Past Venue: JFK Stadium

Philadelphia, PA
aka Municipal Stadium



Year opened: 1926
Capacity: 102,000

Names:
Sesquicentennial Stadium, 1926
Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, 1926-64
John F. Kennedy Stadium, 1964-92

Pro football tenants:
Philadelphia Quakers (AFL), 1926
Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), 1936-39
Philadelphia Bell (WFL), 1974

Postseason games hosted:
None

Other tenants of note:
None

Notes: Hosted annual Liberty Bowl, 1959-63. Hosted Army vs. Navy football game, 1936-41, 1945-79. In addition to dates noted, hosted selected Eagles home games in 1941, 1947, 1950, and 1954. Was also occasionally used as a practice facility by the Eagles during the 1970s. Hosted one home game of NFL Frankford Yellow Jackets, 1931. Built as part of 1926 Sesquicentennial International Exposition and was so named until the closing of the exposition. Site of boxing world heavyweight title fight on Sept. 23, 1926 in which Gene Tunney defeated Jack Dempsey and also hosted another such fight in 1952 in which a reigning champion, Joe Walcott, lost to Rocky Marciano. Also used for track & field events.

Fate: Demolished in 1992, the site is now occupied by the Wells Fargo Center.



(View showing, from bottom to top, JFK Stadium, The Spectrum, and Veterans Stadium)

1995: Morten Andersen Leaves Saints for Falcons

Kickers typically come and go without much fanfare, but in the case of Morten Andersen and his leaving the New Orleans Saints for the Atlanta Falcons, it was a move of some significance.

The Danish-born Andersen had come to the US as a youth and first began kicking footballs in high school. From there it was on to Michigan State, where he once booted a 63-yard field goal against Ohio State, and then to the Saints in 1982, who drafted him in the fourth round. While things got off to a less than promising start when Andersen missed much of his rookie season due to injury, he rebounded to become one of the NFL’s most accurate and accomplished placekickers.

Through 13 years in New Orleans, he kicked 302 field goals in 389 attempts, a healthy 77.6 percentage (sixth best at the time), and 412 of 418 extra point attempts. While he benefited from his team’s playing home games in a domed stadium, the left-footed kicker was good from long distances and already held the NFL record with 22 field goals from 50 yards or longer (of 53 attempts). He was also the league’s second-leading active career scorer with 1318 points, had been a consensus first-team All-Pro twice, and was selected to the Pro Bowl six times (four times consecutively from 1985 to ’88).

However, in 1994 Andersen’s field goal percentage dipped to 71.8 (28 of a league-leading 39 attempts), his lowest since 1989. He was released by the Saints in a salary cap move, although the team had expected to re-sign him with a restructured contract (Andersen’s salary, which included bonuses earned in 1994, would have counted for $1.2 million against the cap).

Instead, on July 20, 1995, the day following the release, Andersen signed a contract with the Atlanta Falcons. Not only had the star placekicker left the Saints, but he signed with their archrivals.

“We were shocked that a kicker of Morten's caliber was available, so I decided we should make the move now,” Atlanta Head Coach June Jones said. The Falcons waived their own veteran placekicker, Norm Johnson, who moved on to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Andersen overcame any concerns about slippage by again receiving first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors while tying his career-high with 31 field goals, in 37 attempts, for an 83.8 success rate – including a league-record eight of nine from 50 yards or more. By contrast, the Saints went through two placekickers: ex-Washington veteran Chip Lohmiller, who was good on just 57.1 % of his field goal attempts (8 for 14) and missed two extra points, and Doug Brien, who was more successful (12 of 17, 70.6 %).

Andersen stayed with the Falcons for six seasons before moving on to the New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, and Minnesota Vikings. He finished up back in Atlanta for two years, and in his last season was successful on 89.3 % of his field goal attempts (25 of 28) at the age of 47. While his leg strength diminished (he wasn’t successful from 50 yards or longer after 2002 with the Chiefs), his accuracy never fell below 80 % in any of his last seven seasons.

