Whippersnappers of a half century or less need not apply. Joe & his magic bean

[Chandler#81]

Fans of the AFL Bills lived this thrilling and incredible 1968 season. Yes, we were so terrible we were gifted OJ Simpson for our lack of effort. We won just 1 game. A Division tilt with the Jets. A 37-35 turnover crazy affair! But what the Jets did after that game is true football history. Orson Wells (trust me he was held in very high regard) narrated a short film on the weekly Dean Martin roast program.

Here is his offering

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Chandler#81

[DrPJax]

     Such memories.  Dean Martin was from Steubenville, Ohio, which was the largest city close to my rural home of raylland Ohio. So I just said Steubenville when asked where I was from. Jimmy the Greek was also from Steubenville.  Steel  and coal mining  supported the area.  So Steubenville had one last claim to fame, it was once honored as the dirtiest, most polluted city in the USA!    I also had the honor of being born in the hillbilly city of wheeling wva, about 30 min from Pittsburgh pa;;thus known as the tri state area of Wheeling, Pittsburgh and Steubenville.

 

    Most of my friends were steeler or browns fans.   My dad tho was a fan of Namath, and so one Sunday a jets game was on , they happened to be playing the Bills and my dad and I were into all sports and we always had fun playing basketball, baseball etc together.  So that day I saw the cool Buffalo on the helmets and for the first time I chose the Bills to cheer for over my dad’s jets w Namath , and have been a Bills fan only since the early 60’s.  I remember watching the dean martin roasts on tv back in those days.  They were hilarious with don rickles, Sammy Davis jr , foster brooks w his famous drunk act!   I’m 68 now, still a devout Bills fan , and I converted my dad to a bills fan before he passed in 2001, and took he and my mom with me to Atlanta for SB 28 to unfortunately see the last Bills SB appearance till now as they lost to Dallas that day despite leading at halftime   ( still vividly remember thurm fumbling after half and that flipped the game. You could sense the Bills thinking , oh no here we go again. Ran into biscuit at the ATL airport that night after the game as we were at the same airline terminal. I was behind him and he was irate as he was being told he might be bumped from his flight to Hawaii as he was telling them he was going to the pro bowl and couldn’t miss this flight.  I had bills gear on but I was too afraid to say anything as he was telling  the airline people , don’t you know who I am, I just lost the damn Super Bowl and now you’re f ing with my flight!  I just  stayed quiet despite wanting to meet him and thank him for those great years.  Unbelievable but absolutely true story) 
 

THANKS for posting this , I’ve seen it before but it still gives me chills and is a huge reminder of my past as a child and what now seems as a whole different era or other  world where sports  and family were so vital to having a happy life.  Orson was such a great actor and voice in those times. Go Bills ! 

[ticketssince61]

That Jets game was the 1st regular season game I attended! 

 

Namath was 19 of 43 with 4 TD's and 5 Int's.

 

Might be a record for most TD and Int's in one game

 

We had 3 long pick six's!

 

Bills   Tom Janik 100 yard interception return (Bruce Alford kick) 7-17

Bills   Butch Byrd 53 yard interception return (Bruce Alford kick) 21-30

Bills   Booker Edgerson 45 yard interception return (Bruce Alford kick) 21-37

 

 

Edited 17 hours ago by ticketssince61

[PonyBoy]

Two of my favorite Dean Martin lines:

 

I don't drink anymore... I freeze it and eat it like a popsicle

 

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up, that's as good as they're going to feel all day" 

 

Classics! 😂

[Old Coot]

As usual, Orson Welles does an incredible narration.

 

He mentions that namath was born in Beaver Falls in Western PA.

in earlier times Western PA was known as the the birthplace of great QBs.

