MVP Profile: Terrell Davis, 1998

Running Back, Denver Broncos


Age: 26 (Oct. 28)
4th season in pro football & with Broncos
College: Georgia
Height: 5’11” Weight: 200

Prelude:
Unheralded coming out of college, Davis was taken by the Broncos in the 6th round of the 1995 NFL draft and emerged to rush for 1117 yards and catch 49 passes. He was a consensus first-team All-Pro and was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1996 and ’97 seasons in which he rushed for 1538 and 1750 yards, respectively. Davis led the NFL with 15 rushing TDs in 1997 and was MVP of the Super Bowl win over Green Bay.

1998 Season Summary
Appeared and started in all 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing
Attempts – 392 [2]
Most attempts, game - 31 (for 136 yds.) vs. Jacksonville 10/25, (for 162 yds.) vs. Oakland 11/22
Yards – 2008 [1]
Most yards, game – 208 yards (on 30 carries) at Seattle 10/11
Average gain – 5.1 [1]
TDs – 21 [1]
200-yard rushing games – 1
100-yard rushing games – 11

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 25
Most receptions, game – 5 (for 76 yds.) vs. Jacksonville 10/25, (for 45 yds.) vs. Kansas City 12/6
Yards – 217
Most yards, game - 76 (on 5 catches) vs. Jacksonville 10/25
Average gain – 8.7
TDs – 2

Total Yards – 2225 [3]

Scoring
TDs – 23 [1]
Points – 138 [3]

Postseason: 3 G
Rushing attempts – 78
Most rushing attempts, game - 32 vs. NY Jets, AFC Championship
Rushing yards – 468
Most rushing yards, game - 199 vs. Miami, AFC Divisional playoff
Average gain rushing – 6.0
Rushing TDs – 3
100-yard rushing games – 3

Pass receptions – 4
Most pass receptions, game - 2 vs. Atlanta, Super Bowl
Pass receiving yards - 69
Most pass receiving yards, game - 50 vs. Atlanta, Super Bowl
Average yards per reception – 17.3
Pass Receiving TDs - 0

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

Broncos went 14-2 to finish first in the AFC West with the conference’s best record and led the AFC in total offense (6092 yards), rushing (2468), touchdowns (62), and scoring (501 points). Won AFC Divisional playoff over Denver Broncos (38-3), AFC Championship over New York Jets (23-10), and Super Bowl over Atlanta Falcons (34-19).

Aftermath:
After rushing for 6413 yards in four years, crowned by the 2000-yard ’98 season, Davis gained just 211 yards on the ground in 1999 as he sustained a major knee injury in the fourth game. Returning in 2000, he struggled, appearing in only five contests and rushing for 282 yards. Davis ran for 701 yards in one last injury-riddled season in 2001. For his career, he gained 7607 yards on 1655 carries and added another 1280 on 169 pass receptions.

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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]

Past Venue: RFK Stadium

Washington, DC
aka DC Stadium



Year opened: 1961
Capacity: 46,000, down from 56,692 when Redskins played there

Names:
District of Columbia Stadium, 1961-68
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, 1969 to date

Pro football tenants:
Washington Redskins (NFL), 1961-96
Washington Federals (USFL), 1983-84

Postseason games hosted:
NFC Divisional playoff, Redskins 16 Packers 3, Dec. 24, 1972
NFC Championship, Redskins 26 Cowboys 3, Dec. 31, 1972
NFC First Round playoff, Redskins 31 Lions 7, Jan. 8, 1983
NFC Divisional playoff, Redskins 21 Vikings 7, Jan. 15, 1983
NFC Championship, Redskins 31 Cowboys 17, Jan. 22, 1983
NFC Divisional playoff, Redskins 51 Rams 7, Jan. 1, 1984
NFC Championship, Redskins 24 49ers 21, Jan. 8, 1984
NFC Divisional playoff, Bears 23 Redskins 19, Dec. 30, 1984
NFC Wild Card playoff, Redskins 19 Rams 7, Dec. 28, 1986
NFC Championship, Redskins 17 Vikings 10, Jan. 17, 1988
NFC Divisional playoff, Redskins 24 Falcons 7, Jan. 4, 1992
NFC Championship, Redskins 41 Lions 10, Jan. 12, 1992

Other tenants of note:
Washington Senators (MLB – AL), 1962-71
George Washington Univ., 1961-66
Washington Whips (USA/NASL), 1967-68
Washington Darts (NASL), 1971
Washington Diplomats (NASL), 1974-81
D.C. United (MSL), 1996 to date
Washington Freedom (WUSA), 2001-03
Washington Nationals (MLB – NL), 2005-07
Washington Freedom (WPS), 2009 to date

Notes: First major league stadium to be specifically designed for both football and baseball. Used as venue for FIFA World Cup, 1994. Also hosted soccer matches for 1996 Summer Olympics and 2003 Women’s World Cup.

