Pro Football in the 1970s

Sports History Network

Pro Football in the 1970s is part of the Sports History Network, hosted by the author of multiple pro football books, Joe Zagorski. Each episode delves into moments in gridiron history that include great players, unforgettable plays, memorable games, and many more instances of what made football America's favorite sport. read less
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Episodes

SHN Presents: NO NONSENSE, OLD SCHOOL WEIGHTLIFTING HISTORY - SHN Trailers
Dec 17 2023
SHN Presents: NO NONSENSE, OLD SCHOOL WEIGHTLIFTING HISTORY - SHN Trailers
NO NONSENSE, OLD SCHOOL WEIGHTLIFTING HISTORY is presented by the Sports History Network, the headquarters for sports yesteryear.ABOUT SHOW:My name is Mark Morthier, and I host yesterday’s Sports on the Sports History Network. As many of you know from reading my articles and listening to my podcasts, I am not only an avid weightlifter but a fan of the sport as well. I’m excited to share my newest adventure, a show dedicated to promoting weightlifting, while also looking back at some weightlifting history. I’ll share some of my own stories and interview weightlifters from both past and present.I competed in Olympic Weightlifting from 1981 to 1989 and powerlifting from 2011 to 2019. Although I wasn’t what one might call “a naturally gifted lifter,” I managed to clean & jerk 140 kilos/308 lbs at 179 lbs body weight. In my later years, I achieved a 600-pound deadlift and a 431-pound front squat in my mid-fifties. Although I was more successful in powerlifting, setting New Jersey and New York State records in Masters Competitions, I’ll always consider myself an Olympic Weightlifter. I’ve also written a book on weight training titled No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training, which is available on Amazon.NO NONSENSE, OLD SCHOOL WEIGHTLIFTING (Amazon affiliate link)I hope that you will enjoy the show, and please leave a comment or offer a suggestion. And if you’re an Olympic lifter, past or present, let me know if you’d like to set up an interview, and I’ll do my best to have you on the show. Stay strong and God bless!
The Greatest Quarteracks of the Decade
Nov 6 2023
The Greatest Quarteracks of the Decade
Pro Football in the 1970s is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Your Favorite Sport's Yesteryear.EPISODE SUMMARYCHECK OUT THE NFL IN THE 1970S FACEBOOK PAGEWell, I have refrained from discussing this topic, because I know that it will inspire plenty of debates, but I must give in and talk about it here. It’s probably one of the most common topics for any pro football historian who studies this time period. Who were the greatest quarterbacks in the decade of the 1970s? And among them, who was the best? I know that I am opening a Pandora’s Box of sorts, but it is time that I gird my loins, as it were, and address the issue head-on. I believe that there were nine truly great quarterbacks in the NFL during the 1970s. I’m going to list them in random order here, then at the end of this podcast, I’m going to make my case for who I feel is the greatest of the ones that I list here. The finalists are, in random order....Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here.PRO FOOTBALL IN THE 1970S BACKGROUNDPro Football in the 1970s is a podcast dedicated to teaching fans about the history of the NFL during the 1970s, a time when the host (Joe Zagorski) grew up as a rabid fan of the game. Joe is also an author of multiple NFL books. See Joe's books below.The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football's Most Important DecadeThe Year the Packers Came Back: The 1972 ResurgenceAmerica's Trailblazing Middle Linebacker: The Story of NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier
1976 New England Patriots: A Bicentennial Uprising
Oct 9 2023
1976 New England Patriots: A Bicentennial Uprising
