The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Super Bowl XLIII “Immaculate Interception”

Posted on February 5, 2011 by thesportsarchives

One of the greatest moments in sports archives history happened during Super Bowl XLIII between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals.

The Steelers were up 10-7, but Arizona had the ball on the Steeler’s 2 yard line with 18 seconds remaining in the first half.  The Steeler’s defense had blitz written all over them and blitz they did forcing Cardinal’s quarterback Kurt Warner to throw way quicker than he would have liked to.  Steeler linebacker James Harrison faked the blitz and hung back only to see the errant pass come in his direction.  He picked it off and seeing nothing but daylight headed straight for glory.  When the Cardinal players finally caught up to him, all they could do was knock him into the end zone.

Harrison laid down in the end zone for a while the photographers did their business.  It probably took him a little while to realize that he just scored on the longest play in Super Bowl history.  Running 100 yards and giving the Steelers a 17-7 halftime lead.  After a Cardinal comeback, the Steelers went on to win the game, 27-23, with a spectacular leaping catch in the end zone by Steeler receiver Santonio Holmes from QB Ben Roethlisberger.

The interception became known in the sports archives as the “Immaculate Interception”.  See it here.

Immaculate Interception

Aftermath of the Immaculate Interception

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The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Pittsburgh Steelers “The Immaculate Tackle”

Posted on February 4, 2011 by thesportsarchives

One of the greatest moments in sports archives history was made on January 15, 2006 during the AFC Divisional playoffs between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts.

The Steelers were up 21-18 with 1:20 remaining in the game and looked to be in complete control after stopping the Colts on their 2 yard line.  The Steelers, however could not just run the clock out  because the Colts had all their timeouts remaining.  The Steelers figured that they would use their offensive weapon, running back Jerome Bettis, who hadn’t fumbled all year, to get the 2 yards to send the Colts home.  Just then, the unthinkable happened, a Colts helmet hit forced the ball out of Bettis’s grasp and it was picked up by the Colts cornerback Nick Harper who started to sprint towards the opposite goal.  Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger saw what was unfolding and started running down field with Harper turning both ways to try to position himself to make the tackle.  Harper was playing cat and mouse darting the other way when Roethlisberger turned one way!  Finally, Roethlisberger’s turn gave him enough time and space to catch Harper’s shin as he was trying to run by him.  The grab was enough to cause Harper to lose balance and fall to the ground at the Colts’ 42 yard line.  Another Steeler who given chase made sure Harper did not get up.

The momentum had changed, but the Colts could not take advantage as the Steeler defense held firm.  Had Harper made it to the end zone, it would have been a sad tale in the city of Pittsburgh that day.

The play to save the game became known in the sports archives as the ‘Immaculate Tackle’.  See it here.

Immaculate Tackle

Ben Roethlisberger lands the 'Immaculate Tackle" on Colts Nick Harper.

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The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Pittsburgh Steelers “Immaculate Reception”

Posted on February 1, 2011 by thesportsarchives

One of the greatest moments in sports archives history happened on December 23, 1972, during the AFC divisional playoff game in Pittsburgh between the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders.

In an evenly played game, the Steelers took a 6-0 lead into the final 2 minutes until Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler found the end zone on a 30 yard run.  Trailing 7-6, the Steelers had the ball, 4th and 10, on their own 40 yard line with 22 seconds left and no timeouts.

Now, you’re thinking a sideline pass so the receiver can jump out-of-bounds to stop the clock, right?  Well, Terry Bradshaw, under pressure, throws over the middle to halfback John Fuqua, and the ball arrives at the same time Raiders safety Jack Tatum knocks Fuqua to the turf.  The ball controversially bounces off the duo before hitting the ground and is sent backwards end over end only to be scooped up inches from the ground, by none other than Steelers fullback Franco Harris. Harris had the ball and knew what to do with it.  He ran down the sideline, stiff-armed any Raider trying to cut him off and sealed the Raiders fate.

It took 15 minutes to clear the field so the extra point could be kicked.  The final score was Pittsburgh 13, Oakland 7 and the play became forever known as the “Immaculate Reception”.

Immaculate Reception

Statue of Franco Harris making "Immaculate Reception" at Pittsburgh International Airport.

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The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Green Bay Packers “The Block”

Posted on February 1, 2011 by thesportsarchives

One of the most memorable games in NFL sports archives history was the game known as the “Ice Bowl” played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on December 31, 1967.  It was -15 degrees at game time and the Green Bay Packers under Vince Lombardi were set to square off against Tom Landry’s Dallas Cowboys.

The two teams played some grueling football on a hard-as-rock field.  The Cowboys were up 17-14 with under a minute to play, but the Packers were threatening.  They had a first down on the Cowboys 3-yard line but Packers running back Donny Anderson could only make 2 yards on 2 downs.  The Packers called their last timeout with 16 seconds left to discuss their next strategy.  It was a gutsy call not to go for the field goal with no timeouts remaining, but I don’t think anyone in the stadium wanted overtime.  The Packers called for a quarterback sneak and Bart Starr was to follow the lead of guard, Jerry Kramer who was to pave the way to the end zone.  Kramer did his job and took Cowboys defensive tackle Jethro Pugh completely out of the play allowing for Star to cross the line and seal the victory for Green Bay, 21 – 17.

This play became known in the sports archives as “The Block”.

The Block

Bart Starr follows "The Block" of Jerry Kramer.

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The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Green Bay Packers “Ice Bowl”

Posted on January 31, 2011 by thesportsarchives

One of the greatest events in sports archives history in which weather had a major impact was the NFL championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys on December 31, 1967.

The game, know as the “Ice Bowl”, was played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin where game-time temperature was -15 degrees and the wind chill was a balmy -36 degrees (based on present day wind chill index).  It was so cold that the referees could not use their whistles and the half-time band had to cancel performances due to frozen instruments, frozen lips and some members suffering hypothermia.  Even Packers linebacker Ray Nitschke suffered frostbite on his toes.

The game itself was played brilliantly under the circumstances with Vince Lombardi’s Packers outlasting Tom Landry’s Cowboys 21-17.  Bart Starr, the Packers hero quarterback, ran a QB sneak from 1 yard out with 16 seconds remaining behind what became known as “The Block” of Cowboys defensive tackle Jethro Pugh by Packers Jerry Kramer.  The play was gutsy because the Packers may have run out of time for a tying field goal, but Lombardi wasn’t thinking field goal on that cold day!

The question remains whether there were any Cheeseheads that went shirtless that day!

The Ice Bowl

The Ice Bowl - 1967 Cowboys at Packers

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The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Super Bowl XLII “The Helmet Catch”

Posted on January 30, 2011 by thesportsarchives

One of the greatest drives in Super Bowl history complete with the some of the greatest plays, was orchestrated by Eli Manning and the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, February 3, 2008 against the New England Patriots.

The heavily favored Patriots did not lose a game all year and were  in control 7-3 at halftime over the NFC wild card Giants.  However, the tenacious Giants were not giving in and scored early in the fourth quarter to take a 10-7 lead.  New England’s Tom Brady countered and hit Randy Moss in the end zone for a Patriots 14-10 lead with 2:42 remaining.

That set the stage for Eli Manning to do the unthinkable, drive his team 83 yards in under 3 minutes against a Patriot team that didn’t know what is was like to lose all season.  Manning was patient moving the ball up the field in steady fashion, hitting the clutch pass when he had to.

Then the moment of truth came, 3rd and 5 on their own 44 with 1:15 showing on the clock.  Manning took the snap and fell back in the pocket with Patriots closing in on him fast.  With one Patriot grabbing his shoulder and another pulling his shirt, Manning was able to amble away and give himself just enough time to throw a bullet in the direction of David Tyree. Manning did his part in getting the pass off, the rest of the play belonged to Tyree, who leaped up miraculously to catch the ball and fell backward pinning the ball against his helmet so not to drop it.  All this was happening while Patriots Rodney Harrison was in Tyree’s face and punching at the ball to loosen it from his grip and the helmet.  His attempt failed and the play stood to be known as “The Helmet Catch” which was good for 32 yards.  Another spectacular clutch catch on the sidelines by  rookie Steve Smith once again kept the Giants drive alive and Manning finished it with a lob to Plaxico Burress in the end zone.

One of the greatest drives in Super Bowl history which included one of the greatest catches, “The Helmet Catch”.

More on “The Helmet Catch” here.

The Helmet Catch

The Helmet Catch

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The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Super Bowl XXV “Wide Right”

Posted on January 29, 2011 by thesportsarchives

It was to become one of the defining moments in Super Bowl  history.  The closing moments to one of the tightest Super Bowl games ever played.  Super Bowl XXV, played on January 27, 1991,  had the Buffalo Bills favored by 7 over the New York Giants.

Buffalo was up 12-10 at halftime, but the Giants used over 9 minutes of the third quarter and closed out the drive with a touchdown to go up 17-12.  The Bills regained the lead, 19-17, on first play of the fourth quarter, but the Buffalo defense could only stop the Giants at the Bill’s 3 yard line after another long drive by New York of over 7 minutes.  Matt Bahr kicked the field goal to put the Giants up once again 20-19.

The Giants defense held tough and Buffalo only managed to drive to New York’s 29 yard line with just 8 seconds remaining in the game.  That set the stage for Scott Norwood to live the pressure of every field goal kicker’s dream… or nightmare…kicking the field goal to win the Super Bowl in the closing moments of the game.  Norwood had not had a good history of field goal completions from over 40 yards on grass, just 1 of 5.  He made sure he had the distance when he kicked it, but was slightly off the mark – “wide right”.

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The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – NFL’s “The Catch”

Posted on January 26, 2011 by thesportsarchives

One of the greatest moments in NFL sports history was a clutch play made by the San Francisco 49ers during the 1982 NFC Championship game.

The Dallas Cowboys were battling the 49ers in an evenly played match and were up 17-14 at halftime.  Dallas found themselves down after the third quarter, 21-17, but took the lead back late in the fourth, 27-21.  That set the stage for the 49ers comeback drive led by Joe Montana. San Francisco started at their own 11 and pushed the Dallas defense back to their 6-yard line.  It was third down and three with 58 seconds left in the game when Montana rolled out of the pocket to his right.  He looked in the end zone only to see all his receivers in tight coverage.  Feeling the ominous presence of Ed “Too Tall” Jones and a few other Cowboys baring down on him, he pump-faked to stall Jones just enough to loft a ball over him into the back of the end zone where Dwight Clark was supposed to be and was!  Clark jumped to the sky to retrieve the ball brought it down and put the 49ers in the lead for good.

This play was recorded in the sports archives of NFL history as “The Catch”.

See “The Catch”.

The Catch

Dwight Clark goes up for "The Catch".

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The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Super Bowl XXXIV “One Yard Short”

Posted on January 22, 2011 by thesportsarchives

It was to become one of the greatest moments in sports history.  The final play of Super Bowl XXXIV between the St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans would decide if the Titans would
once again pull off a miracle in their successful playoff run.  We all remember the “Music City Miracle”; could Tennessee achieve another during the same playoffs?

The Rams were up 23-16 when the Titans called their final timeout with just 6 seconds remaining.  They needed 10 yards for the touchdown.  The Titans had the play all setup, tight end Frank Wycheck would make a straight run to the end-zone with the intention of moving linebacker Mike Jones towards him and away from wide receiver Kevin Dyson who would run a slant towards the end zone on the same side.  The idea was to pass to Dyson at or just before the goal line and hope for the catch and his momentum to drive him over for the score.

As the play started, Dyson was in motion and faked a run across the scrimmage with the attempt to shake up the defense.  The play was executing flawlessly, however, Mike Jones, using his peripheral vision saw what was happening and just got over in time to grab on to Dyson’s legs after the catch and prevent the leap to the end-zone.  Dyson’s attempt to stretch his arm with the ball in his hand across the goal was futile and the photographer’s snapped up the opportunity to prove on Tennessee’s disappointment.

Time ran out,  and the play stands in the sports archives to be known as “One Yard Short”.  The play is also known as “The Tackle” in which Mike Jones tried to copyright.

One Yard Short

"One Yard Short"

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The Sports Archives Greatest Moments – Tennessee Titans “Music City Miracle”

Posted on January 21, 2011 by thesportsarchives

In probably one of the greatest Wild Card Playoff games in NFL sports archives history, on January 8, 2000, the Tennessee Titans pulled out a squeaker over the Buffalo Bills by executing a kickoff return play, flawlessly, in the closing 16 seconds to win in front of their hometown “Music City” fans!

The Bills had come back from a 12-0 deficit and took the lead 13-12.  The Titans regained the lead 15-13 with 1:48 remaining in the game.  Once again, the Bills drove down field and took back the lead, 16-15 on a 41-yard field goal with 16 seconds left.

This set the stage for what is called the “Music City Miracle”. The ensuing kickoff was received by Titans’ Lorenzo Neal who handed the ball off to tight end Frank Wycheck.  Wycheck began running to his right, stopped, looked left and controversially threw a lateral of the ball to wide receiver Kevin Dyson. Dyson didn’t look back and needed only to beat the kicker in order to secure the victory, 22-16, for the Titans!

The play was practiced and named the “Home Run Throwback” by the Titans, but it made sports history as the “Music City Miracle”!

More about the “Music City Miracle”.

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