The Memphis Southmen (aka “Grizzlies”) were not only
successful on the field but also one of the few World Football League teams
that was financially sound. Owned by Canadian businessman John Bassett Jr., the
Southmen were coached by John McVay, formerly of the University of Dayton ,
and had won nine straight games as they prepared to meet the Charlotte Hornets
on October 9, 1974.
Rookie backup QB Danny White (pictured above) was filling in for injured
veteran John Huarte for the third time, but it had not slowed the Southmen. The
running game, featuring J.J. Jennings, John Harvey, and Willie Spencer was the
new league’s best and WR Ed Marshall led an able group of receivers.
The team they were facing was only recently relocated and
renamed. As the New York Stars, coached by Babe Parilli, the club played
reasonably well and had an 8-5 record. However, their home venue was the
substandard Downing Stadium, and they drew poorly in competition with the NFL
Giants and Jets. The franchise was sold to Upton Bell, son of former NFL
Commissioner Bert Bell, and moved to Charlotte ,
North Carolina . As the Charlotte
Stars, they defeated the Chicago Fire on the road, but were now rechristened
the Hornets as they faced Memphis
in the first game at their new location.
There was a sellout crowd of 25,133 for the Wednesday night
game at Charlotte ’s
Memorial Stadium, and with enthusiastic fans in attendance, the ex-Stars were
clearly fired up. The teams traded fumbles in the first quarter before Memphis went 36 yards in
five plays capped by J.J. Jennings scoring a one-yard touchdown. White passed
to Ed Marshall to convert the action point to make it 8-0 (in the WFL,
touchdowns counted as seven points and were followed by an “action point”,
which could not be kicked).
In the third quarter, Bob Etter put the Southmen back in
front with a 28-yard field goal. In response, RB Don Highsmith ran for a
four-yard touchdown to put the Hornets in the lead, although the action point
attempt failed.
The lead increased when White connected with Marshall for another TD
of 19 yards with 6:15 to play that gave the Southmen a 27-15 margin after John
Harvey ran for the action point.
The Hornets fought back, driving 61 yards and Highsmith finishing
the possession off by powering across the goal line from a yard out for a
touchdown. They successfully added the action point as Sherman
threw to WR Al Barnes, narrowing the Memphis
lead to four points.
With just over two minutes to play, Charlotte
executed a successful onsides kick as ex-Jets WR George Sauer recovered at the Charlotte 44. With the
home crowd cheering wildly, Sherman completed a
third down pass to Sauer that moved the ball to the Memphis 40. The Southmen were putting heavy
pressure on Sherman , and after a bomb intended
for Barnes fell incomplete, a screen pass was intercepted by CB David Thomas at
the Memphis 11
with 1:10 remaining to snuff out the home team’s hopes and preserve the 27-23
win for the Southmen.
Danny White, recovering from the slow start, ended up
completing 9 of 18 passes for 127 yards with two touchdowns and an
interception. Willie Spencer gained 109 yards on 17 carries and J.J. Jennings
had 104 yards, also on 17 attempts. Ed Marshall (pictured at right) caught three passes for 44
yards.
For Charlotte ,
Tom Sherman was successful on 12 of 27 throws for 142 yards and no TDs with two
intercepted. Jim Ford was the leading rusher with 49 yards on 17 carries.
George Sauer had 5 pass receptions for 57 yards.
“The crowd was just great, wonderful,” said Hornets Coach Babe
Parilli. “It was a great thing for the players…There were never that many
people cheering for us before.”
“We won a very tough game over an excellent team,” said John
McVay. “Charlotte
is lucky to get a team of this quality. I know they’ll get their share of wins
before it’s over.”
The Southmen lost only one more game on their way to a league-best
17-3 record, putting them atop the Central Division. They were upset by the
Florida Blazers in their playoff game. Despite the enthusiastic new fan base, Charlotte won only one of
its last six contests to end up at 10-10 and second in the Eastern Division.
Danny White completed 79 of 155 passes for 1190 yards with
12 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He also handled the team’s punting,
averaging 40.9 yards on 80 kicks. Following the demise of the WFL in 1975, he
moved on to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys for 13 seasons.
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