1964: Bears Rally to Defeat College All-Stars

The 31^st annual College All-Star Game in Chicago on August 7, 1964 featured the home-town Bears, NFL Champions of 1963, against the usual crop of outstanding players coming out of college.

Chicago, which was coached by “the Papa Bear” George Halas, had combined dominating defense and a conservative offense to reach the top the previous year. QB Bill Wade (pictured at right) was a competent field general and had skilled receivers in TE Mike Ditka and flanker Johnny Morris. However, there was also a shadow of tragedy due to the deaths of HB Willie Galimore and end John “Bo” Farrington in an auto accident during training camp. The players wore black arm bands in their honor.

Otto Graham was coaching the All-Stars for the seventh consecutive year and had led the collegians to two wins during that time, including the previous year against Green Bay. All-Star standouts included quarterbacks Pete Beathard from USC and George Mira of Miami, Ohio State flanker Paul Warfield, and two Arizona State backfield mates, HB Charley Taylor and FB Tony Lorick, on offense. The defense included Minnesota DE Carl Eller, linebackers Dave Wilcox of Oregon and Wally Hilgenberg from Iowa, and Oregon safety Mel Renfro. There was some controversy when Coach Graham commented that Taylor appeared to “lack desire” during the practices leading up to the game, and there was concern about the condition of the highly-touted Mira’s sore arm.

There were 65,000 fans in attendance on a 79-degree Friday night at Soldier Field. With Pete Beathard behind center, the All-Stars advanced 27 yards in four plays following the opening kickoff, but Beathard fumbled and MLB Bill George recovered for the Bears at the All-Star 46. The pro champs were unable to take advantage of the break as they gained six yards in three plays and Roger LeClerc was short on a 47-yard field goal attempt.

The All-Stars were unable to get beyond their 16 on the next possession and the resulting punt gave Chicago good field position at the All-Star 43. Bill Wade completed passes to split end Gary Barnes and Mike Ditka but, with first-and-goal at the three yard line, HB Ronnie Bull gained a yard and Wade’s pass into the end zone was intercepted by CB Jerry Richardson from West Texas State.

The collegians moved effectively in response as Beathard completed passes to Paul Warfield and split end Chuck Logan of Northwestern. Tony Lorick contributed a 20-yard run as well. Beathard threw to Charley Taylor for a 29-yard gain to the Chicago 15 and, while the All-Stars were unable to reach the end zone, Ohio State’s Dick Van Raaphorst booted a 14-yard field goal for the game’s first points.

The Bears came alive on offense and nearly scored when Wade connected with flanker Johnny Morris for an apparent 31-yard touchdown, but Morris was called for offensive pass interference. However, on the seventh play of the series, they did get a TD on a pass from Wade to Ditka that covered 13 yards. Bob Jencks added the extra point and Chicago was ahead by 7-3.

The All-Stars again had to punt following their next possession but HB Billy Martin muffed the kick and Taylor recovered for the collegians at the Chicago 17. Two plays later, George Mira picked up a fumbled snap and pitched the ball back to Taylor, who then unleashed an option pass to Georgia Tech TE Ted Davis for a 14-yard touchdown. Van Raaphorst converted and the All-Stars took a 10-7 lead into halftime.

The Bears went 80 yards in 11 plays to start the third quarter and effectively take control of the game. The big play was a pass from Wade to Morris that covered 39 yards to the All-Star one. Two plays later, Wade scored from there on a quarterback sneak and, with Jencks adding the PAT, Chicago was in front by 14-10.

On the next series, QB Jack Concannon of Boston College fumbled and DE Doug Atkins recovered for the Bears and Wade immediately capitalized by connecting with Barnes for a 20-yard TD. Jencks added the point after and in less than two minutes the pro champs had gone from a three-point deficit to a 21-10 lead.

The teams traded interceptions before the All-Stars, with Mira (pictured at left) back in at quarterback, advanced to the Chicago four. However, the Bears held and the collegians came up empty.

In the fourth quarter, a Beathard pass was picked off by CB Bennie McCrae at the All-Star 39, and the Bears effectively put the game away when backup QB Rudy Bukich threw to HB Charlie Bivins for a 30-yard touchdown.

