Floyd Conner - Footballs Most Wanted™: The Top 10 Book of the Great Games Outrageous Characters, Fortunate Fumbles, and Other Oddities

Footballs Most

Wanted

Also by Floyd Conner

Baseballs Most Wanted: The Top 10 of the National Pastimes Outrageous Offenders, Lucky Bounces, and Other Oddities

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This Date in Sports History

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Day by Day in Cincinnati Bengals History

Pretty Poison

Lupe Velez and Her Lovers

Footballs Most

Wanted

The Top 10 Book of the Games
Outrageous Characters,
Fortunate Fumbles, and
Other Oddities

Floyd Conner

Copyright 2000 Potomac Books, Inc.

Published in the United States by Potomac Books, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission from the publisher, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical
articles and reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Conner, Floyd, 1951

Footballs most wanted : the top 10 book of the great games outrageous characters, fortunate fumbles, and other oddities / Floyd Conner.1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-57488-309-1 (alk. paper)

1. FootballMiscellanea. 2. Football players
Anecdotes. I. Title: Top 10 book of the great games
outrageous characters, fortunate fumbles, and other
oddities. II. Title.

GV950.5 .C65 2000
796.332-dc21

00-062151

Printed in the United States on acid-free paper
that meets the American National Standards
Institute Z39-48 Standard

Potomac Books, Inc.
22841 Quicksilver Drive
Dulles, Virginia 20166

Designed by Pen & Palette Unlimited

First Edition

10 9 8 7 6 5 4

Famous football firsts

From screen passes to the silver screen

They were ready for prime time

They threw their helmets into the ring

Stars of the gridiron and diamond

Football players with hoop dreams

Olympic medalists who played football

Wrestling is as easy as one, two, three

Footballs smart set

Football pros and literary prose

Small-college alumni

Great careers cut short

Players who didnt live up to expectations

High draft choices who made it big

Their names werent called on draft day

African-American football pioneers

The noteworthy and notorious

The games most memorable nicknames

These men were born to play football

Footballs fabulous flakes

All-pro pranksters

Dogs, goats, and an irate ibis

Clothes made these men

Footballs mighty mites

Bigger than a refrigerator

They were what they ate

Players who drank more than Gatorade

They had all the moves

The game of their lives

Their one year in the sun

One-of-a-kind achievements

They played both ways

Little-known collegiate records

Pro footballs unheralded records

These records werent meant to be broken

Bad calls, costly fumbles, and wrong-way runs

The least offensive performances in football history

For every winning coach, theres a loser

Gloomy Gil and Weeping Wally

The worst teams of all time

Footballs biggest blowouts

Iodine, Kickapoo, and Chigger Bowls

The NFLs most unlikely franchises

Anything can happen at a football game

Just when you think youve seen it all

Footballs most unbelievable games

Ice, snow, and fog bowls

Arguments for instant replay

They could run but could not hide

These teams overcame the odds

Super Bowl performances theyd rather forget

Superstars who never won the big one

They rose to the occasion

Unforgettable football broadcasts

Physical handicaps couldnt stop them

Adding insult to injury

Football can be a dangerous game

The sports indestructible men

Football is a collision sport

They sometimes played dirty

Rules are meant to be broken

You can bet on it

Victims of substance abuse

They crossed the line

Footballs most rabid fans

Football fatalities

Gone too soon

They saved their best for last

Last-second heroics

Football has become the most popular sport in America. The National Football League has come a long way from its humble origins 80 years ago. In 1920, a pro football franchise could be purchased for a mere $100. One of the charter teams, the Racine Cardinals, was named for a street in Chicago. The Oorang Indians main purpose was to publicize a dog kennel in LaRue, Ohio. The Racine (Wisconsin) Legion were sponsored by an American Legion post. Today, a franchise such as the Washington Redskins is valued at $800 million.

Footballs Most Wanted recognizes the sports most outrageous characters. The book contains top-ten lists of the worst players, losingest coaches, and craziest plays in college and professional football history. The lists feature the unlikeliest heroes, most outlandish stunts, wildest fans, toughest players, fantastic finishes, and the strangest things ever to occur on a football field.

It is a game in which the most unsung player can become a star. Undrafted Kurt Warner, given an opportunity because of an injury to the starting quarterback, became the 1999 National Football League Most Valuable Player and led the St. Louis Rams to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV. Johnny Unitas, a ninth-round draft pick cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers, later became a superstar quarterback with the Baltimore Colts. George Blanda, a 12th-round draft pick in 1949, played a record 26 seasons as a professional.

Almost anything can happen in a football game. In 1893, T.L. Bayne coached both Louisiana State and Tulane in a game he also refereed. Oklahomas Ed Cook literally swam for a touchdown in a 1904 game against Oklahoma A&M. The University of the South defeated five major college teams in a span of six days in 1899. The Rose Bowl football game was replaced by such events as chariot racing and tent pegging from 1903 to 1905. Some unusual bowl games of the past include the Spaghetti Bowl, Turkey Bowl, Iodine Bowl, Fish Bowl, Kickapoo Bowl, Refrigerator Bowl, Arab Bowl, and the Chigger Bowl.

Several college and professional players have gone on to successful political careers. President Dwight Eisenhower was a starting halfback for Army before a knee injury derailed his career. Another future president, Gerald Ford, was a star center at the University of Michigan. Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy caught two touchdown passes for Harvard during his college career. Jack Kemp, the 1996 Republican vice presidential candidate, quarterbacked the Buffalo Bills to an American Football League championship. Former football stars J.C. Watts and Steve Largent are rising stars in American politics.

Football can be a dangerous game. In 1940, Washington Redskins Hall of Fame tackle Turk Edwards suffered a career-ending knee injury during a coin toss. Clive Rush was electrocuted in 1969 when he grabbed a live microphone after being introduced as the Boston Patriots new head coach. In 1931, Texas Christian coach Francis Schmidt did a back flip when he forgot to take off his headphones and ran onto the field to argue a call. Even the team mascot isnt safe. Bevo, the first Texas Longhorns steer mascot, was eaten at the teams postseason banquet in 1920.

This book introduces you to nearly 700 of footballs most wanted players. Their offenses range from inept play to outrageous behavior. Be on the lookout for these individuals.