Nostalgia sports finds

[Cobra Mgr]

Atlanta Braves vs Florida Marlins 1997 NLCS Game 5. In short, the Eric Gregg game.

[Cobra Mgr]

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

On November 16, 1980, two freight trains disguised as running backs—Walter Payton and Earl Campbell—shared a rare moment of levity after the Houston Oilers faced the Chicago Bears. Standing side by side, grinning despite the bruises, these future Hall of Famers embodied peak excellence and mutual respect.

That season, Campbell was unstoppable, leading the league with 1,934 rushing yards for a third straight year. His bruising runs left defenders clinging on desperately and fans in awe, establishing him as the Oilers’ offensive engine during one of the most dominant rushing campaigns in NFL history.

Across the field stood Walter Payton, “Sweetness.” Where Campbell used raw power, Payton’s style was elusive and graceful—yet just as tough. He finished second with 1,460 rushing yards, dazzling as the Bears’ cornerstone and routinely overcoming defenders with either agility or strength.

Their meeting that November transcended wins and losses; it was a moment between two legendary players who defined greatness. Their shared laugh reflected not just camaraderie, but a deep understanding of what it took to earn every yard, every cheer, and every place in history.

Both number 34's are now retired, of course, by the Bears and the Oilers/Titans.

[Cobra Mgr]

1944 World Series St Louis Browns vs St Louis Cardinals

[Cobra Mgr]

NFL 09/24/1978

[Cobra Mgr]

If a Klingon saw this game, he would say it was worthy of song. Chargers @ Dolphins 1981 playoffs.

[Amazin69]

And the winner won…a trip to Cincinnati!

Second prize was two trips to Cincinnati, or so I hear.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

And the winner won…a trip to Cincinnati!

Second prize was two trips to Cincinnati, or so I hear.

I always remember the weather beating the Chargers in that game. But seeing Joiner, Chandler & Winslow all getting beat up in OT that game makes me wonder if SD could have had anything left for this game.

[Cobra Mgr]

The St. Louis Browns - The Team that Baseball Forgot

[Cobra Mgr]

How the Buffalo Braves Were Screwed from the Get-go

[Cobra Mgr]

1982 Stanley Cup Finals Vancouver vs NY Islanders

Because we all need to see those Canuck sweaters again

[Cobra Mgr]

Don't know why I don't remember a QB getting ejected.

[Cobra Mgr]

Ty Cobb on a game show

Cy Young on a game show

[CONN CHRIS]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qIXYj_1Fdg

A fun look back at the first ten years of Blue Jays Baseball.

[Cobra Mgr]

Sandy Koufax. But that's not what is interesting.

[Amazin69]

Yeah, the "it's not a swing until you 'break your wrists'" rule was in effect back when I was in diapers. I still feel weird when I see somebody clearly stop their swing and have the strike called because their bodily torque makes them breach some invisible plane across the plate.

Don't feel so badly for Sandy and his fellow 1960s moundsmen, though. They got to pitch from mounds that were built up to 15" (in theory) or even higher (in practice). And they got to intimidate batters by firing fastballs at the batters' skulls with impunity, as the men in the press box laughed at the batters diving for their lives, as when Bob Gibson sent Tommie Agee sprawling in Spring Training 1968 and Roger Angell reported the reporters calling out "Welcome to the National League, Tommie!" at Agee, recently arrived from the White Sox.

(The A.L. at this point was considered a bunch of wimps and sissies, in part because they'd barely integrated, whereas 9/10 NL teams had already graduated a future black Hall of Famer out of their systems [The Mets were the exception, and they could have had Dick Allen and/or Reggie Jackson, but made poor decisions] and those players had had to deal with racially-driven aggression on the diamond.

And since the AL umpires wore the inflatable "balloon" chest protector and couldn't bend over to call the low strike, the pitchers had to work higher in the zone and threw more curves and change-ups, rather than fastballs.)

So with aggression viewed as a symptom of masculinity, mediocre pitchers such as Don Drysdale succeeded far beyond their talent and scoring fell to miniscule levels, and attendance died off during this "second deadball era" from 1963 (when the strike zone was inflated to "top of the shoulders to the bottom of the knees") through 1968, "The Year of the Pitcher". (Or as Angell skewered it, "The Year of the Infield Pop-Up".)

Honestly, few pitchers ever had it as good as Koufax. Should I mention that Dodger Stadium was pretty much death for Home Runs until they moved home plate 20' out towards centerfield in the late 1970s? Bill James once looked at the difference between Koufax's home stats from 1955-1961 (pre-Dodger Stadium) and afterwards; it was pretty stark.

Calling checked swings checked swings doesn't bother me at all. JMO.

[Cobra Mgr]

How many can you name?

[CONN CHRIS]

That is a great photo. I see Y.A. Tittle, Bart Starr, and Dandy Don. Would have to rack the old brain for more than that.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

That is a great photo. I see Y.A. Tittle, Bart Starr, and Dandy Don. Would have to rack the old brain for more than that.

#10 for the Vikes & #19 for the Colts should doable. #9 for Philly was more famous playing in Washington. #12 for the Niners became a broadcaster like Dandy Don.

[CONN CHRIS]

Ah, Fran, Johnny U, and Sonny. Ever seen that clip of Sonny's behind-the-back pass? These whipper snappers today think Mahomes invented it.