On Saturday night, the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys will meet in the NFL playoffs for the ninth time, but first time since 1985.
The teams met in the ‘offs six times in eight seasons from (1973-1980, not meeting in ’74 and ’77) and again in 1983 and 1985.
This will be just the second Saturday playoffs clash between the teams, however, a second straight. They have met six times on a Sunday and once on a Monday (that essentially no longer possible, the Monday meeting in the ’83 wild card round game).
Dallas and L.A. (the teams did not meet in the ‘offs during the 21 years (’95-2015), the Rams were based in St. Louis and Dallas was 15 years from entering the NFL when the Cleveland Rams won the 1945 crown, in their last game representing what was/is called “The Forest City.”
Previous division round games between the two teams have produced great memories and great efforts by such as Drew Pearson, Merlin Olsen and Eric Dickerson.
Another was a Vince Ferragamo to Billy Waddy touchdown pass that gave L.A. the lead to stay, late in the ’79 game. The Rams have won (the last) 3 of the previous 4 division round games.
Click below to view Ferragamo to Waddy in that ’79 tilt, with Vin Scully and George Allen on the CBS telecast.
Ferragamo to Waddy (Rams vs Cowboys 1979 NFC Divisional Playoff Game)
This A game in time, but with hindsight, as the defending champion (1967) St. Louis Cardinals, having already clinched the 1968 National League Pennant, visit the under .500 L.A. Dodgers, completing their second sub par season in a row.
Each team has a Davis in center field, Willie for L.A. and Ron for the Redbirds.
Most interesting is the scoreboard rundown, as among much “baseball gold,” three future Hall of Fame greats hit home runs in American League games.
Al Kaline did so for the Detroit Tigers, already American League champions, who won their 10th game in a row. Another Tigers’ player, Jim Northrup homered twice and within weeks, the great broadcaster Harry Caray, who cited those scores and notes that Friday night September 20th, would announce greater Northrup exploits nationally, in the 1968 World Series.
At Yankee Stadium that night, Carl Yastrzemski like Kaline a future Hall of Fame player, homered as did another, the legendary Mickey Mantle, for the 536th and final time in a big league game.
The great Mickey Mantle, pictured above.
This is the place for great notes and along with ones you will not get anywhere else on upcoming pro football post-season action, I will return to the above game and from the scoreboard alone–hindsight will uncover so much and I will bring some of it to you.
Clemson University won their second college football title in three seasons, routing the defending champion and top ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (44-16) in the title tilt last night.
Freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw 3 touchdown passes, one a shovel pass to Travis Etienne (the star running back also ran for two as he scored all 3 Clemson offensive touchdowns as the Tigers built a (31-16) lead at the half), as Clemson became the first college football team to go (15-0) or better, since Penn also went (15-0), some 121 years ago, in 1897.
Meanwhile the stout Clemson defense led by Christian Wilkins and Trayvon Mullen (he had a key interception and was named the game’s outstanding defensive player) held Alabama scoreless one minute shy of the last three quarters of play. That stellar feat accomplished against a team averaging 47 points in its first 14 games.
Additionally, the Clemson defense gave the team a 7 point cushion when A.J. Terrell raced 46 yards for a touchdown after intercepting a Tua Tagovailoa pass to open the scoring.
Receivers Justyn Ross and Tee Higgins gathered in the second half Lawrence touchdown passes.
Dabo Swinney won his second crown as Clemson coach, in the process, denying Alabama coach Nick Saban a 7th crown and sixth undisputed one.
Saban remains tied with Paul “Bear” Bryant with 5 Alabama crowns as the two have 10 of the 11 coached Alabama titles.
The other belongs to Gene Stallings (1992), who encouraged Swinney, he of the rather long, “allowed” post-game “spiel” and player on that ’92 team, to get into coaching.
Only the ’17 season title, among the eleven Alabama crowns came with a Republican as a United States President. The ’92 title was won 19 days before then President elect, W.J. Clinton replaced G.H.W. Bush in that office.
Another Clemson defensive standout was Clelin Ferrell.
The lower seeded team has won all 5 college playoff title tilts, the underdog, which includes Clemson twice vs Alabama, three times.
Said underdog has at least covered the spread, which includes all 3 title tilts between Clemson and Alabama, in all 5 such games.
Trevor Lawrence, pictured above joins Oklahoma’s Jamelle Holieway (1985), as the only true freshman quarterbacks to start in and lead their teams to national title winning games.
Meanwhile much credit goes to Clemson defensive coordinator, Brent Venables for this title.
Tonight in the Santa Clara home of the San Francisco 49ers, who once won 4 titles in 9 seasons–that is not why they are called the “49ers,” all while playing their home games at legendary Candlestick Park, Alabama seeks its sixth title in ten seasons, taking on Clemson, the latter bidding for a second crown in 3 seasons.
Alabama coached by Nick Saban, who also won the consensus crown while coaching LSU in ’03 and led by brilliant sophomore quarterback, Tua Tagolovia is about a six point favorite.
The Tide (Alabama) eased to victory in a semi-final game vs Clemson last season after splitting in two title tilts vs the Tigers winning in ’15 and bowing on a virtual last play Deshaun Watson to Hunter Renfrow touchdown pass (Renfrow is still at Clemson, Watson had a bad NFL ‘offs debut two days ago) ’16.
Clemson is coached by Dabo Swinney, who guided them to the aforementioned ’15 crown and features an outstanding freshman quarterback in Trevor Lawrence.
