So many young people today dont know any of these guys, including those on the teams they love. This is a travesty because these men built the game we love and created a football legacy sacrificing their own bodies for little money. That goes for the less famous players too....they were ALL legends in those days, even the least of them. Another superb video.
Thank you for bringing up a great point. I wish that the media, as well as teams, would promote more historical aspects. I suppose that wouldn't generate much revenue, so they don't do much in that regard. It's too bad because their industry has, what, $12 billion in yearly revenue. You'd think they would pay homage to the players who built the league, however.
Three of these Running Backs played in the same division. The brand new NFC East was suddenly crowded in 1970. The Cowboys didn't have a 1,000 yard rusher. But as a team they totaled 2300 yards on the ground. At mid - season they were 5-4. Two important elements led them to SB V. Their outstanding Doomsday Defense, and their Running Game. One name to mention would be rookie Duane Thomas. Thomas gained over 800 yards with 5.3 yards per attempt. Thomas had one of those -"what could've been careers". So much potential that became too short lived.
Lane averaged over 11 ypc amazing for a running back!Lane playing for Green Bay in 1974 put away the Superbowl bound Vikings at the Met! Green Bay nursing a 12-7 lead in the 4th quarter John Hadl read a blitz and threw to Lane down the middle and he cut towards the left sidelines and outran the Vikings to the end zone and in his excitement threw the ball in the air tripped on the tarp and crashed into the chain link fence behind the end zone! A famous play shown on NFL films!
Loved watching Larry Brown who is possibly the most fearless running back in history! And what a great observation by Lombardi to Install a hearing aid!
Unfortunately, everything OLD is better!!! Not just the NFL, MLB, & NBA. College football/basketball, movies, tv, music, cost of living, newspapers, magazines (Sports Illustrated & The Sporting News!!!) etc, etc. I think this is why we all eventually die. When "our" good times are all in the rearview it's time to go!
Right on! The high degree of second effort and tenacity is what really stands out to me along with a lot of casualness after scoring a touchdown, in most cases (Ron Johnson exception).
MacArthur Lane is the oldest player to get over 100 (144 yds) yards rushing in a single game. He did it against Buffalo in 1978 at 36 years and 199 days old. A record that still stands.
Thanks Mark, these guys need to be remembered. I saw Floyd a couple of times in Denver back in the day....he WAS Denver football. We'd see him cruising around Park Hill (No. Den) in his Caddy. Everywhere he went would draw a crowd. A very nice man who would shake your hand, tolerate you in his space and humbly thank you. Lane, RIP, had great speed in St. Louis and vision. I remember he had slowed from the beating he took by his Green Bay (&KC) days but still very good. Brown is one of my favorites, what a "money" back. Kilmer & Jergenson used to screen him too. Good hands. Some backs had excellent line play, Csonka, others put the team on their shoulders, Little. Thanks brother, you're appreciated
I'm glad that you mentioned Floyd. I remember reading about him in 6th grade. He was a big part of Denver's community and I recall watching him on United Way commercials during Monday Night Football telecasts, too. I wholeheartedly agree with you that players from years gone by deserve more recognition - especially the ones without the big names. Thanks, Jammin'.
Larry Csonka and Floyd Little were just two of a long line of quality running backs from the University of Syracuse. The had two other guys you might have heard of, Ernie Davis nicknamed the Elmira Express who won the Heisman Trophy in 1961 and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns. Sadly Ernie passed away from a form of leukemia before he played one down in the NFL. The also had a guy named Jim Brown. Brown , Davis and Little wore the honored # 44 for the Orangemen! I love your classic NFL videos Mark.....Keep them coming !
I have been watching the NFL for over 50 years and for my money Larry Brown is still the most fluid runner ever. Never a wasted motion, always driving forward
I would have voted for Larry Brown, but it’s a close call. It’s funny, in your last video I had commented on the great NYG footage at a Yankee Stadium. This video had even better footage of them playing at The House that Ruth Built. Love seeing Ron Johnson d dashing to paydirt in blue cleats with Monument Park in the background. Any mention in the comments of Barty Smith is a bonus. Lindsey Nelson and The Golden Boy always seemed to pump him up on GB telecasts. Excellent work.
Thanks, Evan. The rankings were based solely upon rushing yardage, as mentioned in the video, but even if it wasn't I think that I'd vote Larry Brown #1. Yankee Stadium has got to be #1 in terms of the most nostalgic football stadium. Some fans may say Lambeau Stadium, but that's been renovated multiple times.
@@atombomb31458 I saw a Redskins documentary probably back in the early 80's and of course one segment highlighted Larry Brown. He said he learned his football running style from having to run home from school to avoid getting caught and beaten up in the Pittsburgh neighborhood he grew up in... and laughing about it!
@@atombomb31458I would add that it was George Allen's conservative-minded offense (much to Sonny Jurgensen's disdain) that burned out Larry Brown. In my opinion the two reasons why the Redskins lost to the Dolphins in the '72 Super Bowl was because: 1). Jurgy was injured and didn't play. 2). Larry Brown right; Larry Brown left; Larry Brown up the middle. The Dolphins keyed on Brown the whole game. The next season, the two teams met during the regular season and Jurgy showed the Dolphins who the better team really was.
1974 was mine. It was the 1971 set that first had game action photography, although the 1962 set showed game action pictures, but they were the much smaller of the 2 photos on the front of the cards. I liked the '70 set - the backs were easy to read.
Glad you enjoyed - I'm working on a new one that will shed some light on a position that has gone the way of the dinosaur. I'm sure you'll like it! Thank you!
I love watching the first half of your video and stop and wait to think and guess from what I have seen so far, whose jersey you will wear. I worked in a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale which was 3 doors down from Mike Kozlowki's sports bar. Great memorabilia there.
Great video! If memory serves, MacArthur Lane had some good years with the Chiefs later on, and Homer Jones invented the end zone “spike.” Didn’t know about Larry Browns hearing issue - very astute of Lombardi to notice and then correct it!
Thank you! Yes, Mac Lane lead the NFL in receptions with 66 in '76 while with the Chiefs. He was getting on in age by then, but still highly effective.
I have missed any video, or maybe forgotten, in which you told us about where you grew up and retold any good sports memories as a kid. I can not believe I am the only one of all us guys who wants to know. Please do such a video. You other guys reading this. Back me up. Thanks
I have not mentioned that information as of yet, but will look for opportunities in which to sandwich some of it into appropriately related footage. Thanks for the request!
Mark, you love what you do, and it shows! Big thanks!!! 11:20-Charley Taylor completely wiped out Royce Berry, and you can tell by his body language that Taylor was pleased with his own effort. From inspiring his players to having their uniforms more Packers-like, the profound effect that Vince Lombardi had on the Redskins' organization in his tragically brief time lasted decades. He set the foundation for George Allen and, much later, Joe Gibbs. So sad to realize that Lombardi came to Washington already (and unknowingly) wrought with cancer.
Thank you, Anthony; I really appreciate your continued comments. In Vince's final days he said that he wished he would have accomplished more which is stunning to me. Many of his former players utilized his the discipline that he instilled to succeed in business and personal endeavors.
Larry Brown ....................... POUND FOR POUND .................. ONE OF THE BEST EVER ............. Shoirt Career ............... Undersized ............. Took A Ton Of Hits .................... Even Still .............. Thanks For The Videos .................... They Are Always Outstanding ................
Larry was an animal back then. I liked him too. I lived in Denver at that time. I was a kid and my friends and i would go just to see Floyd run the ball. We didn't care if the broncos won or not and we didn't pay much attention to the scores. Floyd was so much fun to watch.
Duane Thomas could have made this list. Placed 2nd in the NFL ROY to Dennis Shaw who had a yaw-n of a career at QB for the Bills. The only other highlight/lowlight for Shaw came the next year when he led the league with 26 INTs to 11 TDs. Ouch as the Bills went 1-13.
I'm not condoning the selection of Shaw, but here are some reasons: his 2,507 passing yards were 6th best in the NFL, he engineered a league-leading three 4th quarter comeback victories and playing QB as a rookie is much more difficult than being a rookie RB.
@@markgardner9460 Lynn Dickey led K state to their first winning conference record in 1970 since 1953 and he had the most career yards passing for the Wildcats til 2008 ( Josh Freeman) in 68.Bobby Douglass led Kansas to a 9-1 record and both teams beat Nebraska at Lincoln! Kansas had bad football teams for a long time but that era was a brief respite from the horrible teams at the time!
Wow, that is a long losing streak. I still wonder why the Oilers drafted Pastorini and Dickey in '71 when they had needs all over the place. One of them was fine, but why both?
Duane Thomas was the best running back of 1970. Only started 8 games, led the league in YPA, key part of the Cowboys 5-game winning streak to make the playoffs, and two massive games (135 and 143) playoff games. Hard to believe that the Cowboys drafted Thomas right after Calvin Hill won Rookie of the Year...
He had a great rookie year, no doubt. As I mentioned early in the video, the rankings are based solely upon rushing yards. If the criteria changed, my rankings would definitely be altered. Thank you for bringing up Thomas.
@@markgardner9460 It seems like back then teams had no problem making a trade for a possible short term fix instead of developing young talent. Nothing against Homer Jones but he didn’t help the Browns much. I only remember him scoring a TD in the very first MNF game. That’s it. Ron Johnson would’ve been a better investment.
@@markgardner9460Could it have been the Browns QBs but your right! Jones fell off a cliff as did Warren Wells for Oakland although Wells spent time in jail...
Got rid of Warfield, too. I guess if you was to defend the Browns decision, you could consider they already had Kelly and Scott in the backfield. And Homer Jones at the time was considered on par with Warfield.
Regarding the first "thunder and lightning" backfield, in college, I believe that may have been Army's Blanchard and Davis, aka "Mr Inside and Mr Outside", who each won the Heisman trophy while playing in the same backfield in the mid-40s. Edit due to autocorrect incorrectly correcting things, once again... 🙄
I side with you. Another viewer noted that and I responded likewise. I oroginally thought that Blanchard was too small to be considered thunderous, but then I took into account that 205 pounds during WWII was quite large for a running back.
The best back I've seen from the past, is Earl Campbell. He was big, strong and very fast, and guys bounced off him like toothpicks. I don't know what years Campbell was active in, but man he was a great one.
Yeah, Zonk said they took dozens of pictures, but that was the one that the magazine settled on. It reminds me of the '72 Topps Billy Martin manager card.
When i watch Floyd little i am amazed. First off he was so small you'd think he may get killed! Secondly i don't know what 40yd dash was but he appeared slowish to most other backs but used his shiftiness as his weapon
That screen pass to MacArthur Lane at 6:24 is a thing of beauty. Looks like the Giants got caught on a safety blitz and once Mac had the ball, he wove his way between his blockers and would-be tacklers all the way to the end zone.👌🏼
It's a pretty play when it works successfully. I think the Cowboys ran the screen pass play the best - everything needs to be synchronized perfectly in oder for it too click. Some teams' offensive linemen would block downfield before the ball was thrown, which of course blew up the play and resulted in a penalty.
@@markgardner9460 You’re right, the Cowboys ran the best screen plays with Preston Pearson, Robert Newhouse, and others. They had that timing down. Staubach was a master at it.
I recall Staubach jumping and spinning mid-air on some of those passes to really sell the play. Landry was big into mid-directional plays and Staubach really sold that concept well.
Just off the top of my head, took about 5 to 10 minutes so probably overlooked several but how about this for all 70s skill position team? Qualifier: must've played two full seasons in the decade and based on performance within the 70s only: QB- Stabler RB- Payton RB- Simpson TE- Casper WR- Stalworth WR- Warfield Second team QB- Staubach RB- Campbell RB- Dorsett TE- Winslow WR- Gilliam WR- Taylor Third Team QB- Greise RB- Foreman RB- Riggins TE- Chester or Francis WR- Branch WR- Jackson or Pearson
Your videos are great and you have a lot of knowledge about this era. But you don't look near old enough to remember 1970 so I'm curious as to what is your earliest cognizance of NFL football and how it's structured, and what makes someone your age so dedicated to this era?
I was born in the summer of '66 and my earliest pro football memory is of the Jets/Colts Super Bowl in January 1969. I vividly recall watching the 1969 Thanksgiving Day snowstorm game between the Vikings and Lions, too. My Dad pressed me to watch each football from then on in great detail and to ask him any questions that I had. I was hooked on pro football right away and read every book about football in my grade school library many times over. Of course I became hooked on collecting football cards, too, at this time and tried committing to memory as many of the statistics as possible. The '70's is the era in which I grew up and I believe that it's the NFL pinnacle in terms of entertaining sport. I think the game has mostly become entertainment during the past few decades. I hope that answers your question. Thank you for asking!
@@markgardner9460 Well you've aged well, then. So you do remember these players. Jets/Colts is my first time watching a SB and I watched in full. I grew up in a Packers household so I missed the bus by a year. And much of the 1968 season brings back memories. But I was a few years older than you. I don't remember anything when I was two. I amember the football cards but never considered their future value, and was also a huge fan of stats. Agree about old school football. Even at the college level the game has become more about entertainment than winning. As a sidenote, I wonder if you remember the following board games. I did a post on each of 'em on an old blog I used to maintain: Tudor Electric Football Cadaco foto-electric Football Cadaco Bas-Ket Cadaco All-Star Baseball Pro Bowl Live Action Football (also did a post on Aurora Monster models if you remember those)
I am unfamiliar with those board games. The only football games that I have are Talking Football and Pro Draft - both very good games, in my estimation.
The Yankees still had their spring camp in Fort Lauderdale in the late 70's to early 80's. You could go into LA VERANDA and see everybody. I saw Tony Kubec, Billy Martin , and Whitey Herzog in there.
I have Larry Brown as an all-time great assessed in my GOAT RB videos series. If injuries didn’t shorten his career, he could have been a top back all-time. Still rates high despite low longevity
He wasn't very big and George Allen overused him (which is what Head Coaches do). He touched the ball a LOT in his first five years. He lasted longer than most RB's back then. I did a video of him relating to his credentials for the Hall of Fame & it's in my Playlist under "Special Features", if you're interested. Thanks for posting!!
I always look players up during the videos and next thing I know I'm reading about their little brother's college roommate who played in a Super Bowl. Damn you Wikipedia!
Hey one Floyd Little story.....(legend has it) Floyd fumbled late in a game (San Diego I believe) and (Chicken Little) Lou Saban benched him. Saban was sending plays in & Floyd got off the bench and called his own screen pass...Saban: "Whats going on...Floyd! Go Floyd-go Floyd". Little scored. Thanks brothers.
That's great! It reminds me of Dizzy Dean who volunteered himself to pinch run in the '34 World Series and was hit in the head by a thrown ball to first base because he didn't duck when running to second base on a batted ball.
@@markgardner9460 now that's laying it out there for the team. I remember Pete Rose standing in the box like a statue and taking one to the upper arm, scowling at the pitcher, flipping his bat towards The Reds batboy and taking his base. Tough as woodpecker lips!
As much as I dislike todays NFL I still watch. I am not diehard like when i was younger but I still follow. Sadly I have not watched a baseball game since the 2001 Yankees/DBacks and have not watched an NBA game since Shaq came to LA. An Ace today is gone after 6ip. Complete games are as rare as No Hitters or triples. Modern payrolls have destroyed sports. Guys are no longer "players" they are investments!!!! So sad.
If these studs played in today's softcore NFL: A) Chuck Foreman would be a 3rd down back. B) Zonk would be short yardage and GL only (Sadly he'd have 4-5 carries for 8yds tho he'd score 3 TD's every Sunday! C) Jimmy Brown could've played for 25-30 years, in today's cushy RB gig of 10-12 carries! PS: Foot Note- Jim Brown would've left when he did no matter when he played. Hell, what actors are paid today he mighta left at 25!
A few other viewers have brought him up. If the criteria was other than the most rushing yards, as it is in this video, Thomas would definitely be in my top 5.
Loved watching Little's speed and cutting and Johnson threw a ton to Haven Moses so they weren't horrible in passing, but, for some reason, you skipped 1969 ROY Calvin Hill leaping over dbs and 1970 ROY Duane Thomas who had the same cutting ability and speed of Brown and should have won MVP of SB6 for running all over that field. Otherwise, a decent video.
Thank you for your comments. This video pertains only to the 1970 season, so Charley Johnson wasn't playing for Denver then. I mentioned early in the video that the rankings are based solely upon rushing yards, so that's why Hill and Thomas didn't make the list.
Understood. However, considering that both Hill and Thomas won RoYs with less yardage per season, it would have made a good mention simply for comparison. Back then, gaining just 70 yards per game (1000 yards in 14 games) was considered worthy of a long term contract So much so that John Brockington of Green Bay is still in the record books foe being the first 3x 1000 yard rusher. That after all those years with Taylor and Hornung winning all those titles. In a run heavy league (at the time), yards were hard to come by.
Csonka and Brown were the best of that group. Little was good but not HOF worthy. I remember how tough a runner Larry Brown was he used to say "a runner's legs are like an outlaw's horse. You gotta ride that nag till she drops". I would put him in Canton over Little. Browns made ALOT of bad trades in the 70's (and draft picks). They needed a WR because they traded Paul Warfield to Miami for the rights to draft QB Mike Phipps. So that means they traded Ron Johnson Paul Warfield and Jim Kanicki for Mike Phipps. ugh
The video is for only the 1970 season, as the title indicates. Also, I mentioned early in the video that the rankings are solely based upon the top 5 rushing yardage marks of 1970.
The Redskins Unees Back Then Were AWFUL !! Comment Below ............... RIGHT ON THE MONEY............... Proud To Be An Old Guy that grew up On The NFL In The Sixties
The '60's NFL is awesome, too. I just wish that there was more available footage earlier in the decade, so I could make some videos from that era. Thank you for commenting!
There were only a habdful of RB's in the NFL who could say that they had (2) 1,000 yard rushing seasons back in the early '70's and Johnson was one of them.
@@markgardner9460 Don't remember or know if it's true, story about McNeil either retur ing kickoff or catching pass and getting undercut flip and lands on his feet and keeps going. That was from my childhood.
Best running back in 1970 HANDS DOWN was rookie sensation Duane Thomas. Coach Landry didn't start him right of way??? Still had around 900 yards rushing...He put fear into defensive backs.(he ran over them like paper dolls). No disrespect 2 Ron Johnson, Larry Brown.
Only one running back ran for 1000+ yards in 1970? That has got to be an anomaly; it seemed to me half or a sizable minority of teams had a 1000 yard runner in the 1970s. Is my impression wrong here?
Larry Brown and Ron Johnson each ran for 1,000+ yards in 1970. In 1972, when they narrowed the hash marks, rushing totals spiked, which translated to an influx of 1,000 yard rushers in the decade of the 1970's. So you are correct, as a sizable minority of teams had 1,000 yard runners and a couple of teams even had two 1,000 yard runners.
Seem as if Back Then watching The Film? A lot of Guys Made Buisness Decisions..Piss poor Attempts Tackkling Especially Big Rb's..is It just Me who see This?? 😂
Wait a second you just did a piece on macArthur Lane and you failed to mention and show clips of his great years with Green Bay leading them to the playoffs in 1972??? and rushing for 821 yards catching 34 passes in 1974 including a 68 yard TD
I just wanted to mention how good of a pass receiver he was. I produce players videos totally dedicated to one player when I go into more details like the ones you mentioned initially. I have to have a stopping point eventually in some of these videos, in terms of what I include.
Good stuff ! What happened to Ron Johnson ? Did he get hurt ? He had that big rookie year and kinda disappeared ! And actually Syracuse combo Csonka and Floyd weren't the first " Thunder and Lightning," well they were the first to go by that name but the originals were Army's "Mr. Inside" ( "Doc" Blanchard ) and "Mr. Outside" ( Glenn Davis )
I did think of Davis and Blanchard, but didn't mention them because I didn't think that Blanchard was all that thunderous at 6' 0" and 205 pounds. Howecer, I did not take into consideration the era in which he played - WWII. Those dimensions would have deemed him a large Running Back then, so thank you for bringing he and Davis up in discussion. I was in error.
@@markgardner9460 No problem...yeah, 205 is a small DB right now...but back then that was a big dude ! Hell Csonka wouldn't even be considered a "Big" back now. I remember in 1970 matter of fact, the Redskins had a great LB named Chris Hanburger and he was 205...back then there were only a couple guys in the league over 300 lbs. Now, a 300 pounder is the "little" guy on the D or O - Line !
This guy must be drunk u cannot have a list of the best 70's running back and leave O.J out whatever you feel about him personally u have to admit he was best running back of the 70's
The video was about the year of 1970. Not the entire decade. Check his video list out and he does have a couple of OJ videos. Mark’s videos only focus on a players on field performance. I don’t believe he discriminates for personal issues.
@frankbridges2171 The video title reflects "1970" and not "1970's". If this video pertained to the entire decade, then I would have ranked O.J. number one.
