The culmination of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 made possible
the birth of new pro football rivalries, perhaps most notably that between the
teams located in New York City .
On November 1, 1970 the long-established Giants met the younger league’s Jets
for the first time in a regular season game.
While the Jets, coached by Weeb Ewbank, had experienced more
recent success with back-to-back AFL Eastern Division titles in 1968 and ’69
and a victory in Super Bowl III, they came into the contest against the Giants
as ten-point underdogs. The squad had been decimated by injuries, most notably
the broken wrist suffered by star QB Joe Namath but also including the loss of both
starting running backs HB Emerson Boozer and FB Matt Snell. As a result, their
record was 1-5 as they prepared to meet their intra-city rivals.
Meanwhile the Giants, coached by former star running back
Alex Webster, appeared to be on the upswing after six years of not breaking the
.500 barrier. QB Fran Tarkenton (pictured above) was joined by HB Ron Johnson and WR Clifton
McNeil to fuel the offense and, while the defense had its share of holes, it
also had DE Fred Dryer, LB Jim Files, and FS Carl “Spider” Lockhart to bring talent
to the unit. After losing their first three games, they had won three straight
to improve to 3-3.
A record crowd of 63,903 was in attendance at Shea Stadium.
They saw the Jets score first on a pass from QB Al Woodall, the fill-in for
Namath, to HB George Nock that covered eight yards. Still in the first quarter,
Pete Gogolak booted a 25-yard field goal for the Giants. The score remained 7-3
at halftime. The Giants had difficulty on offense and Tarkenton completed just
two of eight pass attempts in the first half.
The Jets added to their lead with a 31-yard field goal by
Jim Turner in the third quarter. The game then took a significant turn,
however, and oddly enough, the Jets were victimized by their own success on
defense. The Giants, down 10-3, drove into Jets territory and had a
third-and-goal situation at the one yard line but failed on two plays from
there – the last with FB Tucker Frederickson coming up a foot short of the goal
line - and had to turn the ball over on downs, although not before a
bench-clearing brawl ensued between the teams.
Frederickson had attempted to lateral back to Tarkenton at
the end of the fourth-down play, which was already blown dead, and the veteran quarterback
was tackled by Jets LB Larry Grantham. Words ensued between Tarkenton and
Grantham, and they were followed by CB Earlie Thomas of the Jets throwing a
punch at Tarkenton. Both benches quickly emptied.
Once order was restored and the Jets took possession, two
quarterback sneaks by Woodall failed to gain ground and then FB Chuck Mercein
(an ex-Giant) was tackled in the end zone by Jim Files and Fred Dryer for a
safety.
Losing by 10-5 and getting the ball following the free kick,
the Giants struck quickly when Tarkenton passed to Johnson for a 50-yard gain
to the Jets’ nine. The remaining distance was covered on the next play as
Tarkenton passed to TE Bob Tucker and, with Gogolak’s extra point, the older
club was in front by 12-10.
On the next Jets series, Woodall was picked off by CB Willie
Williams who proceeded to return the interception 36 yards to the Jets’ 29.
Three plays later, and helped by a face mask penalty on the Jets, Tarkenton
threw another touchdown pass of 11 yards to Clifton McNeil. The Giants had
scored 16 points in a period of six plays that covered less than two minutes of
the third quarter to take control of the game.
After the flurry of excitement, the remainder of the contest
was anticlimactic. Gogolak added a 37-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and
the Giants ended up winning handily by a score of 22-10.
The Giants barely outgained the Jets (240 yards to 237)
while the Jets had the slight edge in first downs (16 to 15). However, the
Giants sacked Woodall six times, to one sack of Tarkenton, and the Jets turned
the ball over four times while the Giants suffered no turnovers.
Overcoming the rough first half, Fran Tarkenton ended up
completing 11 of 22 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns with none
intercepted. Ron Johnson (pictured below) rushed for 69 yards on 25 carries and also caught two
passes for 52 more yards. Bob Tucker and Clifton McNeil each had three catches,
for 41 and 35 yards respectively, and a TD apiece.
For the Jets, Al Woodall was successful on 12 of 16 throws
for 164 yards and a TD, but two were intercepted. George Nock rushed for 45
yards on 14 carries and FB Lee White was right behind at 42 yards on 6
attempts. TE Pete Lammons led the receivers with 6 catches for 73 yards.
“The fight keyed our guys up,” said Alex Webster of the effect
of the third quarter brawl on his Giants.
“It wasn’t just any ballgame – and it was gratifying,” said
Giants co-owner Wellington Mara. “You know, you’ve got to be champions of your
neighborhood before you think of conquering the world.”
It was the fourth win in a row of an eventual six straight
for the Giants who finished second in the NFC East with a 9-5 record – they
just missed the postseason. Meanwhile, the Jets dropped their fifth straight
game and ended up placing third in the AFC East at 4-10.
Fran Tarkenton ranked second in the NFL in pass attempts
(389), completions (219), and yards (2777) while tossing 19 TD passes. He was
named to the Pro Bowl. So was Ron Johnson, who was also a consensus first-team
All-NFL selection. Johnson ranked second in the league in rushing with 1025
yards on 263 carries (3.9 avg.), becoming the first player in Giants history to
top the thousand-yard mark in ball-carrying, and also caught 48 passes for 487
more yards (10.1 avg.). His 1514 yards from scrimmage were the most in the NFL
and he scored 12 touchdowns in all.