Fate: Still in use.

1950: Justice & LeBaron Lead College All-Stars to Win Over Eagles

The 17th installment of the College All-Star Game on August 11, 1950 was notable for being the first to be televised nationally across a network of 29 stations. However, not much of a contest was anticipated.

The reigning NFL champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, had won the previous year by a decisive 38-0 score and, having repeated as league champions, were 14.5-point favorites coming into the game. Coached by Earle “Greasy” Neale and featuring the running of HB Steve Van Buren on offense as well as a stingy defense, the Eagles were a solid veteran club.

The College All-Stars, coached by Eddie Anderson of Holy Cross, had an outstanding group of players that included many who would go on to star in the NFL. At quarterback was the undersized (5’7”) Eddie LeBaron of the College of the Pacific. Linemen included ends Gordie Soltau of Minnesota and Notre Dame’s Jim Martin and Leon Hart, tackle Lou Creekmur from William & Mary, and Minnesota’s tackle Clayton Tonnemaker and center Leo Nomellini. And while Heisman-winning HB Doak Walker of SMU was in the backfield, it was another halfback, North Carolina’s Charlie “Choo-Choo” Justice (pictured above), who would have the most notable impact on the game.

There were 88,885 in attendance at Soldier Field for the Friday night game - even at that number, it was the lowest crowd total since the game was played at Northwestern University in 1944, and while the game was blacked out on Chicago-area television, there were writers who blamed the broadcast for hurting attendance.

The All-Stars scored first, on their second possession, putting together a seven-play, 54-yard drive in the opening quarter that was highlighted by runs of 31 and 12 yards by Justice and that ended with 230-pound FB Ralph Pasquariello of Villanova scoring from the one yard line.

In the second quarter, the All-Stars got a break when DB Hall Haynes of Santa Clara recovered a fumble by Eagles HB Clyde “Smackover” Scott at the Philadelphia 35. From there, LeBaron, fading far back to evade Eagles tacklers, fired a pass to Justice that went for a 35-yard touchdown, with Oklahoma end Jim Owens throwing a key block along the way. That put the All-Stars improbably ahead by 14-0 with less than five minutes remaining in the half.

There was no scoring in the third quarter as the NFL champs had difficulty moving the ball against the fired-up All-Star defense. Finally, in the fourth quarter the Eagles got on the board. Starting at their 43 yard line, QB Tommy Thompson completed a pass to FB Joe Muha that covered 20 yards. A few plays later Van Buren plunged into the end zone from a yard out and, with Cliff Patton’s successful extra point, the score was 14-7.

The All-Stars responded with a scoring drive of their own. Taking over at their 17, Justice took a handoff and, reversing field, ran for a 28-yard gain to the 45. LeBaron passed to North Carolina end Art Weiner to get to the Philadelphia 20. After the diminutive quarterback ran the ball to the 15, the drive stalled, but Soltau, who had kicked both of the extra points, was successful on a 24-yard field goal attempt that essentially put the game away. The last gasp for the Eagles ended with an interception of a Thompson pass by Cornell DB Hillary Chollet at the All-Star three yard line. The College All-Stars came away with the 17-7 win, their first in three years.

The All-Stars outgained the Eagles on the ground, 221 yards to 85, although the Eagles led in first downs, 14 to 8. While the All-Stars intercepted three Philadelphia passes without surrendering any of their own, they also fumbled the ball away three times, to one suffered by the Eagles.

The MVP for the All-Stars was Charlie Justice, who gained 133 yards on just nine carries, including runs of 47, 31, and 28 yards, and had the one touchdown reception. Eddie LeBaron played impressively at quarterback, running well and making effective use of pitchouts to his backs. While he completed just two of 9 pass attempts, they were big ones and covered 75 yards, including the one TD.

For the Eagles, Tommy Thompson completed 15 of 28 passes for 131 yards and was intercepted three times. Steve Van Buren was held to just 32 yards on 13 carries.

