In a stroke of advertising campaign brilliance (in my opinion, at least), the folks at Nike launched the “Bo Knows” advertisements for its line of cross-training shoes in 1989 when Bo Jackson became the first modern athlete to play both Major League Baseball and NFL in the same season. Jackson played in both leagues during the 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990 seasons before he suffered a football career-ending hip injury when tackled following a 34-yard run against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 13, 1991. He eventually played three more seasons in the Majors for both the Chicago White Sox and California Angels before retiring.
The Nike poster from the “Bo Knows” advertising campaign. He was a man for all seasons.
The first advertisement in the campaign (seen in the video below at left) featured Jackson playing a variety of sports with other professional Nike-sponsored athletes commenting on what Bo knew (or did not) know. It ends with him playing guitar – badly – along with legendary blues guitarist, Bo Diddley, who delivers the commercial’s final line, “Bo, you don’t know Diddley!”
The second advertisement (seen in the video below at left) was all about Bo. He appeared in various gear depicting him not just as a baseball and football player, but also basketball, hockey, sprinter, surfer, tennis, jockey, cyclist, and soccer player. It’s from this phase of the campaign that the poster used for this week’s Fan Teaser originated. As you’ll see in the enlarged portion below, all of the sports that Bo knew are printed in the background of all the outfitted Bos.
A close up of the poster.
It seemed a great time to use something Bo Jackson-themed for the Fan Teaser as he was part of the trivia question included near the end of Fan Teaser Week 164Solution: Who are the only two Heisman Trophy winners to play Major League Baseball?
Jackson, of course, is one. The other was Ohio State University halfback, Vic Janowicz, who won the 1950 Heisman before playing two seasons as a catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953-54) before embarking on a 2-year NFL career with the Washington Redskins (1954-55).
Just one Fan Teaser reader responded with the correct answer, Jerry Hill (aka my father), so now I need to figure out what his prize is going to be.
Maybe Bo knows what it should be;-)
The original “Bo Knows” commercial.
And the sequel.
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.
With the Canadian Football League‘s 112th Grey Cup scheduled for Sunday evening in Winnipeg, we figured, let’s take the #FanTeaser to the great white north.
A case has been made – and who are we to argue it!?! – that Boston College product Doug Flutie is the greatest players in the history of the CFL.
If Flutie, in fact, is the greatest to ever play north of the American border, it was a circuitous route to the that top spot.
A 4-year quarterback at BC, Flutie capped his career by winning both the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award his senior year. That was also the season he capped an improbable comeback against the Miami Hurricanes the Friday after Thanksgiving by launching a 48-year “Hail Mary” to Gerard Phelan in the game’s closing seconds to deliver the Eagles a 47-45 victory.
Flutie was selected in the 1985 territorial draft by the New Jersey Generals of the long-since-defunct USFL and wound up signing the most lucrative professional football contract at the time (five years/$7 million). The Los Angeles Rams later drafted him in the 11th round of the 1985 NFL Draft.
Flutie lasted but one season with the Generals because the league folded. The Rams traded his rights mid-season in 1986 to the Chicago Bears for a passel of draft picks. He played abley in place of an injured Jim McMahon. The Bears traded him to the New England Patriots prior to the start of the 1987 season.
Flutie crossed the picket line to but wound up only playing one game during this first season back in the northeast. He came off the bench a year later to lead New England to a 6-3 mark as starter before being benched himself. He saw limited action in 1989 and was released by the Patriots.
With no NFL takers, Flutie cast his gaze northward and signed with the CFL’s BC Lions in Vancouver. He spent two seasons in BC, the next four with the Calgary Stampeders, and his final two CFL seasons with the Toronto Argonauts.
Quarterback Doug Flutie amid the snowflakes for the Toronto Argonauts in Canadian Football League’s 84th Grey Cup in Hamilton, ON. (Photo by Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
During those eight seasons he established the franchise record at each stop for single-season passing attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns. All but one (the completions in Toronto) still stand.
He won six Most Outstanding Players Awards (including four straight) during his eight seasons in Canada, he led his team to the CFL Grey Cup on fours occasions and won three of those (1992, 1996, and 1997). The Argonauts’ back-to-back titles is just one of two back-to-back winners since 1982 (the Montreal Alouettes turned the trick in 2009 and 2010). He was named the Grey Cup’s MVP in each of his three victories.
A possible rival emerged around the turn of the 21st Century in the form of fellow quarterback Anthony Calvillo who, over 19 CFL seasons, threw for nearly 80,000 yards, 455 touchdowns, and led the Alouettes to three Grey Cup titles and won three CFL Most Outstanding Player Awards.
