I Did Not Know That

[Source]

In Super Bowl III - Jets vs. Colts, heavily favored Baltimore's first drive resulted in a missed field goal. After a sketchy catch and fumble call that gave the Colts the ball deep in Jets territory, the Colts faced a third and three from the New York six yard line. QB Earl Morrall threw an end zone pass that was deflected by the Jets Al Atkinson into the shoulder pad of the Colts intended receiver. The ball popped high into the air and was caught and intercepted by Randy Beverly in the end zone to keep the game scoreless. The intended receiver was Tom Mitchell.

Mitchell played for the AFL Oakland Raiders in 1966 and was later picked up and played for the Colts from 1968-73 and then San Francisco until 1977. He passed away in 2017 but he had a daughter, Christina, born in 1968. She married and has four children.

Her husband is the returning head coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights - Greg Schiano.

I did not know that.

 

[colbert17]

In Super Bowl III - Jets vs. Colts, heavily favored Baltimore's first drive resulted in a missed field goal. After a sketchy catch and fumble call that gave the Colts the ball deep in Jets territory, the Colts faced a third and three from the New York six yard line. QB Earl Morrall threw an end zone pass that was deflected by the Jets Al Atkinson into a fellow Jets player and then the shoulder pad of the Colts intended receiver. The ball popped high into the air and was caught and intercepted by Randy Beverly in the end zone to keep the game scoreless. The intended receiver was Tom Mitchell.

Mitchell played for the AFL Oakland Raiders in 1966 and was later picked up and played for the Colts from 1968-73 and then San Francisco until 1977. He passed away in 2017 but he had a daughter, Christina, born in 1968. She married and has four children.

Her husband is the returning head coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights - Greg Schiano.

I did not know that.

Very cool piece of info.

 

[Yeah Baby]

Good a find. I remember Mitchell.

 

[zappaa]

 

[RUinFla]

Thanks, Source. As always, good stuff from you.

 

[knightfan7]

Didn't know that but growing up a Johnny U and Colts fan, I do remember Tom Mitchell.

Earl Morrall sucked big time in SB III. Completed maybe 40% and threw a number of Int's. Joe Willie receives too much credit. It was the Jets D and Matt Snell that won that game.

 

[zappaa]

Didn't know that but growing up a Johnny U and Colts fan, I do remember Tom Mitchell.

Earl Morrall sucked big time in SB III. Completed maybe 40% and threw a number of Int's. Joe Willie receives too much credit. It was the Jets D and Matt Snell that won that game.

Joe called that entire game at the line of scrimmage, and George Sauer deserves recognition also.

 

[ruready4somefootball]

Was it Tom Mitchell that was pressed into service as the QB for the Colts for a short time, having played a little at that position in HS or college? I remember him using a play calling cheat sheet taped around his wrist.He went to Bucknell, Greg's college.

 

[zappaa]

Was it Tom Mitchell that was pressed into service as the QB for the Colts for a short time, having played a little at that position in HS or college? I remember him using a play calling cheat sheet taped around his wrist.He went to Bucknell, Greg's college.

That was Tom Matte.
The Colt defense was so good, if you didn’t fumble the snap or go backwards they’d still beat you.

 

[Kbee3]

Didn't know that but growing up a Johnny U and Colts fan, I do remember Tom Mitchell.

Earl Morrall sucked big time in SB III. Completed maybe 40% and threw a number of Int's. Joe Willie receives too much credit. It was the Jets D and Matt Snell that won that game.

A friend of mine to this day insists that game was fixed.

 

[Scarlet Haze]

In 1997 I went to the Packers vs. Patriots Super Bowl in New Orleans. I went to a pre-game lunch event with Bubba Smith, the defensive star of the Baltimore Colts going into that Super Bowl 3 game vs the Jets as the main speaker. His topic....he claimed the Colts threw the game or rather certain players did so as part of a broader plan by the NFL to make the AFL seem more competitive so there could eventually be one league. The main culprit, according to Smith, was Earl Morrall He named a few others, but I don't remember who else "was in on the plot". Anyway, I wasn't expecting that for the speech.

 

[Source]

Didn't know that but growing up a Johnny U and Colts fan, I do remember Tom Mitchell. Earl Morrall sucked big time in SB III. Completed maybe 40% and threw a number of Int's. Joe Willie receives too much credit. It was the Jets D and Matt Snell that won that game.

Good one hour watch on Super Bowl III, its impact to the NFL and what was going on strategy-wise and a concise, play-by-play replay of the game.... no dead spots, the game moves quickly:



Quick trivia - Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl in Florida was the first Super Bowl to use the "slingshot" goalposts. The first two Super Bowls, and all the NFL Championship games before then, used the "H" shaped goalposts.

 

[knightfan7]

That was Tom Matte.
The Colt defense was so good, if you didn’t fumble the snap or go backwards they’d still beat you.

