1974: Huarte TD Passes Lead Memphis Over Storm

The Thursday night nationally-televised World Football League game on July 18, 1974 featured the Memphis Southmen hosting the Portland Storm. The Southmen (or “Grizzlies”, as the locals preferred to call them) had won their opening game handily over the Detroit Wheels the week before while Portland had been trounced by the Philadelphia Bell.

Owned by Canadian businessman John Bassett Jr., the franchise was originally slated to play in Toronto, but legislation introduced in the Canadian Parliament that banned US-based pro football leagues from that nation caused the team to be moved to Memphis. Prior to the move, Bassett had made the biggest preseason splash for the new league by signing three stars from the NFL-champion Miami Dolphins – FB Larry Csonka, HB Jim Kiick, and WR Paul Warfield – to contracts for the 1975 season. That was, of course, a year away and they were not available for ’74, but Head Coach John McVay’s team still boasted some promising talent, including rookie QB Danny White and RB J.J. Jennings and young veterans such as RB John Harvey.

Starting at quarterback was 31-year-old John Huarte (pictured above), who had been a career backup in pro football since winning the Heisman Trophy at Notre Dame in 1964. He had been taken in the sixth round of the ’65 NFL draft by the Eagles and second in the AFL draft by the New York Jets. Huarte signed with the Jets but found himself quickly overshadowed by another rookie quarterback who had been taken in the first round, Joe Namath. He spent time on New York’s taxi squad before being dealt to the Patriots, where he saw scant action over the course of two years. He moved on to the Eagles, Chiefs, and Bears, retiring from the NFL in 1973 having thrown a career total of just 48 passes (his one TD pass came with Philadelphia in ‘68). However, Huarte decided to take another shot at pro football with the new league.

The Portland Storm was the last of the WFL franchises to set up shop, having originally been slated to play in New York City (where a different ownership group ended up with a team). Dick Coury, previously an assistant with the NFL Denver Broncos, became head coach and the roster drew heavily from the Pacific Northwest.

There were 31,088 fans in attendance at the Liberty Bowl on an 87-degree night. They had reason to cheer early on as the Southmen scored in spectacular fashion in their first possession on a Huarte pass to wide-open rookie WR Jack Ettinger that covered 42 yards. Huarte successfully threw for the action point (touchdowns were worth seven points in the WFL, followed by an action point that could not be kicked) and the home team was ahead by 8-0.

However, after that electrifying beginning neither squad was able to score again during first half. Portland tied the game with just over six minutes left in the third quarter when QB Greg Barton threw to WR Sam Dickerson for a 29-yard touchdown. The successful action point made it 8-8. Dickerson, a rookie out of USC, had been activated from Portland’s taxi squad the day before the game.

The winning touchdown for the Southmen was set up later in the period when CB David Thomas intercepted a Barton pass and returned it to the Portland 17. Huarte passed to WR Ed Marshall for a 14-yard TD and again successfully threw for the action point.

Thomas intercepted another pass at the Portland 34 in the fourth quarter but Memphis failed to add to its lead when an attempt to convert a fourth-and-one situation at the 12 came up short and the Storm took over on downs. The Southmen held on to win the low-scoring contest by a score of 16-8.

Memphis outgained the Storm (346 yards to 220) and had significantly more first downs (22 to 12). Portland was also hurt by turning the ball over four times, to two fumbles lost by the “Grizzlies”.

John Huarte was good on 15 of 24 passes for 197 yards and the two touchdowns with none intercepted. John Harvey rushed for 64 yards on 10 carries while J.J. Jennings added 63 yards on his 20 attempts. TE Gary Shirk caught 5 passes for 62 yards and Jack Ettinger, thanks to the long scoring pass, gained 64 yards on his two catches.

For the Storm, Greg Barton completed 11 of 23 throws for 163 yards and a TD but also was picked off twice. HB Marv Kendricks ran for 75 yards on 17 attempts. Sam Dickerson pulled in 4 passes for 98 yards and the team’s lone touchdown.

“Huarte’s experience and cool really showed up,” said Coach McVay. “Our receivers and the defensive team really played a great game.”

The former Heisman Trophy winner’s performance was indeed the biggest story of the night. Huarte went on to have his best pro season, leading the WFL in yards per attempt (8.2) while completing 154 of 294 passes for 2416 yards with 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

Memphis put together the league’s best record, topping the Central Division at 17-3, although the Southmen were upset by the Florida Blazers in the second round of the playoffs. The Storm was 7-12-1 to tie for third in the Western Division. 

The long scoring pass in the first quarter was the only touchdown of the year for Jack Ettinger, who caught just 7 passes for 167 yards. Ed Marshall, who scored the game-winning TD, had a far more significant season, accumulating 60 receptions for 1159 yards and a league-leading 19 touchdowns – adding his 11 action points, he led the WFL in scoring with 144 total points. Likewise, David Thomas, with the two key interceptions in the second half, led the WFL in that category with 10 and was named to the league All-Star Team by The Sporting News. 