Down by 28-10, the All-Stars attempted trickery with both Beathard and Mira lining up together in the backfield. Advancing 80 yards, and with Beathard taking the snap and lateraling to Mira, the collegians managed to get one last TD on a five-yard toss to Taylor. Van Raaphorst converted but there were only 25 seconds remaining in the contest. The Bears ended up winning comfortably by a final score of 28-17.

Chicago had the edge in total yards (371 to 289) although the All-Stars managed to gain 142 yards on the ground. Both teams turned the ball over four times apiece.

Bill Wade completed 15 of 23 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns. Ronnie Bull led the Bears in rushing with 35 yards on 9 carries.

George Mira completed 8 of 18 passes for 70 yards and a TD and rushed for 56 yards on four carries. Pete Beathard was five of seven for 75 yards but gave up two interceptions. Tony Lorick ran for 38 yards on six attempts and Charley Taylor (pictured below) contributed seven rushes for 36 yards, caught two passes for 34 yards and a TD, threw a touchdown pass, and recovered a fumble. The player who had been subject to Otto Graham’s barbed comment prior to the game was named All-Star MVP.

The win by Chicago gave the pro champs a 20 to 9 edge in the series, with two ties. It was the fifth victory for the Bears, against one defeat and a tie, in what was their final appearance in the game. They dropped to sixth place in the Western Conference with a 5-9 record in ’64 and did not return to the postseason until 1977.

Charley Taylor went on to a Rookie of the Year season for Washington and, shifted to wide receiver two years later, put together a career that made him the NFL’s all-time pass receiving leader at the time of his retirement (649 catches) and gained him enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. George Mira had far less success, spending most of his career as a backup for the 49ers (and later the Eagles and Dolphins) although he was the starting quarterback for the Birmingham Americans, who won the only World Football League championship in 1974. 

1966: Mira Leads 49ers to Upset of Packers

The San Francisco 49ers had gotten off to a slow start in the 1966 NFL season. They were 0-2-1 as they prepared to host the powerful Green Bay Packers on October 9. Following their first winning season in four years (7-6-1 in ’65), Head Coach Jack Christiansen’s team had plenty of talent on offense but also had a suspect defense and was coming off of two big losses to the Colts and Rams. Tenth-year QB John Brodie received a big contract extension in the offseason but endured two rough performances in those defeats. George Mira (pictured above), a third-year backup out of Miami, was getting his first start of the season at quarterback in place of Brodie, with the hope that his darting, scrambling style would prove effective against the vaunted Packers defense.

The prospect of facing Head Coach Vince Lombardi’s Packers did not promise any relief for the 49ers. Green Bay was the defending NFL Champion and off to a 4-0 start. QB Bart Starr didn’t typically throw often, but he was efficient when he did and had tossed six touchdown passes as opposed to just one interception thus far. The veteran backfield duo of FB Jim Taylor and HB Paul Hornung was wearing down, but the receiving corps was effective and the defense solid from front to back. If there was one discordant note for the Packers coming into San Francisco, it was that they had been having recent difficulty in games at Kezar Stadium, having not won there since 1963 (in 1965 they tied the 49ers in the last game, which forced a playoff for the Western Conference title with the Colts).

There were 39,290 fans in attendance at Kezar Stadium on a sunny afternoon. In the first quarter, the Packers drove to the San Francisco 32 yard line as Taylor and Hornung ran to good effect, but Don Chandler missed a 39-yard field goal attempt.

Following a San Francisco punt, Green Bay moved even deeper into 49ers territory on a series highlighted by Bart Starr throwing to split end Max McGee for a 39-yard gain, but, after getting to the eleven, had to settle for a Chandler field goal try that was successful from 18 yards.

Two possessions later, Mira’s first scoring pass came on a play when his mobility was put to good use. He first ran to his right and then reversed field to avoid the rush and threw on the run to HB John David Crow at the Green Bay one who then dove into the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown.

After the teams traded punts, Mira was shaken up in the second quarter and had to leave the game briefly. When John Brodie came onto the field as his replacement, he was greeted with a shower of boos from the home crowd. He did complete a six-yard pass to FB Ken Willard, but a 41-yard field goal attempt by Tommy Davis was unsuccessful with 29 seconds left in the half. Still, the Niners carried a 7-3 lead into the intermission.

The Packers had the first possession of the third quarter, and facing second-and-eight at their own 47, the 49ers put on a heavy rush and dumped Starr for a 12-yard loss. Starr was hit again on the next play, and this time it forced a fumble that was recovered by LB Matt Hazeltine, who then proceeded to run 22 yards for a touchdown. The successful PAT by Davis put San Francisco ahead by 14-3.

