>>Being a 49er fan, Y.A. Tittle and Joe Montana are my two favorite quarterbacks.
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>>Interviews with Joe Nameth were always interesting.
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>Y.A. Tittle was my father's favorite quarterback. My dad was inexplicably a Giants fan in New England and old Yelberton Abraham was their QB when I was young. There was a famous photo of him dazed on his knees after being sacked, his helmet off, blood running down from his bald head.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/57166500@N04/5425644414/>
>Note the empty seats. The NFL was quite a different game back then. Baseball was still America's pastime.
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>Now that I am riffing about sports, and in service of laughter as the best medicine, here is a great column by the peerless Bill Simmons. He has been all over NHL commissioner Gary Bettman lately, seldom if ever better than this. And he's got a point. (Don't skip over the asides in his NFL picks).
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http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8639525/just-go-away-garyThe 49ers in their infinite brilliance got rid of lots of super stars after the 1960 season. Who needs Joe Perry, Hugh McElhenny or Y.A Tittle? Those three guys became Hall of Famers. The new coach created the “Shotgun” offense. It worked for a few games but then the 49ers had a really bad season, which continued until the 1980’s under Bill Walsh, with Joe Montana.
There I was sitting at the 10 yard line, front seat, September of 1963. The Giants under Y. A. Tittle were the champs, playing the 49ers in an exhibition game at Kezar Stadium. On one of the plays a Giants offensive tackle had his upper leg broken. I heard it so loud and clear! He was in terrific pain, and only about 50 feet away.
Those were the good old days. My friend Bob St. Clair (another Hall of Famer) as a rookie was the first NFL Holdout! Yes sir! That was 1953. He held out until he received $5000 for his first season. The highest paid rookie in NFL history as of that time.
