The following is not a summary of historical events, but rather the results of my computer football replay of the 1968 AFL season using Second and Ten football. In reality on October 6, [...]]]>

Marlin Briscoe replaced starting quarterback Steve Tensi in the second half and guided the Broncos to a 27-20 win over Cincinnati.

The following is not a summary of historical events, but rather the results of my computer football replay of the 1968 AFL season using Second and Ten football. In reality on October 6, 1968, Marlin Briscoe of the Denver Broncos became the first black player to start at quarterback in professional football.

Denver Bronco head coach Lou Saban replaced starting quarterback Steve Tensi with backup Marlin Briscoe halfway through the third quarter. The controversial substitution ultimately paid dividends as Briscoe guided the Denver Broncos to a 27-20 victory over the expansion Cincinnati Bengals. Tensi started the game for the home team, and led the Broncos to a 13-10 halftime lead. After the break, the Bengals made defensive adjustments and began to pressure Tensi. The Bengals sacked Tensi twice in the opening possession of the second half. Following a Denver punt, Cincinnati nearly took the lead on their first possession, but a fumble deep in Bronco territory ended the drive. Saban summoned for Briscoe to the surprise of the crowd at Bears Field. The 14th round draft pick fared no better, and the Bengal pursuit got to him initially as well.

John Stofa put the Bengals ahead 17-13 in the final stages of the fourth quarter with a 11 yard pass to Rod Sherman. On the next possession, Briscoe breathed life into the Bronco offense. A pair of scrambles, the latter converting a third down, moved the ball down field and brought the listless crowd to life. A 36 yard pass to tight end Tom Beer ignited the faithful, and one play later, Briscoe found Eric Crabtree in the end zone as the girders of Bears Stadium seemingly swayed with the roar of the crowd. The Denver defense held Stofa and the Bengals on their next possession, but punter Dale Livingston blasted a 67 yard punt to pin Briscoe at his own 15.

Briscoe marched the Broncos down field on a 15 play drive that swallowed nearly nine minutes of the game clock. Fittingly, it was Briscoe who scored the touchdown on a two yard outside run. Down by ten points, Stofa countered with a furious drive that resulted in a field goal. The crowd was hushed however when Cincinnati recovered their on-side kick. But the defense stopped the Bengal advance twenty five yards from the end zone, and preserved Marlin Briscoe’s historic moment of glory. Briscoe finished with 32 yards rushing on 5 attempts, completed 9 of 10 passing attempts for 105 yards. He accounted for the two final Bronco touchdowns, one through the air and another on the ground. After the game, coach Lou Saban acknowledged that Briscoe would be the starter when the 3-1 Broncos face Joe Namath and the New York Jets in Shea Stadium next week.

Go to 1968 AFL Replay Home Page

Frank Ryan, who quarterbacked the Browns to a championship four [...]]]>

Cleveland Browns coach Blanton Collier announced Frank Ryan (above) will be replaced as the team's starting quarterback against the Steelers this week. Ryan frequently had defensive linemen draped on him this season as he has been sacked 17 times in the first 3 games.

Frank Ryan, who quarterbacked the Browns to a championship four seasons ago, has been displaced as Browns quarterback after a seven game losing streak dating back to last season. Coach Collier named Bill Nelsen as the starter this week. Nelsen will be making his debut against his former club, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who drafted him in the tenth round in 1963.

As for Ryan, he threw his seventh interception of the season in the waning moments of the Browns’ 13-10 loss to Los Angeles in Cleveland’s opening game on Sunday. Ryan was battered around by the Rams’ front four throughout the game. He was sacked six times by the Rams, and seventeen times in three games this season. Ryan suffered a shoulder injury in 1965, and those seventeen sacks have re-aggravated the injury. For Ryan’s own sake and for the good of the team, Collier finally announced his decision after the loss to the Rams. Cleveland and Pittsburgh are both 0-3 trailing the surprise leaders in the  Century Division, the 2-1 New Orleans Saints.

The Saints defeated the St. Louis Cardinals convincingly 31-9 as Billy Kilmer threw four touchdown passes, two to wideout Danny Abramowicz, a 17th round pick from Xavier in last year’s draft. In other action, the Green Bay Packers remained undefeated with a 17-0 blanking of the Detroit Lions. The Cowboys and Colts also remained undefeated. Dallas held off the Eagles, 27-22, and the Colts romped over the hapless Steelers, 24-5. The Chicago Bears, without the services of Gale Sayers, slipped past the Vikings, 13-10. Fran Tarkenton and the Giants handed the Redskins their first defeat of the season with a 27-14 victory in the opener at Yankee Stadium. John Brodie threw three touchdown passes in the 49ers’ 23-14 home victory over Atlanta.

In AFL action, the Kansas City Chiefs rallied in the second half to avoid an upset bid by the Miami Dolphins, 24-13. Noland Smith’s 73-yard punt return for a touchdown broke a 10-10 tie in the third quarter for the Chiefs. Joe Namath and the Jets easily dispatched of the Bills in Buffalo, 27-7. San Diego defeated Cincinnati, 27-13. Bengals running back Paul Robinson gained 136 yards in the loss, and leads the AFL in rushing after a month of action. In Houston, Daryle Lamonica connected with Warren Wells for three touchdowns in the Raiders’ 31-17 win in the Astrodome. In Denver, the Broncos defeated the Patriots, 20-15.

