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The 1970 College All-Star Game |
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Note: In 1970, a labor strike threatened the NFL season. The NFL owners had locked out the players during training camps. The Kansas City Chiefs were allowed a special dispensation to prepare for the College All-Star Game while other professional players remained out of preseason practice pending a settlement.
While such arms as Mike Phipps of Purdue and Dennis Shaw of San Diego State were fluttering for seven completions in 29 throws for 46 yards, husky Mike Delaney of American International, Springfield, Mass., booted a 29-yard field goal late in the last quarter to avert a shutout.
It brought a murmur from the throng of 69,940, dripping in the humid 80-degree heat and light rain at Soldier Field. Most of their cheers had to go to the Chiefs. With only one week of organized practices- a special dispensation while other veterans remained out of training camps in the contract dispute with owners- the Chiefs looked in the pink.
Maybe, they looked good be cause the All-Stars looked so bad in losing their seventh straight of the series with the pros.
The Super Bowl champions, who now will blow their camp until some settlement is reached in negotiations, piled up all their points in the first half.
In the first 7 ½ minutes of the game, 35-year-old Len Dawson hurled a 36-yard scoring pass to Frank Pitts to end a 76-yard frolic in six plays.
Later in the same quarter, Jan Stenerud booted a 43-yard field goal.
The second period was less than three minutes old when Willie Lanier stole a Shaw pass and returned it 14 yards to the All-Star 20 to set up a touchdown. Warren McVea, on the fourth play, slanted across end and went into the corner from the three.
Then, seven seconds before halftime, Jim Kearney, picked off a Phipps' pitch and streaked unmolested 65 yards down the sideline to score.
Phipps, chattel of the Cleveland Browns, received a minor bruised shoulder midway in the third and Shaw Buffalo Bills returned to finish the game.
Dawson, hitting on 17 of 21 passes for 153 yards, finally called it quits in the middle of the fourth quarter and Mike Livingston mopped up.
Delaney, who doesn't belong to anybody but his mother, got his heroic field goal chance at the nine-minute mark of the third quarter. Randy Montgomery of Weber State and the Denver Broncos, ran back a punt 20 yards which was followed by a personal foul infraction against the Chiefs. It put the Stars on the Kansas City 18 and, after Shaw's aerial probes failed, the left-footed, soccer-style Delaney hit his three-pointer.
Aside from this, and the combined 164 yards in punt and kickoff runbacks by Montgomery and Bruce Taylor of Boston U. and the San Francisco 49ers, the All-Stars were a fizzle. Their closest approached to a touchdown came in the third when Willie Mitchell fumbled a punt and Ted Koy of Texas (Oakland Raiders) plopped on it on the Chiefs' nine.
The Stars got to the two-yard line on last down and then Shaw shoveled off to John Isenbarger. of Indiana (49ers) who passed incomplete into the end zone trying to spear Ken Burroughs of Texas Southern (New Orleans Saints).
Delaney tried his field goal prowess with the Pittsburgh Steelers this spring, "But it wasn't a very good tryout and 1 decided to go to the Coast Guard Academy to see if Otto Graham thought I had a chance with the pros."
Graham is head All-Star coach as well as director of athletics at the academy where he returned after a spin as Washington Redskin skipper.
"I had never seen him until he walked in," said Graham. "He showed me he could kick. That happened just a week before the start of All-Star camp. I invited him to join us."
Delaney is about the only bright thing Graham can remember from this game.
"We played a lousy game.” Graham said. "Kansas City didn't force us into mistakes. We made them. We didn't get in our scrimmage against the pros that we usually do while in camp because of the player strike. A scrimmage with the pros is worth two or three touchdowns.
"The Chiefs may have been in camp only a week, but they have been working out for months," continued Graham.
"In fact, they were in better condition than any other pro team I've seen in this game in the last 10 years."
Because of the knee injury Dawson suffered last season, some Chief followers were surprised Coach Hank Stram used him so much when he had four other quarterbacks on hand.
"I had no determined plan about how long Len would play," said Stram, asserting his team played like the proud champions they are. "I just played it by ear. We ran a lot in the last half and what we were doing seemed like a safe approach as far as Dawson was concerned.
"I was satisfied with the way we played," Stram added. "It was like driving a Rolls Royce. We just wanted to keep it on the road." |
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Mike Garrett carries (from the cover of SI). |
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Len Dawson throws downfield in 1970. |
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Dawson flips a third quarter pass to Warren McVea. |
Dennis Shaw throws against Chiefs. |
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Willie Lanier and Buck Buchanan team up to crush Bob Anderson of Colorado.
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