October 21, 1984: Billy Sims wrecks his knee, landing on the ungiving and unforgiving turf of the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The 1978 Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Oklahoma never plays another down.
Incredibly, he had already gained 103 yards for the Detroit Lions in the game against the Minnesota Vikings, and the Lions won, 16-14.
Forced to retire after gaining 5,106 rushing yards, and 2,072 receiving yards, in only 4 1/2 seasons, what should have been a Hall of Fame career gets cut in half.
After a series of failed businesses, forcing him to sell his Trophy, he succeeded with the Billy Sims Barbecue restaurant chain, enabling him to buy his Trophy back. He has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, and a statue of him, along with those of Oklahoma's other Heisman winners, stands in Heisman Park outside their stadium.
The Lions have retired Number 20, making it the only number in North American sports retired for 3 players: Sims, later running back Barry Sanders (himself a Heisman winner at Oklahoma State), and earlier defensive back Lem Barney.
Forced to play under a permanent roof at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan, the Lions had to continue to play on artificial turf. This proved dangerous in 1991, when offensive tackle Mike Utley was flipped on a play, landing on his hand, and breaking his neck. He remained paralyzed for several years, and only learned to take a few steps after years of difficulty. In 2002, the Lions opened Ford Field, at the edge of downtown Detroit. It has FieldTurf, which is a softer surface.
*
October 21, 1984 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played that day:
* The New York Giants lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-10 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The New York Jets beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 28-7 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.
* The Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots, 44-24 at Sullivan Stadium (formerly Schafer Stadium, later Foxboro Stadium) in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.
* The Chicago Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 44-9 at Tampa Stadium.
* The Denver Broncos beat the Buffalo Bills, 37-7 at Rich Stadium (formerly Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.
* The Cincinnati Bengals beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 12-9 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
* The Indianapolis Colts, in their 1st season after moving from Baltimore, beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-16 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.
* The football version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Redskins, 26-24 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Green Bay Packers, 30-24 at Milwaukee County Stadium
* The Dallas Cowboys beat the New Orleans Saints, 30-27 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.
* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Houston Oilers, 34-21 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The Los Angeles Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers, 44-37 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.
* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Los Angeles Rams beat the Atlanta Falcons, 24-10 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
Baseball season ended a week earlier, when the Detroit Tigers won the World Series, beating the San Diego Padres in 5 games. So Detroit sports fans had 7 days to feel good about things.
The NBA season started 5 days later. There were 6 games in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers beat their arch-rivals, the New York Islanders, 6-5 at Madison Square Garden.
* The Philadelphia Flyers beat their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Minnesota North Stars, 8-6 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-2 at the Chicago Stadium.
* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2 at the Winnipeg Arena.
* And the Edmonton Oilers beat their arch-rivals, the Calgary Flames, 6-4 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.
No comments:
Post a Comment