The Incredible 1970's Minnesota Vikings Wide Receivers
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- čas přidán 30. 10. 2023
- The 1970's Vikings had a Pro Bowl Wide Receiver in each year...and they never missed a start in that year. Exciting game footage with music from this era makes this a must-watch!
- Sport
The Sammy White and Ahmad Rashad tandem was as exciting as any in the league. And we all loved the Fran to Gilliam bombs. I was just a little kid living in Burnsville those days. But that was a fun time to watch Minnesota football. I remember a McDonalds either in Minneapolis or Bloomington. It had Vikings pictures all over. A good one of Gilliam. My favorite was one big capture of Alan Page in purple mauling Bob Griese. Fun times.
One was great on the 12-15 yard down and out patterns (Rashad) and the other excelled on the deep passes (White).
@@markgardner9460 Rashad was excellent at setting up defensive backs I remember a Sports Illustrated article by Rashad around 1981 he said a couple of things I remember.: one : I could have caught that pass I was wide open! He said yes but could you have set up the defensive back to get so open?And two. evidently that had a hot summer in Minnesota and Rashad heard Bud Grant mentioned during a practice to not think about beer Rashad said to himself "All.I. can think about is getting done with practice and having some beer!Am.I a alcoholic?"
Rashad, Bob Chandler and Fred Biletnikoff were masters at running the down and out pass pattern. Defenders knew this, but these receivers were so good at setting up the DB's that the DB's still couldn't stop them!
I always believed Oakland got the far better end of their 1980 pre-season trade where they sent aging, old, sort-ish injury-prone 4x Pro Bowl LB Phil Villipiano to Buffalo for WR Bob Chandler. Villipiano actually found out about the trade after returning from a church service in Oakland one Sunday morning to a call from Al Davis saying he had been traded to Buffalo. Chandler was a very good, dependable, sort of under-used WR that the Bills never got the most out of due to them being mostly a run-based offense centered around O.J. Simpson until maybe 1975-76 when Lou Saban began allowing Joe Ferguson to throw the ball a bit more. Chandler had a lot more in the tank to give Oakland as he was the heir apparent to future HOF WR, legendary Raider Fred Biletinikoff. He was a second-generation clone.
Then again, Oakland, by 1980, wasnt much fun anymore for the old time Raiders players who had been there since the early-mid 1970's--they were stuck in the middle of a bitter relocation battle, sort of a borrowed team, in a borrowed stadium, in a borrowed city that was soon to lose its original AFL franchise team, and not for the last time.
Villipiano had some success in Buffalo, mostly on special teams and on third-downs. One of his best friends and running partners in Buffalo was unsurprisingly, ex-Cardinals and Saints OL Conrad Dobler.
Chandler was a very good WR who finally did reach some essence of his potential in Raiders last days in Oakland, sadly he didn't get to live a long, happy post, "NFL life" as he died of IIRC, lung cancer in January 1995. O.J. Simpson, one of his Bills' teammates, was actually still very close to him long after retirement, and his Attorneys were able to get a short recess for Simpson to attend his best friend and former teammate's funeral.
Enjoyed the video and commentary. The only thing that would stop the Vikings wide receivers was the metal tarp cylinders in the back of the end zone.
That's about right!
All the receivers are one of the bigger reasons the Vikings made it to 4 Super Bowls in the decade and none since! Gilliam was my favorite. He always ran well after the catch.
So far it looks like Gilliam is the runaway favorite, no pun intended.
i love 70s football going back of time thank you. 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😃😃😃😃😃😃😊😊😊😊😊😊
I can't get enough of it. Thank you for watching and commenting!
Great memories. Boy was John Gilliam smooth. Thanks for another excellent video.
You've welcome, Evan! Yes, Gilliam was somethin' else - loved watching him catch those long passes.
I loved watching Gilliam when I was a kid. Wonderful receiver with explosive speed.
Once he left the Vikings, he really went downhill fast.
Right up my alley!