On the next series, the Packers responded by scoring on a quick three-play, 56-yard series.  Starr threw to a wide-open Hornung at the sideline for a 43-yard touchdown. Chandler’s extra point narrowed the home team’s margin to 14-10.

Mira was back behind center for the 49ers, but they went three-and-out and had to punt. Starting at their own 42, the Packers moved quickly into San Francisco territory. Starr completed passes to Taylor for 14 yards and flanker Carroll Dale for 24 down to the 15 yard line, but the drive stopped there. Chandler booted a 22-yard field goal that made it a one-point contest.

After another punt by the Niners, the Packers appeared to be driving toward a score when, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Starr was intercepted by safety Elbert Kimbrough, who returned it 44 yards before finally being hauled down by Jim Taylor at the Green Bay 37. Mira was immediately sacked for a nine-yard loss, but two plays later, and following a 38-yard run by the nimble quarterback, the 49ers capitalized when he tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Crow. Rather than the Packers potentially taking the lead, the Niners were up by 21-13.

The Packers bounced back by driving 69 yards in four plays that ended with Starr throwing to Dale for a 38-yard TD. Don Chandler’s extra point again made it a one-point contest and there was still plenty of time.

Green Bay’s defense proceeded to make a big play when LB Dave Robinson intercepted a Mira pass and returned it 32 yards to the San Francisco nine. The 49ers kept the Packers out of the end zone on three plays and, following an offensive pass interference penalty, the visitors were backed up to the 19  and Chandler missed a 26-yard field goal attempt.

Brodie again replaced Mira at quarterback and the 49ers put together a long, time consuming drive. HB Dave Kopay had a 25-yard run and FB Ken Willard also ran effectively. Facing fourth-and-one at the Green Bay two, San Francisco was unable to convert, but there was only a minute remaining as the Packers took over just two yards from their own goal line. Green Bay was unable to do anything offensively in the waning seconds and the 49ers came away with a 21-20 upset win.

The Packers ran up more total yards than San Francisco (368 to 248) and each team generated 17 first downs. However, Green Bay also led in turnovers with three, to two suffered by the 49ers, and missed opportunities – particularly those that also ended with failed field goal attempts – proved fatal to the defending champs.

George Mira completed 9 of 21 passes for 104 yards, but two of them were for touchdowns against one interception and he also ran for 46 yards on three carries to lead the club. Ken Willard gained 43 yards on 14 rushing attempts, Dave Kopay added 42 on only four tries, and John David Crow (pictured at left) had 9 carries for 23 yards to go along with a team-leading 5 catches for 53 yards that included two TDs.

For the Packers, Bart Starr was successful on 18 of 26 throws for 287 yards and two TDs as well as the one costly interception. Jim Taylor ran for 54 yards on 16 carries and caught four passes for 39 more yards while Paul Hornung rushed for 30 yards on 11 attempts and had three receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. Carroll Dale gained 86 yards on his four catches that included one for a score.

The 49ers won their next two games, with John Brodie back at quarterback, but ended up with a 6-6-2 record to place fourth in the Western Conference. George Mira ended up completing 22 of 53 passes (41.5 %) for 284 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions while chafing in Brodie’s shadow.

Green Bay recovered to top the conference at 12-2 and again win the NFL title. Moving on to the first Super Bowl, the Packers defeated the AFL Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Bart Starr threw just one more interception over the remainder of the season as he led the league in passing and was a consensus MVP selection.

1974: Birmingham Comes from 26 Points Behind to Beat NY Stars

The World Football League’s debut in New York City occurred on July 17, 1974 as the New York Stars hosted the Birmingham Americans. There were 17,943 fans in attendance at small and poorly-lit Downing Stadium for the Wednesday night contest (1200 with complimentary tickets).

The Stars, coached by former pro quarterback Babe Parilli, had lost their opening game by a 14-7 score at Jacksonville in the WFL’s inaugural week. The roster contained several ex-Jets, including WR George Sauer, DE Gerry Philbin, DT John Elliott, and CB John Dockery. The starting quarterback was Tom Sherman, who had seen action with the Boston Patriots and Buffalo Bills in the AFL but more recently had played for the Hartford Knights of the Atlantic Coast Football League.

