Don Shula's Passing & Other Notes

RIP Don Shula, legendary coach (33 years in the NFL) passed away this week at age 90.

Shula put up a 257-133-2 record in 26 years with the Miami Dolphins. He took the Dolphins to three straight Super Bowls (VI, VII, VIII), winning the last two -- including the perfect 14-0 season in 1972. He finished 2-2 in Super Bowls. His Baltimore Colts team fell to the New York Jets, 16-7, in Super Bowl III (that was the game in which the Johnny Unitas/Earl Morrall Colts were favored by 18).

As we go through this Covid-19 season, this came to mind. Many players, just entering their prime, have so far lost two months worth of season. That total will go up, I'm sure. This, in some way, compares to the baseball players went off to war in WWII or Korea. Different circumstances, for sure, and I won't begin to suggest that Covid-19 is worse than war. Just pointing out that players are losing time due to circumstances beyond their control.

You would NEVER see this about today's professional athletes. In the 1960s, NFL players had to take off-season jobs to make ends meet. In this quote from Paper Lion by George Plimpton (published in 1966) the Hall of Fame defensive tackle is described this way "Never know what Karras's going to do...One time he spent the off-season filling jelly doughnuts in an Iowa bakery for $2.75 an hour."

Karras was very much a free spirit and entertainer. After his football career, he turned successfully to acting. Still love his Mongo character from "Blazing Saddles".

ON THIS DATE notes are run in the Wisconsin State Journal as filler. Last week, it noted that, "in 1920, Joe Oeschger of the Boston Braves and Leon Cadore of the Brookly Dodgers both pitched 26 innings in a 1-1 tie, the longest game in major league history."

In this era when major league pitchers seldom get past the SIXTH inning, you have to admire the guys who were iron men back in the day.