[EDIT 6/22/2015: Apostrophe groundskeeping]
[EDIT 11/30/2023: Removing justification and introducing "football" label]
A little late? Maybe not. After all, the 2013 NFL regular season ends tomorrow.
The Miami Dolphins defend their title by defeating
the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 at Super Bowl VIII. Larry Csonka runs for 145 yards
on 33 carries and scores both of the Dolphins' touchdowns. Just like last time,
Miami never loses the lead, and the other team's only score is in the fourth
quarter.
With a record-setting 2,003 rushing yards, O.J.
Simpson of the Buffalo Bills is the consensus MVP of the NFL. In the first game
of the season Sept. 16, he runs for 250 yards. Simpson's mark is 140 yards
better than Jim Brown's 1963 record, and each man was playing in a 14-game
season. The record will last until 1984, by which time there will be 16 games in
a season.
The AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and the league's
Rookie of the Year as selected by Pro
Football Weekly is the Vikings' Chuck Foreman, who goes 801 yards on 182
carries and gets 362 yards on 37 receptions.
The UPI Coach of the Year for the NFC is Chuck Knox,
who brings the Los Angeles Rams from 6-7-1 to 12-2 in his first year with the
team. For the AFC, it's John Ralston of the Denver Broncos, a second-year coach
who brings his team from 5-9 to 7-5-2.
Roger Staubach of the Dallas Cowboys is the leader
in quarterback rating for the year of its introduction with 94.6. The Vikings'
Fran Tarkenton is second with 93.2. Roman Gabriel of the Philadelphia Eagles –
who leads the NFL with 3219 passing yards and ties with Staubach for the
passing touchdowns lead – is fifth with 86.3.
Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler has an 86.2
completion percentage in a game against the Baltimore Colts, breaking the
single-game record 85.7% Sammy Baugh set in '45.
Staubach's 62.6 completion percentage for the season is, and will
be, his personal best.
The receptions leader is Harold Carmichael of the
Eagles with 67 for 1,116 yards.
Offensive guards launching Hall of Fame careers this
year: John Hannah of the New England Patriots and Joe DeLamielleure of the
Bills.
Johnny Unitas, quarterback for the San Diego Chargers this season
only, wraps up his career and is bound for Canton. His 471 passing yards give
him a total of 40,239. His final completion is a seven-yard pass, his only one
of a game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Meanwhile on the Chargers, new quarterback and
future Hall of Famer Dan Fouts makes his debut.
New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath misses eight
games, seven in a row due to a separated shoulder.
Ray Guy of the Oakland Raiders punts 3,127 yards in
69 attempts to begin his career as the best punter ever.
Don Maynard, a former Jets receiver now with the St.
Louis Cardinals and playing his final season, makes an 18-yard reception at
Veterans Stadium September 16. This is catch number 663 for him, and his total
is brought to 11,834 yards. Both are records at this point. He makes no
receptions in his only other game.
Paul Warfield of the Dolphins scores four touchdowns
in the final game of the regular season Dec. 15. He gets six passes for 103
yards at home against the Detroit Lions. His eleven TDs this season are among
29 receptions.
John Brodie finishes his career with 31,548 passing
yards and 214 passing touchdowns. For now, he is the best quarterback the San
Francisco 49ers have ever had.
Fred Dryer forces two safeties for the Rams in a game against the Packers
Oct. 21.
Besides Unitas and Maynard, other retiring players
who will make it to the Hall of Fame one day are Bob Brown, Dick Butkus, Gene
Hickerson, and Leroy Kelly. This is also Weeb Ewbank's last year coaching.
Extensive renovations of Yankee Stadium begin, and progress
on the new stadium in New Jersey hasn't gotten far past the groundbreaking, so
the New York Giants play part of this season and all of the next at the Yale
Bowl. Their final game in the Bronx is a 23-23 tie with the Eagles Sept. 23,
and their first New Haven home game of the regular season is a 16-14 loss to
the Green Bay Packers Oct. 7.
Rich Stadium, home of the Bills, opens August 17 to
a crowd of 80,020. The Bills lose the preseason game to the Washington Redskins
37-21 at this new stadium just outside of Buffalo.
At the Pro Bowl in Kansas City, Garo Yepremian of
the Dolphins kicks five field goals for all of the AFC's 15 points. The NFC
scores the game's only touchdown, but they come up two points short.
This is the first season in which first-down markers
have rubber caps at the bottom instead of metal points. Some call this the
Bubba Smith Rule after the Colts defensive end who was injured by getting
caught in the chains at a 1972 preseason game in Tampa and missed the
subsequent season because of it.
Pete Gent's North
Dallas Forty is published. The novel is a fictionalized, autobiographical
account of being an NFL player.
Starting this season, there will be no blackouts for
games that sell out 72 hours before kickoff. Though there are 63% more no-shows
in '73 than in '72, it isn't as bad for the NFL as Commissioner Pete Rozelle
will continue to say it is.
Two days after a post-season owners' meeting in
Florida February 25 in which Rozelle announces a four-year deal worth $60
million a year with the networks, the commissioner gets a ten-year extension on
his contract and is given power to arbitrate.
For Super Bowl VIII, the least expensive ticket at
Rice Stadium is $15. It will cost at least $20 to be at Tulane Stadium for Super
Bowl IX.
LINKS
Happy New Year. Next month, 1973-74 in the NHL and the WHA.
