Phil Simms eventually took over at QB.

Peace!

Good article, Rob ... thanks for posting!

Ironically, I have that 1970 pre-season game on DVD ... the official opener of Three Rivers Stadium. Tarkenton didn't play for the Giants that day as he was being held out as a precautionary measure for an injury. Instead, the golden arm of Dick Shiner was featured in NY's attack and, as you can see by the final score, was a little lackluster to say the very least! Tarkenton gave a pretty good interview on the sidelines between plays, though.

It's funny but I remember the 1979 pre-season game very well although I don't have a video copy of it. It ended at 10-3 Steelers but Simms played very well as I recall. 

I was 10 at the time but remember how excited my father was about Simms and that he used to tell me that he is going to be for the Giants what Bradshaw was to the Steelers ... perhaps he even read Vinny's article back in the day before he told me that!

Sure enough, 10 years after that pre-season game at Three Rivers, Simms already had one NFL Championship and was gearing the club up for another.

Peace!