December 31, 1988: The Fog Bowl & Five-Way Mario

December 31, 1988: The Chicago Bears host the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC Divisional Playoff at Soldier Field in Chicago. It was Mike Ditka coaching the team he'd led to a Super Bowl win 3 seasons before, against a team coached by Buddy Ryan, who'd been the defensive coordinator for those Bears, and with whom he'd never gotten along.

Chicago is known for nasty Winter weather, and plenty of games at Soldier Field, both at its 1924 original (as this one was) and at its 2003 replacement, have had bitter cold, or snow, or rain, or wind blasting in off Lake Michigan, just 2 blocks away, or some combination thereof.

But they'd never been hit by fog before. San Francisco is the American city best known for fog, and while Giants games at Candlestick Park had to be called due to fog, 49ers games there never have. Cleveland Municipal Stadium had seen some Indians games called due to fog, but not Browns games. Chicago? Fog was one weather condition they were not used to.

At kickoff, the sky was a perfect, cloudless blue. Mike Tomczak threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Dennis McKinnon, putting the Bears up, 7-0. The Eagles came right back, but only got to the 26-yard line, and Luis Zendejas missed a field goal attempt.

A Seth Joyner interception of Tomczak gave the Eagles a quick next chance, but they committed 2 penalties that nullified touchdowns. Coach Buddy Ryan, so great with defense but totally clueless on offense, went for the field goal again, and, this time, Zendejas converted, making it 7-3 Chicago.

Kevin Butler missed a field goal for the Bears. Randall Cunningham drove the Eagles down the field, and got to 4th & 1 on the Bear 4. He tried a quarterback sneak, but a measurement suggested that he didn't get it, turning the ball over. A fumble recovery early in the 2nd quarter gave the Eagles another chance, but, again, they could only get a field goal attempt out of it, and it was 7-6 Chicago.

Neal Anderson ran for a touchdown, increasing the Bears' lead to 14-6. A Butler field goal made it 17-6, with 2:03 left in the half. This was when the fog arrived, coming in off the Lake. The Eagles managed a field goal before the half, and the teams went into the locker rooms with the score Bears 17, Eagles 9.

CBS had hired a helicopter to provide aerial images. The copter was forced to land, because the fog was so thick. The right thing for the officials to do would have been to suspend the game until the fog lifted. But they didn't, deciding that the fog posed no danger to fans or players (unlike, say, lightning), and they sent the teams out for the 2nd half.

Tomczak and Cunningham couldn't see their receivers. Terry Bradshaw was CBS' color commentator, and he said it was the most frustrating game he had ever seen. I watched this game on CBS, and I couldn't see anything, either. I was reminded of one of the earliest games I'd ever seen, a Los Angeles Rams vs. Minnesota Vikings Playoff game that was so muddy, I couldn't tell which team was which, despite the contrast in their colors. (The Rams' blue and gold, the Vikings' purple and white.) Come to think of it, that game was also on a New Year's Eve, in 1978, exactly 10 years earlier. The Rams won it, 34-10.

The Eagles had the 1st drive of the 2nd half, getting to the Bear 12, but an interception put an end to that. The Bears drove, but stalled, and Butler missed another field goal. An interception was turned into Zendejas' 4th field goal of the game, and the Eagles closed to within 17-12 by the end of the 3rd quarter.

Tomczak was knocked out of the game with an injury, and former starter Jim McMahon was back. He got the Bears into field goal range, and Butler added the 3 points. Around this time, Dan Hampton, the Bears' Hall of Fame defensive end, asked referee Jim Tunney what the score was, because he couldn't see the scoreboard. Never mind read it well enough to make out the numbers, he couldn't see the board. After the game, Hampton told the media, "If I'd known it was only 20-12, I would've played harder!"

The Eagles had 1 last chance, but Cunningham threw his 3rd interception of the game. He threw for 407 yards, but no touchdowns.

There had been football games known as "The Fog Bowl" before. On December 1, 1962, the Grey Cup, the Championship game of the Canadian Football League, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, also off a Great Lake (Lake Ontario), was suspended and resumed the next day. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 28-27. And on December 28, 1974, steam rising off the frozen artificial turf at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas resembled fog. Mississippi State beat North Carolina, 28-26.

Within half an hour of the final gun of this game at Soldier Field, the fog lifted. Eagle fans still believe that if the game had been suspended once the fog rolled in, and restarted once it lifted, their team would've won. I don't think so: These were still Ditka's Bears, and Ryan was a terrible head coach who would have found a way to lose. And even if they had won it, they would have had to play the NFC Championship game away to the 49ers at their Joe Montana-to-Jerry Rice peak. The Bears did play the 49ers, at Soldier Field (the Bears had the better record), and, with no weather issues, the 49ers won.

This game has been cited as part of "The Curse of Billy Penn": From 1983, when the Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA Championship, until 2008, when the Phillies won their next World Series, no Philadelphia professional sports team won a World Championship. The suggestion was that the construction of One Liberty Place in 1987, making it taller than the statue of William Penn atop City Hall, caused Penn's spirit to put a curse on the city's teams.

*

December 31, 1988 was a Saturday. One other NFL Playoff game was played: The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Seattle Seahawks, 21-13 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The Bengals won the AFC Championship Game, and the 49ers beat them in Super Bowl XXIII.

There were no NBA games scheduled. But there were 9 NHL games, including all 3 New York Tri-State Area teams:

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-6 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. This was the game in which Mario Lemieux scored all 5 ways in which a player can score: Even-strength (at 4:17 of the 1st period), shorthanded (at 7:50 of the 1st), on the power play (at 10:59 of the 1st), a penalty shot (11:14 of the 2nd, and this was also shorthanded), and empty net (19:59 of the 3rd, in other words with 1 second left in regulation).

* The New York Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals, 6-4 at the Nassau Coliseum

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Quebec Nordiques, 6-1 at Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto, in the 1st half of CBC's Hockey Night In Canada doubleheader.

* The Hartford Whalers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Winnipeg Jets played the Calgary Flames to a 4-4 tie, at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the Montreal Canadiens beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2 at the Nassau Coliseum, in the 2nd half of the CNBC doubleheader. 

November 29, 1959: The Chicago Cardinals Play Their Last Home Game

Ken Gray (64) blocks for John David Crow (44)

November 29, 1959: The Chicago Bears beat the Chicago Cardinals, 31-7 at Soldier Field. But this is not a home game for "Da Bears": They won't begin playing home games at Soldier Field until the 1971 season.

Rather, this is a home game game for the Cardinals, who took up residence at Soldier Field this season, after playing most of their history at Comiskey Park, home of baseball's Chicago White Sox. The hope was that, by not having to start the season on the road, because the White Sox had first choice of scheduling, the Cards could get off to a good start, and generate better attendance.

Certainly, this worked in the White Sox' favor: They won the American League Pennant for the 1st time in 40 years. And it almost worked for the Cardinals: In their opener, on September 27, they beat the Washington Redskins, 49-21 -- but only 21,892 fans came out to Soldier Field. The next week, the had even fewer, 19,935, to see a 34-7 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

They forfeited a home game to "take one for the team" -- "the team" being the NFL, which was scouting Minneapolis as a location for an expansion team. On October 25, the Cardinals lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 28-24, in front of 20,112, at Metropolitan Stadium in suburban Bloomington, Minnesota. They won their next game, 45-24 over the Pittsburgh Steelers, at Soldier Field, in front of 23,187.

That would be their last win -- ever. They lost 2 more on the road; went to Metropolitan Stadium again and lost to the New York Giants, 30-20 in front of 26,625; and then played this game, in front of 48,687, most of whom seemed to be rooting for the Bears.

They played 2 more games, losing both, the last a 35-20 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Forbes Field. They finished 2-10-2, and while 6 of those losses were by 10 points or less, only 2 were by 6 points or less, so they weren't in as many games as the previous statistic would suggest.

The Cardinals had talent. Running back John David Crow had won the Heisman Trophy in 1957, and had helped Texas A&M win the National Championship the year before. Bobby Joe Conrad was also a good running back. Defensive tackle Frank Fuller and safety Jerry Norton made the Pro Bowl that season. And they had perhaps the greatest cornerback who ever lived, Dick "Night Train" Lane.

But their coach was Lee "Pop" Ivy, a player on the Cardinals' 1947 NFL Championship team. A former assistant to Bud Wilkinson at the University of Oklahoma, who had led the Edmonton Eskimos (now the Edmonton Elks) to 3 straight Grey Cups, he was dreadful as a head man in America, going a combined 32-43-2 ties for the Cardinals in the NFL and the Houston Oilers in the AFL.

And their quarterback was Stuart King Hill, who went by his middle name. A Texas native and a star at Rice University in Houston, King Hill was no king of the hill, and spent most of his career backing up first Sonny Jurgensen, then Norm Snead, on the Eagles.

In their 40 seasons in Chicago, the Cardinals had won just 2 NFL Championships: In 1925, before the era of Championship Games, and that one disputed by the Pottsville Maroons; and in 1947, beating the Eagles at a frigid Comiskey. And they reached the Championship Game again the next season, losing to the Eagles. Even this brief run of glory came after the Bears had won 4 titles in 6 years, and the Cardinals were never going to be the more popular team in town. They were doomed from the get-go.

In the off-season, team owner Violet Bidwill Wolfner moved them to St. Louis -- and kept the team name, even though the baseball team was already named the St. Louis Cardinals. They shared Sportsman's Park with the baseball Cardinals from 1960 to 1965. In 1966, Busch Memorial Stadium opened. After the 1987 season, Violet's son, Billy Bidwill, moved the team to the Phoenix area, where they became known as the Arizona Cardinals.

The Arizona Cardinals have established a Ring of Honor. It includes all Chicago Cardinals in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio: John "Paddy" Driscoll, Ernie Nevers, Charlie Trippi, Marshall "Biggie" Goldberg, Dick "Night Train" Laine, Ollie Matson, 1947 NFL Championship coach Jimmy Conzelman, and team owner Charles Bidwill. 

*

November 29, 1959 was, of course, a Sunday. These other NFL games were played:

* The New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins, 45-14 at Yankee Stadium.

* The Baltimore Colts beat the Los Angeles Rams, 35-21 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat their cross-State rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Cleveland Browns, 21-20 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

* And, 3 days earlier, on Thanksgiving Day, the Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions, 24-17 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

There were 2 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 127-126 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. Rookie sensation Wilt Chamberlain had 33 points and 34 rebounds. Willie Naulls led the Knicks with 30. And the Boston Celtics beat the Minneapolis Lakers, 109-93 at the St. Paul Auditorium in St. Paul, Minnesota.

And the NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action:

* The New York Rangers and the Chicago Black Hawks played to a tie, 2-2 at the old Madison Square Garden.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2 at the Boston Garden.

* And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

October 30, 1998: The Great Chicago Fire... Soccer Team

October 30, 1998: The Chicago Fire beat the Columbus Crew, 2-1 at Soldier Field in Chicago, to win the U.S. Open Cup. Following their win in the MLS Cup Final 5 days earlier, this gives them the American version of the Premier League and the FA Cup: They have "done The Double."

It is only their 1st season.

Chicago Sparta, a team of Czech-Americans, had won the Open Cup in 1938 and 1940; the Chicago Vikings, a Scandinavian team, had won it in 1946; the Chicago Falcons, a Polish team, had won it in 1953; and the Chicago Sting had won the North American Soccer League Championship in 1981 and 1984 (the League's last season).

Despite Soldier Field being one of the venues for the 1994 World Cup, and the city's history as one of America's great multiethnic centers and one of its great sports cities, Chicago did not get a charter franchise in Major League Soccer. The team, officially named Chicago Fire Football Club (to match the "F.C." names of so many British teams) was founded on October 8, 1997, the Anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. Their logo, or "badge," as British clubs would call it, matched that of the city's Fire Department.

They began regular-season play on March 21, 1998, beating the Miami Fusion, 2-0 at Lockhart Stadium in the Miami suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Their 1st home game was also a 2-0 win over a Florida team that would be folded after the 2001 season, the Tampa Bay Mutiny. A crowd of 36,444 attended at Soldier Field.

They lost their next 5 games, but won their next 11. Then they lost their next 5, but won their next 4 of their next 5, before losing their regular-season finale.

The U.S. Open Cup works the same way the FA Cup works in England: It runs concurrent with the League season. As an MLS team, the Fire got a bye into the 3rd Round, and ended up playing another area team, the Chicago Stingers, sort-of named for the former NASL team. They were based in the United Soccer League (USL), then the 2nd tier of U.S. soccer, and hosted the July 6 game in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The Fire didn't have to try too hard to win, and did so, 3-1.

On July 22, the played the San Jose Clash in the Quarterfinals, on neutral ground, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. It ended in a 1-1 draw, but the Fire advanced on penalties, 4-3. The Semifinal would be against the Dallas Burn (the team now known as FC Dallas), but it wouldn't be in Dallas or Chicago. Instead, this one was also at neutral ground, at Zephyr Field in Metairie, Louisiana, home of the minor-league baseball team representing New Orleans. The Fire won, 3-2, and advanced to the Final, which they would host.

In the MLS Cup Playoffs, they needed a shootout to beat the Denver-area team, the Colorado Rapids, at home, 3-2 after a 1-1 draw on October 1; then beat them 1-0 away on October 5. In the Western Conference Finals, they beat the Los Angeles Galaxy, 1-0 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on October 10; but, on October 16, at Soldier Field, again, they could only manage a 1-1 draw, before winning 2-1 in a shootout.

