Irish Warriors Alternative Guide to Superbowl MVP'S

Max McGee had a bit of a reputation. In fact he had several - not least of which was his renown for enjoying the nightlife, the odd drink and the company of the fairer sex. Like rules, bones and probably a few hearts, a curfew was just something else to be broken by McGee...and the curfew the night before the first ever Super Bowl game wasn't going to be an exception.

Max snuck out of the Packers team hotel with his buddy and future Hall of Famer Paul Hornung just after bed check on January 14th 1967 and into the Los Angeles night - and they wouldn't return until after the sun had rose on January 15th. Game day.

McGee figured that as a back-up, his services probably wouldn't be called upon against the AFL Champion's from Kansas City - but when starting flanker Boyd Dowler went down with a seperated shoulder early in the game, Packers Head Coach Vince Lombardi called the number of his sleep deprived, 34 year old, hungover receiver to enter the ball game...

Seven receptions (including a spectacular, iconic one handed scoring grab - the first score in Super Bowl history), 138 yards and two touchdowns later, a Super Bowl legend by the name of Max McGee was born.

It had been a long and fine career for Don Chandler and retirement beckoned for the 33 year old veteran kicker. Super Bowl II was to be the end of his very successful twelve year run in pro football. Eventually the All-Pro Chandler would be named to the NFL's official 1960's All-Decade team in recognition of his extended excellence as both a place kicker AND a punter.

The symmetry was perfect. Don had played his College ball at the University of Florida. The Super Bowl against the AFL Champion Oakland Raiders would be played at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Everything was falling into place.

You always dream of going out on top and Chandler certainly did just that with a perfect display against the Raiders. On a day when the Packers offense seemed to lack the killer instinct to turn trips deep into enemy territory into touchdowns, Chandler's flawless performance saw him make all seven of his place kick attempts and collect nineteen of Green Bay's thirty three points. In reply, Oakland were only able to muster fourteen.

Chandler cemented Vince Lombardi's place in history as the victory was the great man's last as the Packers Head Coach and ended a nine year run in Green Bay in which he captured six Western Conference Championships, five NFL Titles and the first two Super Bowls.

I love the idea. Thanks for launching this thread on The Sports Sanctuary!

I didn't know they had bed-checks in the National Football League. But, I would have gone with Lombardi. He may have not been playing, but he was truly controlling the team's performance from the sidelines.

Agreed, without a doubt.

Snell was a beast - comparable to Marshawn Lynch of today.

He was cunning like a fox and ferocious like a lion - except not in Machiavelli's context.

Good choice!

Just found the other pictures of Willie lanier and Mat Snell. Is there any way you could insert them in the previous posts or is it too late?

The soul destroying defeat suffered in Super Bowl III by the seemingly invincible and heavily favoured Baltimore Colts left the team utterly humiliated...and no one felt that abject pain and despair more acutely than middle linebacker and four time Pro Bowler Mike Curtis.

For the two long years after the historic victory by Broadway Joe and the New York Jets, the loss still haunted Curtis like a tormenting spectre. Curtis was enraged by the Super Bowl let down and he carried that burning anger with him in all that he did. The man christened "Mad Dog" because of his animal like ferocity on the gridiron felt deep down in his broken heart that his Colts were a better team than the Jets two years ago...and they blew a chance at immortality.

With that firmly in mind, Curtis saw Super Bowl V as a second chance, an opportunity to put right what went so horribly wrong and finish a job that was long overdue.

With little over a minute left in the game, a contest riddled with errors by both the Colts and the NFC Champion Dallas Cowboys stood at thirteen points a piece.

Dallas had the football and were hoping to mount a last gasp drive to put the game away and condemn Baltimore to another crushing defeat - but said drive did not start well. Facing a second-and-34 from their own 27 yard line after a loss on first down and an ill-timed holding penalty, Cowboy quarterback Craig Morton called for a passing play named "13-Takeoff".

Depending on the defensive scheme he faced, Cowboy running back and primary receiver on the play Dan Reeves had the option of running a post against man coverage or finding a soft spot downfield if the Colts played zone - which indeed the Colts did.

As Reeves sat down in the hole, Morton fired a high pass to his running back that forced Reeves to leave his feet and climb the ladder to make the all important grab...

...but the Cowboy back only succeeded in letting the football fly through his hands - and into the welcoming arms of a man who had been waiting twenty four painful months for a second chance...a chance that he wasn't going to miss for the world.

Curtis advanced the ball down to the Dallas 27 yard line with just 69 seconds left in the game. The interception was the deciding play of the contest and capped a dominant game for Mad Dog who had also logged six crucial tackles along the way.

The end for Dallas came swiftly when rookie place kicker Jim O'Brien sealed the deal for Baltimore with a 32 yard field goal...but despite the sweet last second victory many of the veterans from the Super Bowl III loss, Curtis included cast their minds back to that fateful game against the Jets and wondered what might have been...

Super Bowl VI MVP - RB Duane Thomas

was going to take something big to encourage Duane Thomas to start talking again. Something like a victory in Super Bowl VI over the Miami Dolphins. Evidently.

For five months prior to the game, the former Rookie of the Year had taken something akin to a vow of silence. Thomas was angry about the Cowboys pay structure. He felt used by the organisation and suspected that a culture of racism existed in the Dallas front office and throughout the NFL. Thomas saw the media as a tool of the oppression he felt and resolved to offer the television and newspaper men who sought out his time and comments with the last thing they wanted. His silence.

Thomas' behaviour earned him the some what sarcastic moniker of "The Sphinx" from the media people he snubbed. Thomas was vilified by the press for his perceived surly and uncooperative manner - plus the running back's attitude was not appreciated by many of the Dallas players, coaching staff and executives.

Subsequently, Thomas was traded to New England - but, equally unimpressed with his defiance and demeanour the Patriots banished Thomas from Boston and he was sent back to Texas under the pretense that he had "failed" his physical with the AFC team. Thomas was back on the Cowboys roster and back to square one...and he still wasn't talking. The silence was deafening.

During the rest of the season, Head Coach Tom Landry tolerated the unique and bizarre situation that his best running back had created. Thomas went on to lead the entire NFL in touchdowns, despite only playing in eleven games during the regular season of 1971.

The prolific scoring trend continued into the playoffs as The Sphinx found the endzone in both the Cowboys Divisional Round victory over Minnesota and the NFC Championship game win over San Francisco. Thomas was letting his play on the football field do all the talking he needed.

Come the Super Bowl, Dallas routed Miami and Thomas again proved to be the Cowboys most dangerous weapon by leading the team in yards from scrimmage with 112 and scoring yet another touchdown to add to his league best haul.

Infamously in the locker room after the game, The Sphinx was approached by CBS sportscaster Tom Brookshier who seeked a television interview from the enigmatic Super Bowl winning running back. A nervous Brookshier asked, ""Duane, uh, you do things with speed, but you never really hurry a lot like the great Jim Brown. Uh, you never hurry into a hole. You take your time, make a spin, yet you still outrun people. Are you that fast? Are you quick, would you say?"

Thomas responded by glaring into the camera for what seemed an age before uttering his infamous response.

"Evidently." he said.

Super Bowl VI was Thomas' last game for the Dallas Cowboys. Despite having his talents compared to those of the great Jim Brown, Thomas was out of the NFL after the 1974 season. The riddle that was The Sphinx was never solved..

I do not believe so.

Despite being an Administrator, I do not have the power to edit other member's posts - other than my own.

You may be able to, though.

Are you posting these elsewhere, too? These are sensational!

Wow - It's the Sphinx! I've heard about him numerous times before, but I'm not old enough to remember him. Still, these bring back some memories from back in the day.

– Super Bowl VII MVP – DT Manny Fernandez

Throughout the long and rich history of the NFL, of all the players who were never invited to play in a Pro Bowl game you’ll do pretty well to find a better one than Manny Fernandez. Fernandez was used to being ignored though. Pro scouts paid him little attention during his collegiate career. Subsequently he went undrafted out of the University of Utah before being later signed as a free agent by Miami in 1968. Rumour has it that the Head Coach at Utah (who had been dismissed after enduring a losing season in Fernandez’ senior year) had declined to recommend any of his former players to professional scouts as he blamed them for the loss of his coaching job. It’s been suggested that Fernandez’ surname held a certain appeal to the Dolphins and that the young organisation perhaps hoped Manny could speak Spanish to the growing Cuban population of the area and sell a few extra tickets for home games. Unfortunately for the Phins, Fernandez’ name was perhaps a little misleading as he, a California native who’d grown up near Oakland didn’t speak a word of the Cuban’s native tongue. Aside from the apparent linguistic limitation of only being able to speak English, Fernandez had two other problems to worry about. His eyes. Fernandez suffered with appalling vision. One eye was tested at 20/200, the other at 20/300. Manny once admitted that during night games, especially if his opponents were wearing dark jerseys he’d had a real problem identifying handoffs and play fakes. Fernandez overcame his poor eye sight and excelled on the football field as a key member of Miami’s “No Name Defense” that would propel the team to three successive AFC Championship wins and back to back Super Bowl victories – not to mention of course the only perfect season of the Super Bowl era. Manny enjoyed the game of his life against Washington in Super Bowl VII. Despite playing at the very heart of the interior of the defensive line and often picking up double teams at the line of scrimmage, Fernandez was so dominant that incredibly he led the Dolphins in tackles and produced a drive ending sack at a point when the Redskins were threatening to score. Manny blew up an offensive line that had accounted for 148.7 rushing yards per game during the 1972 regular season and was led by All-Pro running back Larry Brown (the NFL’s leader that year in combined yards from scrimmage) while Pro Bowl quarterback Billy Kilmer formed a deadly partnership with future Hall of Fame wide receiver Charley Taylor. Despite their formidable talent, the NFC Champions’ offense accounted for precisely zero points in Super Bowl VII - primarily due to the outstanding efforts of one Manny Fernandez, the man who provided the exclamation point to Miami’s unforgettable and legendary perfect season.

Wow - I never knew about all of his eyesight complication. I also thought he spoke Spanish, too.

He probably made the most out of the least.

Super Bowl VIII MVP – LB Nick Buoniconti (Miami Dolphins

Nick Buoniconti, the Hall of Fame, eight time first team All-AFL/AFC middle linebacker once said that, “every play was like life or death” to him. His relentless, inspirational and fiery play on the football field provided substance and accuracy to those brutally frank words.

1973 had been an incredible year for Buoniconti. The defending NFL Champion Miami Dolphins had advanced to the Super Bowl for the third straight season (an NFL first), not least due to the considerable efforts of the Buoniconti led defensive unit unfairly christened “The No Name Defense”.

The so called “No Name Defense” had given up the least amount of points in the NFL, the least passing yards, the least passing touchdowns, the second fewest first downs and the third fewest total yards. They were the epitome of eleven men working together as one perfect machine.

The outstanding player of this formidable group of defenders was Buoniconti who was subsequently named as the Dolphins MVP (the third time he’d received such an honour) after a record setting campaign that saw him establish a then team record for most tackles in a single season with a mammoth 162 - 91 of which were unassisted.

Against the NFC Champion Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl VIII, Buoniconti led from the front and took matters into his own hands as his team attempted to repeat as NFL Champions and become the first club to do so since Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers six years earlier.

The contest started well for Miami who established a sizeable seventeen point lead during the first half…but late in the second quarter the Minnesota offense came to life and threatened a come back before half time.

With six minutes left in the second quarter, the Vikings had the ball on their own twenty yard line. They knew that they had to get some points on the board before the break – and they set about said task impressively with a well balanced drive that featured three timely third down conversions via completions from future Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton.

Momentum was building for Minnesota…

The Vikings invaded Miami’s Red Zone, penetrating deep into the defending Super Bowl Champions territory. After a Tarkenton scramble (halted by a Buoniconti tackle) and a couple of stuffed runs, Minnesota faced a Fourth and One situation at the Dolphins six yard line. The clock showed a little over half a minute left in the half. Staring at a seventeen point deficit, the NFC Champions shunned a field goal attempt and lined up to run a play…

Reliable running back Oscar Reed took the handoff from Tarkenton and headed right looking for the precious single yard that he and his team desperately needed in order to stay in the game…but Buoniconti read the play perfectly…

The Dolphins All-Star linebacker jammed the hole and forced Reed into a costly fumble. Miami recovered and the threat was over. Buoniconti had pulled off the play of the game and in doing so had crushed both Minnesota’s growing momentum and their now dwindling spirits.

In the second half the Norse Men were never in the contest after their failure to convert such an important fourth down. The Dolphins cruised to a 24-7 victory to cement their undisputed dominance as the Kings of Professional Football. Without Buoniconti’s critical contribution though (he also led his team in tackles during the game) it could very easily have been a different ball game.

"If they had any momentum going, it was taken away on that play," Buoniconti said. "Had they scored at halftime, you never know how they would have responded in the second half. I'm not saying it was the most important play of the game, but it was an important one."

A modest comment from a great player, who’s own shining performance was such a deciding factor in Super Bowl glory.

He had a nice hold, but Frank Tarkenton did a swell job.

I agree with you on Buoniconti for MVP.

Super Bowl IX MVP – DT Joe Greene (Pittsburgh Steelers

Throughout the fabled history of the National Football League never has there been a more dominant defensive tackle than Charles Edward Greene – better known to you and I of course as “Mean Joe”.

Greene was the cornerstone of the great Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty of the 1970’s and the key component of the legendary “Steel Curtain” defense that bludgeoned opponents into submission during a decade of destruction that resulted in four Vince Lombardi trophies being brought back to Three Rivers Stadium.

Greene was a player capable of single handedly taking control of a football game. In his prime Mean Joe was simply unblockable. The fourth overall pick of the 1969 draft made his presence felt immediately in the league. His overpowering play in the trenches quickly established Greene as one of the best defensive linemen in all of pro football. Mean Joe was invited to play in the first of ten Pro Bowls after earning the prestigious title of NFL Rookie of the Year.

Individual honours came quickly and easily for Greene. From his defensive left tackle spot, the perennial All-Pro was named as the NFL Defensive Player of the Year not once but twice during an extraordinary thirteen year career that culminated in Canton, Ohio with Mean Joe’s well deserved 1987 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Greene was also named to the NFL’s exclusive All-Decade team for the 1970’s and the elite ranks of the 75th Anniversary All-Time team, reserved only for the absolute best of the best. Expect Mean Joe to be one of the first men named to the NFL’s 100th Anniversary team in years to come.

In Super Bowl IX against the Minnesota Vikings, Greene was at his commanding best as he battled for ground supremacy at the violent epicentre of the line of scrimmage. The contest was a defensive struggle, a war of attrition, physical in the extreme. The unlikely half time score showed a minimal 2-0 advantage for Pittsburgh on the strength of a solitary safety. Both the “Steel Curtain” and Minnesota’s famed “Purple People Eater” defense were unyielding in their do or die quest for victory.

In the second half the Steelers added to their slim lead by finding the endzone and going up by nine points after the Vikings had fumbled the opening kickoff and presented Pittsburgh with the ball on the Minnesota 30 yard line.

In a low scoring slug-fest, the Vikings knew that they had to score quickly to get back in the game - or risk falling to an unprecedented third Super Bowl defeat and their second in two years. Greene and the Steelers knew this also and dug in deep accordingly.

The Steel Curtain continued to repel the best efforts of the NFC Champion’s assaults. Late in the third quarter Mean Joe ended one drive with a timely interception after Minnesota had managed to penetrate Pittsburgh territory. In the fourth quarter after a Franco Harris fumble had given the Vikings possession in the Steelers half, Minnesota made their way down to the Black and Gold’s five yard line and a first and goal situation.

The Norse Men entrusted the football to their best rushing threat, All-Pro and Pro Bowl running back Chuck Foreman. Foreman had enjoyed a fabulous season, compiling the fourth most yards from scrimmage and leading the entire league in touchdowns scored – but those impressive achievements counted for nothing when Greene found Foreman in the backfield like a ball carrier seeking missile, forced Chuck to fumble then recovered the ball himself to frustrate yet another Minnesota thrust.

Greene’s big plays had kept the Vikings offense off of the Super Bowl scoreboard. The game ended 16-6. When Minnesota did eventually score, the touchdown came on special teams after a blocked punt rather than as a result of having overcome Mean Joe’s “Steel Curtain”.

The NFC Champions ended the game with just 119 yards of total offense and a Super Bowl low of 17 rushing yards. The AFC Champions ended the game as the NFL and Super Bowl Champions for the first, but certainly not the last, time.