Goodbye to Abner Haynes at the age of 86.
One of the first stars of the AFL, Haynes chose the Dallas Texans over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1960 when Steelers coach Buddy Parker and star quarterback Bobby Layne showed up at Haynes' house drunk, which made Haynes's father, a minister, to tell his son that he would be signing with the brand new Texans.
Haynes led the AFL in rushing and touchdowns in the league's first year, winning the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards in 1960.
Haynes was named to the All-AFL first team three times and second team once, was named to the league's all-time team, and finished third in league history, yet Haynes is most remembered for his "kick to the clock" decision in a gale storm in the 1962 AFL title game.
Texans coach Hank Stram had given Haynes instructions to take the wind if they won the toss and when Dallas won the coin flip, Haynes's "kick to the clock" allowed the Houston Oilers to have the ball first and the wind in overtime.
The Texans overcame the error, winning the game 20-17 in the second overtime in the final game as the Dallas Texans as they left for Kansas City for the following season.
Goodbye to Jim Ninowski at the age of 88.
Ninowski played for four teams in his twelve-year career, most notably with the Lions and Browns.
Ninowski was acquired from Cleveland to start for the Lions in the 1960 and 1961 seasons but threw only nine touchdown passes against thirty-six interceptions in the two seasons.
Ninowski returned to Cleveland in 1962 but a shoulder injury forced him from the lineup, Frank Ryan took over as the starter and would be a backup for the remainder of his career, which concluded in 1969 with a four-game stint with the New Orleans Saints.
Goodbye to Benjamin Gay at the age of 44.
A five-star recruit in 1997, Gay chose Baylor and was kicked off the team after only five games for rules violations.
Gay played a half-season before being kicked off that team for rules violations and was waived by the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos in 2000.
Gay tried out for the Cleveland Browns and made the team in 2001 as a running back and kick returner.
Gay rushed for fifty-six yards and his only NFL touchdown in a November win over Baltimore. He was waived at the end of the season, signing with Indianapolis for 2002 but would not make the team.
Goodbye to Brad Dusek at the age of 73.
Dusek spent all eight seasons of his NFL career with Washington after being acquired from New England, who picked him in the third round of the 1973 draft from Texas A&M as a solid all-around linebacker.
Dusek would start ninety-one games for Washington in those eight seasons.
Dusek recovered sixteen fumbles, picked off four interceptions, and had fourteen sacks to go with three touchdowns, which Dusek scored off fumble recoveries.
Goodbye to Tony Hunter at the age of 64.
A standout tight end at Notre Dame, Hunter was chosen twelfth overall with the first of the Buffalo Bills' two first-round draft picks in the 1983 draft, ahead of Buffalo's fourteenth pick, Jim Kelly.
Hunter played two seasons in Buffalo before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams and catching fifty passes in his first season as a Ram before a career-ending leg injury in 1986.
Goodbye to Dave Williams at the age of 78.
Williams spent his best seasons with the St.Louis Cardinals before moving to San Diego and Pittsburgh along with the WFL's Southern California Sun.
Williams was the Cardinal's first-round pick in 1967 from Washington and played five seasons there, catching 162 passes and 22 touchdowns.
Williams was the top receiver for the WFL Sun, scoring twenty touchdowns for the Southern California franchise.
No comments:
Post a Comment