That set up the MLS Cup Final on October 25, on neutral ground, again at the Rose Bowl, against D.C. United, the Washington-based team that had won the 1st 2 league titles, including "The Double" in 1996. Attendance was listed at 51,350, but that left the old bowl nearly half-empty.

Despite D.C. having such talents as John Harkes, Jeff Agoos, Eddie Pope, Roy Lassiter, Marco Etcheverry and Jamie Moreno, it was the Fire who emerged victorious. Polish striker Jerzy Podbrożny scored in the 29th minute. Colombian midfielder Diego Gutiérrez added another just before the half. Another Pole, Chicago's Captain Piotr Nowak, was named Man of the Match, much to the delight of the large Polish rooting section among the Fire's ultra support, known as Section 8.

Zach Thornton kept a clean sheet in goal. Manager Bob Bradley could also count among his starting lineup Jesse Marsch, later to manage the New York Red Bulls to 2 Supporters' Shields.

Five days later, at home at Soldier Field, the Fire faced the Columbus Crew. The Fire tended to wear white, with red and blue trim, similar to the City flag, but, on this occasion, wore white with black trim. By a weird coincidence, the Crew wore black and gold, which, given the "insect" theme, were the usual colors of the Fire's NASL predecessors, the Chicago Sting.

A much smaller crowd of 18,615 saw the Fire awarded a penalty just before halftime, converted by Podbrożny. Stern John -- apparently, the Trinidadian forward's full birth name -- scored for the Crew in the 53rd minute.

The game went to extra time, and, in the 99th minute -- no "Golden Goal" in this tournament -- Fotios "Frank" Klopas, a Greek forward who came on at the start of extra time, scored the goal that gave the Fire The Double.

The Fire have since won the Open Cup again in 2000, 2003 and 2006, losing the Final in 2004 and 2011; and the Supporters' Shield, the MLS regular-season title, in 2003. But they have never again won the MLS Cup, losing the Final in 2000 for a just-missed-Double and 2003 for a runner-up-Double.

*

October 30, 1998 was a Friday. Baseball season had ended 9 days earlier, when the New York Yankees completed a 4-game World Series sweep over the San Diego Padres. The NBA's team owners had locked the players out, and so the season started late. There were 7 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 1-0 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat their arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 at the Marine Midland Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-3 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Dallas Stars and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim played to a tie, 3-3 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Washington Capitals and the Calgary Flames played to a tie, 0-0 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-0 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks played to a tie, 2-2 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

The NFL and the NCAA had no football games scheduled. But in New Jersey high school football, my Alma Mater, East Brunswick, beat South Brunswick, 36-10 at Mike Elko Stadium in South Brunswick.

October 22, 2012: Lance Armstrong Is Busted

October 22, 2012: Lance Armstrong is busted. The biggest hero his sport had ever known was exposed as a cheater.

Born in 1971 in the suburbs of Dallas, he competed in triathlons: Long-distance swimming, long-distance bike riding, and then a marathon run of 26.2 miles. Never mind "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result": Even trying that, one time, fits my definition of "insanity."

In 1992, he began his career as a professional cyclist, with the Motorola team, competing in the Tour de France in 1993, 1994 and 1995. In 1996, he was diagnosed with a potentially fatal testicular cancer. After recovering, Armstrong founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation to assist other cancer survivors.

Returning to cycling in 1998, Armstrong was a member of the US Postal/Discovery team between 1998 and 2005, when he won his record 7 Tour de France titles. In 2002, Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Year. He had dominated the event like few athletes had ever dominated a sporting event before. It was... something like how Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and then Barry Bonds broke home run records over the same stretch. It was a bit suspicious, and as early as 1999, the accusation of steroid use, or "doping" as it's known in international sports, started flying. But he insisted he was clean.

He retired from racing at the end of the 2005 Tour de France, but returned to competitive cycling with the Astana team in January 2009, finishing 3rd in the 2009 Tour de France. He retired for a 2nd time in 2011.

In 2012, it was revealed that Lance Armstrong truly was a champion -- when it came to cheating. A United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation concluded that he had used performance-enhancing drugs over the course of his career, and named him as the ringleader of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

He received a lifetime ban from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code. The International Cycling Union (UCI) upheld the USADA's decision, stripped him of all his wins, and decided that these wins would not be allocated to other riders. In January 2013, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong publicly admitted his involvement in doping. Shortly thereafter, the Lance Armstrong Foundation changed its name to the Livestrong Foundation.

In a 2013 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, "Nice" Peter Shukoff played Armstrong, while "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist played Babe Ruth.

*

October 22, 2012 was a Monday. Although the National League Championship Series went to Game 7, the last one is no contest. Brandon Belt lives up to his name, and belts a home run off Kyle Lohse. Matt Cain pitches a 7-hit shutout, and the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-0 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. It is the 22nd Pennant for the Giants -- the 5th, if you only count those won in San Francisco. The American League Championship Series had already been decided: The Detroit Tigers swept the New York Yankees in 4 straight.

The NBA season started 8 days later. The NHL players were locked out by the team owners, and the season did not start until January 19, 2013. On ESPN Monday Night Football, the Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions, 13-7 at the new Soldier Field in Chicago.

October 21, 1985: The Refrigerator Is Unleashed

October 21, 1985: In one of the coldest moves in the history of the NFL, the Chicago Bears unleash a man known as "The Refrigerator."

William Anthony Perry was a 22-year-old native of Aiken, South Carolina, who had been an All-American defensive tackle at nearby Clemson University. According to the 1984 College Football Preview issue of Sports Illustrated, he was 6-foot-2, and preferred to play at a weight of 320 pounds. He was so full of food, his nickname was "The Refrigerator." (Later, one of his Bear teammates would nickname him "Biscuit," because he was "a biscuit short of 400 pounds.")

That same article on Clemson that featured Perry, including him posing in his Number 66 jersey next to a refrigerator, said that, in spite of his weight, he was a good athlete: He could run the 40-yard dash in 5.2 seconds, not at all a bad time for a defensive lineman at the time; and he could also jump high enough to dunk a basketball.

He was told he would be a legitimate pro prospect if he could drop his weight to 290 pounds. Perhaps more so than ever: The United States Football League was still playing at the time, so he wasn't looking to join 1 of 28 teams, or even 1 of 37 if you counted the Canadian Football League: It was 1 of 55.

The 1 turned out to be the Chicago Bears, who took him in the 1st round of the 1985 NFL Draft. Head coach Mike Ditka, once a Hall of Fame tight end for the team, asked general manager Jerry Vainisi to select him, against the advice of his own assistant coaches, including defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan.