Pro Football in the 1970s is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Your Favorite Sport's Yesteryear.EPISODE SUMMARYIn 1976, the nation we call the United States of America was celebrating its 200th birthday. It was a grand celebration from sea to sign shining sea, for 365 days. It almost seemed appropriate that the New England Patriots would invest in the patriotic fervor of that time by having their best season so far in the decade of the 1970s. You could make an argument that the Patriots and not the Dallas Cowboys were the real America's team. They naturally had red, white, and blue uniforms, their team played their home games in the region of the country where the American Revolution began, and for their logo, they had a continental soldier perched as a center ready to snap the football. What more could you ask for in the form of patriotism?.....Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here.PRO FOOTBALL IN THE 1970S BACKGROUNDPro Football in the 1970s is a podcast dedicated to teaching fans about the history of the NFL during the 1970s, a time when the host (Joe Zagorski) grew up as a rabid fan of the game. Joe is also an author of multiple NFL books. See Joe's books below.The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football's Most Important DecadeThe Year the Packers Came Back: The 1972 ResurgenceAmerica's Trailblazing Middle Linebacker: The Story of NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier
Remembering Chester Marcol's Incredible Rookie Season
Aug 7 2023
Remembering Chester Marcol's Incredible Rookie Season
Pro Football in the 1970s is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Your Favorite Sport's Yesteryear.EPISODE SUMMARYBy the time of the 1972 NFL Player Draft, the Green Bay Packers, in particular their head coach Dan Devine, had had enough. Divine's first year at the helm of the Packers would end up with a poor 4-8-2 record.There were plenty of reasons for this, one of the most prominent of which came with the team's inability to successfully convert field goals. A total of nine different place kickers attempted at least one field goal from 1968 to 1971. There was simply no consistency in the team's kicking position to be found.None. Many people would voice their displeasure over Green Bay’s kicking woes, as they asked themselves during this time “How tough could it be to find a kicker?” Well, it took several years, but Green Bay and Dan Divine in particular, finally found a good place kicker......Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here.PRO FOOTBALL IN THE 1970S BACKGROUNDPro Football in the 1970s is a podcast dedicated to teaching fans about the history of the NFL during the 1970s, a time when the host (Joe Zagorski) grew up as a rabid fan of the game. Joe is also an author of multiple NFL books. See Joe's books below.The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football's Most Important DecadeThe Year the Packers Came Back: The 1972 ResurgenceAmerica's Trailblazing Middle Linebacker: The Story of NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier
SHN Presents: The Official Football Learning Academy Podcast - SHN Trailers
Jul 7 2023
SHN Presents: The Official Football Learning Academy Podcast - SHN Trailers
The Official Football Learning Podcast is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.HIGHLIGHTED SHOW - FOOTBALL LEARNING ACADEMYEach week, the official Football Learning Academy podcast will take you deep into the history of this great game.Through interviews with players, coaches, or administrators in the NFL, as well as interviews with Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors, authors, and historians, you will learn about how the game evolved and important moments that shaped the sport into what it is today.You will also get first-hand accounts from the people who have made history in pro football.Host: Ken CrippenKen Crippen was in a leadership position within the Professional Football Researchers Association for 15 years and is now the founder and lead instructor at the Football Learning Academy.He has been researching and writing about pro football history for over 30 years and has been a sought-after interview for publications like the Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone magazine, and a sought-after guest on podcasts and radio shows, namely The History Channel, ESPN Radio, and Fox Sports Radio.He has written two books, been the managing editor of two other books, and a contributor to yet two more books. He has also written hundreds of articles on pro football history, has won the Dick Connor Writing Award for Feature Writing (which is now called the Lesley Visser Enterprise News/Features Award) from the Pro Football Writers of America, as well as the Professional Football Researchers Association’s Ralph Hay Award for lifetime achievement in pro football research.Learn more about the show on the Sports History Network.