Birmingham had narrowly defeated the Southern California Sun by a score of 11-7 in its opening game at home the previous week. Jack Gotta, a seasoned coach from the CFL, was both head coach and GM of the Americans. The club had George Mira at quarterback (pictured above), a former University of Miami star who was primarily a backup in the NFL for seven years before moving on to Canada for two. Dennis Homan, an ex-star at Alabama who saw some NFL action, was one of the wide receivers, while there were veterans with pro experience at running back in HB Paul Robinson and FB Charlie Harraway.

The crowd was enthusiastic, especially during a dominating first half by the home team, although the poor stadium lighting made the contest difficult to watch. In the first quarter, Birmingham got a break by recovering Sherman’s fumble on the third play of the game. The turnover gave the Americans the ball at the New York 19 yard line, but, setting the tone for the first half, the offense wasn’t able to score and Earl Sark kicked a 35-yard field goal.

It was all New York the rest of the way in the first two quarters. A six-play, 60-yard drive that featured a 25-yard gain on a pass to Sauer to the Birmingham one was capped when Sherman ran for the final yard and a TD.

Following the ensuing kickoff, another of the ex-Jets, Philbin, recovered a fumble by WR Denny Duron at the Birmingham 33. Five plays later, RB Bob Gladieux ran for a two-yard score. Both action point attempts were successful, and the Americans held a 16-3 lead after the opening period (touchdowns were worth seven points in the WFL).

In the second quarter, FB Andy Huff ran for a nine-yard TD to complete a drive of 80 yards that took 14 plays, although the action point attempt failed. Pete Rajecki kicked field goals of 20 and 38 yards, and the Stars carried a comfortable 29-3 lead into halftime.

The domination in the first half was complete as New York ran up 315 total yards (188 on the ground) and 18 first downs. By contrast, Birmingham failed to gain a single first down, rushing for just 12 yards and being held to -2 net yards in the air.

Birmingham’s comeback began in the third quarter following a 33-yard punt return by WR Alfred Jenkins to set up Mira’s 20-yard scoring pass to TE Ted Powell with just over nine minutes to go in the period, although the Americans failed to add the action point.

Still in the third quarter, Mira threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Jenkins. This time the action point attempt, another Mira-to-Jenkins toss, was successful. New York’s lead had been narrowed to 29-18 after three periods of play.

In the fourth quarter, the Stars’ lead was narrowed even further as Mira scored on a one-yard run to cap an 80-yard drive in 10 plays. Again the action point attempt failed, but the Americans were now just four points behind.

Birmingham went in front thanks to the biggest play of the game, a 73-yard touchdown pass from Mira to Homan with 2:15 remaining. Once more, the action point attempt failed and the Americans were left clinging to a three-point margin. It seemed as though that might not be enough as the Stars still had a chance to tie the game with 36 seconds on the clock, but Rejecki missed a 35-yard field goal attempt. Birmingham came away with a 32-29 win, having scored 29 unanswered points in the second half.

The Stars had more first downs (22 to 9) and rushed for 283 yards while passing for 171. Birmingham gained just 48 yards on 24 rushes and threw for 213. The Stars suffered three turnovers, to two by Birmingham and there were just five penalties in all.

George Mira was successful on 14 of 28 passes for 218 yards with three TDs and none intercepted. Dennis Homan caught three passes for 94 yards and a TD. RB Art Cantrelle was the leading rusher for the Americans with 15 yards on six carries, although he had three receptions for 50 yards.

For the Stars, Andy Huff ran for 105 yards on 21 attempts, RB Jim Ford gained 71 yards on 11 carries, and Bob Gladieux contributed 51 yards on 13 runs. Tom Sherman completed 10 of 21 passes for 171 yards with an interception. George Sauer caught four passes for 69 yards.

“It was really a matter of my receivers getting used to the poor lighting,” said Mira.

The poor lighting – and poor facility – became something that the Stars could not overcome. The team generally played well, but attendance dwindled. In September, the club was purchased by Upton Bell, son of former NFL commissioner Bert Bell, and moved to Charlotte, NC. While they were embraced by the fans in North Carolina far more enthusiastically than had ever been the case in New York City, paradoxically the team’s record suffered. 8-5 as the New York Stars, the franchise that was renamed the Charlotte Hornets ended up with a 10-10 record, putting them in second place in the Eastern Division and out of the playoffs (as with so much about the WFL, an oddity, since the Philadelphia Bell made it at 9-11).