When previous head coach Neill Armstrong (no relation to the similarly-named Moonwalker) was fired after the 1981 season, the Bears' defensive players all signed a letter to George Halas, the team's founding owner, asking him to keep Ryan. So when Halas made Ditka his last hire -- "Papa Bear" died in 1983 -- Ryan was the only holdover on the coaching staff. And they never got along.

Not even on Perry: Ryan called him a "wasted draft pick." Ryan refused to include Perry, now wearing Number 72, in the starting lineup of his "46 Defense." Never had an NFL team been so good with such a deep divide within it: It was the offense and Perry standing behind Ditka, and the rest of the defense standing behind Ryan.

But Ditka remembered something. The Bears had gone 10-6 in 1984, winning the NFC Central Division, their 1st 1st-place finish since their 1963 NFL Championship. They beat the Washington Redskins in the Divisional Playoff. But in the NFC Championship Game, not only did the San Francisco 49ers beat them 23-0, but they rubbed it in: Head coach Bill Walsh had guard Guy McIntyre play as a blocking running back.

The teams played each other at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on October 13. The 49ers were 3-2, having stumbled a little, losing by a touchdown to Minnesota and a field goal to New Orleans. The Bears were 5-0. Joe Montana may have been the greatest quarterback who ever lived, but the Bears sacked him 7 times. The Bears won 26-10. Late in the game, Ditka sent Perry in -- as a running back. He even let Perry carry the ball twice, and he rushed for 4 yards. No real effect on the game, but Ditka had sent a message. (This would be the Bears' last win away to the 49ers for 29 years.)

It probably should have ended there: Ditka had made his point to Walsh. But Ditka wanted to make a point to Ryan as well: This guy can play. And the next game, on October 21, on ABC's Monday Night Football, against the Green Bay Packers, the oldest arch-rivalry in the NFL, would have the entire country watching. (Theoretically, the oldest rivalry is between the Bears and the Arizona Cardinals, who played in Chicago from 1920 to 1959, but since the Cards left Chicago, the teams have cared little about each other.)

During what turned out to be a 23-7 victory, the Bears had a 1st and goal on the Packer 1-yard line. Ditka sent out a formation with Perry looking as though he was going to block for the great Walter Payton, already the NFL's all-time leading rusher. Instead, quarterback Jim McMahon handed the ball to Perry, and he broke through the Packer line to get into the end zone.

At 335 pounds, he became the heaviest player ever to score an offensive touchdown in the NFL. That is, there had been heavier defensive players who picked up a fumble and returned it, or recovered a fumble in the end zone. But Perry was the heaviest player who had been sent in for an offensive play to score a touchdown on said play.

The next week, the Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings. Perry played, but did not appear on offense. The next week, on November 3, the Bears went to Lambeau Field for a rematch against the Packers. Perry was sent in for 1st and goal on the Packer 4, and moved out to become an eligible receiver. McMahon threw him the ball, and Perry took it in for a touchdown. It gave the Bears a 7-3 lead in a game they would win 16-10.

Now, the Bears were 9-0, and Perry had become a folk hero. He starred in a commercial for McDonald's, ordering 4 McDLTs, 2 large fries, and a Diet Coke. Yes, a Diet Coke, as if that would have made a difference. The tagline, over Perry's huge smile with one missing front tooth, was, "McDonald's: Where The Refrigerator stocks up."

On November 17, with McMahon injured and Steve Fuller quarterbacking, the Bears went to Texas and beat the Dallas Cowboys 44-0. Perry rushed for 1 yard, but not a touchdown. The next week, they hosted the Atlanta Falcons, and Perry rushed for another 1-yard touchdown.

The 12-0 Bears' bid for an undefeated season was ruined the following week at the Orange Bowl, losing 38-24 to the Miami Dolphins, who in 1972 became the only undefeated Super Bowl Champions to this day. This remains the most-watched game in Monday Night Football history. Perry did not appear on offense.

Timing is everything: That game was played on December 2, the day before the scheduled release of a song and video the Bears, including Perry, Payton and McMahon, had recorded: "The Super Bowl Shuffle." It made the Bears, including "Fridge" (until the video, most people hadn't heard the shortened version of his nickname), bigger stars than any NFL team had ever been.

Their complacency shattered, the Bears went to work, winning their last 3 games to finish 15-1. Perry was not sent in on offense again, but was proving to his critics, including Ryan, that he was a capable defensive lineman. He ended up starting 9 of the 16 regular-season games. He even recovered 2 fumbles and returned them for a total of 66 yards. The Bears beat the New York Giants 21-0 in the Divisional Playoffs, and the Los Angeles Rams 24-0 in the NFC Championship Game.

Super Bowl XX, at the Superdome in New Orleans, should have been the team's crowning achievement. It should have been Payton's crowning achievement, finally playing in the big game after 11 seasons. But he fumbled early in the game, and the New England Patriots shocked the football world by taking a 3-0 lead. Remember: The Bears hadn't allowed so much as a point in their 1st 2 postseason games.

The Bears tied it on a Kevin Butler field goal. Figuring he was going to win the game anyway, Ditka went against his tough-guy "Iron Mike" image, and decided to get cute. At the Patriot 3-yard line, he sent Perry in. McMahon tossed him the ball, and Perry raised his arm for an option pass. NBC announcer Dick Enberg spoke for all of us when he said, "It's Perry, he's gonna throw the ball!"

But, never having done this in an actual game, he hesitated, couldn't find an open receiver, and had to run it himself, and was tackled for a 1-yard loss. The man who had become the biggest name on a defense that included future Hall-of-Famers Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton and Richard Dent, and All-Pros Steve McMichael, Wilber Marshall, Otis Wilson, Dave Duerson and Gary Fencik, had become a sack victim. (UPDATE: McMichael has since been elected to the Hall of Fame.)

But, as with the loss in Miami, the Bears woke up. They punished the Patriots. They humiliated them. (Keep in mind, Bill Belichick was then an assistant coach for the Giants, and Tom Brady was 8 years old. Neither of them could cheat to help the Pats.) It was 37-3 when Ditka sent Perry in again with the ball at the 1. He jumped over the line, and fell into the end zone. Touchdown. 44-3.

The game ended 46-10, and, for the 1st time in 22 seasons, the Chicago Bears were NFL Champions. But, at the end of the game, the resentments in the team began to show. The offensive players picked Ditka up and carried him off the field. They did so quickly, because they saw that the defensive players were running over to do the same for Ryan. And some players were bitter that Ditka chose to give Perry, not Payton, the greatest player in the Bears' proud history, the chance to score the last touchdown.

The average size for a Super Bowl ring is between 10 and 12. Perry got the largest Super Bowl ring ever: A size 25.

Ryan soon quit to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, where he failed to understand that he had Randall Cunningham, a man known as "the Ultimate Weapon," as his quarterback. He never saw another Super Bowl except on television.

Not having to deal with Ryan should have been the best thing that could have happened to both Ditka and Perry. It wasn't: The Bears were still one of the best teams in the NFL, but never again were the best team.