1978, of course forty years ago, did not end well for fine Boston Red Sox and L.A. Dodgers’ teams.
This past season the Red Sox denied an ALCS berth by the Yankees in ’78’s classic, never allowed again, true playoff, defeated them to make the ALCS and eventually “titled”, “5 ing” L.A. in the World Series, to complete a great 119 win(s) season.
The Dodgers, now (6-14) in World Series play, were beaten in back to back World Series, as they were forty years ago.
Here is one, in both games in which the Dodgers were eliminated in those World Series forty years apart at Dodger Stadium, an L.A. player named “David or clear facsimile of,” homered leading off the Dodgers first inning.
In 1978, Davey Lopes’ home run gave the Dodgers a (1-0) lead, the Yankees relatively easily overcame, to take their 22nd crown.
Just months back, after 2018 World Series MVP, Steve Pearce had given Boston a (2-0) lead they would not relinquish with a 2RHR–T1 vs 4 time loser in a game in which L.A. was eliminated, Clayton Kershaw, David Freese, an unbelievable performer as he led the Cards to their eleventh title in ’11, homered leading off the home first inning.
Another “8” World Series, the great one 50 years ago in 1968, manifested in a Detroit Tigers’ crown. The great player Al Kaline, pictured above had a huge hit in the Tigers’ comeback win in game, 5 that propelled the even greater comeback to win the title.
Today begins the NFL’s 29th, 4 game(s) wild card round weekend. (1990-2018).
Next weekend, the 4 game(s) division round will commence for the 49th time (1970-2018).
Today, the Colts either as Indianapolis where they have done so 7 times or Baltimore whom they represented in 3 such games, all division round, including the first AFC/NFC configuration one, en route to the Super Bowl title in 1970, are appearing in the 4 game(s) weekend opening game for the tenth time.
They visit Houston (Texans).
Later, the Cowboys who lost at Seattle in a 2006 wild card round game as Tony Romo, he who never won as much as a division round game, botched a chip shot, game winning field goal attempt, are my prediction to win at home, vs Seattle (Seahawks), perhaps on a late field goal.
The first game of the “12 teams to 8 teams,” NFL wild card round, matches the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans.
Last week, the Frank Reich guided Colts won at Tennessee (Titans), nee Houston Oilers, to qualify for the ‘offs.
Reich was the Buffalo Bills quarterback when they staged an incredible wild card round win vs the then Houston Oilers, in a 1992 wild card round game.
Last week Reich won a “win or be out of the ‘offs” game vs the same franchise, this week he and his team face the city, (in that city, Houston) Reich and the Bills overcame, in that ’92 season wild card round game.
If Houston wins the game, considered a virtual toss up, the Houston team would sojourn to New England for a division round Houston/New England tilt, 40 years later and in the same early Sunday “slot.”
Already, as mentioned as a possibility here last week, it is the Philadelphia Eagles at the Chicago Bears in the post-season, thirty years later.
Then it was in the division round’s first game, played in and won by “Chi” in heavy fog.
This week it is in the wild card round’s last game, with the (12-4) Bears, a near touchdown favorite vs the defending champion, (9-7) Eagles, whose quarterback Nick Foles, has again done a stellar job, after becoming the “Philly” Q.B.
Last season, Frank Reich pictured above as such, was an assistant coach with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles under head coach Doug Pederson.
Both Reich’s new and last year’s team play on the road in roughly 4 P.M. Eastern Time starts in the NFL wild card round this weekend.
Today a look back, as one of our “nostalgia posts” remembers the tenth anniversary/eleventh season opening of the great television show, “What’s My Line.”
The panelists are Dorothy Kilgallen, Martyn Green, Arlene Francis and Martin Gabel, sitting in for the vacationing Bennett Cerf.
Julie Andrews, so beautiful, talented and personable is the mystery guest. John Charles Daily is the host and note his opening comments, in which among other things, he cites another television announcing legend, Dennis James.
Click below to view the show. Enjoy!
Trivia: Mr. Daly notes that both Julie Andrews and Martyn Green are from Britain. Mr. Green’s first wife was Ethel Beatrice Andrews.
The twelfth “8” year baseball season with a modern World Series, (i.e. American League vs National League), ended with a second Red Sox crown, this one a hundred years after the first.
Their biggest rivals, the New York Yankees, did make post-season play as a fine 100 plus wins team (one of three in the American League, the last two champions, Boston and the Houston Astros were the others) as a wild card team, but did not make the World Series.
Five times they made and won the World Series in “8” years, winning it all in 1928, 1938, 1958, 1978 and 1998.
Three of those World Series resulted in Yankees’ 4 game sweeps (’28, ’38 and ’98) with a fourth, 1978, manifesting in 4 straight Yankees’ wins to take the title in 6 games.
A three game World Series win skein, certainly also a great feat was the result in 1958. Bob Turley’s pitching in games (5-7), led a great Yankees’ comeback World Series victory.
Bob Turley, pictured above, led the Yankees’ great 1958 World Series comeback victory.
I truly enjoy watching “Perry Mason,” a show about a great attorney, played by Raymond Burr.
Some of the younger people might not remember Mr. Burr as “Mason,” but remember him as “Ironside” (Robert, I believe), in the show of the same name.
Others may not recall either show.
I suggest watching them somewhere, there are many choices.
Perry Mason airs on MeTV each day at 9 A.M. and 11:30 P.M. Eastern Time.
Raymond Burr, pictured above.
Andy B Sports 