“Little LeBaron’s pitchouts to both the right and left were the plays that beat us,” said Greasy Neale afterward. “The All-Stars were keyed awfully high. We didn’t run our plays good at all, and we weren’t thinking too good, either.”

“It was the greatest All-Star team I ever saw,” summed up NFL Commissioner Bert Bell afterward.


LeBaron (pictured at left) left to report for active duty with the Marines the day after the game, but would join the Washington Redskins in 1952. Despite his small size, the ball-handling skill that he showed against the Eagles served him well as a pro, and he lasted 11 seasons with the Redskins and Dallas Cowboys. One of LeBaron’s teammates in Washington was Justice, who went directly to the NFL in 1950 and played four seasons.

The sluggish performance by the Eagles proved to be a harbinger of things to come. After winning three consecutive Eastern Division titles and two league championships, they dropped to 6-6 in 1950.

At this point in the series, the win over Philadelphia was the sixth, against nine losses, for the All-Stars, and there had been two ties. It would not remain competitive for much longer as the All-Stars won just three more of the remaining 25 games before the series ended in 1976.

MVP Profile: Phil Simms, 1986

Quarterback, New York Giants



Age: 32 (Nov. 3)
7th season in pro football & with Giants
College: Morehead State
Height: 6’3” Weight: 214

Prelude:
Chosen by the Giants in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft, Simms showed ability when given the opportunity to start as a rookie, but also was plagued by injuries in his first four years, virtually missing the entire 1983 season altogether. However, he won back the starting job in ’84 and passed for 4044 yards and 22 touchdowns. In 1985, he earned a Pro Bowl selection while throwing for 3829 yards and another 22 TDs as the Giants reached the postseason.

1986 Season Summary
Appeared and started in all 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Passing
Attempts – 468 [10]
Most attempts, game – 45 at Dallas 9/8
Completions – 259 [10]
Most completions, game – 27 at San Francisco 12/1
Yards – 3487 [8]
Most yards, game – 388 at San Francisco 12/1
Completion percentage – 55.3 [16]
Yards per attempt – 7.5 [9]
TD passes – 21 [7, tied with Dave Krieg]
Most TD passes, game – 3 at Dallas 9/8, at Washington 12/7, vs. Green Bay 12/20
Interceptions – 22 [4, tied with Dan Fouts & Jay Schroeder]
Most interceptions, game – 4 at Seattle 10/19
Passer rating – 74.6 [14]
300-yard passing games – 4
200-yard passing games – 10

Rushing
Attempts – 43
Most attempts, game - 5 (for 10 yds.) at Philadelphia 11/9, (for 20 yds.) vs. Denver 11/23
Yards – 72
Most yards, game – 28 yards (on 4 carries) vs. New Orleans 9/28
Yards per attempt – 1.7
TDs – 1

Scoring
TDs – 1
Points - 6

Postseason: 3 G
Pass attempts – 58
Most attempts, game - 25 vs. Denver, Super Bowl
Pass completions – 38
Most completions, game - 22 vs. Denver, Super Bowl
Passing yardage – 494
Most yards, game – 268 vs. Denver, Super Bowl
TD passes – 8
Most TD passes, game - 4 vs. San Francisco, NFC Divisional playoff
Interceptions – 0

Rushing attempts – 11
Most rushing attempts, game - 7 vs. Washington, NFC Championship
Rushing yards – 38
Most rushing yards, game - 25 vs. Denver, Super Bowl
Average gain rushing – 3.5
Rushing TDs – 0

Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: NEA
1st team All-NFL: NEA

Giants went 14-2 to win NFC East with the conference’s best record. Won Divisional playoff over San Francisco 49ers (49-3), NFC Championship over Washington Redskins (17-0), and Super Bowl over Denver Broncos (39-20).

Aftermath:
Tough and a good leader, Simms continued to direct New York’s ball-control offense, still passing for over 3000 yards on three more occasions (including his last year, 1993, when he had 3038 yards and was selected to the Pro Bowl for the second time). An injury kept him out of the 1990 postseason that ended in another championship, and he played behind Jeff Hostetler for much of the 1991 and ’92 seasons. Simms was cut following the ’93 season due to the salary cap, and retired having thrown for 33,462 yards and 199 touchdowns. His #11 was retired by the Giants.