They lost in the Divisional Playoffs in the 1986 and 1987 seasons, in the NFC Championship Game (at home, to the 49ers) in 1988, missed the Playoffs in 1989, lost in the Divisional Round in 1990, lost in the Wild Card Round in 1991, and missed the Playoffs in 1992, at which point Ditka was fired. He had won 106 regular-season games, 6 Division titles, and 6 postseason games, but only 1 NFC Championship Game and 1 Super Bowl.

The Bears became the NFL equivalent of the New York Mets: All that talent in the 1980s, all those memorable characters, and all that hype, from both local and national media machines, and they ended up only going to their sport's final once, winning just the once. The Mets won their World Series 9 months after the Bears won their Super Bowl (and each beat the team from the Boston market), and didn't learn the right lessons. Not only did both franchises fail to win another title and eventually get broken up, but neither one has ever won another title. The Bears have only been to 1 more Super Bowl, the Mets to only 2 more World Series, all lost.

As for Perry: He started all 16 games in 1986, but was only sent in for 1 rushing play, and lost a yard. In the strike-shortened 1987 season, 15 games, he played 12, started 11. Injuries limited him to 3 games in 1988. In 1989, he played in 13, starting 9. He started all 16 games in 1990, and again in 1991. In 1992, he played in 15, starting 14. But he didn't get the ball again until 1990, again just once, again losing 1 yard. That would be it for the Refrigerator as an offensive player.

In 1993, under new head coach Dave Wannstedt, he was not started in any of the team's 1st 8 games, although he did play in 7 of them. Then he was traded to the Eagles, who, by this point, had fired Ryan in favor of Rich Kotite, another coach who thought he was a lot smarter than he actually was. He started Perry in all 8 remaining games, and in all 16 games the next year.

But Perry's weight became a problem, and he got close to 400 pounds. By this point, there had been other players who were as heavy as he was, but few of them had anywhere near the kind of athleticism he had at 320. Gilbert Brown of the Packers, known as "the Gravedigger," was an exception, a man weighing 377 pounds, but could really move.

Perry was cut by the Eagles after the 1994 season. He made a comeback with the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football in 1996, but it only lasted the 1 season. He fell victim to diabetes, alcoholism (usually a deadly combination) and Guillain–Barré syndrome. By 2014, he was confined to a wheelchair, and living with his brother, Michael Dean Perry, who had become a star for the Cleveland Browns.

Michael Dean was named his brother's conservator, and says that, since 2016, William has been living in an assisted-living facility in their native South Carolina. Michael Dean thinks William may be one of the many NFL players -- including his Bear teammates, quarterback McMahon, and safety Duerson, who eventually committed suicide over it -- suffering from CTE due to head injuries.

William and Michael Dean Perry

Noticeably, when ESPN aired the film The '85 Bears for its documentary series 30 for 30, while he was the subject of some discussion, "The Refrigerator" was not interviewed. McMahon was, and was able to describe his condition with clarity. Ryan was, and, despite having had a stroke and having trouble speaking, and dying just 4 months after the film's 1st airing, did say a few words. But William Perry did not.

In 2015, Dontari Poe, a defensive tackle who wasn't even born yet in 1985, was put in as a running back by the Kansas City Chiefs. He scored a touchdown. At 346 pounds, he broke, and still holds, the record for the heaviest player ever to score an offensive touchdown in the NFL.

*

October 21, 1985 was a Monday. So there were no other NFL games played that day (or night). The NBA season wouldn't start for another 4 days. And this was the travel day between Games 2 and 3 of the World Series, which the Kansas City Royals would win over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7, 7 days later.

Only 1 NHL game was played, but, like Bears vs. Packers, it was a nasty rivalry. Unlike Bears vs. Packers, it no longer exists. The Quebec Nordiques beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum. The previous April, in the Playoffs, they had a nasty fight that became known as "The Good Friday Massacre."

October 9, 1924: Soldier Field Opens

October 9, 1924: Municipal Grant Park Stadium opens on Chicago's lakefront. It would be renamed Soldier Field the next year. It would host many big college football games, including the annual Chicago College All-Star Game between a team of recently graduated players and the defending NFL Champions (who nearly always won) from 1934 to 1976.

And the name is "Soldier" Field. Never "Soldiers" or "Soldiers' Field." There is a Soldiers Field in Boston, part of Harvard University's sports complex.

Its best-known event was the 2nd fight between Heavyweight Champion Gene Tunney and the man from whom he took the title, Jack Dempsey, on September 22, 1927. In the 7th round, Dempsey knocked Tunney down, but he forgot to obey a new rule (which he, himself, had demanded): The referee would not start the count until the standing fighter retreated to a neutral corner. This gave Tunney an extra 5 seconds to regain his bearings, and he got up at the count of 9 (14), and went on to beat Dempsey in a decision.

It became known as the Long Count Fight, and, to this day, some people think Dempsey was robbed. He wasn't: The film clearly shows Tunney watching the referee's count. He could have gotten up at the count of 4, which should have been 9. Dempsey wasn't robbed. He didn't even blow it. He got beat, fair and square. may have had what remains the greatest attendance ever for a U.S. sporting event, with figures ranging from 104,000 to 130,000, depending on who you believe.

It definitely was the site of the largest football crowd ever, 123,000, to see Notre Dame play USC a few weeks after the Long Count. That record stood until a 2016 Tennessee-Virginia game was staged at Bristol Motor Speedway in front of 156,990. The 1926 Army-Navy Game was played there, in front of over 100,000.

The original south side gate. Along with the columns,

it was the only thing saved from the original stadium.

The Chicago Rockets of the All-America Football Conference played at Soldier Field in 1946, '47 and '48, changing their name to the Chicago Hornets in '49. They were not admitted into the NFL with their AAFC brethren in Cleveland, San Francisco and Baltimore. The Chicago Cardinals played their last season there, in 1959, before moving to St. Louis. The Chicago Fire of the World Football League played there in 1974. And the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League played there in 1983 and 1984.

Amazingly, the Chicago Bears played at Wrigley Field from 1921 to 1970, with the occasional single-game exception. The story I heard is that Bears founder-owner-coach George Halas was a good friend of both the Wrigley and Veeck families, and felt loyalty to them, and that's why he stayed at Wrigley even though it had just 47,000 seats for football.

But I heard another story that Halas was a Republican, and didn't like Chicago's Democratic Mayor, Richard J. Daley (whose son Richard M. later broke his father's record for longest-serving Mayor), and didn't want to pay the city Parks Department a lot of rent. This is believable, because Halas was known to be cheap. The real reason the Bears moved to Soldier Field in 1971 was Monday Night Football: Halas wanted the revenue, and Wrigley didn't have lights until 1988.