Overall, over the course of 25 NFL seasons (second most all-time), Andersen ended up with career records in games played (382), points scored (2544), and field goals (565). He eventually surrendered the all-time record for three-pointers from 50 yards or longer to Jason Hanson, but his total of 40 still ranks second, as do his 859 extra points. And finally, he holds the distinction of being the only player that is the career scoring leader for two NFL teams – the Saints (1318) and, perhaps the unkindest cut of all for New Orleans fans, the Falcons (806).

MVP Profile: Frank Sinkwich, 1944

Tailback, Detroit Lions


Age: 24 (Oct. 10)
2nd season in pro football & with Lions
College: Georgia
Height: 5’11” Weight: 195

Prelude:
Winner of the 1942 Heisman Trophy after setting a NCAA season record for total offense (2187 yards), Sinkwich was chosen by the Lions with the first overall pick in the 1943 NFL draft. Directing the single-wing attack under new Head Coach Gus Dorais, he displayed his all-around skills as a runner, passer, and punter.

1944 Season Summary
Appeared in all 10 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing
Attempts – 148 [2]
Completions – 58 [5]
Yards – 1060 [3]
Completion percentage – 39.2 [6]
Yards per attempt – 7.2 [3]
TD passes – 12 [2, tied with Irv Comp]
Most TD passes, game – 4 vs. Chicago Bears 11/19
Interceptions – 20 [3]
Passer rating – 52.0 [5]

Rushing
Attempts – 150 [3]
Yards – 563 [3]
Yards per attempt – 3.8 [12]
TDs – 6 [2]

Kicking
Field goals – 2 [5, tied with Augie Lio]
Field goal attempts – 8 [2, tied with Roy Zimmerman, Joe Aguirre & Augie Lio]
Percentage – 25.0
PATs – 24 [4]
PAT attempts – 30 [4]
Longest field goal – 23 yards vs. Boston Yanks 12/3

Punting
Punts – 45 [2]
Yards – 1845
Average – 41.0 [2]
Punts blocked – 0
Longest punt – 73 yards

Interceptions
Interceptions – 3 [19, tied with fifteen others]
Return yards – 28
TDs – 0

Kickoff Returns
Returns – 6
Yards – 144 [16]
Average per return – 24.0
TDs – 0
Longest return – 31 yards

Punt Returns
Returns – 11 [4, tied with Al Grygo, Ernie Steele & Ward Cuff]
Yards – 148 [4]
Average per return – 13.5 [3]
TDs – 0
Longest return – 25 yards

Scoring
TDs – 6 [8, tied with four others]
Field goals – 2
PATs - 24
Points – 66 [2]

All-purpose yards – 855 [7]

Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: Joe F. Carr Trophy
1st team All-NFL: AP, UPI, INS, Pro Football Illustrated, NY Daily News

Lions went 6-3-1 to finish in a tie for second in the NFL Western Division with the Chicago Bears – the club’s first winning record since 1939.

Aftermath:
Sinkwich went into the military and missed the 1945 season (he had originally been exempted due to flat feet), and when he returned to pro football it was with the New York Yankees of the AAFC. Having suffered a knee injury while playing football in the service, he saw little action behind tailbacks Ace Parker and Spec Sanders in ’46 and was dealt to the Baltimore Colts during the 1947 season. Ill-suited to playing T-formation quarterback, and unable to return to form from the knee injury, he finished out the year as a halfback and retired.

--

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 2/15/14]

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.

Past Venue: Giants Stadium

East Rutherford, NJ



Year opened: 1976
Capacity: 80,200

Names:
Giants Stadium, 1976-2010

Pro football tenants:
New York Giants (NFL), 1976-2009
New York Jets (NFL), 1984-2009
New Jersey Generals (USFL), 1983-85
New York/New Jersey Knights (WLAF), 1991-92
New York/New Jersey Hitmen (XFL), 2001