Go to 1968 NFL Replay Home Page

Go to 1968 AFL Replay Home Page

There are two camps of baseball simulation players from the 1970′s: APBA and Strat-0-Matic. Ask anyone who played a card-and-dice baseball game as a kid “which game did you play?” and one of those two companies [...]]]>

“The pilgrimage has gained momentum,
take a turn (take a turn), take a turn (take a turn)”
R.E.M., 1983

There are two camps of baseball simulation players from the 1970′s: APBA and Strat-0-Matic. Ask anyone who played a card-and-dice baseball game as a kid “which game did you play?” and one of those two companies is the likely answer. I spent two summers of my adolescence with APBA baseball cards and dice. In early adulthood, I returned to the computer version of APBA, and years passed by before I saw those cards and dice again. That is, until last Friday.

I stopped for a moment beside my car in a parking lot. I had completed my morning business and set out for every day errands — a trip to the bank and whatever else — or for an afternoon of more work. But a recollection erased the laundry list that was forming in my mind. The APBA Game Company had announced this summer they were leaving their long-standing home of Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a suburb known as Alpharetta, Georgia. Not too far from where I now stood. A few clicks and swipes on my phone revealed I now stood a mere twelve minutes by car from APBA Games. The chores and cares of every day were cast aside, and I turned the car in an opposite direction for a pilgrimage to honor those summer days.

I pulled up to the one-story office complex of brick and glass. A cardboard sign hung on a glass door with the familiar APBA Games logo. I hesitated. I had no plans to purchase, just to pay my respects. Surely, I was not the first person to do so, maybe here, but I had read about people dropping Lancaster, PA to visit APBA. So I went in. I surmise I was not the unannounced visitor as I was warmly greeted by John and his staff. John realized the nature of my visit and offered to give me the two-cent tour. He walked me back to their warehouse area and loading dock. Cartons of APBA Baseball, Golf, and Saddle Racing games were stacked along the shelves and walls.  We discussed the labor of a cross-state move of a business, and he gladly answered questions that I had wondered for years. The lawsuit twelve years ago over the use of players’ names and stats wherein Miller Associates and other companies were named defendants; Miller’s subsequent decision to walk from Baseball for Windows; the possibility of BBW 6.0 (possible, “time frame depending on programmer’s schedules”); and individual competitors to the card game. I chuckled as he pronounced the game the correct way as “APP-bah” as my friends and I have always incorrectly called it “A-P-B-A”. In fairness to John, I’ll keep the details of the conversation private as I was not there for an interview, just for my personal curiosity, which I decided later to share. For an actual interview with John, visit APBA Blog.

For more on the history of the computer game, the APBA.zip site has a detailed story. I’m glad Greg has that site still up and active. It was one of the first APBA web sites I discovered 15 years ago. I recommend anyone with a APBA past to visit the new Alpharetta location. Their web site, APBAGames.com, now states “If you are in the neighborhood, please stop by.” The more common refrain down South would be “Y’all come by now, ya hear?” but you can’t expect everything from a Pennsylvania transplant. Seriously, thanks again to John and his staff for their hospitality, and I wish APBA continued success.

In 1934, one year after creating baseball’s All Star Game, Arch Ward, sports editor for the Chicago Tribune, looked for a football equivalent of the All Star Game. The NFL was is its fledgling years and in [...]]]>

Syracuse's Larry Csonka is tackled by the Packer defense in the 1968 Chicago Charities College All-Star Game.

In 1934, one year after creating baseball’s All Star Game, Arch Ward, sports editor for the Chicago Tribune, looked for a football equivalent of the All Star Game. The NFL was is its fledgling years and in need of some publicity. The result was a pre-season game that matched the defending NFL champion against a team of college all-stars. The game enjoyed initial success as it was the college game that held the public’s interest at the time. Red Grange and Sammy Baugh reached celebrity status during the playing days in college, not in the NFL. In 1947, the game drew an astounding 105,840 fans in attendance at Chicago’s Solider Field.

In the 1960′s, the game lessened in importance as salaries around the NFL increased. The College All Stars defeated the NFL champions (the AFL champion Jets and Chiefs did play this game in 1969 and 1970 respectively) nine times in the forty-one year history of the game (the game was not played in 1974 due to NFL player strike). The last victory was in 1963 as Wisconsin’s Ron VanderKelen led the collegians to a stunning 20-17 victory over Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. Interestingly, VanderKalen was undrafted before the game, but received a contract offer from the Vikings after the game.

In 1968, the college roster featured Heisman Trophy winner Gary Beban of U.C.L.A. but it was filled with names who would reach celebrity status in their NFL careers: Syracuse’s Larry Csonka, Arizona State’s Curley Culp, Wyoming’s Jim Kiick, Texas A & I’s Claude Humphrey, Massachusetts’ Greg Landry, Mississippi State’s D.D. Lewis, U.S.C’s Ron Yary, and San Diego State’s Haven Moses. The Green Bay Packers rolled to a 21-0 lead over the 1968 edition of the college all-stars, marking 86 unanswered points the Packers had scored in three such games. Bart Starr threw three touchdown passes to Carroll Dale. Larry Csonka of Syracuse was named the best All-Star of the game with 95 yards rushing against the Packers. The final score was 34-17.

The concerns that eventually ended the game in 1976 were coming to the surface in 1968. The editorial page of the August 17, 1968 edition of The Sporting News acknowledged that “pro executives fret over the injury threat to their rookies, who also are delayed in reporting to pro clubs when they compete in the Chicago event.” It was also noted that the lack of competitiveness was starting to grow on the All- Stars themselves. The NFL contract with the Chicago Tribune Charities, Inc. had one more year remaining in 1968. The game’s promoters were able to sell an extension, but in 1976, the game was called in the third quarter due to heavy rains. The game was washed away for good.

For more about the Chicago Charities College All Star Game.