Games of the 1994 World Cup and the 1999 Women's World Cup were also held at the old Soldier Field. MLS' Chicago Fire made it their 1st home ground, playing at the old version from 1998 to 2001, and the new version from 2003 to 2005, and returning there starting in 2020.

Soldier Field during the 1994 World Cup

A 2002-03 renovation, during which the Bears played "home" games at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium in Champaign, demolished all but the south gate, and the iconic (if not Ionic, they're in the Doric style) Greek-style columns that used to hang over the stadium, and are now visible only from the outside. It doesn't look like "Soldier Field" anymore: One critic called it The Eyesore on the Lake Shore.

Capacity is now roughly what it was in the last few years prior to the renovation, 61,500. And while the Bears won 8 Championships while playing at Wrigley (it took the Cubs until 2016 to win even 1 title there), they've only won one more at Soldier Field, the 1985 title capped by Super Bowl XX. The Monsters of the Midway have been tremendous underachievers since leaving Wrigley, having been to only 1 of the last 35 Super Bowls, and losing it.

The reduced atmosphere, and thus the reduced home-field advantage, may be a part of that, much as similar reductions in atmosphere, passion and on-field performance has been blamed by Washington Redskins fans on the 1997 move from the in-the-District Robert F. Kennedy Stadium to the suburban FedEx Field, Yankee Fans on the 2009 move from the old Yankee Stadium to the new one, and Arsenal fans on the 2006 move from Arsenal Stadium (a.k.a. "Highbury") to the Emirates Stadium.

UPDATE: In 2023, the Bears announced a plan to tear down the Arlington Park horse-racing track, 27 miles northwest of the Loop in Arlington Heights -- nearly twice as far from downtown as O'Hare International Airport -- and build a dome there, possibly groundsharing with baseball's White Sox. Nearly every Bears fan was against this.

So an alternative plan was drawn up, to build a stadium on the parkland just south of the current one, keeping the only parts that remained from the original stadium: The columns on each sideline, and the southern gate with its dedication to the military personnel.

*

October 9, 1924 was a Thursday. There was only one score on this historic day. Game 6 of the World Series was played at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The Washington Senators beat the New York Giants, 2-1. The next day, the Senators won the World Series for what turned out to be the only time.

September 22, 1927: The Long Count Fight

September 22, 1927: One of the most legendary prizefights ever takes place at Soldier Field in Chicago. The crowd has been listed at as high as 150,000, but was, officially, 104,943.

Jack Dempsey became Heavyweight Champion of the World on July 4, 1919, right after World War I. He was a polarizing figure, a devastating puncher known for his early knockouts, but also for being called a "slacker," because he had worked in a shipyard and continued to box during the war. 

Gene Tunney, grew up a poor Irish-American kid as well. That aside, he couldn't have been much more different from Dempsey: Instead of a rural area, he grew up in Manhattan, and was a highly intelligent, very cultured, well-read man. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, and that's where he learned to box, earning him the rather redundant nickname "The Fighting Marine."

He was no stereotypical gruff "leatherneck" (an old term for Marines). He decided to treat boxing as a science. The term "the sweet science" had not yet been used, but Tunney treated it as such. He even preferred to call it "pugilism" rather than "boxing" or even "prizefighting."

On September 23, 1926, Dempsey got into the ring with Tunney, at the 105,000-seat Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia, later renamed John F. Kennedy Stadium. The crowd was listed at 120,557, which is still the highest official total for a prizefight, ever, anywhere in the world. Dempsey was not in shape, and was incredibly rusty. Tunney sensed this before the fight, and saw his suspicions confirmed during it. Tunney won the fight on a decision.

A rematch was set for Soldier Field in Chicago a year later, on September 22, 1927, in front of 104,000 people. Tunney led for the 1st 6 rounds. But in the 7th, Dempsey made a breakthrough, and knocked Tunney down. against the ropes. The Mauler smashed 2 right hands and 2 lefts into Tunney's chin, and he was staggered. Four punches later, and Tunney's knee had hit the canvas. For the 1st time in his boxing career, Gene Tunney had been knocked down.

Soldier Field, in 1932, 5 years after the fight

People listening on the radio reported that they couldn't hear any of what happened next, such was the noise from the crowd in the stadium. Talk about the "Roaring Twenties": That term first came about in regard to the rising stock market, but the decade may never have had a louder roar than this one.

But Dempsey did not immediately go to his corner when Tunney went down. As he had usually done in his previous fights, he just stood there. Referee Dave Barry remembered the new rule, and told Dempsey to get to a neutral corner. Dempsey still didn't do so: He just stood there, watching Tunney, waiting for him to get up.

Finally, Barry seemed to give Dempsey a little push, and point, and Dempsey got the hint. Only then did Barry turn back to Tunney, and swing his arm down, with his index finger pointed, and yell, "One!"

The fight was filmed, and, at some point, an early expert in film graphics put a graphic of a stopwatch in the corner of the screen. From the moment Tunney's knee hit the floor until Barry counted, "One!" it was a full 5 seconds. In other words, Tunney got 4 seconds more than he should have.

Tunney was clear-headed and clear-eyed, and he was going to stay down until the count of, "Nine!" so that he could get all the rest to which he was legally entitled. Having done exactly that, Tunney got up before Barry could bring his arm back down and yell, "Ten!" He had spent a total of 14 seconds down, 4 more than the usual limit.

In the 8th round, Tunney managed to knock Dempsey down. Interestingly, Barry began counting without checking that Tunney had reached a neutral corner -- and he hadn't gotten there yet. Dempsey got up, and finished the round and the fight, but it was no contest. When the bell rang to end the 10th and final round, Dempsey knew he'd lost. 

Dempsey's fans, and people who may not have liked him much but bet money on him, were furious. It became known as "The Long Count Fight." At the time, there was a federal law prohibiting the transportation of boxing movies across State Lines, meaning that most people never actually saw the fight until years later. People who heard the legend of the Long Count presumed it was true, based solely on hearsay, not on seeing the film.

And people who didn't previously like Dempsey began to sympathize with him. The sense that he may have been treated unfairly actually helped him: He had lost the fight, but won over a lot of fans, many of whom began appreciating him more in hindsight than they did when he was knocking out Jess Willard, Georges Carpentier and Luis Firpo.

Tunney defended his title once more, and retired as Champion, never making a comeback. He and Dempsey, like many other pairs of boxing rivals, became and remained good friends. Tunney lived until 1978, Dempsey until 1983.

In 1950, the Associated Press named Dempsey the greatest boxer of the 1st half of the 20th Century. Their other honorees: Babe Ruth for baseball, George Mikan for basketball, Howie Morenz for hockey, Bill Tilden -- despite his recent scandal -- for men's tennis, Suzanne Lenglen for women's tennis, Man o' War as the greatest racehorse; and Jim Thorpe for football and track and field, and as greatest athlete overall.