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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: Blazers Take Control in Second Half to Beat Chicago

The August 7, 1974 World Football League game between the Florida Blazers and Chicago Fire featured two clubs that had started the season off well. The host Fire was 4-0 and coming off of a 53-29 dismantling of The Hawaiians the previous week in Honolulu. Coached by Jim Spavital, known for building good offenses in the CFL, the team featured NFL veteran Virgil Carter at quarterback, two solid wide receivers in James Scott and Jack Dolbin, and rookie RB Mark Kellar out of Northern Illinois.

The Blazers were 3-1 and, befitting a club coached by a former star linebacker, Jack Pardee, featured a tough, veteran defense. The backfield in particular had lots of experience, consisting of cornerbacks Miller Farr and Billie Hayes and safeties Rickie Harris, W.K. Hicks, and Chuck Beatty, all of whom had seen action in the NFL. The offense was guided by QB Bob Davis (pictured above), most prominently of the New York Jets in his previous pro stints, and had veteran running backs in A.D. Whitfield and Jim Strong, along with rookie star Tommy Reamon. Florida had yet to put more than 18 points on the board in any game thus far, but except for a one-point loss to the Houston Texans in the last contest, it had been enough.

The attendance was 31,193 at Soldier Field – all paid, according to Chicago owner Tom Origer, which was not an insignificant point since it had recently been revealed that several highly-attended WFL games in the early going had been padded by the distribution of free tickets.

The Blazers took the lead in the first quarter when safety Rod Foster returned a punt 86 yards, followed by a successful pass for the action point. Chicago responded as Kellar scored a three-yard touchdown that was set up by his 20-yard burst up the middle on the previous play, but the action point was missed when a pass attempt was deflected by Farr. Florida went up 16-7 when Reamon plunged for a one-yard TD, which was also capped by a Bob Davis pass for the action point.

However, Virgil Carter came back with two TD passes for the Fire, including a 54-yard completion to Dolbin and a one-yard pass to Scott. The second was helped along by a 20-yard pass to Scott and capped a possession that benefited from good field position following a short punt from their own end zone by the Blazers. All three of their action point attempts failed, but Chicago was ahead 21-16 at halftime.

It seemed as though the Fire had the momentum going into the second half, but, aided by a couple of big plays by the special teams and defense, Florida’s offense came alive.

CB Leonard Bryant put the Blazers back in front when, with Chicago punting from its own 42, he blocked Chuck Ramsey’s kick and picked it up downfield to run six yards for a touchdown. The action point attempt was unsuccessful, but Florida was back in front.

Less than two minutes later, LB Billy Hobbs intercepted a Carter pass that was thrown under heavy pressure from DT Mike McBath and DE Ernie Calloway and returned it 30 yards for a TD. Bob Davis added a pass to WR Matt Maslowski for the action point.

The contest was pretty well decided at that point as the Florida defense completely shut down the Fire the rest of the way. RB Dickie James capped the scoring for the Blazers with touchdown runs of 6 and 64 yards, and they added an action point after one of them. The final score was a very convincing 46-21 verdict for Florida.

The Fire led in first downs (20 to 18) and had 330 total yards to Florida’s 372 (which included 227 on the ground). Most significantly, the opportunistic Blazers intercepted three passes and recovered four fumbles.

Bob Davis completed 10 of 17 passes for 152 yards with no TDs or interceptions. Thanks to the long touchdown run, Dickie James had 100 yards on just 7 carries with two TDs. Jim Strong gained 49 yards on 15 attempts and eventual league rushing leader Tommy Reamon ended up with 46 yards on 15 carries that included a TD. Matt Maslowski gained 74 yards on three catches, one of which was good for 56 yards.


Virgil Carter (pictured at left), who had been leading the WFL in passing, threw for 224 yards, but completed just 11 of 30 passes with two TDs while also tossing two interceptions as he was harried by Florida’s pass rush. Mark Kellar rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. James Scott caught 4 passes for 104 yards and a TD while Jack Dolbin contributed three receptions for 84 yards and a score.

“The game was a complete turnabout from last week,” said Jack Pardee, referring to the 7-6 loss to Houston. “Bob Davis had plenty of time to pass. We had the blocking advantage because of Chicago's three-man defensive line.”

“I blame myself,” said Jim Spavital. “We made every possible mistake out there tonight. Special teams really let us down with the punt return and the blocked field goal.”

The Blazers continued to be a strong team on the field, if not financially, and ended up winning the Eastern Division with a 14-6 record. With creditors snapping at their heels, they made it to the WFL Championship game (the World Bowl) before succumbing to the Birmingham Americans. Chicago dropped off significantly after the promising start, largely due to the loss of key players to injuries, including Carter, Kellar, and Scott. The Fire ended up in third place in the Central Division at 7-13.

