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Legendary and HOF Vikings coach Bud Grant passes away

Frozen Frog

Active Member
Bud Grant stories are fascinating. So many of those old Vikings players had some of the best stories. Just fun to read and hear. Bud was forever on the Vikings coaching staff. He had some special title. Bud was one of the toughest men I’ve ever read about. His son Mike was a high school coach that played college football at a school I won’t name. He took the philosophy of his college coach. I’ve always wondered what Bud thought of the Mike’s coaching style and whether it could work above a d3 level with 200+ kids on the football team.
 

Virginia Frog

Active Member
Just your average guy who played in the NFL and then coached in the league.

Oh, and he also played in the NBA!!! And won a title with the Minneapolis Lakers (the mascot made a lot of sense when they played in the "land of 10,000 lakes", less when they moved to LA).
And The MSP "Lakers" were moved to LA by none other than Bob Short.

He's the same guy that moved the Washington Senators to DFW in 1972 who became the Texas Rangers. Oldbe DC area sports fans hated that man. (Attendance was alway a problem at RFK Stadium (1) because they had the highest ticket prices in MLB (2) the team was perennially bad (except the Ted Williams as coach years w/ slugger Frank Howard) and (3) nobody with half a brain wanted to be in DC "at night." (DC's changed a lot for the better over the past 50 years!)

(We could never figure, with the Baltimore Orioles just up the parkway, why they were aways good and the Senators blew chunks!)
 

froginmn

Full Member
For Cowboy fans especially, it's worth a trip over to YouTube and search for Cowboys Vikings Hail Mary. (Since they contain video that the NFL has rights to, or something, it would not let me link any here.) There's one where Drew Pearson tells some great stories about the play, etc.
My dad went to his grave convinced that Pearson pushed off - a common feeling among Vikings fans and something that DP admitted to but said it wasn't a penalty.

The unbelievable part of that was that the official who didn't call it was hit in the head by a whiskey bottle and missed the last part of the game. Note: my dad's seats were too far away and he didn't have that kind of arm. Helluva shot by whoever threw it.
 

ShreveFrog

Full Member
@froginmn - It was a subtle push to the back. Pearson described it as a basketball push. And the ref didn't have a good angle to see it, as the defender was between him and Pearson. Pearson said he feared he had been flagged when he saw an orange object whiz by. It turned out to be an orange that a fan threw.

The Drew Pearson narrated video, available on YouTube, is titled: The Story of the Original Hail Mary! Legends of the Playoffs
It's a gem! Again, sorry, YouTube won't let me link it. Just copy and paste that title. 5 minute video.
 
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Eight

Member
My dad went to his grave convinced that Pearson pushed off - a common feeling among Vikings fans and something that DP admitted to but said it wasn't a penalty.

The unbelievable part of that was that the official who didn't call it was hit in the head by a whiskey bottle and missed the last part of the game. Note: my dad's seats were too far away and he didn't have that kind of arm. Helluva shot by whoever threw it.

michael irvin says it was simply a matter of drew employing better technique than nate wright
 


Hey I found a video that works. You'll even see Pearson do a double take when the orange flies by.

On the Hail Mary play, Vikings left defensive tackle Mark Mullaney #77 was grabbed and pulled down/tackled; clearly should have been holding penalty. Mullaney made that point and it is clear on camera. I don’t know why Alan Page was not in on that play.

On the same drive, Staubach and Pearson also converted on a 4th-and-16 30 yard pass to that 50 yard line. That play was also controversial. Pearson did not appear to be inbounds as Nate Wright pushed him. All together, the Cowboys got a gift on that Hail Mary, huh, for the win.
 
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@This Ain't Chopped Liver - Refs ruled that Pearson was shoved OB as he jumped for the catch. That was a clutch play!!!
I think the rule then was you had to get both feet down and from the one camera angle we have on the near side of the field it looks like he would not have placed both in bounds, and a good chance not even one, in my opinion. I wish that Wright had not pushed him so that we would have found out. Grant said later, the ref gave Pearson the benefit of the doubt. But if not for that, we likely would not have the Hail Mary name today, in that capacity.

from Football Zebras—
4th and 16
Staubach connected with Pearson near the sideline, but landed out of bounds at the 50-yard line. Head linesman Jerry Bergman ruled that it was a completion, and that he would have landed in bounds if Vikings cornerback Nate Wright had not pushed Pearson out. The rule, which was changed in 2008, allowed the official to rule a completion in case of a “force out” prior to being able to get two feet down in bounds. Vikings coach Bud Grant disagreed with the call, but said that when Wright contacted Pearson, “the official gave Pearson the benefit of the doubt.”
 
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Froglaw

Full Member
Just your average guy who played in the NFL and then coached in the league.

Oh, and he also played in the NBA!!! And won a title with the Minneapolis Lakers (the mascot made a lot of sense when they played in the "land of 10,000 lakes", less when they moved to LA).

The Flint Tropics!
 
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