*

September 22, 1927 was a Thursday. Tommy Lasorda, the Hall of Fame manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, was born.

Often a travel day in Major League Baseball, this time, there was a full slate of games:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-7 at Yankee Stadium -- the old one, but still new. The Yankees led 6-4 going into the 9th inning. The Tigers took a 7-6 lead. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Mark Koenig drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the 9th, and Babe Ruth hit a walkoff home run.

Herb Pennock was the winning pitcher, in relief of Wilcy Moore. The other way around was much more common. The home run was Ruth's 56th home run of the season. A new record of 60 was within reach.

* The New York Giants split a doubleheader with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. The Pirates won the 1st game, 5-2; and the Giants won the 2nd game, 7-1.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers were swept by the Cincinnati Reds, in a doubleheader at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. In the opener, Chuck Dressen, later to manage the Dodgers to 2 Pennants, and Pid Purdy hit back-to-back doubles to give the Reds a 2-1 win in 12 innings. The Reds won the nightcap, 4-3.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Cleo Carlyle's single won it for the BoSox in the bottom of the 10th.

* The Philadelphia Athletics swept a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The A's won the 1st game 4-3, when Jimmie Foxx singled home a run in the bottom of the 13th inning. The A's won the 2nd game 5-2.

* The Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 10-7 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Boston Braves, 6-5 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

August 31, 1934: The 1st Chicago College All-Star Game

August 31, 1934: The 1st Chicago Tribune Charities College All-Star Game is played at Soldier Field.

Like the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, first played the year before at Chicago's Comiskey Park, it was the idea of Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward, in connection with the 1933-34 "Century of Progress" World's Fair. Unlike the All-Star Game, it was set for Chicago every year. In 1943 and 1944, it was held at Dyche Stadium (now Ryan Field), in nearby Evanston, Illinois, home field of Northwestern University. Other than those 2, it was always played at Soldier Field.

The format of "the Chicago College All-Star Game" was always the same: An all-star team of recently graduated college players would play the defending NFL Champions. In this case, the Chicago Bears, featuring Harold "Red" Grange, the template for all speedy halfbacks who followed him; and Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski, the role model for all big, bruising fullbacks after him. Nevertheless, a crowd of 79,432 saw the All-Stars hold the defending Champions to a 0-0 draw.

The NFL Champions won 30 games, the College All-Stars 9, with 2 ties. The defending NFL Champions who fell to the College All-Stars: The 1937 and 1963 Green Bay Packers, the 1938 and 1943 Washington Redskins, the 1946 Los Angeles Rams, the 1947 Chicago Bears, the 1950 Philadelphia Eagles, the 1955 Cleveland Browns, and the 1958 Detroit Lions.

In 1974, a players' strike in the preseason canceled the game. In 1976, with the Pittsburgh Steelers leading 24-0 late in the 3rd quarter, a lightning storm halted play, and the game was never resumed. And by "never," I mean never: The Tribune announced it would no longer sponsor the game.

And no one seems to miss it. Certainly, the team owners were glad to no longer risk the players on whom they were spending increasing sums of money.

*

August 31, 1934 was a Friday. This was also the day of the destruction of the mural "Nightmare of 1934." I have a separate entry for that event.

Only 4 major league baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 3-1 at Yankee Stadium. Red Ruffing outpitched Jack Russell, for whom the Phillies' 1955-2003 Spring Training stadium would be named. Babe Ruth went 1-for-2 with 2 walks. Lou Gehrig went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-1 at Ebbets Field. Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons outpitched Van Lingle Mungo. Mel Ott went 0-for-3 with a walk. Bill Terry, by now also the Giants' manager, went 1-for-4.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 3-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Dizzy Dean outpitched Guy Bush. Gabby Hartnett hit a home run, but it was the only run that Ol' Diz gave up.

* And the St. Louis Browns beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Ray Pepper brought home the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th inning.

August 2, 1963: The College All-Stars Upset the Green Bay Packers

Bart Starr, quarterbacking the Packers in the All-Star Game

August 2, 1963: The Green Bay Packers, defending NFL Champions, are upset, 20-17, by the College All-Stars in the annual Chicago College All-Star Game, at Soldier Field in Chicago. This would be the last time the All-Stars would win the Game, which began in 1934 and was discontinued after 1976.

The All-Stars were coached by Otto Graham, the Hall of Fame quarterback of the Cleveland Browns, who was then the head coach of the football team at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. He had been the head coach for the All-Stars since 1958, and would remain the Coast Guard coach and the All-Star coach until 1966, when he accepted the job as head coach of the Washington Redskins.

The Packers had won the last 2 titles, going through the 1962 season 13-1, their only loss a Thanksgiving Day shocker to the Detroit Lions. They had beaten the New York Giants, 16-7 at Yankee Stadium in the NFL Championship Game. To emphasize how much of a shock this All-Star Game was: The previous season, the Packers had beaten the All-Stars, 42-20.

The All-Stars' uniforms, in color,

on display at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta

But the Packers would have to go through the 1963 season without their best running back. On April 17, Paul Hornung had been suspended indefinitely by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, for betting on sporting events. Lions defense tackle Alex Karras had received the same suspension, for the same reason. Unlike Pete Rose, then starting his rookie season in Major League Baseball, Hornung and Karras came clean immediately, and cooperated completely. As a result, both men had their suspensions lifted after the 1963 season, and resumed their careers.

Hornung was thus unavailable for this game. So was the Packers' great linebacker Ray Nitschke, due to an injury. Their other star running back, Jim Taylor, was playing hurt.

Ron Vander Kelen, who had led the University of Wisconsin to the Big Ten Conference title the year before, quarterbacked the All-Stars. Also on that team was a future Packer star, Penn State linebacker Dave Robinson; a man who would oppose the Packers in Super Bowl I, linebacker Bobby Bell of Minnesota; and a man who would oppose the Packers in back-to-back NFL Championship Games, Lee Roy Jordan of Alabama.

Ron Vander Kelen

Without Hornung, the Packers finished 11-2-1, with both of their losses coming to their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears, who went on to win the NFL Championship. So, not counting games in or against Chicago, they were 11-0-1, even without Hornung.

They missed the Playoffs again in 1964, but won the next 3 NFL Championships, including Super Bowls I and II.

Graham would be fired as Redskins coach after the 1968 season. His successor was... Vince Lombardi. Lombardi coached the Redskins to a 7-5-2 record in 1969, but died of colon cancer before the next season could begin. Graham never coached in the NFL again. To show how medicine had progressed: Graham not only survived colon cancer, but became an advocate for early screening. He lived until 2006, and it was his heart, rather than his digestive system, that ended his life.

Despite his collegiate heroics and his starring in this game, Vander Kelen did not become a pro star: He played 5 seasons as a backup to Fran Tarkenton on the Minnesota Vikings, and 1 more season with the CFL's Calgary Stampeders.