Past Venue: Anaheim Stadium

Anaheim, CA
aka Edison International Field of Anaheim, Angel Stadium



Year opened: 1966
Capacity: 69,008, up from 43,204 at opening and 45,050 currently

Names:
Anaheim Stadium, 1966-97
Edison International Field of Anaheim, 1998-2003
Angel Stadium of Anaheim, 2003 to date

Pro football tenants:
Orange County Ramblers (ContFL), 1967-68
Southern California Sun (WFL), 1974-75
Los Angeles Rams (NFL), 1980-94

Postseason games hosted:
ContFL Championship, Orlando 38 Ramblers 14, Dec. 10, 1967
WFL First Round playoff, Hawaiians 32 Sun 14, Nov. 21, 1974
NFC Wild Card playoff, Giants 16 Rams 13, Dec. 23, 1984
NFC Divisional playoff, Rams 20 Cowboys 0, Jan. 4, 1986

Other tenants of note:
California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels (MLB – AL), 1966 to date
California Surf (NASL), 1978-81

Notes: Owned by City of Anaheim and operated by the MLB Angels. Continental Football League's Orange County Ramblers also played home games at Santa Ana Bowl and La Palma Stadium. To accomodate Rams, stadium was fully enclosed, thus adding approx. 23,000 seats for football. Signature feature for many years was a 230-foot scoreboard support shaped like the letter A which was moved to the parking lot when the venue was enclosed and was the source of the stadium’s nickname, “The Big A”. Beginning in 1996, under ownership of the Disney Corporation and no longer used for football, part of the structure was torn down and replaced with the California Spectacular display that includes a simulated mountainside with streams and geysers.

Fate: Still in use for baseball.



[Updated 2/3/14]
[Updated 10/11/15]

MVP Profile: Clem Daniels, 1963

Halfback, Oakland Raiders



Age: 26
4th season in pro football, 3rd with Raiders
College: Prairie View
Height: 6’1” Weight: 220

Prelude:
Daniels, who had been injury-prone in college, signed as a free agent with the AFL’s Dallas Texans in 1960 and was a reserve defensive back that first year. Released prior to the ’61 season, he was signed to Oakland’s taxi squad and activated for eight games, playing well (5.0 avg. gain on 31 carries for 154 yards and 13 catches for another 150) for the lackluster team. Daniels moved into the starting lineup in 1962 and rushed for 766 yards and gained 318 more yards on 24 pass receptions while the Raiders went 1-13.

1963 Season Summary
Appeared in all 14 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing
Attempts – 215 [2]
Most attempts, game - 31 (for 122 yds.) at Kansas City 11/8
Yards – 1099 [1]
Most yards, game – 200 yards (on 27 carries) vs. NY Jets 10/20
Average gain – 5.1 [3]
TDs – 3 [13, tied with five others]
200-yard rushing games – 1
100-yard rushing games – 4

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 30
Most receptions, game – 7 (for 90 yds.) vs. San Diego 12/8
Yards – 685 [13]
Most yards, game – 172 (on 3 catches) vs. Buffalo 9/15
Average gain – 22.8 [1]
TDs – 5 [11, tied with four others]
100-yard receiving games – 2

Passing
Pass attempts – 1
Pass completions – 1
Passing yards – 10
TD passes – 0
Interceptions – 0

All-Purpose Yards – 1784 [2]

Scoring
TDs – 8 [10, tied with Jack Kemp & Keith Lincoln]
Points – 48 [17, tied with Jack Kemp & Keith Lincoln]

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

Raiders went 10-4, a dramatic improvement under new Head Coach Al Davis, and finished second in the AFL Western Division. In the league as a whole, they were second in total offense (4513 yards), points scored (363), and TDs (48).

Aftermath:
Daniels had over 800 yards rushing in each of the next three seasons (with a high of 884 in 1965) and continued to catch the ball well out of the backfield. He was an AFL All-Star after each of those years and received consensus first-team All-AFL recognition in 1966. A broken leg ended his 1967 season nine games (and 575 rushing yards) into it (thus costing him an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl), and the Raiders, deep in younger running backs, waived him prior to the ’68 season. He went unclaimed by the remaining AFL teams and signed with the NFL 49ers, where he sat on the bench for his final year. With 5101 yards in the AFL, Daniels ended up being that league’s all-time leading rusher.

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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]