In the middle of a 1966 game between the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons, Lions running back Joe Don Looney got into an altercation with head coach Harry Gilmer, and got suspended in the middle of the game. This is the crazy story behind that.
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Joe Don Looney was an American football running back in the National Football League for the New York Giants, Baltimore Colts, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, and the New Orleans Saints. He attended Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida and Paschal High School in Fort Worth, Texas.
In his first semester at the University of Texas, Looney received four Fs and one D. Looney responded by dropping out and enrolling at Texas Christian University. He was eventually kicked out of that school and transferred to Cameron Junior College, where he played for Leroy Montgomery. He set a punting record in the 1961 Junior Rose Bowl, as his team won the junior college national championship. He made All-American with the University of Oklahoma in 1962, leading them to the Big Eight Conference championship. He played in only three games in 1963. Head coach Bud Wilkinson kicked him off the team after Looney netted four yards in six carries in a game against Texas. Looney did not get along with Wilkinson, and it was also alleged he had punched assistant coach Johnny Tatum, though Tatum debunked that claim
Looney was drafted in the first round (twelfth overall) of the 1964 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He was also selected in the sixth round of the 1964 AFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, but chose to play in the NFL instead. He was with the Giants just 25 days before they traded him along with offensive lineman Lou Kirouac to the Baltimore Colts for wide receiver R.C. Owens and safety Andy Nelson during training camp on August 24, 1964. As a member of the Giants, Looney racked up a number of fines for violating team rules.
Looney had only 23 carries with Baltimore that season. In November, he got into an argument about politics with a couple, then later that night, broke into their apartment with a friend and attacked them. He received one year's probation and a fine.
The Colts traded Looney and an undisclosed draft pick to the Detroit Lions following on June 3, 1965 for linebacker Dennis Gaubatz. He put together one good season, racking up 114 carries for 356 yards and five touchdowns. While with Detroit, Looney was told by coach Harry Gilmer to carry in a play to the quarterback. Looney refused and told Gilmer, "If you want a messenger boy, call Western Union."
Detroit traded Looney to the Washington Redskins, where he had an uneventful tenure. He had 55 carries for 178 yards. The only highlight of his time with the Redskins came on a play in which he did not even have the ball. He was pass protecting for quarterback Sonny Jurgensen, and ended up leveling an onrushing pass rusher with a right hook to the jaw. When he tried to renegotiate his contract, he was let go.
In 1968, Looney was called up by the United States Army to go to Vietnam. He joined a lawsuit that claimed that a reserve unit could not be sent to fight in an undeclared war, but it was defeated.
When he returned to the United States, he signed on with the New Orleans Saints. He had three carries for -3 yards with the Saints that year, and retired after the season.
Looney was ranked as the most uncoachable player in NFL history by NFL Films president Steve Sabol. He would often intentionally run the wrong way on plays in practice in order to make things more challenging for himself. He once skipped several practices. When questioned about his absences, he responded by saying, "If practice makes perfect and perfection is impossible, why practice?"
Joe Don Looney played for the following teams:
1964 Giants
1964 Colts
1965 Lions
1966 Lions
1966 Redskins
1967 Redskins
1969 Saints
Players on the 1966 Lions:
Milt Plum
Karl Sweetan
Amos Marsh
Tom Nowatzke
Gail Cogdill
John Henderson
Bill Malinchak
Pat Studstill
Jim Gibbons
Ron Kramer
Ed Flanagan
John Gordy
Bob Kowalkowski
Daryl Sanders
Roger Shoals
J.D. Smith
Roger Brown
Larry Hand
Alex Karras
Darris McCord
Jerry Rush
Ernie Clark
Wally Hilgenberg
Mike Lucci
Wayne Walker
Dick LeBeau
Bruce Maher
Wayne Rasmussen
Bobby Thompson
Tom Vaughn
Garo Yepremian
2 мар 2021
