Less Than 1,001 Jersey Nights

The following contains a mix of first-hand and second-hand speculation.

Depending on the source, either November or December marks the 50th anniversary of what some may consider the first big-time hockey team in the state of New Jersey. They didn't play there for long.

In the fall of 1973, the New York Golden Blades, who had once hoped to play in the Nassau Coliseum before the Islanders blocked their hopes of doing so, were still enduring a sub-optimal run at Madison Square Garden. The team suffered from mismanagement to the point that, for the second time, the World Hockey Association took over its New York franchise.

Going by the figure of 24 games as the Golden Blades, this team became the Jersey Knights for its Dec. 5 road game against the Houston Aeros, then started playing at the arena in Cherry Hill, in the part of the Garden State near Philadelphia, the next day. The first of 26 home games was a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Crusaders.

Andre Lacroix, brought in over the summer of '73, was a star for the Blades and Knights, leading the league in assists for the season and being placed between Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe on the all-WHA starting line at the end of it all. Future Hall of Famer Harry Howell, in his early forties, was a player-coach.

The Knights finished last in the East with a record of 32-42-4, and unlike the fifth-place Quebec Nordiques, they didn't even come close to making the playoffs.

Their 4-2 loss to the Crusaders on the last day of March turned out to be the last game in New Jersey, and the team once valued as the one that would establish a foothold for the WHA in New York relocated to San Diego. The Mariners won their first four home games in October 1974.

Full post on hockey coming next Friday.

Sports74 Gold: NFL 1973

[EDIT 11/30/2023: Introducing the "football" label]

[EDIT 1/3/2024: Small adjustments to the first entry, plus a late addition]

Fifty years ago, the playoffs went into January at a time of 14-game seasons and only one wild card. These days, the champion team isn't decided until a month later.

The Miami Dolphins defend their title by beating the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 at Super Bowl VIII. Larry Csonka runs for 145 yards on 33 carries and scores both Miami touchdowns. As was the case last time, the Dolphins never lose the lead, and the other team's only score is in the fourth quarter.

With a record-setting 2,003 rushing yards (including 250 in the first game of the season Sept. 16), O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills is the consensus MVP of the NFL. 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.

LATE ADDITION 1-3-24, 6:19-20 p.m.: Alan Page, the Vikings' All-Pro tackle, is named best defensive player in a Newspaper Enterprise Association poll. He won that award and the AP's version in 1971, but for '73, the AP instead chooses Dolphins safety Dick Anderson.

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 3,219 passing yards and ties with Staubach for the passing touchdowns lead -- is fifth with 86.3.

Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler has an .862 completion percentage in a game against the Baltimore Colts, breaking the single-game record .857 Sammy Baugh set in '45.

Staubach's .626 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. Wide receivers doing the same: Cliff Branch of the Raiders and Drew Pearson of the Cowboys.

Johnny Unitas, quarterback for the San Diego Chargers this season only, wraps up his great career. His 471 passing yards give him a total of 40,239. Unitas' 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. In the 1974 offseason, a commercial for Beautymist Panty Hose with him modeling said wares is broadcast on television.

Ray Guy of the Raiders punts 3,127 yards in 69 attempts to begin his career as the century's best punter.

Don Maynard, a former Jets receiver now with the St. Louis Cardinals and playing his final season, makes an 18-yard reception Sept. 16 at Veterans Stadium. This is the 663rd catch 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 11 TDs this season are among 29 receptions.

John Brodie finishes his career with 31,548 passing yards and 214 passing touchdowns. For now, he can be considered the second-best quarterback the San Francisco 49ers have ever had, with Y.A. Tittle being the first.

Fred Dryer forces two safeties for the Rams in a game against the Green Bay 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 Packers Oct. 7.

Rich Stadium, home of the Bills, opens Aug. 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.

George Burman, Redskin center, claims a third of his team is on amphetamines.

At the Pro Bowl in Kansas City, Mo., 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 the blue conference comes 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 1973 season, there are no blackouts for games that sell out 72 hours before kickoff. Although there are 63 percent more no-shows in '73 than in '72, it reportedly 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 Feb. 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 set someone back at least $20 to be at Tulane Stadium for Super Bowl IX.