Remembering the Greatest Individual Defensive Performance in NFL Playoff History
Jul 3 2023
Remembering the Greatest Individual Defensive Performance in NFL Playoff History
Pro Football in the 1970s is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Your Favorite Sport's Yesteryear.EPISODE SUMMARYThe 1979 AFC Playoffs brought an unsung hero, Vernon Perry of the Houston Oilers, into the spotlight. Despite being relatively unknown, Perry's defensive prowess came to the forefront in a memorable game against the highly-favored San Diego Chargers. Riddled with injuries, the Oilers' chances seemed slim, but Perry's exceptional performance completely shifted the narrative.During the game, Perry astonishingly intercepted four passes from San Diego's Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, effectively derailing the Chargers' typically high-scoring offensive drive. Perry’s interceptions and his pivotal block of a field goal attempt led to a Houston field goal, eventually providing the Oilers with their margin of victory, 17-14. These efforts confounded the Chargers and played a crucial role in keeping them scoreless in the final quarter of the game.Vernon Perry's performance during the 1979 AFC Divisional Playoffs is now a part of pro football trivia. He remains the only player in the league’s modern era to intercept four passes and block a field goal in a single playoff game. His exceptional display of defensive skill proved to be the spark the injury-ridden Oilers needed to advance to the AFC Title Game, cementing his place in football history.Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here.PRO FOOTBALL IN THE 1970S BACKGROUNDPro Football in the 1970s is a podcast dedicated to teaching fans about the history of the NFL during the 1970s, a time when the host (Joe Zagorski) grew up as a rabid fan of the game. Joe is also an author of multiple NFL books. See Joe's books below.The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football's Most Important DecadeThe Year the Packers Came Back: The 1972 ResurgenceAmerica's Trailblazing Middle Linebacker: The Story of NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier
Great Plays of the Decade (Tom Dempsey's Record-Breaking Field Goal
May 8 2023
Great Plays of the Decade (Tom Dempsey's Record-Breaking Field Goal
Pro Football in the 1970s is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Your Favorite Sport's Yesteryear.EPISODE SUMMARYThe decade of the 1970s had numerous great plays in the NFL. Now this is not an exact science. I won’t be trying to list every single great play of the decade, because there were so many of them, and because I didn’t want to leave any out if I could help it. But I will try to look at some of them. One of the first great plays during the 1970s involved a placekicker…and not just any place kicker, mind you. Rather, it involved a handicapped placekicker. Tom Dempsey was kicking for the New Orleans Saints in 1970 when he had a chance to win a game with a field goal. No big deal you say? Well, when you consider that he would be trying to connect on a kick that would set a new league record, it would definitely be considered to be a great play......Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here.PRO FOOTBALL IN THE 1970S BACKGROUNDPro Football in the 1970s is a podcast dedicated to teaching fans about the history of the NFL during the 1970s, a time when the host (Joe Zagorski) grew up as a rabid fan of the game. Joe is also an author of multiple NFL books. See Joe's books below.The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football's Most Important DecadeThe Year the Packers Came Back: The 1972 ResurgenceAmerica's Trailblazing Middle Linebacker: The Story of NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier
Lawrence McCutcheon and the 1975 Postseason
Apr 4 2023
Lawrence McCutcheon and the 1975 Postseason
Pro Football in the 1970s is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Your Favorite Sport's Yesteryear.EPISODE SUMMARY The featured halfback for the Los Angeles Rams in 1975 was Lawrence McCutcheon, a runner who delivered the unabashed punch of a fullback, with the speed and the shifty moves of a quality halfback. During the regular season that year, McCutcheon had rushed for a total of 911 yards, which was a regression from the 1,097 yards that he gained in 1973, and the 1,109 yards that he gained in 1974. Despite his falling short of the 1,000-yard plateau in 1975, the Rams still managed to win the NFC Western Division title with an impressive 12-2 record. Los Angeles head coach Chuck Knox had to rely mostly on McCutcheon in the first round of the 1975 divisional playoffs. This was due primarily because Knox’s quarterback situation still had not been resolved. Knox vacillated between James Harris and Ron Jaworski to be his starting signal caller, especially as the 1975 regular season neared its end.Read the entire episode blog post and check out some other cool info regarding this episode here.PRO FOOTBALL IN THE 1970S BACKGROUNDPro Football in the 1970s is a podcast dedicated to teaching fans about the history of the NFL during the 1970s, a time when the host (Joe Zagorski) grew up as a rabid fan of the game. Joe is also an author of multiple NFL books. See Joe's books below.The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football's Most Important DecadeThe Year the Packers Came Back: The 1972 ResurgenceAmerica's Trailblazing Middle Linebacker: The Story of NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier
SHN Presents: Fantasy Football Origin Stories - SHN Trailers
Mar 23 2023
SHN Presents: Fantasy Football Origin Stories - SHN Trailers
When Football Is Football is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.HIGHLIGHTED SHOWWelcome to Fantasy Football Origin Stories, a weekly show here on the Sports History Network, where each episode is a journey back in time to explore some unique experiences from some of the coolest and most influential people in the fantasy football industry.My name is Arnie Chapman, also known as The Football History Dude, and fantasy football is one of my greatest passions. I want you to come along with me each Wednesday to explore the yesteryear of this game of skill we all love so much. Yeah, that’s right, it’s a game of skill, all you wannabe champs out there. This is an ode to the spreadsheet warriors, the game tape gurus, team name savants, and everyone in between. I’ll take you behind the scenes to explore the origin stories of your favorite fantasy football analysts, but I won’t stop there, because this show will include all roles in the industry. You’ll get to know the game behind the game that’s behind the game like you’ve never heard it before, and I can't wait for you to ride shotgun with me back in time, to learn about some of these armchair gridiron knowledge nuggets.And remember, you got to tell all of your fantasy football-loving friends that this show is available to listen to for free in any app that supports podcasts. It’ll be the one fantasy football show you’re ok with sharing. Because even though there might be a fantasy tip here and there, this show is all about getting to know the people in the industry, not a weekly list-building show.This show is also a proud member of the Sports History Network, the Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear. So grab your friends, and hop aboard my DeLorean, because we’re about to get this baby up to 88mph.Learn more about the show on the Sports History Network.
SHN Presents: Unpopular Essays on Sports History - SHN Trailers
Feb 22 2023
SHN Presents: Unpopular Essays on Sports History - SHN Trailers
Unpopular Essays on Sports History is part of the Sports History Network - The Headquarters For Sports Yesteryear.HIGHLIGHTED SHOWUnpopular Essays on Sports HistorySupposition. We live in a golden age of sports.I mean this not in the sense of athletes becoming stronger, speedier, savvier and smarter than ever before, nor in terms of the amazing access we have to live streams and stat feeds, instant insights and opinionating, the quirks and personalities of our celebrity heroes.This, rather, is a golden age of sports in humanistic, historical terms. The truth is that the great majority of people today, willingly or not, have a direct and regular connection to organized and/or participatory sports in their everyday lives than anyone born before the 20th century.In the United States, not a person alive can recall a time when sports was not a staple of the daily newspaper. For four generations, the notion that nightly news programs should devote up to one-quarter of their airtime to sports is taken for granted. Why do we take this for granted?At Unpopular Essays on Sports History, everything is questionable.Supposition: Those who play the games have ascended in the public eye to heights unimaginable in times past. Playing top-level sports can get today’s athlete into business, TV production, national politics – and just how did this happen?At Unpopular Essays on Sports History, everything is up for examination.Supposition: Sports – wherever they are played but particularly in these places where they are invented – effect culture, even pace it. One could argue that sports are more important than ever.Corollary: Sports history, too, should be more important, yet is probably more disrespected and disavowed than ever.At Unpopular Essays on Sports History, we love the past while marveling at the present, and wondering about the future.  The “unpopular essays” of the title is a nod to Bertrand Russell, the logical positivist and my favorite philosopher. (Plus it’s a great excuse to get my BA degree to finally pay off.) And as we’re taught in philosophy, It’s not about answering the questions; it’s about making them clearer.Three days a week, Unpopular Essays on Sports History will examine a moment in sports history, probe some modern ethos of our games, or speculate on what the past can teach the future – and all in 500 words or less – though probably occasionally throwing in the occasional longer interview. We’ll tour the spaces and times of the whole wide world of sports history about as quickly as Secretariat ran the Belmont Stakes.Supposition: Sports history is fascinating, illuminating and fun. Join me, Os Davis, in making the questions of sports history clearer right here an Unpopular Essays on Sports History, an SHN production. Os Davis, host of Unpopular Essays on Sports History Os never played the games but has enjoyed a nearly 30-year career in sports writing, reporting, blogging, and podcasting. He has hosted/co-hosted and produced/co-produced podcasts on NFL football, CFL football, European basketball and sports movie review. For the Sports History Network, he currently writes and co-produces the historical fiction audiodrama Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer and will return soon with more episodes of Truly the GOATs (promise).Learn more about the show on the...