*

August 2, 1963 was a Friday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3 at Yankee Stadium. Former Phillies ace Robin Roberts outpitched Whitey Ford. Mickey Mantle was injured and did not play. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

* The New York Mets split a doubleheader with the Milwaukee Braves at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Braves won the opener, 8-0. Bob Hendley pitched a 4-hit shutout. Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Joe Torre all hit home runs. The Mets won the nightcap, 3-1. Joe Hicks singled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning. Over the 2 games, Aaron went 4-for-8 with 4 RBIs.

* A doubleheader was split at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.) The Boston Red Sox won the opener, 5-0. Earl Wilson pitched a 6-hit shutout, and helped his own cause with a home run. The Washington Senators won the nightcap, 4-3. Carl Yastrzemski went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, but then went 0-for-4.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Jim Maloney pitched a 4-hit shutout. Frank Robinson went 1-for-3. Rookie Pete Rose went 0-for-3 with a walk. Roberto Clemente went 0-for-4.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 10-9 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants, 12-11 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. This was one of those days when the wind was blowing out at Wrigley. Billy Williams, Leo Burke and Ellis Burton hit home runs for the Cubs; while Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda hit them for the Giants.

Ironically, it was a future major league pitching coach, with a .223 lifetime batting average, Jimmy Schaffer, who drove in the winning run, with a single in the bottom of the 10th inning. Ernie Banks did not start the game, later came in as a pinch-hitter and 1st baseman, and drew 2 walks.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Stan Musial, in his last 2 months as an active player, did not appear in the game.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Athletics, 10-3 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Harmon Killebrew went 2-for-4 with 2 walks.

* The Houston Colt .45s beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1 at Colt Stadium in Houston. The Colts became the Astros in 1965.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Angels groundshared with the Dodgers until their Anaheim stadium was built in 1966.

July 23, 1976: The Rainy Last Chicago College All-Star Game

Randy White sacks Terry Bradshaw

July 23, 1976: The Chicago College All-Star Game is played at Soldier Field -- as it turns out, for the last time.

It had been played for the 1st time in 1934, as a football counterpart to the baseball All-Star Game, first played the year before. Each was played in connection with the Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago, but was deemed such a success that it continued. The main difference was that, for the annual game between the defending NFL Champions and a team of collegiate All-Stars, it would always be held in Chicago.

The 1976 contest took place 8 days before the 2-time defending Champion Pittsburgh Steelers embarked on a 6-game preseason slate that preceded a 14-game regular-season schedule.

That didn't stop head coach Chuck Noll from sending his starters out to take on a college team that featured future Hall of Fame defensive end Lee Roy Selmon (selected No. 1 overall in the 1976 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), as well as other top picks like running backs Chuck Muncie (New Orleans Saints), Mike Pruitt (Cleveland Browns), and the only 2-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin (Cincinnati Bengals).

More notably still, the college team, coached by Notre Dame's Ara Parseghian, included 3 of Pittsburgh’s own rookies: 1st-round pick Bennie Cunningham (tight end, Clemson), 2nd-round pick Ray Pinney (offensive line, University of Washington), and 3rd-round pick Mike Kruczek (Boston College), the latter of whom served as starting quarterback for the All-Stars.

When Noll learned that Kruczek would be starting the game, he reportedly said, "We only worry about the guys who have our jerseys on. We'll worry about Kruczek when he has our jersey on."

Unfortunately for Kruczek, he didn't survive the 1st quarter, as he was knocked out of the game with a thigh injury, courtesy of a hit from a Steelers defender. His backup, Craig Penrose of San Diego State, was soon injured too, requiring Parseghian to turn to Jeb Blount of Tulsa.

"Near the end [Blount] was running for his life to get away from Steve Furness, L.C. Greenwood, Dwight White and Ernie Holmes. These defensive linemen were shedding the blocks of the All‐Stars' second‐string offensive line as though flicking away flies," noted William N. Wallace in his recap for The New York Times.

Meanwhile, Pinney had his difficulties, too. At one point he snapped the ball over the head of his punter, Rick Engels. The ball went through the end zone for a safety, gifting the Steelers 2 points.

As the 4th quarter approached, the Steelers held a commanding 24-0 lead. Then came a thunderstorm and torrential rains that would do a disaster movie proud.

"I don't think I've ever seen it rain this hard at a football game," said announcer Bud Wilkinson, the former head coach at Oklahoma, during the ABC telecast, to which broadcast partner Frank Gifford, a native of Southern California before a Hall of Fame career as a New York Giants running back, responded: "I don't think I've ever seen it rain this hard."

Not long afterwards, hundreds of fans stormed the field, prompting Noll to escort his players into the locker room. If there was any thought of resuming the contest, that possibility became moot when fans tore down the goal posts.

Ultimately, the contest was called with 1:22 left in the 3rd quarter, marking the 1st time in the history of the NFL that a game was halted while in progress on account of weather, bringing the series to a memorable, if ignoble, end.

For what it's worth, the College All-Stars did have some success playing against the professionals, at least in the early years of the series. All in all, the pros won 31 games, the collegiate players won 9, and there were 2 ties. But the professionals emerged victorious in 16 of the last 17 games played, with the lone NFL loss in that period coming at the expense of the Green Bay Packers in 1963.

*

July 23, 1976 was a Friday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-1 at Yankee Stadium. Doyle Alexander outpitched Bill Lee. Mickey Rivers, Graig Nettles and Fred Stanley each had 3 RBIs.

* The New York Mets lost the Montreal Expos, 3-2 at Jarry Park in Montreal. Del Unser hit a home run off Skip Lockwood in the bottom of the 11th inning, ruining a pitcher's duel between Tom Seaver and Steve Rogers. Dale Murray was the winning pitcher for the Expos.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Jim Lonborg went the distance for the win. Mike Schmidt and Dave Cash hit home runs for the Phils. The Pirates' only run came on a home run by Dave Parker. Willie Stargell went 2-for-4.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The Brewers got 2 runs in the top of the 13th inning, and the O's could only come back with 1 in the bottom half, on a home run by Reggie Jackson in his only season with Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-5. For the Brewers, Hank Aaron drew a walk as a pinch-hitter, and Robin Yount went 1-for-5 with a walk.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Pete Rose went 0-for-2 with 3 walks. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 9-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Indians manager Frank Robinson, not yet retired as a player, did not put himself into the game.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Rod Carew went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lou Brock went 1-for-4 with a walk.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 5-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Tommy John, in his 1st season after his eponymous surgery, pitched a 4-hit shutout. Dave Winfield went 1-for-3.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 3-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Jim Barr pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 2-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. Vida Blue pitched a 6-hit shutout, striking out 13 and walking only 1. George Brett got 2 of those hits.

* And the California Angels and the Texas Rangers were not scheduled.