Stevens Wright, whose wife works for NFL Properties, designs a new logo for the Bills, one whose stripe is what some see as a potent suggestion of the bison's movement. The team will begin to use it in 1974.

Hockey entry, including some minor-league material, coming Dec. 8

Dedicated to the memory of Steven H. Miles, 1960-2023; "I'm gonna be like you, Dad"

Sports74 Gold: College Football '73

[EDIT 11/30/2023: Introducing the "football" label]

[EDIT 12/31/2023: Changing title]

[EDIT 2/9/2024: Changing title again]

Every three weeks, I will post a newly expanded version of the retrospective from 2013-14. This is the first in an 18-part series, featuring not just the greatest hits, but the greatest misses. What follows is a generous sampling of the season that ended with the bowl games of 1973 and '74.

Notre Dame defeats Alabama 24-23 in the Sugar Bowl. The AP declares the 11-0 Fighting Irish champions, but the coaches' poll sticks with the 11-1 Crimson Tide.

Penn State defeats LSU 16-9 in the Orange Bowl. Nittany Lions halfback John Cappelletti wins the Heisman Trophy as well as its less prestigious parallel, the Maxwell Award. The consensus All-American running back has 1,522 yards on 286 rushes and 17 rushing touchdowns.

Ohio State wins the Rose Bowl 42-21 against USC. The Buckeyes actually tie for the Big Ten championship with archrival Michigan, but a 6-4 vote among the conference schools' athletic directors determines Ohio State will play in Pasadena. Wolverines coach Bo Schembechler says "petty jealousies were involved."

Buckeyes offensive tackle John Hicks wins the Outland Trophy for best interior lineman and the Lombardi Award for best overall lineman. Hicks is also the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

Alabama's Bear Bryant is named Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. The FWAA gives Johnny Majors of Pittsburgh that honor, as the Panthers improved from 1-10 in '72 to 6-5-1, including a Fiesta Bowl loss to Arizona State, in '73.

Tom Osborne coaches Nebraska for the first of what will prove to be 25 years (finishing the initial campaign with a 19-3 Cotton Bowl win against Texas). The Cornhuskers go 9-2-1, as they had the year before, having slipped from going undefeated in '70 and '71.

Barry Switzer begins his 17 years as Oklahoma head coach. Steve Davis begins a three-season, 32-1-1 run as Sooners QB.

This is the first season as Pitt head coach for Majors and the first of four years on the Panthers for running back Tony Dorsett, both of whom will help the team win a national title in 1976.

The consensus All-American quarterback is Dave Jaynes of Kansas with 196 completions for 2,349 yards and 14 touchdowns. His marks in the Big 8 (172 completions, 2,131 yards, 13 touchdowns) are tops in the conference.

The passing leader and total offense leader is Jesse Freitas of San Diego State (Pacific Coast Athletic Association, 9-1-1) with 227 completions in 11 games. He throws for 2,293 yards and 21 touchdowns, and his total offense is 2,901 yards.

Mark Kellar of independent, 6-5 Northern Illinois is the leading rusher in the University Division with 1,719 yards in 11 games. In second and third place for that stat are Dorsett (1,670) and Cappelletti (1,591).

Jay Miller of 5-6 Western Athletic Conference member Brigham Young University gets 22 catches in a game Nov. 3 against New Mexico. This is a record that will stand until 1994. Miller is the receptions leader for the season with 100 in 11 games. He has 1,181 yards and 8 TDs.

During the Texas-Texas A&M game Nov. 22, Aggies center Ricky Seeker isn't on the field when he's needed with seconds to go before halftime. Seeker expected the team to try a field goal and use a different center for that, but he was wrong. Texas leads 21-7 at halftime and wins 42-13.

Florida State goes 0-11, with its players having been subjected to "The Room" prior to spring practice. Head coach Larry Jones would have players do drills and fight as they bent to avoid chicken wire just four feet above the floor. Twenty-eight players quit the team, and at the end of it all, FSU is on probation and Jones is no longer the head coach.

This is the University of Kentucky's first year at Commonwealth Stadium.

In the College Division (as opposed to the University Division), the first-ever Division II champions are the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech. The first-ever Division III champions are the Tigers of Wittenberg University.

In the Senior Bowl, a postseason all-star game, Lynn Swann of USC (Pac-8 leader with 37 receptions) catches the winning touchdown pass for the North. The Pittsburgh Steelers will pick the consensus All-American in the first round of the '74 draft.

