1974: Houston Scores Early, Holds On to Beat Florida

The Florida Blazers and Houston Texans were off to very different starts in the World Football League’s inaugural season as they met in Houston on July 31, 1974.

The Blazers were undefeated at 3-0. Coached by Jack Pardee, a recently retired star linebacker with the Rams and Redskins, the Blazers featured a veteran NFL backup, Bob Davis, at quarterback. While there was more veteran talent at running back in A.D. Whitfield and Jim Strong, rookie Tommy Reamon had emerged as the leader of the group. The defense was especially able in the backfield, featuring more experienced players in safeties Rickie Harris and W.K. Hicks along with CB Miller Farr.

Houston, on the other hand, was 1-2 and had yet to score an offensive touchdown (the defense had accounted for one in the club’s lone victory). Head Coach Jim Garrett’s team had plenty of experience, which was apparent on defense, but not much scoring punch. QB Mike Taliaferro had already missed time due to injury while the running game was led by FB Jim Nance (pictured above), who twice led the American Football League in rushing. The clubs had met the previous week in Orlando and Florida won handily by a 15-3 score.

16,268 fans showed up for the Wednesday night contest billed as “Nickel Hot Dog Night” at the Astrodome. Less than two minutes into the first quarter, Houston safety John Mallory intercepted a Bob Davis pass and returned it 59 yards to the Florida one yard line. From there, Jim Nance plunged to the left for a touchdown on the next play. While the try for the action point failed, the Texans held the early 7-0 lead (in the WFL, touchdowns counted for seven points and were followed by an action point, which could not be kicked).

Later in the opening period, the Blazers got on the board following a 42-yard drive with a Les Perry field goal from 26 yards. Along the way, Davis threw to RB Jim Strong for an 18-yard gain that proved to be the longest of the game for either club. Perry connected on another field goal in the second quarter, this time from 21 yards, to climax a 36-yard advance that was helped along by a 17-yard defensive pass interference penalty.

Houston’s Mike Taliaferro left the game due to injury and was relieved by Dave Mays, a rookie out of Texas Southern. It seemed to ignite the Texans, who reached the Florida eight before Charlie Durkee’s 24-yard field goal attempt sailed wide of the mark.

Beyond that, Houston’s defensive line of ends Don Brumm and Joe Robb and tackles Al Dotson and Jim Kanicki kept constant pressure on Bob Davis and the home team held on to the narrow one-point lead for the remainder of the game. The Texans were threatening late in the fourth quarter, but after reaching the Florida three they came up empty when time ran out. Still, they won by a narrow 7-6 verdict.

In the defense-dominated game, the Texans led in total yards (157 to 122) and first downs (14 to 9), with the offense almost perfectly balanced between rushing yardage (79) and passing (78). Houston also turned the ball over three times, to two by the Blazers. However, the Texans recorded six sacks and Florida was penalized 16 times, at a cost of 136 yards, to 7 flags for 81 yards thrown on Houston.

Mike Taliaferro completed one of three passes for 11 yards before exiting the game and Dave Mays was 7 of 17 for 67 yards while giving up an interception. Jim Nance gained just 29 yards on 10 carries, but that included the game’s only touchdown. WR Rick Eber led Houston’s receivers with 5 catches for 46 yards.

For the Blazers, Bob Davis was successful on only 5 of 18 throws for 54 yards and was picked off twice. Tommy Reamon was the leading ground gainer with a lackluster 21 yards on 15 attempts and Jim Strong, who ran for 14 yards on 10 carries, led the club in pass receiving with three catches for 27 yards.

Houston tied Portland the following week before dropping five of their next six games. At that point, the underfinanced franchise moved to Shreveport, Louisiana and was renamed the Steamer, finishing up with a record of 7-12-1 that tied with Portland at the bottom of the WFL’s Western Division. Florida won its next three games on the way to topping the Eastern Division at 14-6. However, the club was also beset by financial problems that included missed payrolls, although the Blazers still made it to the WFL Championship Game (the World Bowl) and lost narrowly to the Birmingham Americans.