Before the Colts made him a RB, Matte was a 2 year starter at QB for Ohio St under Woody Hayes. He did rush for more yards than he passed.

 

[DJ Spanky]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Mitchell_(American_football)

 

[GSGS]

In Super Bowl III - Jets vs. Colts, heavily favored Baltimore's first drive resulted in a missed field goal. After a sketchy catch and fumble call that gave the Colts the ball deep in Jets territory, the Colts faced a third and three from the New York six yard line. QB Earl Morrall threw an end zone pass that was deflected by the Jets Al Atkinson into a fellow Jets player and then the shoulder pad of the Colts intended receiver. The ball popped high into the air and was caught and intercepted by Randy Beverly in the end zone to keep the game scoreless. The intended receiver was Tom Mitchell.

Mitchell played for the AFL Oakland Raiders in 1966 and was later picked up and played for the Colts from 1968-73 and then San Francisco until 1977. He passed away in 2017 but he had a daughter, Christina, born in 1968. She married and has four children.

Her husband is the returning head coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights - Greg Schiano.

I did not know that.

Hmmm, are you sure that the deflection by Atkinson went into a fellow Jets player before it went to Mitchell? I thought that it was just a tip from Alkinson that Mitchell couldn't handle?

Tom Mitchell went to Bucknell, which is where his daughter Christy met Greggy. The Schiano's son Joe now goes to Bucknell, carrying on the family legacy.

 

[Source]

Hmmm, are you sure that the deflection by Atkinson went into a fellow Jets player before it went to Mitchell? I thought that it was just a tip from Alkinson that Mitchell couldn't handle?

You know I read it was two Jets who touched the pass before the Mitchell deflection but I think you are correct so I revised my first post. I watched the video several times and it appears it was only Atkinson's touch that altered the path of the pass. According to Jets reserve safety Jim Richards, Atkinson was nursing a separated shoulder and was amazed that Atkinson could raise his arm high enough to create the deflection.

 

[zappaa]

In 1997 I went to the Packers vs. Patriots Super Bowl in New Orleans. I went to a pre-game lunch event with Bubba Smith, the defensive star of the Baltimore Colts going into that Super Bowl 3 game vs the Jets as the main speaker. His topic....he claimed the Colts threw the game or rather certain players did so as part of a broader plan by the NFL to make the AFL seem more competitive so there could eventually be one league. The main culprit, according to Smith, was Earl Morrall He named a few others, but I don't remember who else "was in on the plot". Anyway, I wasn't expecting that for the speech.

I remember seeing NFL films footage of Morrall on several plays looking directly at open receivers a handful of times, and mysteriously throwing the ball somewhere else.
One of them is obvious with the receiver waving his arms...I still choose not to believe he threw the game...lol

 

[Ronnie_B]

Johnny Sample had one of the best big games every played by a defensive back in NFL history in Super Bowl lll, he was all over the place and without him the Jets might have not have won.

He was an exceptional trash talker too getting under the Colts skin.

 

[Knightmoves]

A friend of mine to this day insists that game was fixed.

So you’re telling us Jets fans that our only Super Bowl win was a fix?

eff you!

 

[Ronnie_B]

In 1997 I went to the Packers vs. Patriots Super Bowl in New Orleans. I went to a pre-game lunch event with Bubba Smith, the defensive star of the Baltimore Colts going into that Super Bowl 3 game vs the Jets as the main speaker. His topic....he claimed the Colts threw the game or rather certain players did so as part of a broader plan by the NFL to make the AFL seem more competitive so there could eventually be one league. The main culprit, according to Smith, was Earl Morrall He named a few others, but I don't remember who else "was in on the plot". Anyway, I wasn't expecting that for the speech.

I could never find it but I remember reading once that if the Colts were to mop the field with the Jets, there was talk about suspending the Super Bowl until both leagues were more even, so this adds credence that those in the league offices were worried about another blowout.

But I don't know if they would go to these lengths.

 

[Source]

Johnny Sample had one of the best big games every played by a defensive back in NFL history in Super Bowl lll, he was all over the place and without him the Jets might have not have won. He was an exceptional trash talker too getting under the Colts skin.

If you watch the video I posted above, Sample is interviewed a lot. He stepped on the groin of a Colts player as he finished off a play. It looks accidental but Sample had a reputation as a dirty player. He was taught by the Jets defensive coach at the time -- Buddy Ryan. Watch the video, it's got lots of interesting tid bits as the game was played.... stuff I never knew.

 

[Source]

"...Bubba Smith, the defensive star of the Baltimore Colts going into that Super Bowl 3 game vs the Jets.... claimed the Colts threw the game or rather certain players did so as part of a broader plan by the NFL to make the AFL seem more competitive so there could eventually be one league. The main culprit, according to Smith, was Earl Morrall He named a few others, but I don't remember who else "was in on the plot". Anyway, I wasn't expecting that for the speech.

