Herschel Walker

**^{This image is notable not just for the action but}**
**^{for the technology by which it was taken. We’re}**
**^{looking for the game, the year, the outcome,}**
**^{and – if you’d like A LOT of extra credit, why was}**
**^{this image so technologically advanced?}**

This image was captured in New Orleans’ then-Superdome during the 1981 Sugar Bowl by Sports Illustrated photographer, Heinz Kluetmeier. It’s notable not only because it captures University of Georgia freshman, Herschel Walker, scoring from a yard out, but also because it was the first time a photographer used strobe lights in a domed stadium. Notice, in the full image below, how bright the players appear.

We’re also running a photo from Kluetmeier because the legendary SI photographer died on Tuesday at the age of 82. Here is fellow SI staffer Jon Wertheim‘s obituary.

^{Georgia freshman running back Herschel Walker goes airborne to score from the 1-yard-line for the top-ranked Bulldogs during their 17-10 victory over seventh-ranked Notre Dame in the 1981 Sugar Bowl. (Photo by Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated)}

Three of Kluetmeier’s most notable offerings have already been used by us as Fan Teasers. He was in rink at Lake Placid for Team USA‘s stunning upset of the Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics (Week 71 Fan Teaser). It served as Sports Illustrated‘s cover on its March 3, 1980, issue. Beyond the name of the magazine and the date it contained no other text on the cover; a first in SI‘s history. He also happened to have is underwater camera set up in 2008’s Beijing Olympics and caught American Michael Phelps out-touching Serbia’s Milorad Cavic in the 100-meter Butterfly (Week 61 Fan Teaser). And his image of Jackie Joyner-Kersee from the longjump in the 2008 Seoul Olympics (Week 93 Fan Teaser).

^{More of Heinz Kluetmeier’s incredible work from the pages of Sports Illustrated.}

If you’d like to see which shots Kluetmeier most admired, check out this 2008 article in Sports Illustrated where he discusses some of his all-time favorite photos.

Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.

Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you by the early kickoff on Sunday.

**^{The only thing bigger than his collar was his smile. Went on to have a successful}**
**^{NFL career. Once teamed with another Heisman winner in the same backfield.}**
**^{Name ’em both for an extra helping of Primanti Bros. fries.}**

I have one keen recollection of Tony Dorsett‘s Heisman Trophy-winning 1976 season. It was January 1, 1977 and Dorsett’s Pittsburgh Panthers played in the Sugar Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs. To be clear, I remember nothing about Dorsett’s 202-yard performance in that game or the fact that Pitt won, 24-7, to complete an 11-0 season and earn the consensus national championship. Nope, what I remember most is that the rest of my family went to bed before me (then a 9-year-old) and I stayed up to watch the game. Not sure I made it to the end, but I distinctly remember being responsible for turning the TV off and the lights out before going to bed. It was the first time I ever recall staying up after my parents for a sporting event.

In the event you want to enjoy a journey in the way-back machine, here’s the ABC telecast of the Sugar Bowl, featuring Keith Jackson and Ara Parseghian on the call.

Dorsett went on to the second pick in the 1977 NFL Draft (Ricky Bell went No. 1 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and over 12 seasons had a Hall of Fame career (the only 1977 draftee enshrined in Canton). In Dallas, Dorsett joined fellow Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach in the backfield and helped the Cowboys win the Super Bowl, 27-10, over the Denver Broncos. Dorsett also was in the same backfield as another Heisman Trophy winner, Herschel Walker, during the 1986 and 1987 seasons.

The Sports Fan Project

The Fan Teaser: Week 117 Solution

The Fan Teaser: Week 9 Solution