In addition to Namath and our own Jim Kelly, here is a list of the great QBs born in Western PA:

 

Johnny Lujack, Connellsville (won the Heisman Trophy and played for the Bears in the late '40s and early '50s)

Johnny Unitas, Pittsburgh

George Blanda, Youngwood (only man to play professional football in 4 decades)

Babe Parilli, Rochester

Joe Namath, Beaver Falls

Joe Montana, Monongahela

Jim Kelly, East Brady

Dan Marino, Pittsburgh

 

Most of those steel towns have faded into obscurity and with them, their ability to produce QBs.

[Chandler#81]

8 hours ago, DrPJax said:

     Such memories.  Dean Martin was from Steubenville, Ohio, which was the largest city close to my rural home of raylland Ohio. So I just said Steubenville when asked where I was from. Jimmy the Greek was also from Steubenville.  Steel  and coal mining  supported the area.  So Steubenville had one last claim to fame, it was once honored as the dirtiest, most polluted city in the USA!    I also had the honor of being born in the hillbilly city of wheeling wva, about 30 min from Pittsburgh pa;;thus known as the tri state area of Wheeling, Pittsburgh and Steubenville.

 

    Most of my friends were steeler or browns fans.   My dad tho was a fan of Namath, and so one Sunday a jets game was on , they happened to be playing the Bills and my dad and I were into all sports and we always had fun playing basketball, baseball etc together.  So that day I saw the cool Buffalo on the helmets and for the first time I chose the Bills to cheer for over my dad’s jets w Namath , and have been a Bills fan only since the early 60’s.  I remember watching the dean martin roasts on tv back in those days.  They were hilarious with don rickles, Sammy Davis jr , foster brooks w his famous drunk act!   I’m 68 now, still a devout Bills fan , and I converted my dad to a bills fan before he passed in 2001, and took he and my mom with me to Atlanta for SB 28 to unfortunately see the last Bills SB appearance till now as they lost to Dallas that day despite leading at halftime   ( still vividly remember thurm fumbling after half and that flipped the game. You could sense the Bills thinking , oh no here we go again. Ran into biscuit at the ATL airport that night after the game as we were at the same airline terminal. I was behind him and he was irate as he was being told he might be bumped from his flight to Hawaii as he was telling them he was going to the pro bowl and couldn’t miss this flight.  I had bills gear on but I was too afraid to say anything as he was telling  the airline people , don’t you know who I am, I just lost the damn Super Bowl and now you’re f ing with my flight!  I just  stayed quiet despite wanting to meet him and thank him for those great years.  Unbelievable but absolutely true story) 
 

THANKS for posting this , I’ve seen it before but it still gives me chills and is a huge reminder of my past as a child and what now seems as a whole different era or other  world where sports  and family were so vital to having a happy life.  Orson was such a great actor and voice in those times. Go Bills ! 

Great story! I’ve been to Steubenville, OH a few times as my brother married a girl from there. Always enjoyed my stays there. I watch all those Dean Martin roasts on YouTube. Great television history!

[Chandler#81]

Here’s highlights of our only win in ‘68. In fairness, we went through 6 QBs that year starting with Kemp in preseason. I loved ‘em anyway!

 

[CSBill]

Awesome! Namath was incredibly talented. He was the first big personality of the NFL—incredibly talented, and known way beyond the football field. Love the clip of Johnny Unitas (also from the Pittsburg area). He was much better than shown on this clip. And Orson Wells, wow!

 

The big  question is, who was higher that evening, Broadway Joe, or Dean Martin? 

 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by CSBill

[Chandler#81]

27 minutes ago, CSBill said:

Awesome! Namath was incredibly talented. He was the first big personality of the NFL—incredibly talented, and known way beyond the football field. Love the clip of Johnny Unitas (also from the Pittsburg area). He was much better than shown on this clip. And Orson Wells, wow!

 

The big  question is, who was higher that evening, Broadway Joe, or Dean Martin? 

 

 

My $$ is on Dean!

[HOUSE]

I am sad to say I remember that 68 season well. The Bills lost to The Oakland Raider 48-6 in the Rockpile and as we were leaving the stadium the Goodbye Collier chants started.

