In Week 2 of the World Football League’s second season, the
Charlotte Hornets took on the Memphis Southmen on August 9, 1975 at the Liberty
Bowl. There were 19,729 fans in attendance for the Saturday night matchup,
including singer Elvis Presley.
The Southmen, popularly referred to as the “Grizzlies” by
their fans, had put together the league’s best record in 1974 under Head Coach
John McVay, although they had come up short in the postseason. They looked to
be an even stronger club with the addition of the celebrated trio of FB Larry
Csonka, HB Jim Kiick, and WR Paul Warfield, who were signed away from the NFL’s
Miami Dolphins amid great fanfare (pictured above are Csonka, at left, and Kiick). However, the Southmen had barely edged
Jacksonville to win their first game.
For Charlotte Head Coach Bob Gibson, who had been offensive
backfield coach with the Southmen in ’74, the game in Memphis was something of
a homecoming. The team he was now coaching started out as the New York Stars
before moving to Charlotte midway through the previous season. While they still
had Tom Sherman, along with ex-Yale star Brian Dowling, available at
quarterback the Hornets had lost many of the veterans, mostly from the NFL Jets,
who had been on the roster the previous year. They were 0-1 after having lost
their season-opening game to the San Antonio Wings.
In the first half, Charlotte was dominant on defense but
didn’t score until getting a 25-yard field goal by Pete Rajecki late in the
second quarter. However, the Hornets got the ball back quickly when CB David
Thomas fumbled after returning the ensuing kickoff 22 yards and was hit by G
John Culpepper. LB Tom Embrey grabbed the ball in the air and ran it back 22
yards. Three plays later, Brian Dowling tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass to WR
Kreg Kapitan. Dowling followed up with another throw to Kapitan to add the
action point (in the WFL, touchdowns counted for seven points and were followed
by an action point that could not be kicked) and the visitors were up at
halftime by a score of 11-0.
In the third quarter, things began to turn around. Csonka
scored the first touchdown for the Southmen on a pass from QB John Huarte that
covered 10 yards. In the meantime, the Memphis defense also took charge,
putting pressure on Dowling and stifling the Charlotte offense.
Once again in scoring territory, and with the home crowd having
come alive, Huarte threw another 10-yard scoring pass, this time to Warfield,
who was wide open in the end zone. The action point attempt failed but Memphis
had the lead at 15-11.
In the fourth quarter, an eight-play drive by the
Southmen that covered 51 yards ended with Kiick scoring a touchdown from two
yards out. The 29-year-old halfback was the key player on the series, running
the ball four times for 26 yards. The action point was successfully tacked on and
that was it - the final score was 23-11 in favor of Memphis.
The Southmen outgained Charlotte (313 yards to 232), with
199 yards of that total coming on the ground, and also had the edge in first
downs (21 to 13). Both teams turned the ball over twice and there were many
penalties, with Memphis committing 10 at a cost of 90 yards while the Hornets
were flagged 7 times for 44 yards.
Larry Csonka rushed for 112 yards on 24 carries and added
another 23 yards on three pass receptions that included a touchdown. Jim Kiick
ran the ball 12 times for 66 yards and a TD. He was also the team’s most
productive receiver with 38 yards on his three catches. Paul Warfield’s 10-yard
scoring catch was his only one of the game. John Huarte completed 8 of 18
passes for 101 yards with two touchdowns and none intercepted.
For the Hornets, Brian Dowling was successful on 9 of 15
throws for 91 yards with a TD and an interception. Tom Sherman also saw action
and added 4 completions out of 9 passes for 48 yards with one intercepted. HB
Don Highsmith rushed for 63 yards on 23 carries and caught 6 passes for 64 more
yards.
The Southmen went on to post a 7-4 that placed them second
in the Eastern Division at the point that the WFL folded in October. Charlotte
was 6-5 and tied for third in the division with Jacksonville.
Of the celebrated trio of ex-Dolphins, Jim Kiick rushed
for 462 yards and 9 touchdowns on 121 carries (3.8 avg.) and caught 25 passes
for 259 yards and another TD. Larry Csonka, who was slowed by injuries, gained
421 yards on 99 attempts (4.3 avg.). Paul Warfield had 25 pass receptions for
422 yards (16.9 avg.) and three TDs. All three returned to the NFL after the
demise of the WFL.
