1971: Morrall Tosses 3 TD Passes as Colts Sink College All-Stars

The 38^th annual College All-Star Game in Chicago on July 30, 1971 featured the Baltimore Colts, defending champions of the NFL, against an All-Star squad coached by Blanton Collier, who had retired from the Cleveland Browns following eight years as head coach.

The Colts, under Head Coach Don McCafferty, started 37-year-old Earl Morrall (pictured at right) at quarterback due to the unavailability of long-time star QB Johnny Unitas, who suffered an Achilles tendon injury during the offseason. The offense was typically more effective through the air than on the ground while the tough defense featured DE Bubba Smith, linebackers Ted Hendricks and Mike Curtis, and safeties Rick Volk and Jerry Logan.

The All-Stars included quarterbacks Jim Plunkett, the Heisman Trophy winner out of Stanford, and Dan Pastorini of Santa Clara, FB John Brockington from Ohio State, Northwestern HB Mike Adamle, and WR J.D. Hill of Arizona State. The defense had hard hitters in DB Jack Tatum from Ohio State and DE Jack Youngblood of Florida, plus DT Julius Adams from Texas Southern, Grambling DE Richard Harris, and linebackers Jack Ham of Penn State and Isiah Robertson from Southern.

There were 52,289 fans in attendance for the Friday night game at Soldier Field, which had undergone renovation that included a new artificial surface. The contest’s initial score was set up thanks to a poor punt by Dan Pastorini in the first quarter. It gave the Colts good starting field position at the All-Star 45 to start their second possession of the game, and they made the most of it. Earl Morrall threw to FB Norm Bulaich on a swing pass that picked up 17 yards and to WR Ray Perkins, who outmaneuvered Kansas State CB Clarence Scott for a 24-yard touchdown. Jim O’Brien kicked the extra point.

On their next series, a holding penalty backed the Colts into their own territory and they were forced to punt. It looked as though the All-Stars would get nothing out of the ensuing possession when John Brockington was stopped for no gain on a third-and-one play at the Baltimore 40, but the Colts refused an offside penalty on the collegians, preferring to bring up fourth down. The All-Stars converted when Brockington ran for three yards to keep the series alive. Jim Plunkett connected with Mike Adamle for a 22-yard gain to the 15 and the collegians got another break when Plunkett threw for J.D. Hill and interference was called on CB Jim Duncan to move the ball to the one yard line. From there, on the third play of the second quarter, Brockington ran around right end for a touchdown. Pastorini added the point after to make it a 7-7 game.

The Colts responded on their ensuing possession with Morrall throwing to HB Tom Matte for a 15-yard TD. O’Brien again successfully converted. With Pastorini at quarterback, the All-Stars advanced from their own 30 into Baltimore territory and Bob Jacobs of Wyoming kicked a 40-yard field goal with just over two minutes remaining in the half. The Colts moved well in the remaining time as Morrall completed six of seven passes for 102 yards, but they came up empty when O’Brien missed a 26-yard field goal try. The score remained 14-10 at the intermission.

Baltimore’s lead was extended in the quiet third quarter when O’Brien was successful on a field goal attempt, this time from 22 yards. Early in the fourth quarter, the Colts appeared to take command when Morrall threw to TE Tom Mitchell for a 44-yard TD and O’Brien’s extra point put the pro champs ahead by 14.

Sam Havrilak, normally a halfback but being tried at quarterback, relieved Morrall and on his second play, he botched a handoff to FB Tom Nowatzke and Jack Ham recovered for the All-Stars and ran 47 yards for a touchdown. It narrowed the margin to seven points, but proved to be the last gasp for the collegians, who were kept in check offensively as Baltimore held on to win by a final score of 24-17.

The Colts had far more total yards than the All-Stars (403 to 150) and also had the edge in first downs (18 to 11). The collegians turned the ball over twice, to one suffered by the NFL champs.

Earl Morrall, who played for a full three quarters, completed 20 of 30 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns while giving up no interceptions. Norm Bulaich led Baltimore’s runners with 46 yards on 9 attempts. Tom Matte, who carried the ball 10 times for 18 yards, caught 5 passes for 63 yards and a TD, having great success on swing passes out of the backfield. WR Eddie Hinton also had 5 pass receptions, for 75 yards, and Tom Mitchell gained 95 yards on his four catches.

Jim Plunkett was successful on 6 of 15 throws for 65 yards and an interception and Dan Pastorini went two of nine for 13 yards and gave up an interception, although Pastorini led the All-Stars in rushing with 40 yards on two carries (Plunkett #16 and Pastorini #7 pictured below). John Brockington gained 27 yards on 12 rushing attempts that included a touchdown. Houston WR Elmo Wright, Mike Adamle, and J.D. Hill each had two receptions, for 25, 24, and 23 yards, respectively.

“They put a lot of pressure on me,” said Earl Morrall regarding the All-Star defense. “They were coming from a lot of directions. I couldn’t quite get a bead on what to do about it.”

The win for the Colts gave the pro champs a winning streak of eight games and a 27-9-2 edge in the series. It was the last of three College All-Star Game appearances for the club that reached the postseason again in 1971 as a 10-4 Wild Card but lost the AFC Championship to Miami.

Highlighted Year: John Brockington, 1973

Fullback, Green Bay Packers

Age: 25 (Sept. 7)

3^rd season in pro football & with Packers

College: Ohio State

Height: 6’0”   Weight: 225

Prelude:

Brockington started at halfback as a sophomore in college, backed up FB Jim Otis for a year, and then started at fullback as a senior and rushed for a team-record 1142 yards and scored 17 TDs in 1970. He was chosen by the Packers in the first round (ninth overall) of the ’71 NFL draft and moved directly into the starting lineup in combination with HB Donny Anderson. Brockington led the NFC with 1105 rushing yards and received consensus first-team All-NFL as well as Rookie of the Year honors. In 1972 he had a new backfield mate in HB MacArthur Lane and ran for 1027 yards as the Packers won the NFC Central, achieving All-NFC honors and again being selected to the Pro Bowl.

1973 Season Summary

Appeared and started in all 14 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing

Attempts – 265 [4]

Most attempts, game – 28 (for 137 yds.) vs. St. Louis 11/11

Yards – 1144 [2, 1^st in NFC]

Most yards, game – 142 yards (on 22 carries) at Chicago 12/16

Average gain – 4.3 [19]

TDs – 3

100-yard rushing games – 5

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 16

Most receptions, game – 3 (for 17 yds.) vs. New Orleans 12/2

Yards – 128

Most yards, game – 45 (on 2 catches) at New England 11/18

Average gain – 8.0

TDs – 0

Passing

Attempts – 1

Completions – 0

TDs – 0

INT – 0

Scoring

TDs – 3

Points – 18

Awards & Honors:

1^st team All-NFL: NEA

2^nd team All-NFL: AP, PFWA

1^st team All-NFC: AP, UPI, Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News

Pro Bowl

Packers went 5-7-2 to finish third in the NFC Central.

Aftermath:

After having become the first player in NFL history to reach a thousand rushing yards in each of his first three years, Brockington found the going more difficult over time as the team’s lack of a credible passing attack had defenses keying on stopping the ground game. After gaining 883 yards rushing in 1974, in addition to catching a career-high 43 passes, his production dropped sharply as the wear and tear of his punishing, straight-ahead running style began to take its toll and he never again gained as many as 500 yards in a season. Released by the Packers early in the 1977 season, he finished up with the Kansas City Chiefs. Overall, Brockington rushed for 5185 yards on 1347 carries (all but 161 yards and 54 carries coming with Green Bay) and caught 157 passes for 1297 yards (19 for 222 yards with the Chiefs), scoring a total of 34 touchdowns (30 rushing, four receiving). He was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection once, received first- or second-team All-NFL and All-NFC honors after two other seasons, and was a three-time Pro Bowl choice.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

Rookie of the Year: John Brockington, 1971

Fullback, Green Bay Packers

Age: 23 (Sept. 7)

College: Ohio State

Height: 6’0”   Weight: 225

Prelude:

Brockington started at halfback as a sophomore in college, backed up FB Jim Otis for a year, and then started at fullback as a senior and rushed for a team-record 1142 yards and scored 17 TDs in 1970. He was chosen by the Packers in the first round (ninth overall) of the ’71 NFL draft and moved directly into the starting lineup in combination with HB Donny Anderson.

1971 Season Summary

Appeared and started in all 14 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing

Attempts – 216 [5, tied with Ken Willard]

Most attempts, game – 30 (for 142 yds.) at Chicago 11/7

Yards – 1105 [2, 1^st in NFC]

Most yards, game – 149 yards (on 23 carries) at Minnesota 11/14

Average gain – 5.1 [4]

TDs – 4

100-yard rushing games – 4

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 14

Most receptions, game – 3 (for 9 yds.) vs. NY Giants 9/19, (for 21 yds.) at St. Louis 12/5

Yards – 98

Most yards, game – 34 (on 2 catches) vs. Chicago 12/12

Average gain – 7.0

TDs - 1

All-Purpose yards – 1203 [10]

Scoring

TDs – 5

Points – 30

Awards & Honors:

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: AP

NFC Rookie of the Year: UPI, NEA, Sporting News

1^st team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, NEA, Pro Football Weekly

1^st team All-NFC: AP, UPI, Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News

Pro Bowl

Packers went 4-8-2 to finish fourth in the NFC Central.