For his part, Flutie returned to the NFL where he played nine more seasons for the Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers, and, again, with the Patriots. He earned Comeback Player of the Year honors in 1998 with the Bills, leading them to a 7-3 record as a starter.
The condensed version of 1996’s 84th CFL Grey Cup aka the “Snow Bowl.”
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.
Tim Walker, at left, his mate Ali, and I, during the River Plate-San Martin match in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on August 31, 2025. (Photo by Tim Parker)
One of the many enjoyable aspects of my Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project is the ability to meet and interact with various folks along the way.
Sure, I’m traveling or attending events with people I have longstanding relationships with, but the individuals I’ve been able to meet along the way are vital characters in any film that’s being created in my own mind;-)
I first met Tim over an empanada, a couple slices of pizza, and a glass of Malbec at Buenos Aires’ El Cuartito before he and I attended the Argentine Primera Divison soccer match between River Plate and San Martin.
The more I spoke to Tim and his mate, Ali, the more intrigued I was with his story. A native Englander, he relocated to the Denver area over 20 years ago and now resides in St. Petersburg, FL. In addition to traveling to far-flung locales for soccer matches, I was able to learn he was a fan of the San Francisco 49ers and the LSU Tigers and rode his bicycle to Tampa Bay Rays games when Tropicana Field was still a thing.
What I did not know during that brief interaction was how widely he’d traveled and how many absolutely stellar sports fan experiences he’d had.
Have I got some wonderful news for you … Tim joins me this week on Conversations and in addition to enjoying his British accent, he shares many of those stories with us.
An ultra-talented prep star at Indianapolis Warren Central, George was named the first-ever recipient of the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award following his senior season in 1985. He matriculated to Purdue University just up I-65 in West Lafayette where he played all 11 games as a freshman, posting a 3-8 record and throwing a Big Ten-high 15 interceptions against only four touchdowns.
Boilermakers head coach Leon Burtnett resigned following the season and George was trying to move to the University of Miami but then-Coach Jimmie Johnson would not guarantee him the starting spot. Instead, he transferred to the University of Illinois and played a total of 22 games over his two seasons in Champaign-Urbana where he led the Fighting Illini to a 10-2 record and a Citrus Bowl victory over the University of Virginia. The Illini finished the season ranked No. 10 in the nation.
Jeff George spent three seasons quarterbacking Big Ten football teams. He played at Purdue University as a freshman before transferring to the University of Illinois for his final two seasons. (Purdue photo by George Gojkovich/Getting Images; Illinois photo by Bernstein Associates/Getty Images)
After learning he was guaranteed to be a top five draft selection, George gave up his final year of eligibility and was the first overall draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts in 1990. The Colts traded two draft picks, offensive tackle Chris Hinton and wide receiver Andre Rison to Atlanta for the right to draft George first overall. Indianapolis signed him to a then-record $15 million deal.
From there, it was an adventure for George. He lasted four seasons in Indianapolis before the Colts moved him – ironically – to Atlanta in a trade for three draft picks including one that became Marvin Harrison. Before his 12-year career ended, he also took snaps for the Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, and Washington Redskins and also spent time on the rosters of the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears.
He had a dynamite arm but the head did not always seem to be calibrated accordingly.
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.
Why I haven’t been doing it all along … who knows!?!
This week I’m rejoined by Dr. Nick Elam of basketball’s Elam Ending fame. Not only do we spend a moment or two learning what’s knew in Elam Ending land, but we also discuss his myriad other sports-related roles: Groundskeeper at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, stats team member for the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, and part of the scoreboard crew at Lucas Oil Stadium. Did I mention the Winnipeg Sea Bears? Yeah, he does work for them too.
Don’t fumble this week’s easy Fan Teaser conversion.
In celebration of the USA’s Independence Day, we figured why not use the nation’s most-celebrated Patriot (at least on the athletic field)?
Say hello to what might have been, if only future Pro Football Hall of Famer Tom Brady had taken the Montreal Expos up on their generous offer to an 18th round draft pick in 1995. (The club was rumored to have offered him a signing bonus similar to that of a late second or early third-round draft choice.)
Tom Brady – yes, that Tom Brady – was an 18th round selection by the Montreal Expos in the 1995 MLB Draft.
Brady, of course, chose to attend the University of Michigan on a football scholarship and things worked out OK for the 7-time Super Bowl champion quarterback.
The photo used today is from a Bowman Chrome baseball card produced by the Topps Company in 2023. The story, however, gets better. Because Brady never signed with the Expos and never, so far as anyone is aware, even tried on a cap, this image on the card is, understandably, Photoshopped.
After some sleuthing by eagle-eyed trading card afficianados, it is now presumed Brady’s face was placed on the body of 14-season Major League catcher, Darrin Fletcher. Check out the video below from “Junk Wax Hero” to see who actually might be standing next to Brady when his image was repurposed from a separate photo. As for the picture of Fletcher pounding his catcher’s glove, it seems to have been taken prior to a game played April 10, 1993, against the Colorado Rockies at Mile High Stadium (the second-ever home game for the Rockies); Fletcher did not play.
Two other fun facts about Brady, the Expos, and his card:
First, Brady signed a limited edition 1/1 of this card that sold at auction for $158,600. The highest price ever recorded at auction for an Expos uniformed player. A figure, by the way, that’s just over $10,000 less than what Darrin Fletcher earned for the 1993 season ($170,000).
Second, when Brady retired a second time from the NFL in 2023, he became the final Montreal Expos draft pick to retire from a professional playing career.
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.
Today, I offer apologies to regular Sports Fan Project readers.
I’ve tried – mightily – to provide at least one post (beyond The Fan Teaser) each week. Alas, upon returning from Event No. 10 of my Around the World in 80 Sporting Events project (a pair of SEC football rivalry games: the Egg Bowl and the Iron Bowl), I began to feel progressively worse with each passing day.
Without getting into too much detail, suffice to say that overnight coughing fits were making it difficult for me to sleep, drove my wife across the hall into another bedroom, and, generally, made me feel lousy for the better part of a week.
A tele-health visit to my doctor’s office elicited a round of Azythromycin, some Codeine-infused cough syrup, and my first-ever inhaler to open up the bronchi should I encounter any more coughing fits.
Mercifully, after 10 days of feeling no better than meh, I believe I’ve turned a corner.
With that, and a knowing nod to the 1995 film “While You Were Sleeping” here’s a few things that transpired in the world of sports while I was in an altered state along with my thoughts.
The Legendary Bill Belichick is Returning to the Sidelines … at the University of North Carolina?!?
Bill Belichick holds his father’s North Carolina sweatshirt during his introductory press conference. (Photo University of North Carolina)
No headline during my convalescence made me question the amount of Codeine in that cough syrup more than this one.
Bill Belichick, the curmudgeonly 72-year-old ex-head coach of one of the NFL’s most successful modern-day dynasties is ending his 1-year sabbatical away from coaching by heading back to school (please, cue Rodney Dangerfield’s triple-lindy from the 1986 film of the same name) for the first time ever?
What could possibly go wrong?
Or … right?
Clearly the Tar Heels have no issue hiring an older coach (shoot, Belichick’s a year younger than the man he’s replacing, Mack Brown!) and as I began to listen to the punditry go deeper on this decision, it’s not as outlandish as it seems on the surface.
NCAA football, at this level, has never been more like the professional game. See the transfer portal; name, image, and likeness payments; the actual payments coming from schools thanks to recent court settlements; programs hiring general managers; etc. So I suppose the hire – and Belichick’s willingness dive in – makes some sense.
Of course, there’s also the family connection. His father, Steve, was an assistant there from 1953-55, and his son, also named Steve, is expected to join him in Chapel Hill after serving as defensive coordinator at the University of Washington this season.
Schools Upset About Being Left Out of Expanded College Football Playoff
The 2024-25 CFP Bracket.
Who could have seen this coming?
The College Football Playoff expands from four to 12 teams this season and teams ranked No. 13 (and even No. 14) feel they were given the screwgie by the selection committee.
Sorry – not sorry – University of Alabama faithful.
I understand the Southeastern Conference is probably – from top to bottom – the most challenging conference in all of college football. Heck, I saw firsthand six of the 16 teams compete in person this year. One of those was Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl against Texas and they looked like a high school team against the Longhorns during this year’s Red River Rivalry (Event No. 8 of Around the World).
You know what? Alabama lost to the Sooners, 24-3. Didn’t score a touchdown against the Sooners!
The Crimson Tide also lost to Vanderbilt, 40-35, when ‘Bama was the top-ranked team in the nation, the first time in 40 years Alabama lost to the Commodores.
Do either of those outcomes seem playoff worthy?
The team catching the Tide’s ire is Southern Methodist University because, presumably, it has the misfortune of playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference which, from top to bottom, is nowhere near as competitive as the SEC.
My Take: Schools should not be punished for the conference they compete in. Beyond the non-conference games, schools have no control over who’s on the schedule or how good (or bad) those teams might be. SMU played Nevada (which played for the Mountain West championship) and Texas Christian (of the Big 12) as part of their 3-game non-conference slate. The ACC, it should be noted, played nine conference games while the SEC plays but eight (that extra non-league game Alabama played … Football Championship Subdivision semifinalist, Mercer).
Furthermore, much of the teeth gnashing could be mitigated if, rather than a 12-team playoff, it was 16. Sure, Team No. 17 will now be the one that’s aggrieved, but as articulated above, by the time we get to the 16th, 17th, and 18th-ranked teams in the country, we’ll find plenty of flaws and limited chances at success in such a tournament. It’d also eliminate the first-round byes which should mute some of the whining about less-deserving teams such as Arizona State and Boise State from receiving the significant competitive advantage of an extra week of rest.
Allen & Parker Get the Hall Call but Where’s John?
Pitcher Tommy John while with the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Getty Sports Photo)
The National Baseball Hall of Fame‘s 16-member Classic Era Committee voted Dick Allen and Dave Parker into the hallowed hall, it was announced last weekend. The voting panel consisted of Hall of Famers Ozzie Smith, Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Tony Perez, Lee Smith, Joe Torre, five current or former executives (Sandy Alderson, Terry McGuirk, Dayton Moore, Arte Moreno, and Brian Sabean), and five historians/media members (Bob Elliott, Leslie Heaphy, Steve Hirdt, Dick Kaegel and Larry Lester).
For those interested, Larry Lester – co-founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum – was a guest earlier this season on Conversations with Sports Fans. You’re able to find a link to his episode here.
Not that my opinion matters much, but I’m fine with both Allen and Parker heading to Cooperstown.
My real emotion (which is anger) lies with one of the six other finalists who didn’t make it: Tommy John.
John received just seven votes from the panel (12 are required for enshrinement) and, for the life of me, I don’t understand why over 50% of the panelists left him off their ballots.
He pitched for 26 seasons, amassed 288 wins, had a career earned run average of 3.34, went 6-3 in 14 post-season appearances for both the Dodgers, Yankees, and Angels, and had a playoff ERA of 2.65. For you analytic lovers, he had a career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of 61.6.
And, oh yeah, he was the first pitcher to undergo, you know, Tommy John Surgery which has impacted, I don’t know, just about every pitcher this century!!!
Here are a few comparisons of current Hall of Famers:
Sandy Koufax – 12 seasons, 165 wins, a 2.76 ERA, and a career WAR of 48.9. Playoffs: 4-3 with a 0.95 ERA in eight appearances.
Bert Blyleven – 22 seasons, 287 wins, a 3.31 ERA, and a career WAR of 94.5. Playoffs: 3-1 with a 2.47 ERA in eight appearances.
Jim Kaat – 25 seasons, 283 wins, a 3.45 ERA, and a career WAR of 50.5. Playoffs: 1-3 with a 4.03 ERA in nine appearances
Jack Morris – 18 seasons, 254 wins, a 3.90 ERA, and a career WAR of 43.5. Playoffs: 7-4 with a 3.80 ERA in 13 appearances
It’s worth noting, that Kaat and Morris were voted in by some version of a Hall of Fame veterans committee that determines John’s fate.
The Detroit Lions are 12-1 … and Have Not Distanced Themselves from their Pursuers
The Detroit Lions are off to the best start in franchise history. (Detroit Lions Photo)
Go figure, my hometown Detroit Lions – long the laughingstock of professional football – are having a season for the ages, but despite being 12-1 for the first time in franchise history they’re still just a game clear of the divisional rival, Minnesota Vikings, and the NFC East’s Philadelphia Eagles.
Despite recent success and a different feel about this year’s team, you’ll forgive us long-suffering Lions’ fans if their Pavlovian response to this amazing start is that they’re just a couple of ill-timed miscues away from not winning the NFC North and having to battle through Wild Card Weekend as a 14-3 road team and thus, deprive the fan base of home playoff action.
Related: Lions Fans Upset by 2025 Ticket Price Increases
Color me surprised that the Lions will, for the second consecutive year, notably increase the cost of tickets. (Read about it here.)
Did we think a heretofore moribund franchise that was in the bottom quartile of NFL ticket prices would – out of sheer benevolence – just keep everything the same!?!
Folks, this is a elementary school economics. When demand increases and supply cannot be increased similarly (there’s only so many seats in Ford Field, right?), prices are going to increase. It’s the price fans pay to have a 12-1 team that seems to have a realistic shot for a lengthy advancement in the playoffs.
If you’re harkening for the days when tickets were plentiful (and cheap!) then you’re also harkening for that 2008 season when the Honolulu Blue and Silver finished 0-16.
And, remember, as my friend John U. Bacon is fond of saying: “Greed remains undefeated.”
What aptly named football player belongs to the hands seen in this image?
Was there ever a player – before or after – who seemed to epitomize being a football player more than Chicago Bears’ Pro Football Hall of Famer Dick Butkus?
Drafted by the Bears with the third pick in the first round out of the University of Illinois (one spot ahead of the Bears’ selecting University of Kansas All-American, Gale Sayers), Butkus (a Chicago native) spent his entire 9-year career with the Bears before a knee injury prematurely ended his time in the league.
Sports Illustrated annointed Dick Butkus as the “Most Feared Man in the Game.” He’s captured here by legendary SI photographer Neil Leifer in a 1969 game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
This image, framed perfectly with the official visible in the background, was taken by one of the most notable sports photographers in history, Neil Leifer, during a September 1969, 20-17 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Butkus died at 80 in October 2023. This video tribute comes courtesty of the Chicago Bears.
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.
A 3-part Teaser today: What Pro Football Hall of Famer is lying prone? What Hall of Famer is standing over him? And on what hallowed field did this all occur?
The Philadelphia Eagles (7-1) visited the New York Giants (5-2-1) on a chilly November 1960 Sunday afternoon.
With the Eagles trailing 10-0 in the second quarter, Giants quarterback George Shaw hit running back Frank Gifford on a swing pass and, before you know it, Eagles linebacker Chuck Bednarik put a fierce (but legal at the time) hit on Gifford, dislodging the ball, and rendering the Giant unconscious. Eagles’ teammate Jimmy Carr fell on the ball to thwart the drive. Philadelphia went on to claim a 17-10 victory.
Philadelphia Eagles’ linebacker and offensive lineman, Chuck Bednarik, stands over the prone body of New York Giants’ halfback, Frank Gifford, at Yankee Stadium. (Photo by John G. Zimmerman/Sports Illustrated)
It was a massive hit and Gifford was so severely concussed (he said later he believed it was due to his head smacking the semi-frozen Yankee Stadium turf) that he missed the remainder of the 1960 season and the entirety of the 1961 campaign.
The NFL later named it as 44th on its list of top 100 Greatest Plays of All-Time (Philadelphia went on to win the NFL Championship that season).
The image above, captured by Sports Illustrated‘s John G. Zimmerman, seems to portray Bednarik celebrating the hit on Gifford, but he says he was actually celebrating Carr’s scoop and score. The video clip below (the only footage of the play we could find, seems to confirm Bedarnik’s take).
The hit was so significant History.com gave it the treatment with a full write up on the event (find it here).
Both Bednarik (1967) and Gifford (1977) were enshrined in Canton’s Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Footage of the Bednarik hit on Gifford.
This short trailer of the NFL’s 44th Greatest Play of All Time features remarks from Bednarik and, curiously, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
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.
Two Pro Football Hall of Famers in one image. Who do you think they are?
Two NFL luminaries squared off in this image captured in Metropolitan Stadium (Bloomington, MN) on October 18, 1970, by Walter Iooss Jr.
Minnesota Vikings’ defensive lineman. Alan Page, was part of the famed “Purple People Eaters” defense. During a 15-season career, Page amassed 173 sacks and appeared in nine consecutive Pro Bowls. In 1970 he was one year away from becoming the first defensive player to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award. Following his playing days, Page practiced law before eventually being elected to Minnesota’s Supreme Court.
While Page served the public following his playing days, Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback, Roger Staubach, served it prior to ever suiting up for the Cowboys. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Staubach was the 1963 Heisman Trophy winner before serving his required four years active duty assignment – including serving in Vietnam – with the Navy. His rookie season was 1969 with the Cowboys and it wasn’t until 1971 that he became the Cowboys’ regular starting quarterback.The Philadelphia Eagles visited the New York Giants on a cold
Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach finds a way over the Minnesota Vikings’ Alan Page at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, MN on October 18, 1970. (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr.)
Page’s Vikings got the best of Staubach’s Cowboys in this game, 54-13. It was one of only eight games Staubach started that season and it was not likley part of any highlight reels. He finished 9-for-16 passing for 109 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions. He was also sacked seven times. For his part Page picked off Staubach once (one of his two career interceptions) and returned it 27 yards. Though sacks were not found in the boxscore, one must assume he was in on Staubach sack party.
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.