They were so good at pulling off this conspiracy that they went ahead and faked the moon landing later that year too.

 

[Ronnie_B]

If you watch the video I posted above, Sample is interviewed a lot. He stepped on the groin of a Colts player as he finished off a play. It looks accidental but Sample had a reputation as a dirty player. He was taught by the Jets defensive coach at the time -- Buddy Ryan. Watch the video, it's got lots of interesting tid bits as the game was played.... stuff I never knew.

If you ever want to binge on something, this is very good:



Five part series on the history of the AFL put together by Showtime.

 

[Kbee3]

So you’re telling us Jets fans that our only Super Bowl win was a fix?

eff you!

As is apparent from your many posts on this board, you no read so good.
I said that a friend of mine to this day insists the game was fixed. I don't believe it was fixed.

 

[RUhasarrived]

Didn't know that but growing up a Johnny U and Colts fan, I do remember Tom Mitchell.

Earl Morrall sucked big time in SB III. Completed maybe 40% and threw a number of Int's. Joe Willie receives too much credit. It was the Jets D and Matt Snell that won that game.

Earl picked up a relief win 2 years later.

 

[colbert17]

One of them is obvious with the receiver waving his arms.

That was Jimmy Orr.

 

[colbert17]

Didn't know that but growing up a Johnny U and Colts fan, I do remember Tom Mitchell.

Earl Morrall sucked big time in SB III. Completed maybe 40% and threw a number of Int's. Joe Willie receives too much credit. It was the Jets D and Matt Snell that won that game.

Morrall was 6 for 17 for 71 yards and 3 picks.
Hate to say it but it sounds like us the past couple of years. (Of course the yardage might be a little too high)

 

[colbert17]

Just watched some of the game. You wonder how that game might have changed if the Colts had a kicking specialist which were still relatively new in 1969.Lou Michaels was a DL who did the kicking for the Colts. When he lines up for that first kick Curt Gowdy says that he was 18 for 28 during the season. That's 64%!! Can you image a Super Bowl contender today with a kicker only making 64%??
What if he made the kick on the Colts first possession? It was only a 26 yarder. Maybe the game goes a different way.

 

[RUinFla]

Just watched some of the game. You wonder how that game might have changed if the Colts had a kicking specialist which were still relatively new in 1969.Lou Michaels was a DL who did the kicking for the Colts. When he lines up for that first kick Curt Gowdy says that he was 18 for 28 during the season. That's 64%!! Can you image a Super Bowl contender today with a kicker only making 64%??
What if he made the kick on the Colts first possession? It was only a 26 yarder. Maybe the game goes a different way.

Straight on kicking, not soccer style, which started with the Gogolaks. You wonder how Groza, Summerall, et al, managed it. Less room for error, for sure, than soccer style.

 

[BigWill]

Just watched some of the game. You wonder how that game might have changed if the Colts had a kicking specialist which were still relatively new in 1969.Lou Michaels was a DL who did the kicking for the Colts. When he lines up for that first kick Curt Gowdy says that he was 18 for 28 during the season. That's 64%!! Can you image a Super Bowl contender today with a kicker only making 64%??
What if he made the kick on the Colts first possession? It was only a 26 yarder. Maybe the game goes a different way.

You'll recall Jimmy O'Brien winning for the Colts in a later Super Bowl.

He was on the East West roster with me and my Cuse roomie Jack Protz.
So after the first practice the coaches asked anyone that could kick to PAT/FG to line up. Jack had kicked in high school (Woodbridge HS) and so was going to volunteer. But some WR went first and he actually had one of those square toes football shoes and he obviously could kick. So Jack didn't kick. After the kicks, we asked this guy who he was ? Turned out he was the leading scorer in the US that year total points on TD and PAT/FG. We had never heard of him....from U Cinn. 20 years later Mad Dog was a Bearcat....

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

You'll recall Jimmy O'Brien winning for the Colts in a later Super Bowl.

He was on the East West roster with me and my Cuse roomie Jack Protz.
So after the first practice the coaches asked anyone that could kick to PAT/FG to line up. Jack had kicked in high school (Woodbridge HS) and so was going to volunteer. But some WR went first and he actually had one of those square toes football shoes and he obviously could kick. So Jack didn't kick. After the kicks, we asked this guy who he was ? Turned out he was the leading scorer in the US that year total points on TD and PAT/FG. We had never heard of him....from U Cinn. 20 years later Mad Dog was a Bearcat....

watch this football being kicked in super-slom... pay attention to how the ball deforms.. this is way laces-out is important. And I'd imagine int he old days every football might have its quirks as to how it would deform.. especially with straight-on toe-kicking