Get this, in 1978 while I was in High School in South Dakota, the Minnesota Vikings traveling basketball team played our local adult basketball team (rural town of 1,200). Tickets were $5. The. NFL season was over, February if I remember correctly. Matt Blair and Stu Voight were 2 of the players I remember vividly. I think Fred McNeil was on the team also. They traveled around the Midwest in the offseason to scrounge up some extra money. Crazy! I couldn’t imagine this today.
I remember hearing of other teams doing the same thing - the Broncos come to mind. Big Dave Costa played. Can you imagine running into a pick of his? I had no idea that the Vikings players had traveled that distance. Thanks for the story.
"Tarkenton"was lucky to have had ..a decade of "great receivers.. and " Tarkenton"..also was a "Technician" himself behind center.. he could scramble.. with the best of them..this was a slick compilation..that I agree with.."SportsStatsNGab " and for me ..the "soundtrack"also was"smoking".. enjoyed it"!!
Tark had excellent WR's. It could be said that he was highly responsible for resurrecting Rashad's career and making Gilliam into a 4X Pro Bowl player. Thanks for watching and commenting.
@@markgardner9460
Appreciate the Reply "!!
7:52: This play is a blast to watch. Tarkenton looking for someone to block, there are none and then Gilliam just flies by him with his 9.5 in the 100 yard dash speed into the end zone.
Tark is looking around for somebody to block and nobody is even close! That play is fun to watch. Thanks for bringing up that play.
That is a good eye and never saw that play before, Fran was fooling around either, he was looking for someone, ha.
@@markgardner9460 What are the chances he can't find anyone to block the entire run, I just watched it three times in a row, what a play!
Mick probably blocked his butt off 45 yards downfield
@@brotzmannsax Fran wasn't looking too hard! But,great hustle!
Great clips - again. Gracias!
Thank you - I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
I've been a Vikings fan since 79' so for me it was Rashad, Sammie White, and a lot of passes to our backs Ted Brown, Darrin Nelson and Steve Jordan at TE then Hassan Jones and Anthony Carter era on so forth..
Yes, the Vikes loved throwing to their RB's. Rickey Young, Chuck Foreman and Tony Galbreath caught a lit of passes, too.
Great video! This is from a string of great ideas that are well done. I especially like the two draft episodes!
Thank you - I really appreciate that!
Make mine Gilliam, Rashad, White, Grim. Every one of these guys would be a star today. Its hogwash that they couldn't play in todays game. These guys were mugged down the field and blasted by the defenses. The Vkes carried on the WR greats, Moss, Carter - today Jefferson, it seems that they always had/have good receivers. Thanks brother you're appreciated. ⊙bd
2 Carters, right? Anthony and Cris. Loved watching A.C. Jake Reed was solid, too.
Gene Washington was my first favorite Viking then John Gilliam. Thanks for awesome video!💜
Thanks, Scott! When I tried to pick a favorite, it was very difficult, but I settled on Sammy White.
You have my vote with Gene Washington and the one in SF was pretty good too.
All-Pro each of his first 3 years - he and Brodie really hit it off well.
The xatch White made against Washington and Ken Houston at 14:37 in the 1976 playoffs was absolutely incredible!
I remember watching that on live tv and jumping up and down as a kid.
@@markgardner9460 Yes i.was watching myself on CGS Vin Scully and Paul Hornung called the game
I really liked Hornung as an announcer. He didn't mince words.
Total concentration and athletic ability, we forget how good he was.
@@markgardner9460 no.he was very concise!
Great presentation, you seem to have so much old footage of the Vikes in the Met, so much fun to watch again after decades in domes.
Also, I remember a receiver Henderson who was pretty good for the Vikes in the late 60's early 70's I believe.
Thanks, I'm glad that you enjoyed it. John Henderson #80 was the WR - I think he started in the Super Bowl against KC and that was his best year in the NFL
@@markgardner9460 Yes, he had a good game from whatever they could muster that day, I wonder why he didn't last.
Also, more great ground level footage and hip music choices throughout this video.