Aftermath:

Brockington, who had a new backfield mate in HB MacArthur Lane, followed up by rushing for 1027 yards as the Packers won the NFC Central in 1972 and then had a career-high 1144 yards in ’73, which led the conference. He was chosen to the Pro Bowl after each season, having become the first player in NFL history to reach a thousand yards in each of his first three years. A straight-ahead runner, he found the going more difficult over time as the team’s lack of a credible passing attack had defenses keying on stopping the ground game. His rookie yards-per-carry average was his best, as he averaged 3.7 and 4.3 yards, respectively, in ’72 and ’73. After gaining 883 yards on the ground in 1974, in addition to catching a career-high 43 passes, his production dropped sharply as the wear and tear of his punishing running style began to take its toll and he never again gained as many as 500 yards in a season. Released by the Packers early in the 1977 season, he finished up with the Kansas City Chiefs. Overall, Brockington rushed for 5185 yards on 1347 carries (all but 161 yards and 54 carries coming with Green Bay) and caught 157 passes for 1297 yards (19 for 222 yards with the Chiefs), scoring a total of 34 touchdowns (30 rushing, four receiving).

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie of the Year in the NFL, AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year). 

1971: Giants Beat Packers in Wild Game of Mishaps and Big Plays

It was a rainy day in Green Bay on September 19, 1971 as the Packers hosted the New York Giants in the season-opening game for both teams. Green Bay was coming off a 6-8 year in ’70, the second of three losing records since winning a third straight championship in 1967, Vince Lombardi’s last year as head coach. Having gone 20-21-1 under Phil Bengtson, Dan Devine was hired away from the University of Missouri to take over the coaching reins. There was talent at running back with HB Donny Anderson and the first draft pick out of Ohio State, FB John Brockington, as well as guard Gale Gillingham, DT Mike McCoy, and LB Fred Carr. There were still some of the great players from the Lombardi era around, but they were getting up in years and included 34-year-old safety Willie Wood, 33-year-old WR Carroll Dale, 34-year-old MLB Ray Nitschke, and most significantly of all, QB Bart Starr, back for his 16th year at age 37 but unavailable for the opening game due to injury.

The Giants, coached by Alex Webster, had gone 9-5 in ’70, their best record since they last appeared in a NFL Championship game in 1963. But while they still had eleventh-year veteran QB Fran Tarkenton, the NFC’s third-ranked passer the previous year, HB Ron Johnson, who had gained 1514 yards from scrimmage (1027 rushing, 487 receiving), was injured. The defense had talent in DE Fred Dryer, CB Willie Williams, and FS Carl “Spider” Lockhart. But there were holes, and losses in all six preseason games did not inspire confidence.

There were 56,263 fans present at Lambeau Field. Zeke Bratkowski, another relic of the Lombardi era who had come out of retirement at age 39, started at quarterback for the Packers. Green Bay scored first in unusual but spectacular fashion when a field goal attempt by New York’s Pete Gogolak fell short and CB Ken Ellis returned it 100 yards for a touchdown, tying the then-NFL record. The score stood at 7-0 after a quarter of play.

The Giants came back on a drive highlighted by a 43-yard pass play from Tarkenton to TE Rich Kotite. A scrambling Tarkenton then threw a six-yard TD pass to Rich Houston (pictured above), who had only recently been converted from defensive back to wide receiver.

The next score was set up by a turnover when New York’s Tom Blanchard punted and the ball hit the heel of Packers safety Al Randolph, who had slipped and fallen on the wet turf. Safety Joe Green recovered for the Giants on what was technically a fumble and Tarkenton connected again with Houston for a 39-yard touchdown on the next play, giving New York the lead at 14-7.

Less than five minutes later, there were two touchdowns scored by the Giants within six seconds of play, both on fumble recoveries. First, with the Packers backed up to their own three yard line, HB Dave Hampton fumbled a handoff in his end zone that New York LB Ralph Heck recovered for a TD. The ensuing kickoff went between Hampton and RB Larry Krause. Hampton handled it but, instead of downing it in the end zone, made an attempt to run and was hit and fumbled, and Green made his second recovery, this time for another New York touchdown.

Hampton partially redeemed himself by returning the next kickoff 44 yards and coming close to breaking it all the way. The Packers then drove 52 yards with Bratkowski throwing to Hampton for a 19-yard touchdown with just a few seconds left in the half. The halftime score was 28-14 in favor of the visitors.

The Giants not only led in the score but in all major statistical departments as well after one half of play. As a result, and despite the scoring drive at the end of the first half, Green Bay’s Coach Devine switched from Bratkowski to rookie QB Scott Hunter in the second half.