See, even though the Bills got destroyed WE STILL DIDN'T LEAVE EARLY. 😝

[SoTier]

10 hours ago, Old Coot said:

As usual, Orson Welles does an incredible narration.

 

He mentions that namath was born in Beaver Falls in Western PA.

in earlier times Western PA was known as the the birthplace of great QBs.

In addition to Namath and our own Jim Kelly, here is a list of the great QBs born in Western PA:

 

Johnny Lujack, Connellsville (won the Heisman Trophy and played for the Bears in the late '40s and early '50s)

Johnny Unitas, Pittsburgh

George Blanda, Youngwood (only man to play professional football in 4 decades)

Babe Parilli, Rochester

Joe Namath, Beaver Falls

Joe Montana, Monongahela

Jim Kelly, East Brady

Dan Marino, Pittsburgh

 

Most of those steel towns have faded into obscurity and with them, their ability to produce QBs.

 

In the past, those old Western PA coal and steel towns produced great athletes in lots of sports because athletics was a major pathway out of the mines and mills.  

[Augie]

Suzy Kolber had no idea what she was missing out on. Live and learn, girl. 

[US Egg]

Joe Namath got the NFL booked on the big stage. It’s been nothing but the bright lights ever since.

[chris heff]

I went to that game, my father had season tickets, Bills were so bad that year he gave them to me. What was the game that Ed Rutkowski played QB? That team was terrible. 

[Chandler#81]

Houston Oilers final game of the season

1 minute ago, chris heff said:

I went to that game, my father had season tickets, Bills were so bad that year he gave them to me. What was the game that Ed Rutkowski played QB? That team was terrible. 

 

[Ned Flanders]

I recall in 1968, the Eagles were leading the OJ sweepstakes until late in the season winning two of their last three, giving Buffalo the first pick which finishing 1-13.

 

Philadelphia, with the second pick, took Leroy Keyes, a RB with a rather nondescript career in the NFL.

[Shaw66]

35 minutes ago, Ned Flanders said:

I recall in 1968, the Eagles were leading the OJ sweepstakes until late in the season winning two of their last three, giving Buffalo the first pick which finishing 1-13.

 

Philadelphia, with the second pick, took Leroy Keyes, a RB with a rather nondescript career in the NFL.

There was a lot of debate that year about weather Simpson or Keyes should go first in the draft. Keyes was a two-way star, and teams were talking about whether he could play both sides of the ball, and if not, where was he best suited. 

 

Second, last game of the season, the Bills were at the Raiders and driving for the touchdown that would win the game and cost the Bills the number one pick overall. 

 

Ed Rutkowski was the quarterback by that time of the season. Down around the 5-yard line with little time left on the clock Rutkowski rolled right and fumbled. The Raiders recovered, the Bills lost and lost again the next week. That's how OJ ended up in Buffalo.

[mushypeaches]

For those who have ever watched the fateful clip of inebriated Joe Namath on MNF, you could say that he was "struggg-a-linggg" that day...

[Cash]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

There was a lot of debate that year about weather Simpson or Keyes should go first in the draft. Keyes was a two-way star, and teams were talking about whether he could play both sides of the ball, and if not, where was he best suited. 

 

Second, last game of the season, the Bills were at the Raiders and driving for the touchdown that would win the game and cost the Bills the number one pick overall. 

 

Ed Rutkowski was the quarterback by that time of the season. Down around the 5-yard line with little time left on the clock Rutkowski rolled right and fumbled. The Raiders recovered, the Bills lost and lost again the next week. That's how OJ ended up in Buffalo.

 

Very cool - I've never heard of Keyes before.  What position did he play on defense?

[chris heff]

42 minutes ago, Cash said:

 

Very cool - I've never heard of Keyes before.  What position did he play on defense?

Leroy Keyes was a running back.