Jim Nance’s touchdown against the Blazers was his first of eight over the course of the season. The 31-year-old veteran rushed for 1240 yards on an even 300 carries. John Mallory’s interception that set up the TD was one of five on the year, and at 59 yards was his longest return.

MVP Profile: Jim Nance, 1966

Fullback, Boston Patriots


Age: 24 (Dec. 30)
2nd season in pro football & with Patriots
College: Syracuse
Height: 6’1” Weight: 245

Prelude:
More successful as a heavyweight wrestler than a football player in college, Nance was chosen in the 19th round of the 1965 AFL draft by the Patriots (he was a fourth-round choice of the Bears in the NFL as well). His weight was up to 258 pounds (from 235 in college) when he joined Boston as a rookie (prompting Head Coach Mike Holovak to threaten to convert him into a guard) and he had a disappointing first year, rushing for 321 yards while averaging just 2.9 yards per carry in ‘65. However, he lost weight and gained the starting fullback job for 1966, and behind an improved offensive line.

1966 Season Summary
Appeared in all 14 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing
Attempts – 299 [1]
Most attempts, game - 38 (for 208 yds.) vs. Oakland 10/30
Yards – 1458 [1]
Most yards, game – 208 yards (on 38 carries) vs. Oakland 10/30
Average gain – 4.9 [3]
TDs – 11 [1]
200-yard rushing games – 1
100-yard rushing games – 8

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 8
Most receptions, game – 4 (for 67 yds.) at San Diego 9/10
Yards – 103
Most yards, game – 67 (on 4 catches) at San Diego 9/10
Average gain – 12.9
TDs – 0

All-Purpose Yards – 1561 [1]

Scoring
TDs – 11 [3, tied with Art Powell]
Points – 66 [10, tied with Art Powell]

Awards & Honors:
AFL Player of the Year: AP, UPI, Sporting News
1st team All-AFL: League, AP, NEA, NY Daily News, UPI
AFL All-Star Game

Patriots went 8-4-2 and finished a close second in the AFL Eastern Division while placing second in the league in rushing (1963 yards).

Aftermath:
Nance again led the AFL with 1216 yards rushing in 1967 and was a consensus first-team All-AFL selection as well as selectee to the AFL All-Star game, but the team’s record dropped to 3-10-1. Slowed by an injury, his production was less in ’68, but he rebounded somewhat with a league-leading 193 carries in 1969, for 750 yards. He lasted two more steadily-declining years with the Patriots in 1970 and ’71, sat out 1972, and was a reserve with the Jets in ’73. Nance moved on to the WFL, playing for the Houston Gamblers/Shreveport Steamer franchise in 1974 and ’75, and ranked third in the league in rushing with 1240 yards in ’74. Overall, he gained 5401 yards rushing in the AFL/NFL and 2007 in the WFL.

--

MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).

[Updated 2/11/14]

1974: Steamer Defeats Bell Before 750 Fans at JFK Stadium

It was a rainy Wednesday night in Philadelphia on October 16, 1974 as the host Bell took on the Shreveport Steamer in a World Football League contest at JFK Stadium. Adding to the gloom was a miniscule estimated turnout of 750 at the 100,000-seat venue, a bitter pill for a team that had drawn big crowds in its first two home games – and created a scandal when it was later revealed that the vast majority of those fans were using free or heavily-discounted tickets.

The Bell, under Head Coach Ron Waller, was a colorful club with an exciting offense led by eccentric QB Jim “King” Corcoran. The passing game was productive, and there were good running backs in John Land and Claude Watts. Still, Philadelphia had a losing 6-9 record coming into the contest with Shreveport.