From passer rating to pantyhose commercials, the NFL in 1973 is coming Nov. 17.

Coming to Your Town

In three weeks begins an expanded version of this sports retrospective, full of winners and losers, milestones and useless stats, spectacular worldwide events and obscure championships.

Sports74 is about to go gold.

Here's a compilation to start your quest for musical accompaniment, nine timeless rock tracks that just happen to have been some of the hit records of the year on which we're focused. It's not in stores or from K-Tel, only on this unlisted playlist.

Preliminary Schedule

10/27/23   Coll. Football '73

11/17/23   NFL '73

12/08/23   Hockey '73-74

12/29/23   Miscellaneous

01/19/24   Pro Basket. '73-74

02/09/24   Coll. Basket. '73-74

03/01/24   American League

03/22/24   National League

04/12/24   Baseball Misc.

05/03/24   Track, Horses, Autos

05/24/24   Golf, Tennis, Boxing

06/14/24   Soccer

07/05/24   WFL and CFL

07/26/24   International

08/16/24   Coll. Football '74

09/06/24   NFL '74

09/27/24   Hockey '74-75

10/18/24   Basketball '74-75

11/08/24   Bibliography

EDIT 11:41 p.m.: Made to better fit a mobile phone screen.

EDIT 12-25-24, 6:42-3 a.m.: Introduced "music" label.

FIBA World Championship

 With FIBA's Basketball World Cup beginning today, here's a look back at how it was in 1974.

Puerto Rico hosted 13 other teams from across the globe. Of these teams that gathered in three Puerto Rican cities, eight advanced to the final round. All teams that won medals finished 6-1, points scored divided by points allowed breaking ties (or so USA Basketball says).

The Soviet Union featured Aleksandr Belov, the man who "scored" the "basket" that "won" the gold medal two years prior. That team's leading scorer in 1974 was a future two-time Olympian, Aleksandr Salnikov, who scored 38 points in the last game July 14. Salnikov made his first international tournament appearance that summer, but Modestas Paulauskas (a Lithuanian) was one of the five players from the 1972 Olympic team, as were Sergei Belov, Aleksandr Boloshev, and Ivan Yedeshko.

Despite a three-point loss to the United States, Yugoslavia (having defeated the Soviets by three) finished second, with a young Drazen Dalipagic making the first of four world championship appearances in his Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame career. One of his teammates was a Croatian named Zeljko Jerkov.

Wouldn't you know it, the USA was undefeated in the tournament until the Stars and Stripes faced the Hammer and Sickle on that second Sunday of July. This was a clear-cut, 11-point loss that put Team USA in third place, even though Yugoslavia's ratio of points scored to points allowed was 1.107 and the USA's was 1.182 (the Soviets led with 1.228).

Guards John Lucas of Maryland and Luther "Ticky" Burden of Utah led the team in scoring for the tournament, and they along with forward Tom Boswell of South Carolina made the all-tournament team according to USA Basketball, but Land of Basketball has it that no Americans did.

Seven U.S. players got called for four fouls or more in the game against the Soviets, including Lucas, Burden, guard Steve Grote of Michigan, and guard Quinn Buckner of Indiana (an Olympian in 1976). Boswell fouled out, as did center Joe Meriweather of Southern Illinois and forward Myron Wilkins of Northwestern Oklahoma A&M Junior College (the team's oldest player).

Rounding out the selection of 12 collegians: forward Gus Gerard of Virginia, center Rich Kelley of Stanford, guard Frank Oleynick of Seattle, forward Rick Schmidt of Illinois (playing for his school's head coach, Gene Bartow), and forward Eugene Short of Jackson State.

EDIT, 3:26 p.m.: For perspective, Team USA finished fifth in 1970 and fifth in 1978, and fourth in both '63 and '67. This was the first U.S. medal in the worlds since 1959 and only one in the '60s or '70s. The Americans medaled at every world championship held in the '50s, '80s, and '90s.

EDIT 8:51 p.m., 10/26/24: Had originally spelled Salnikov's name "Salinkov" in the first reference.

SOURCES
FIBA hub for tournament information
USA Basketball PDF on team history, with 1974 on Page 41
Land of Basketball hub for more on the tournament format, possibly