The Packers narrowed the margin to 28-17 in the third quarter thanks to a 28-yard field goal by Lou Michaels. However, the Giants came back with an 81-yard pass play from Tarkenton to Houston for another TD. Hampton returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards for the Packers, and that led to a touchdown as Hunter threw to TE Rich McGeorge on a 21-yard play.


With the score now 35-24, the Packers got the ball and Hunter fumbled at his own 20. New York LB Jim Files recovered and Tarkenton (pictured at left) again made Green Bay pay for turning the ball over as he immediately fired a pass to FB Tucker Frederickson in the end zone. The Giants held a 42-24 lead after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, the Packers drove 74 yards with Donny Anderson capping the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run in which he broke three tackles. With the Packers behind by 42-31 and just over seven minutes on the clock, SS Doug Hart intercepted a pass along the sideline in front of the Green Bay bench. New York OT Bob Hyland, an ex-Packer, pushed Hart out of bounds and slid into Coach Devine in the resulting pileup. Devine had to be carried off the field with an apparent leg injury and was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital, where doctors found two major bones broken in his lower left leg. His leg was immediately reset, and upon coming out of the anesthetic, Devine asked, “They didn’t give up, did they?”

The Packers didn’t give up, and in fact the loss of the head coach seemed to fire the team up (Defensive line coach Dave Hanner took over field strategy for the remainder of the game).

Hart’s interception set up the last touchdown by the Packers, an 18-yard pass from Hunter to Carroll Dale that closed the gap to 42-38. With 2:38 left, Hart made another big play when he tackled the Giants’ Blanchard in the end zone after the punter fielded a bad snap that sailed over his head.

It was now a two-point game and Green Bay got the ball back following the safety. The Packers drove from their 46 to the New York 36 yard line, but in the last minute an interception by Files on a pass up the middle that was intended for Dale finally stopped the Packers for good. New York came away from the wildly-contested game with a 42-40 win.

The Packers outgained the Giants (348 yards to 323) and had more first downs (17 to 12). However, they undid themselves by fumbling six times, losing four of them, as well as turning the ball over on the interception on the final drive. New York, by contrast, turned the ball over just once, although it was a pickoff that set up a touchdown – and removed Green Bay’s head coach from the game.

Fran Tarkenton completed 13 of 21 passes for 236 yards with four touchdowns and the one interception. Rich Houston was the receiving star with 6 catches for 151 yards and three TDs. Tucker Frederickson was New York’s leading rusher with 42 yards on 10 carries.

For the Packers, Zeke Bratkowski was successful on 6 of 10 throws for 66 yards and a touchdown in his half of action; Scott Hunter completed 9 of 16 passes for 158 yards that included two TDs against the one interception. Donny Anderson ran for 99 yards on 16 attempts with one TD; John Brockington, in his first game, added 34 yards on 9 attempts and had 3 catches for 9 yards. WR John Spilis caught 3 passes for 70 yards, while the 12th-year veteran Carroll Dale also had 3 receptions, for 66 yards and a score.

“I was the first one to see Hart,” Bob Hyland said afterward about the play that resulted in Dan Devine sustaining a broken leg. “I pushed him (Hart) out of bounds and then slid right into Devine. I feel sick about it.”


Devine returned to the sidelines on crutches and wearing a cast (pictured at right). The Packers won their next two games, but only two more the rest of the year as they finished at the bottom of the NFC Central with a 4-8-2 record (adding fuel to the debate over pro teams hiring coaches directly from the college ranks). While the running game was strong, the lack of a quality quarterback (Bart Starr appeared in just four games in what was his final season) proved detrimental and the defense had too many holes.

John Brockington emerged to lead the NFC with 1105 rushing yards. Donny Anderson rushed for 757 yards and caught 26 passes for 306 more, but clashed with Devine and was traded to the Cardinals in the offseason. Carroll Dale led the club in pass receiving with 31 catches for 598 yards and four TDs. Scott Hunter was the starting quarterback most of the way and suffered plenty of growing pains as he gave up 17 interceptions, as opposed to just 7 touchdown passes.

As for the Giants, they ended up at the bottom of the NFC East with a 4-10 tally. The loss of Ron Johnson, who played in just two games, proved deadly to the offense (Bobby Duhon led the club in rushing with 344 yards) while the defense ranked at the bottom of the conference. Fran Tarkenton completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 2567 yards and 11 TDs, but also was intercepted 21 times. Rich Houston didn’t come close to duplicating his spectacular opening-game numbers and ended up with 24 catches for 426 yards (17.8 avg.), scoring one more TD to give him four for the year.