Past Venue: Civic Stadium

Portland, OR 

aka Multnomah Stadium, Jeld-Wen Field

Year opened: 1926

Capacity: 22,000, down from 32,500 when it was used for pro football

Names:

Multnomah Stadium, 1926-65

Civic Stadium, 1966-2000

PGE Park, 2001-10

Jeld-Wen Field, 2011 to date

Pro football tenants:

Portland Rockets (AFL), 1944
Portland Loggers (ContFL), 1969
Portland Storm/Thunder (WFL), 1974-75

Portland Breakers (USFL), 1985

Postseason games hosted:

None

Other tenants of note:

Portland Beavers (minor league baseball), 1956-93, 2001-10

Portland Mavericks (minor league baseball), 1973-77

Portland Timbers (NASL), 1975-82

Portland Rockies (minor league baseball), 1995-2000

Portland State Univ. (college football)

Portland Timbers (MLS), 2001 to date

Notes: Constructed by Multnomah Athletic Club on site of earlier athletic fields, dating back to 1893. Sold to the City of Portland in 1966 and renamed Civic Stadium. Underwent major renovation in 2001, at which point the naming rights were bought by Portland General Electric. Grass surface replaced with AstroTurf in 1969, Nexturf in 2001, and FieldTurf in 2011. Hosted occasional home games of Univ. of Oregon and Oregon State Univ. Hosted matches of Women’s World Cup, 1999 and 2003. Also used for greyhound racing, after Oregon legalized para-mutuel betting, 1933-55. First football game was Univ. of Washington vs. Univ. of Oregon, Oct. 9, 1926. Hosted NFL preseason game in 1955 between New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams in which sudden-death overtime was first used on an experimental basis.

Fate: Still in use.

[Updated 2/3/14]
[Updated 2/16/15]

1975: Hawaiians Pull Out One-Point Win at Portland

The August 9, 1975 World Football League matchup between the Portland Thunder and The Hawaiians at Portland’s Civic Stadium featured two clubs that had dropped their opening games a week earlier.

The Thunder, successor to 1974’s Storm, were coached by Greg Barton, who had been one of the Portland quarterbacks in the WFL’s first season. Succeeding to the starting quarterback job was an NFL veteran, Don Horn, who had played eight largely nondescript seasons, primarily with the Packers and Broncos. The chief offensive weapon was still RB Rufus “Roadrunner” Ferguson, who ran for 1086 yards in ‘74 and caught 49 passes for 369 more with a total of nine touchdowns. They lost their first game of the ’75 season to the Southern California Sun at Anaheim by a score of 21-15.

The Hawaiians had been one of the few relatively stable WFL franchises in the first year. Coached again by Mike Giddings, they had added RB Calvin Hill from the NFL’s Cowboys, and he gained 132 yards on 32 carries in the season-opening loss at Philadelphia. Another newcomer, QB Sonny Sixkiller (pictured above), a full-blooded Cherokee who had starred in college at the University of Washington and seen limited pro action with the NFL Rams and CFL Toronto Argonauts, had played well in the loss to the Bell.

There was a modest crowd of 7709 on hand for the Thunder’s home opening game. Turnovers put the Honolulu club in front by 17-7 as Horn fumbled twice and The Hawaiians followed each with a touchdown. First, QB Rick Cassata passed 15 yards for a TD to WR Dave Atkinson. Then, it was Sixkiller entering the contest and throwing an eight-yard touchdown strike to WR Grady Richardson. Still, Portland came back later in the second quarter as Horn threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to WR Jim Krieg. For all of the mistakes the club made in the first half, Portland was only down by 17-14 at halftime.

The Hawaiians defense made another big play in the third quarter, as CB Willie Williams forced Ferguson to fumble and safety Phil Andre grabbed the loose ball and ran 43 yards for a touchdown. Sixkiller ran for the action point and The Hawaiians held a 25-14 lead.

Don Warner kicked a 25-yard field goal for the Thunder to narrow the margin to 25-17, but neither team was able to run effectively against the opposing defense. With five minutes remaining in the contest, Portland drove 35 yards to The Hawaiians’ 12 yard line. Horn connected with TE Bob Christiansen for a touchdown, but the ensuing action point attempt failed as Ferguson dropped a pass in the end zone.

The Thunder had one last shot, getting the ball back at their own 43 yard line with 11 seconds remaining. Two desperation passes fell incomplete and then Warner attempted a 64-yard field goal that fell well short. The Hawaiians came away with a closely-fought 25-24 win.

The Portland defense had keyed on Calvin Hill, who was slowed by a rib injury. Taking advantage of turnovers and gaining ground with an effective short passing game made the difference for The Hawaiians. In particular, Sonny Sixkiller had helped his cause in the competition for the starting quarterback job by completing 8 of 15 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown and converting the decisive action point.

By the time the season abruptly ended in October due to the league’s collapse, both teams had 4-7 records and were tied for fourth in the Western Division. Calvin Hill was lost to injury along the way and gained just 218 yards rushing for The Hawaiians. Both Sonny Sixkiller and Rick Cassata quit the team before the plug was pulled on the WFL, as did WR Tim Delaney, who had led the league in pass receiving in ’74 and ranked second in ‘75, and star DE Lem Burnham.

Rufus Ferguson ended up as the WFL’s third-ranked rusher with 768 yards. Don Horn finished second in completion percentage (58.1) and pass completions (158, tied with Edd Hargett of Shreveport) and third in pass attempts (272) and yards (1742).