Birmingham had good support at home and won its first ten games on the way to finishing second in the Central Division with a 15-5 tally. The Americans went on to win the WFL’s only championship, defeating the Florida Blazers in the World Bowl.

1974: Birmingham Defeats Florida for WFL Championship

The World Football League (WFL) came into being with grand pretensions. Founded by Gary Davidson, who had been involved with the American Basketball Association (ABA) and World Hockey Association (WHA), the plan was to create a world-wide league that would spread American football to other continents. As it was, the WFL took the field in 1974 with 12 US-based teams split into three divisions (the one Canadian franchise, in Toronto, shifted to Memphis before ever taking the field).

There were a number of rules changes that differentiated the WFL from the NFL (although the older league picked up a few of them, such as overtime in case of ties and moving the goal posts to the back of the end zone). Most notably, touchdowns were worth 7 points, and were followed by the “action point” – either a running or pass play, but no placekicking, and worth one point.

By the time the 20-game regular season came to an end, two teams had folded and two others had transferred to other cities. Large initial crowds turned out to have been padded by the handing out of free tickets, and ultimately most of the teams became mired in red ink. The playoffs were expanded from four to six to, finally, eight teams (80 % of the surviving teams in the end) with the Philadelphia Bell and the Hawaiians making it into the postseason with 9-11 records.

When the dust cleared after two rounds of playoffs, the Florida Blazers, who had placed first in the Eastern Division with a 14-6 record, faced the Birmingham Americans, the second place team in the Central Division at 15-5, for the league championship in what was called the World Bowl (or, more optimistically, World Bowl I) on December 5, 1974 at Birmingham’s Legion Field. Attendance was 32,376 for the location that had received the most fan support during the year in the WFL.

The Blazers, coached by Jack Pardee, had missed 15 payrolls and the players nearly boycotted the game. It appeared that they would fall easy prey to the Americans, who led 15-0 at the half and 22-0 after three quarters. Veteran QB George Mira directed the offense to three touchdowns – first, a one-yard run by RB Joe Profit; then a four-yard run by RB Art Cantrelle; and finally, a 26-yard TD pass from Mira to TE Bob Brown. Backup QB Matthew Reed ran for an action point after the second score, the only one that was successfully converted during the game, which proved to be crucial in the end. An apparent first quarter TD plunge by Panthers RB Tommy Reamon, in which it appeared that he had broken the plane before losing his grip on the ball, was ruled a fumble and, with the ball passing through the end zone, a touchback.

Florida came to life in the fourth quarter. QB Bob Davis threw touchdown passes of 39 yards to Reamon and 40 yards to TE Greg Latta. With 4:14 left in the game, Rod Foster returned a punt 76 yards for a TD in spectacular fashion to bring the Blazers to within a point. However, the Americans stopped Reamon on the ensuing action point attempt and held on to win, 22-21.

Fights broke out as the Americans ran out the clock. Florida CB Billy Hayes grabbed the game ball after the last play and ran for the locker room with Birmingham players in pursuit, ending in a shoving match under the end zone stands.

Mira (pictured) was the game’s MVP, more for his outstanding direction of the offense than his passing statistics, which came to five completions in 14 attempts for 90 yards with a TD and no interceptions. The team ran for a total of 211 yards, spread among four backs and Mira, who gained 27 yards on four carries. Joe Profit led the group with 58 yards on 21 attempts. TE Brown was the top receiver with three catches for 55 yards and a score.

Bob Davis ended up completing 8 of 21 passes for 184 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Tommy Reamon, who led the league in rushing during the regular season, was also the top ground gainer in this game, carrying 13 times for 83 yards. WR Hubie Bryant was the team’s top receiver with 3 catches for 50 yards.

There were the usual celebratory comments after the game. Said Mira, “I’ve waited eleven years to be a starter on a championship team”. And Birmingham’s Head Coach Jack Gotta added, “I don’t know what happens tomorrow, but tonight is the greatest night of my life.”

Afterward, sheriff’s deputies took possession of the Americans’ uniforms, which were sold at a local sporting goods store.

The WFL made it back to the field for another season in 1975, but failed to complete the schedule; there was no World Bowl II. But the name “World Bowl” returned in the 1990s when the NFL’s developmental league, the World League of American Football, adopted the same name for its annual championship game.