The Steamer had started the season as the Houston Texans and moved to Shreveport in late September. At the time of the relocation, they sported a 3-7-1 tally and things had not gotten better for the veteran team, which was 1-3 in its new city for a combined record of 4-10-1. There had been plenty of turmoil with the move, as many players were opposed to it and Head Coach Jim Garrett was suspended when he actively urged them to not report to Shreveport. Garrett was replaced by Marshall Taylor, and despite the misgivings, the club received a warm welcome from the fans in the new locale. FB Jim Nance (pictured above), an ex-AFL star with the Patriots, was a standout running the ball. Another former AFL player, LB Garland Boyette, was the leader of the well-seasoned defense. Veteran QB Mike Taliaferro quit the team, and two rookie quarterbacks, D.C. Nobles and Dave Mays, ran the option offense.

Philadelphia fumbled less then four minutes into the game and Nobles started off the scoring with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Eber that was followed by a successful pass for the action point. After Bell DB Ron Mabra intercepted a Nobles pass, Land and Watts proceeded to grind out a drive. Watts scored for Philadelphia, but the action point attempt failed and the Steamer held an 8-7 lead after a period of play (touchdowns counted for seven points in the WFL, followed by an action point that could not be kicked).

In the second quarter, Mays came in at quarterback for Shreveport after Nobles strained his shoulder and connected with TE Willie Frazier for a 29-yard TD. The pass attempt for the action point was unsuccessful and Shreveport took a 15-7 lead into halftime.

The Bell started off the second half scoring when Jerry Warren kicked a 32-yard field goal to cut the margin to 15-10. Nobles came back into the game for Shreveport and the Steamer responded with a drive that concluded with Nance scoring on a two-yard run. Nobles ran for the action point, making the score 23-10.

“King” Corcoran passed to WR Ron Holliday for a nine-yard touchdown, capping an eight-play, 64-yard drive by the Bell, but the action point was again missed and the score stood at 23-17. It didn’t stay that way for long. Safety Richmond Flowers returned the ensuing kickoff 36 yards. On the next play, Nobles threw his second scoring pass to Eber, this time covering 39 yards, extending the Steamer lead to 30-17 as the action point attempt failed.

The Bell scored once more in the fourth quarter when Corcoran threw an eight-yard TD pass to WR Vince Papale, and Land ran for the action point. The Steamer missed a chance to extend the lead when a 20-yard field goal attempt by Charlie Durkee hit the upright and was no good. But Boyette intercepted a Corcoran pass and Shreveport was able to run out the last four minutes to win 30-25.

The statistics were very even, with Shreveport barely outgaining the Bell (323 yards to 321) and having the edge in first downs (17 to 15). Philadelphia had more rushing yards (180 to 164) while the Steamer gained more net passing yards (159 to 141). However, the Bell lost three fumbles, to none given up by Shreveport. Jim Nance ran for 104 yards for the Steamer, and John Land gained 105 yards on 13 attempts for Philadelphia.

The biggest story from the game was the paltry attendance, which was the smallest for any WFL game.

“I don’t know if it was the World Series, the weather or what, but that’s the smallest crowd that I can ever remember playing in front of,” said Land.

“Hell, I wrestled before bigger crowds than that at Indiana (Pa.) High School,” added Jim Nance.

With the win, the Steamer was now 2-2 under Coach Taylor. They went 1-2 the rest of the way and finished at 7-12-1 and tied for third in the Western Division. Philadelphia won by a surprisingly big margin of 45-7 over the Southern California Sun the next week and, with a win by forfeit to conclude the season, ended up with a 9-11 record and a playoff spot. The Bell lost to the Florida Blazers in the first round.

Jim Nance ranked third in the WFL with 1240 yards on 300 carries (4.1 avg.) and eight touchdowns. John Land wasn’t far behind as he carried the ball 243 times for 1136 yards (4.7 avg.) and eight TDs. Land was a far more productive pass receiver out of the backfield than Nance (who caught just 14 passes) with 54 catches for 621 yards and another four touchdowns.

After averaging 60,127 fans in the first two home games (inflated by the free and discounted tickets), the Bell averaged just 9328 in the remaining eight, including the 750 against the Steamer. The team survived to return for the aborted 1975 season, but moved to the less-spacious Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania.