Wednesday, March 2, 2022

1975 Pro Football Journal Players of the Week

 By John Turney  


The Associated Press stopped releasing NFL Players of the Week in 1973 and Pro Football Weekly began in 1978 leaving a 1974-77 gap. 

We've attempted to fill that gap, cribbing quite a lot from Prolog magazine, NFL Report, and from Pro Football Weekly's annual in 1977. While we've worked on this a long time that does not mean we are 100% right. So, we welcome comments and would be willing to change if a case is made that we're wrong. 

The picks

O.J. Simpson, 2-time PFJ POW in 1975


Curley Culp


Billy "White Shoes" Johnson

1977 Pro Football Journal Players of the Week

By John Turney 

 The Associated Press stopped releasing NFL Players of the Week in 1973 and Pro Football Weekly began in 1978 leaving a 1974-77 gap. 

We've attempted to fill that gap, cribbing quite a lot from Prolog magazine, NFL Report, and from Pro Football Weekly's annual in 1977. While we've worked on this a long time that does not mean we are 100% right. So, we welcome comments and would be willing to change if a case is made that we're wrong. 

The picks—

Walter Payton Week six and nine PFJ Offensive POW

Stan White twice PFJ Defensive POW



Ray Guy


1976 Pro Football Journal Players of the Week

By John Turney 

The Associated Press stopped releasing NFL Players of the Week in 1973 and Pro Football Weekly began in 1978 leaving a 1974-77 gap. 

We've attempted to fill that gap, cribbing quite a lot from Prolog magazine, NFL Report, and from Pro Football Weekly's annual in 1977. While we've worked on this a long time that does not mean we are 100% right. So, we welcome comments and would be willing to change if a case is made that we're wrong. 

Roger Carr, two-time PFJ OFfensive POW

Tommy Hart


Rick Upchurch

1974 PFJ Players of the Week

By John Turney 
The Associated Press stopped releasing NFL Players of the Week in 1973 and Pro Football Weekly began in 1978 leaving a 1974-77 gap. 

We've attempted to fill that gap, cribbing quite a lot from Prolog magazine, NFL Report, and from Pro Football Weekly's annual and in 1977. While we've worked on this a long time that does not mean we are 100% right. So, we welcome comments and would be willing to change if a case is made that we're wrong. 

Our picks—

Joe Namath, three-time Offensive POW by PFJ


Rams versus Denver, week 1, Youngblood 4 sacks, Dryer 2


Mack Herron, Week 2 ST POW

Calvin Hill Career Stats Including WFL

 By John Turney


Here are Calvin Hill's rushing and receiving stats including his season with The Hawaiians in the World Football League—
 

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Colorization of the Day—1946 AAFC Champions

By John Turney

Otto Graham, Mac Speedie, Paul Brown, Dane Lavelli in the locker room after the title win in 1946.


 

Review—Majesty and Mayhem: Pro Football of the 1980s—by Tom Danyluk

By John Turney
  

This book is worth the money, as author Tom Danyluk's books usually are. It is available at Amazon for about $22

It contains 45 chapters, mostly shorter ones, and features the Fog Bowl, Eric Dickerson, Ronnie Lott, Doug Williams, and on and on. It also has a nice chapter on Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman and a section that rates the champions of the 1980s and two chapters of nothing but notable quotes and is illustrated with lots of black and white photographs.

This book ranks up there with Danyluk's book The Super 70s comprehensive treatise on football in that decade as a collection of essays and photos that examines the 1980s but not as dry timeline fashion but an era's top teams, players, and games." 

It is not just full of stories about stars (one chapter is about Leon Bright) or triumphs (one chapter as about Chuck Muncie) which gives it more of a flavor of an era that was full of good things but stared down drug usage, PEDs, strikes, and other growing pains and emerged more popular than ever at the end of the decade.

This is an easy "recommend". 

via Amazon

"About Tom Danyluk

Tom has been a pro football writer for over 30 years, starting at The Pitt News - the University of Pittsburgh's student newspaper - where he won the schools' first Outstanding Sports Columnist Award. He has been a member of the Pro Football Writers Assocation since 1987.

Tom joined Pro Football Weekly in 2004, where he was a feature columnist through 2013. At Pro Football Weekly, he won several PFWA writing awards, including "Best Column," the most coveted of the awards (2009)."