That ground footage can't be beat - ya get a better glimpse into the tenacity of the game. I think that Bob Grim beat him out of the starting job, then after Grim left the team he couldn't start over Gilliam.
Loved Grim,Sammy White and Rashad but my favorite is John Gilliam!He in my opinion was the biggest "Home run"; threat!I would be remiss to not mention Gene.Washington!
The Reds and Twins had Tom Hall, a pitcher nicknamed "The Blade" and that nickname was apt for Gilliam, too.
i can remember a time where you had to know the difference between the Niners Gene Washington #18 and the Vikes Gene Washington #84. Today GW #18 is Goodells right hand man at NFL HQ in NY! I promise last music bed Q...whats the jazzy tune played during the Vikes GW highlights near beginning? Thanks for the great memories! LC
I loved to watch Hub Meeds!
He and his brother showed up at the KC/MN Super Bowl and security thought that Hub was the Vikings mascot, so they let him onto the field of play. After the game, he asked the Vikes if he could be their regular mascot and the rest is history.
Love the music of the 1977 Sammie White highlights !!!!!!!!!!!! Once Fran Tarkenton retired Sammie White's career went down because for some reason Tommy Kramer never threw him the ball. Sammie should have demanded a trade after the 1980 season!!!!!!!!!!!! Could have been a Hall of Famer if Sammie would have had Tarkenton for 5 more years as his quarterback with the Vikings!!!!!!!!
Kramer's offensive line was much less talented than Fran's and the running game was much worse, too, so Kramer threw a LOT of short passes sprinkled in with medium-deep passes to Rashad. There wasn't much time to throw bombs to White, unfortunately.
Rashad going from Seattle to Minnesota?I remember that!/Great move by the Vikes!
And thanks to Fran for lobbying to keep him on the team.
Imagine if Seattle had been able to convince not only Rashad, but also Tony Dorsett to try and give the recent expansion Seahawks a chance instead of telling them after his NC-winning, Heisman Trophy winning 1976 season to, basically, don't bother drafting me. Rashad and Steve Largent, side-by-side, catching passes from Tarkenton-clone Jim Zorn, and having a future HOF RB in Dorsett. I think both men and a lot of players from other NFL teams in the late 70's really underestimated just how surprisingly good, competitive and streaky they could be. They were one of the few teams that always gave old Oakland/L.A. Raiders a hard time in the late 1970's/most of the 80's. Within Seahawks first 4 years of existence, they had their first two winning seasons, by their 8th season, they had their first post-season wins and came one shy of the Super Bowl. They remained a highly competitive team throughout the 1980's with HC Chuck Knox, with 5 winning seasons, 4 post-season appearances, and their first AFC West title (1988).
Gilliam for Cuozzo?What a steal!
Plus a couple of draft picks. The Vikes had traded their 4th round pick to the Cards for Nate Wright, then got it back in the Rashad/Cuozzo trade.
John Gilliam is my favorite Viking receiver of all time.
The dude was razor thin, but he could really get open deep. I loved watching him play.
John Gilliam (42) was my favorite. I remember when he played for the St. Louis Cardinals in the Eastern Division and he burned my team (Cleveland) several times. One time he scored a hat trick against the Browns scoring on two long pass plays and the third one on a TD with 20 seconds left on the clock. It tied the game at 21-21. He was good.
1:43 Butkus wiffs on Gilliam
Good thing for Gilliam the DB knocked him in a different direction from the way Butkus was coming.
I recall Gilliam had a cup of coffee with the bears around 77
Yes, he didn't make any catches in 2 games there, then played 10 games for the Saints for the remainder of the '77 season and that was that.
I can still hear Pat Summerall saying “Ahmad Rashad” 👍
Summerall could say "toilet bowl cleaner" and make it sound good. He had a great voice, pace and tone.
I just remember Gene Washington, Vikings had theirs Niners had theirs, I thought they were the same guy for a while! Lol
They even played in a couple of Pro Bowl games together.
@@markgardner9460 Fun Fact I didn't know, and appreciated both of them.
