“OH MY GOD, THEY KILLED KENNY!” and “BIG GEORGE’S RECORD GAME”
#838/#837
838. NEW YORK JETS VS NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
WILD CARD PLAYOFF
DECEMBER 28, 1985
GIANTS STADIUM
QUALITY OF PLAY—7.23
DRAMA—6.51
STAR POWER—6.56
CONTEMPORARY IMPORT—7.25
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE—6.88
LOCAL IMPACT—8.95
TOTAL: 43.37
“OH MY GOD, THEY KILLED KENNY!”
Had Ken O’Brien come to the NFL in any other year, he would be quite fondly remembered by fans of the New York Jets as a sturdy Andy Daltonesque slab of white guy pretty-goodness. But he came in to the league in 1983, part of the famous quarterback draft that contained legends Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and John Elway. Compared to those dudes, Kenny O, the pride of Cal-Davis, was a mediocrity. But KOB had a solid career, especially by Jets standards, and among other qualities was immensely tough, something he displayed in the 1985 season, when he was the highest-rated passer in the league despite taking an unholy beating—62 sacks worth.
In the days before “super” wild-card weekend, in which more teams of lesser quality are allowed into the postseason, there was just a single wild-card game in each conference, with the two best non-division winners making it (out of three divisions). In 1985, both wild-cards came from the AFC East, with the Jets and Patriots finishing 11-5 behind Miami at 12-4. A tiebreaker put the game in New York—or rather, New Jersey, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. As it happened, the Giants also were good enough in ’85 to host a wild-card game, meaning a New York, New York doubleheader. Alas, they couldn’t play them both on the same day (traffic was a bitch with just one game…), so the Jets, forever the poor sister, were shifted to Saturday.
So on a cold and windy late Saturday afternoon, December 28, 1985, Giants Stadium was packed to the gills, reveling in Gang Green’s third playoff appearance in five years since the 80s dawned, after the helplessness of the 70s. Alas, the opening kickoff by Jets kicker Pat Leahy went out of bounds, setting the tone for a mistake-filled performance by the home team.
The Jets committed just 29 turnovers during the regular season, fewest in the NFL, but gave it away four times against New England, saving their sloppiest performance for the biggest game. The Jets led 7-6 in the second quarter when Freeman McNeil coughed up a fumble. O’Brien was intercepted deep in Pats territory a little later as well. New England was having red zone issues, but barefoot kicker Tony Franklin ignored the frozen turf to kick a pair of field goals (on his way to four in the game, tying the record at the time). “Champagne” Tony Eason found Stanley Morgan for a 36-yard touchdown pass, giving the Patriots a 13-7 lead.
As previously mentioned, the Jets may have avoided turnovers during the season, but not sacks—O’Brien was hammered all year, taking 62 sacks and getting up to fight another play each time. But once more, this game defied trends. On the stroke of halftime, O’Brien cocked to throw a pass, and just managed to release before he was destroyed by Pats linebacker Andre Tippett, a black belt in karate and—though mostly forgotten now—as lethal a weapon as ever played in the league. KOB’s head bounced off the Meadowlands concrete. He was saved by the bell, it seemed, as he wobbled to the locker room for intermission, and came out to start the second half. But he failed to comprehend the play call in the huddle, and “seemed very dull,” in the compassionate words of Jets trainer Bob Reese, so he had to come out of the game.
Unspecial teams also undid New York. A poor (27 yard) punt by Dave Jennings set up a Pats field goal that made it 16-7. On the ensuing kickoff, Johnny Hector had the ball stripped by Johnny Rembert, who scooped it up and ran it in for the touchdown. This Johnny on Johnny crime put the Pats up 23-7, and essentially clinched the game.
Pat Ryan, playing for O’Brien, put up a cosmetic touchdown late, but the Pats walked away with an easy 26-14 win that ended New York’s season. It was an early glimpse at the dominance that would plague the Jets at the hands of their Bostonian rivals for decades to come.
AFTERMATH:
The Patriots hadn’t had much success in their history at this stage, but their ’85 postseason was a memorable one. After whipping the Jets the Pats went on the road to L.A. and beat the Raiders, then “Squished the Fish,” taking out the Dolphins in Miami to make the Super Bowl. That was the end of the line, however, as New England was mincemeat for the great 1985 Chicago Bears team, who destroyed them in the big game, 46-10.
Kenny O’Brien had his best season the following year, 1986, and remained at the helm into the 90s. By virtually any metric he is the second-best signal-caller in the sorry history of Jets quarterbacks, behind just Broadway Joe.
WHAT THEY SAID:
“The bell tolled for the Jets and quarterback Ken O’Brien yesterday at Giants Stadium. At first, O’Brien was the only one who could hear it ringing. After 62 sacks and countless other blows this season, he finally was knocked completely out of a game with a concussion, courtesy of Andre Tippett.”
—Greg Logan, Newsday
FURTHER READING:
Gang Green by Gerald Eskenazi
VIDEO:
837. DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS VS RHODE ISLAND STATE RAMS
NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
MARCH 21, 1945
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
QUALITY OF PLAY—7.23
DRAMA—6.51
STAR POWER—6.56
CONTEMPORARY IMPORT—7.25
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE—6.88
LOCAL IMPACT—8.95
TOTAL: 43.38
“BIG GEORGE’S RECORD GAME”
We’ve discussed George Mikan already on these pages. Basketball’s first great big man led the Minneapolis Lakers to the summit of the early NBA. He was also a star in college ball, naturally, while at DePaul. We’ve seen Mikan’s team fall short in a big upset in the 1944 NIT, losing to St. John’s. The following year would be different. As the City looked over the horizon to the rapidly approaching end of WWII, entertainment—including sports—was more important than ever. That meant stars, and though he was a callow youth, a diffident chap who wore glasses while playing, no team sport athlete in 1945 was more spectacular, or more of a draw, than Big George.
DePaul had come east to the World’s Most Famous Arena earlier in the 1945 season, in order to pummel LIU at MSG 74-47. They had lost just twice all season, to cross-state rival Illinois by 3 and to the Great Lakes Naval Station team, a wartime outfit that featured pros and semipros. In a game that would come to be described as the true national championship, the Blue Demons as Mikan edged Bob “Foothills” Kurland and Oklahoma A&M at Chicago Stadium, 48-46, a matchup of the eventual NIT and NCAA champs and the two dominant big men in the country.
Frankly, the NIT was small beer after that game, competition-wise, but Mikan was the biggest (literally and figuratively) star in the game, and thus had to appear on the sport’s biggest stage. The NIT still had a few years to go as the preeminent postseason tournament in the land, and DePaul and Mikan accepted the invitation as their due tribute.
The Demons stomped out West Virginia by 24 in the opening round, setting up a semifinal with Rhode Island State (now just Rhode Island) and their star, 5’10” guard Ernie Calverley. Pregame photographs contrasted Mikan with his opposite number on the Rams—needless to say, any onlooker wouldn’t have given RISU much of a chance. Matters turned more comic when the teams aligned for the opening tip-off, featuring the 6’10” Mikan and 5’7” Mike Santora. The only possibility for the Rams would be if Mikan’s glasses fogged up.
They did not. The immense crowd of 18,253 were there for a memorable doubleheader on that Wednesday evening, March 21, 1945. In the opener the two-time defending NIT champs, St. John’s, were humbled by Bowling Green, crushing the locals in the throng hoping for the Threepeat. But Mikan would ensure they didn’t go home disappointed. The “mastodontic” Mikan “lashed up a storm that engulfed practically every all-time season and tourney record,” according to Hy Turkin in the Daily News.
Immediately following that ridiculous jump ball to start the game, Mikan dribbled in for an easy layup. The crowd was at first loudly in favor of the smaller underdog. “But once Mikan started spearing all records like shooting fish in a barrel,” Turkin recorded, “the crowd switched its enthusiasm to the Big Bozo, and raised the roof with each new basket he scored.”
It was 10-2 after five minutes, and 42-25 at the half. The victor was never in doubt—all that mattered was how many points Mikan would score. And Meyer and the Demons never stopped feeding him. “Big George was indomitable on pivots, tap-ins and rebound snatches,” Turkin wrote. He would shoot 21-30 from the floor and 11-12 from the free throw line in a stunning display of efficiency, regardless of opposition. As he approached 50 points, the crowd’s amazement only grew, and thunderous cheers greeted each made hoop.
As it happened, the record-holder for points scored at MSG in a single game, Private Harry Boykoff, formerly of St. John’s and now of the U.S. Army, was on hand to watch as first his alma mater was beaten, and then his points record was shattered. Tough day for the young man. Mikan’s hook shot to give him 46 points topped Boykoff’s 45, set in a 1942 game. Despite his disappointment, Boykoff graciously congratulated Mikan after the game.
In the end Mikan reached 53 points, a figure that matched matched Rhode Island’s entire output (in two fewer minutes), with DePaul winning by a stunning 97-53 final. In just two games Mikan had broken the record for NIT tournament scoring, set over three games by several players. In all some dozen records for the tourney fell in the incredible performance. And no team had ever scored that many points at MSG in a single game.
AFTERMATH:
DePaul went on to crush Bowling Green in the NIT final, 71-54, with Mikan starring again, to capture Meyer’s lone championship in a coaching career that spanned 42 years. DePaul then took on Oklahoma A&M once again, in a Red Cross Benefit game that didn’t quite match the heft of the earlier meeting in Chicago, despite the fact that both teams had officially been crowned champs of their respective tournaments. This time the Aggies won, 52-44, with Kurland outplaying Mikan. From there, the fortunes of the two big men would shift, with Kurland headed for obscurity and Mikan for immortality.
WHAT THEY SAID:
“Mikan can—and did!”
—Hy Turkin, New York Daily News
FURTHER READING:
Mr. Basketball by Michael Schumaker
VIDEO: