January 6

In this episode of the Football's History Headlines, we discuss a pass and catch of a TD by the same player in a game and some fantastic and controversial Championship games as well as many more Hall of Fame Legendary stories. 

We're diving into the archives to revisit the headlines that rocked the NFL landscape. From legendary draft-day decisions that changed franchises to record-breaking performances that left fans in awe, get ready to relive the electrifying moments that shaped the game we love. So, lace up your cleats and join us as we explore the captivating stories from the gridiron's rich past!

January 6, 1980 - Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh - The AFC Championship game to determine who would win the Lamar Hunt Trophy and represent the American Football Conference in Super Bowl XIV. Two of the old AFC Central foes met for the third time in the season, the Oilers of Houston and the defending champs the Pittsburgh Steelers. Late in the third quarter of this game is one of the most controversial officiating calls in NFL History.  With the Oiler deep inside Pittsburgh territory QB Dan Pastorini dropped back and tossed a pass towards the back right corner of the end zone. Houston receiver Mike Renfro seemingly came down with an amazing catch with Steeler corner Ron Johnson in tight coverage on him. The official on the coverage did not call anything though and the crew got together in a huddle and discussed the play. A few moments later they deemed it an incomplete pass as when Renfro finally secured it he had fallen out of bounds. This was 6 years before instant replay was used in NFL officiating and it may be the very play that was at the root of Replays adoption. The Oilers were forced to kick a field goal and for the second straight year the  Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Houston Oilers, 27-13 to advance.

January 6, 1980 - Tampa Stadium - The NFC Championship was hosted by the Buccaneers who were in only their fourth season of existence. The Bucs played tough but the Los Angeles Rams came to town on a mission and defeated Tampa Bay 9-0 for the right to face the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

January 6, 1985 - Miami Orange Bowl - At the AFC Championship game it was the Dan Marino led Miami Dolphins outsourcing the Pittsburgh Steelers, 45-28 to move on to the big game.

January 6, 1985 - Candlestick Park, SF - The NFC Championship game was played and the San Francisco 49ers with Joe Montana under center advanced to the Super Bowl as they blanked the Chicago Bears, 23-0.

January 6, 2014 - The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California - The BCS National Championship was a memorable one as #1 Florida State would have a tough test against #2 Auburn per ESPN.com. This was a match up of the ages as Heisman Winner QB Jameis Winston, Kelvin Benjamin and Devonta Freeman were on the Seminoles  high powered offense and faced the Tigers that sported Sammie Coates, Dee Ford and Carl Lawson and CJ Uzomah. As often happens in these great games it came down to the final seconds of play. With 13 seconds remaining, Winston threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin to lift FSU to a 34-31 win and the National Title!

January 6, 2018 - Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota scores a touchdown that he threw to himself! In one of the craziest play sequences the Titans had the ball at the Kansas City Chiefs 6 yard line facing third and goal per the ringer.com. Mariota dropped back and scrambled around a bit then saw daylight left. As he approached the line of scrimmage he launched a pass towards the end zone but a defender, KC’s  Darrell Revis,  batted the ball which went back to Marcus and he caught it and dove to the pylon for a TD. It was important too as it aided in the 22-21 victory over Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Mariota was the second NFL quarterback in history to have done so. The other was Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson in 1997, who also caught his own pass on a third and goal and scored against the Panthers.

January 6, 2018 - The Oakland Raiders formerly announced that Jon Gruden would be returning to become their head coach per ESPN.com. It had been nearly a decade since Gruden’s first stint as the Raiders coach as from 2009 through the 2017 season he was broadcasting on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

January 6, 1913 - The guard from Princeton University John “Jac” Weller was born. Jac received All-America honors in 1935 according to his bio on the NFF website. He was the top lineman on the Tiger teams that suffered only one loss in three seasons and that was a Yale 7-0 victory. The College Football Hall of Fame placed Jac Weller into their house of collegiate legends in 1957.

January 6, 1947 - Clarksburg, West Virginia - Frank Loria, Virginia Tech's fine defensive back celebrated his day of birth. According to the NFF Frank was a 3 year starter with the Hokies and was a two-time All American. VT retired Loria’s jersey number 10 as he was well known for his great defensive play as well as his punt return abilities. Frank averaged 13 yards per return and even took 4 of them back for touchdowns in his college career. The National Football Foundation honored Frank Loria posthumously with entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

January 6, 1956 - Portland Oregon - The prolific tight end front he University of Notre Dame, Ken MacAfee arrived into life. Ken had some very good traits as a tight end according to the FootballFoundation.org website. He was a dominant blocker and also had a great set of hands to catch pases with. Ken was an All-America selection three times. He added the Academic All-America title to his resume in 1977, as he also won the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award , and was third in the Heisman Trophy vote. That year he caught 54 passes for 797 yards and six touchdowns. It is no wonder that the fighting Irish also won the National Championship that season! The National Football Foundation honored Ken MacAfee with entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

January 6, 1960 - Somerville, Massachusetts - Howie Long the four year letterman from Villanova was born. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Howie was a 1981 second round draft pick of the Oakland Raiders. He spent 13 seasons with the club and registered 84 sacks. You could probably add another 7-½ sacks to the total because in his rookie season , sacks were not an official statistic in the NFL. Long was an All-Pro in three different seasons and was selected to play in 8 Pro Bowls. During the festivities in Canton in 2000, Howie Long was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

January 6, 1964 - Gladys, Virginia - The outstanding defensive end from James Madison University Charles Haley was born.  Charles still has the record for being the leading tackler in James Madison’s Football history as he gainsed All-America status twice while at the school according to the National Football Foundation.  In fact Haley was the first player to gain the honor of being called an All-American. Charles completed his collegiate career with 506 tackles, three interceptions and 17 quarterback sacks. The NFF voters happily checked the boxes for Charles Haley to gain entry into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011.  The San Francisco 49ers got quite the steal when they laid claim to Haley in the fourth round of the 1986 NFL Draft. Haley spent 12 seasons in the NFL with the Niners and the Dallas Cowboys.He was the first player from James Madison to be drafted into the NFL and also holds the distinction to be the first NFL player to win 5 Super Bowls. Charles Haley was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

The phot0 in our Banner for this episode is titled "Five of the approximately 75 Kilgore College Rangerettes" circa 2014 and was donated as part of collection to the Library of Congress by photographers Highsmith, Carol M.