One played at Michigan State on those great mid 60s Spartans team and the other at Stanford
Great receivers throughout the decade. Game changed, so is it Gilliam or Rashad? I appreciate the Vikings, but not a fan who could choose. And I believe Foreman lead the team in receptions at least three times!
I’ve got my red patriot Steve Grogan jersey on for this video
Solid!!
Pat Summerall called Gilliam "Mr.Smooth"
That he was!
On December 14, 1980 the Miracle at the Met Hail Mary from Tommy Kramer to Aamad Rashad win over Cleveland 28-23
My best friend's Dad went to that game and sat in the 2nd row near the opposing team's dugout and heard Rashad yell "I can't believe I caught it!"
The Vikings, incredibly only had 9 touchdown passes in 1971! 7 to Grim, 1 to Stu Voight 1 to Dave Osborn!/Abysmal!
Yeah, that 3 QB merry-go-round was not condusive to a strong passing game.
@@markgardner9460 Cuozzo, Lee and Snead were not a good group!/That may have been Bud Grant's biggest mistake ,if he had any kind of quarterback play in 1970-71 Minnesota might have won a Super Bowl
Just an awful group - on paper, Snead looked to be by far and away the best, but they didn't play him much. I wonder why.
The wide receivers didn't miss a start in that era?/Mind-blowiing!
Crazy, isn't it?
@@markgardner9460 Minnesota had a lot of players from that era who missed few if any games!/Most notably Jim Marshall and Mick Tinglehoff, neither one missed a game in their career!
probably didn't miss too many practices either.
@@markgardner9460 Grant said ability is great,but. durability is key
I owned a hot car in the mid-'80's, but it was either in the shop or the time or on blocks. A cool fast car doesn't do ya no good if it's not running.
40 plus receptions in the 70s would be considered pro bowl numbers
That's right. Pre-'78, 30 catches was a very respectable number. Tight Ends were going to Pro Bowl games with 30-40 receptions.
7:10 #71 Tony McGee tries to clothesline Dave Osborne. Common tactic back then
I noticed that! It was tough back then.
He was just checking the back floating out, back then you could do what you wanted as a defender before the ball was in the air.
@@markgardner9460 Ozzy and Bill Brown were as tough as a tandem you could find back then.
They were ny Grandpa's fvorite RB's. If you needed a tough 3 yards for a first down, they got it for you. If you needed 5 yards, they got you those same 3 yards.
@@markgardner9460 Three yards and a cloud of dust, I can't imagine how many injuries they concealed and showed up every Sunday together.Tough as nails, both of them, like Grandpa.
John Gilliam was my guy
The dude looked like he could have been a movie star, too.
John Gilliam then with the Saints in 1967 returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a TD Tulane Stadium went nuts
Didn't Gene Washigton end up with the Broncos? Or was that John Hederson, whom paired with Washington on that great 1969 Minnesota team?
Yes, he played for them in '73. He was traded for WR Al Denson.
Harold Jackson was better than all of them. He was in the movie North Dallas Forty, but he's not in the HOF. Fours years on bad teams in Philly (Pro Bowl twice) and with the Rams for 5 seasons (3 Pro Bowls) where they were ousted by the Cowboys or the Vikings in the playoffs. Then he disappeared in New England.
I wouldn't say that he disappeared, Professor. In four years in New England he averaged 39 catches for a 20.3 yards per catch (better than any of his other tours of duty in the NFL).
@@markgardner9460Disappeared behind Stanley Morgan and Russ Francis (RIP).
But mostly due to their run-first mantra
Gene Washington was my favorite as a kid (minnesota)
To me, he was Randy Moss before Randy Moss. Naturally, the stats don't support that, but it was night and day between those eras.
I agree 100%@@markgardner9460
ahmad Rashad
Rashad was so good on down & out patterns - he was also great on jump balls. Thank you for commenting.
Tark and Rashad smoked the Lions often in the late 70s...
...and the Bears were taken to the proverbial cleaners a lot too, as shown in this video.