Postseason games hosted:
USFL Quarterfinal playoff, Stars 20 Generals 17, July 1, 1985
USFL Championship, Stars 28 Invaders 24, July 14, 1985
AFC Wild Card playoff, Patriots 26 Jets 14, Dec. 28, 1985
NFC Wild Card playoff, Giants 17 49ers 3, Dec. 29, 1985
AFC Wild Card playoff, Jets 35 Chiefs 15, Dec. 28, 1986
NFC Divisional playoff, Giants 49 49ers 3, Jan. 4, 1987
NFC Championship, Giants 17 Redskins 0, Jan. 11, 1987
NFC Divisional playoff, Rams 19 Giants 13, Jan. 7, 1990
NFC Divisional playoff, Giants 31 Bears 3, Jan. 13, 1991
WLAF Playoff, Monarchs 42 Knights 26, June 2, 1991
NFC Wild Card playoff, Giants 17 Vikings 10, Jan. 9, 1994
NFC Wild Card playoff, Vikings 23 Giants 22, Dec. 27, 1997
AFC Divisional playoff, Jets 34 Jaguars 24, Jan. 10, 1999
NFC Divisional playoff, Giants 20 Eagles 10, Jan. 7, 2001
NFC Championship, Giants 41 Vikings 0, Jan. 14, 2001
AFC Wild Card playoff, Jets 41 Colts 0, Jan. 4, 2003
NFC Wild Card playoff, Panthers 23 Giants 0, Jan. 8, 2006
NFC Divisional playoff, Eagles 23 Giants 11, Jan. 11, 2009

Other tenants of note:
New York Cosmos (NASL), 1977-84
Rutgers Univ. (college football), 1993
MetroStars/New York Red Bulls (MLS), 1996-2009


Notes: Hosted annual college football Garden State Bowl, 1978-81 and Kickoff Classic, 1983-2002. Used as venue for FIFA World Cup, 1994. Used as venue for Women’s World Cup, 1999. Hosted one home game of NFL New Orleans Saints, 2005. Hosted one home game of UFL New York Sentinels, 2009. Hosted Army vs. Navy football game, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2002. In addition to 1993, hosted several Rutgers Univ. home games and was also used as a home venue by other college teams on occasion, including Army, Navy, Princeton Univ., Syracuse Univ., and Temple Univ. Owned by New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. Field surface was originally AstroTurf, converted to grass in 2000 and FieldTurf in 2003. A temporary grass surface was placed over the AstroTurf surface in 1994 in order to accommodate the FIFA World Cup. In 1984, the stadium surpassed Chicago’s Wrigley Field as having hosted the most regular season NFL games. Often simply referred to as “The Meadowlands”, especially when being used during Jets home games. First football game was an NFL contest between the Giants and Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 10, 1976.

Fate: Demolished in 2010



(Giants Stadium, on the right, shown during construction of the new Meadowlands Stadium)

MVP Profile: Roger Craig, 1988

Running Back, San Francisco 49ers


Age: 28
6th season in pro football & with 49ers
College: Nebraska
Height: 6’0” Weight: 224

Prelude:
Chosen by the 49ers in the second round of the 1983 NFL draft to address the unsettled situation at running back, and better known in college for his blocking ability, Craig teamed at fullback with veteran acquisition RB Wendell Tyler and gained 1152 yards from scrimmage (725 rushing, 427 receiving). After a second such year in ’84, he had his first Pro Bowl season in 1985, becoming the first back to gain a thousand yards both rushing (1050) and receiving (1016 on a NFL-leading 92 catches). Craig split time with HB Joe Cribbs in ’86 but had a second Pro Bowl year in 1987 as he gained 1307 total yards in the strike-abbreviated season (815 rushing, 492 receiving).

1988 Season Summary
Appeared in all 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing
Attempts – 310 [3]
Most attempts, game - 26 (for 143 yds.) vs. Denver 10/9, (for 162 yds.) at Phoenix 11/6
Yards – 1502 [3]
Most yards, game – 190 yards (on 22 carries) at LA Rams 10/16
Average gain – 4.8 [6]
TDs – 9 [9, tied with Lorenzo Hampton]
100-yard rushing games - 7

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 76 [7]
Most receptions, game – 10 (for 61 yds.) vs. Atlanta 9/18
Yards – 534
Most yards, game - 73 (on 7 catches) at Atlanta 12/4
Average gain – 7.0
TDs – 1

Kickoff Returns
Returns – 2
Yards – 32
Average per return – 16.0
TDs – 0
Longest return – 17 yards

Total Yards – 2068 [2, 1st in NFC]

Scoring
TDs – 10 [12, tied with five others]
Points – 60

Postseason: 3 G
Rushing attempts – 56
Most rushing attempts, game - 21 vs. Minnesota, NFC Divisional playoff
Rushing yards – 274
Most rushing yards, game - 135 vs. Minnesota, NFC Divisional playoff
Average gain rushing – 4.9
Rushing TDs – 2
100-yard rushing games - 1

Pass receptions – 13
Most pass receptions, game - 8 vs. Cincinnati, Super Bowl
Pass receiving yards - 160
Most pass receiving yards, game - 101 vs. Cincinnati, Super Bowl
Average yards per reception – 12.3
Pass Receiving TDs – 0

Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: NEA
NFL Offensive Player of the Year: AP
1st team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, NEA, Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News
1st team All-NFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl

49ers went 10-6 to finish first in the NFC West while leading the league in total offense (5987 yards), rushing yards (2237), scoring (459 points), and TDs (59); they led the NFC in passing yards (3750). Won NFC Divisional playoff over Minnesota Vikings (34-9), NFC Championship over Chicago Bears (28-3), and Super Bowl over Cincinnati Bengals (20-16).

Aftermath:
Craig had a fourth Pro Bowl year in 1989, gaining 1054 yards on the ground and 473 through catching passes as the 49ers won another championship, but, after absorbing seven years of punishment as a versatile all-purpose back, his productivity began to drop off thereafter. After one last year with the 49ers in ’90, he moved on to the Raiders and then two final years in Minnesota, never gaining more than 590 yards rushing in any of his last four seasons or catching more than 25 passes. He retired with totals of 8189 rushing yards and 4911 receiving yards on 566 receptions, a total of 13,100 yards from scrimmage.

--

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 2/15/14]
[Updated 11/28/14]

Past Venue: Yankee Stadium

New York, NY (Bronx)



Year opened: 1923
Capacity: 67,000

Names:
Yankee Stadium, 1923-2010

Pro football tenants:
New York Yankees (AFL/NFL), 1926-28
New York Yankees (AFL), 1936-37
New York Yankees/Americans (AFL), 1940-41
New York Yankees (AAFC), 1946-49
New York Yanks (NFL), 1950-51
New York Giants (NFL), 1956-73

Postseason games hosted:
AAFC Championship, Browns 14 Yankees 3, Dec. 14, 1947
NFL Championship, Giants 47 Bears 7, Dec. 30, 1956
NFL Eastern Conf. playoff, Giants 10 Browns 0, Dec. 21, 1958
NFL Championship, Colts 23 Giants 17, Dec. 28, 1958
NFL Championship, Packers 16 Giants 7, Dec. 30, 1962

Other tenants of note:
New York Yankees (MLB – AL), 1923-73, 1976-2008
New York Generals (NPSL/NASL), 1967-68
New York Cosmos (NASL), 1971, 76

Notes: Both the Yankees and Yankees/Americans of the second and third AFL split their home games between Yankee Stadium and the then-Randall’s Island Stadium (aka Downing Stadium). Also hosted one home game of NFL Boston Yanks in 1945. NFL Giants played one home game at the stadium in 1973 before it was closed for major renovations. Underwent significant renovation between 1973 and ’76. Built and originally owned by baseball’s Yankees after they were evicted from the Polo Grounds by the Giants. Hosted many college football games, most notably Army vs. Notre Dame in 1946, and including NYU, Army, Notre Dame, and Fordham Univ. First football game played at the stadium was a college contest between Syracuse and Pittsburgh on Oct. 20, 1923. Last was also a college game involving Central State of Ohio and Grambling on Sept. 12, 1987.

Fate: Demolished in 2010, the site is to be used as a park.