Say What? Hard to Believe Football Stories: Part One

In the world today, most things are predictable. We know when it is going to snow, when it is going to rain, and when our favorite television show comes on. When something unexpected or bizarre happens, oftentimes we don't know how to react.

Here are three bizarre, weird, and downright hard-to-believe stories from the NFL.

 

Sleeping Scouts?

The 1946 Washington Redskins finished with a 5-5-1 record to earn them the bottom spot in the Eastern Division. Like today, when a team isn't doing the greatest, most of the attention is diverted to next year. What changed needed to be made, and who should they draft?

The Washington scouts had their eyes on a running back from the UCLA Bruins by the name of Cal Rossi. He had put up good numbers while in college, and the Redskins ultimately decided to use their ninth overall pick in the 1947 draft on this kid. 

Problem was, Rossi was only a junior. Back in '47, a player had to graduate college in order to be eligible for the draft. Either the Washington scouting department didn't get that memo, or there was a huge misunderstanding or overlook.

Either way, Washington was forced to forfeit that first-round pick. Sound embarrassing? It gets better.

The next year, when Rossi was a senior, the Redskins had an opportunity to draft him again. They didn't refuse. The only thing keeping this potential star running back from playing with Washington was that he had said earlier in the year that he had no intention of playing professional football.

The Redskins had forfeited their first-round selection for the second year in a row.

When your favorite team makes an idiotic move on draft day, try and remember this epic blunder. You may feel better.

The Heidi Game

There was no Tivo back in 1968. When an important, must-see football game was scheduled to broadcast, everyone watched. That was the case on Nov. 17, 1968. In one of the most crucial games of the season for the AFL, the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders were set to collide on national television starting at 4 PM ET. 

The game was scheduled to be followed by the premiere of the movie, Heidi, which interested some viewers more than any football game. There were numerous announcements throughout the game for the Heidi movie, which was scheduled to begin at 7 PM ET.

There were two huge television events, both of which would draw huge ratings. The problem was that the football game could possibly be longer than the three-hour time slot it was given. In the end, NBC decided that they would broadcast the football in it's entirety before starting Heidi.

A network executive called up the producer for the game and told him to continue broadcasting as scheduled, with Heidi airing at 7 PM, unless phoned up and told otherwise later.

The football game proved to be an exciting, high-scoring affair, but as the clock itched to the 7 PM mark, it turned out that many people were curious as to what NBC would do. Football fans and Heidi fans alike bombarded the network with phone calls, asking what the broadcast plan was. So many calls, in fact, that the NBC switchboard blew a fuse. 

The game wasn't over at 6:55 PM, but the NBC network executive couldn't reach the game producer and tell him to push back Heidi. The producer was frantic. He couldn't believe that NBC was going to Heidi instead of watching the finish of this thrilling game, so he too rained phone calls to NBC.

All he got was a constant busy signal.

So, as soon as Raider kick returner Charlie Smith caught a kickoff with a minute remaining, Heidi went onto screens across the nation (except the West Coast, which was on a three-hour delay).

Stunned, most football fans wouldn't know the result until the next morning. They wouldn't hear of the last-second, game-winning drive by the Oakland Raiders. This game has now earned the moniker "The Heidi Game."

While it is considered hilarious today, it is still one of the biggest blunders in television history. 

Intercepted!

As most know, the Cleveland Browns are named after their first owner, Paul Brown. He was a genius both on and off the field. Brown left his mark on football not only through his team's name, but through technological advances as well.

In 1956, Brown installed a radio receiver in his quarterback's helmet. This gunslinger, Otto Graham, was so excited about being able to hear the next play call without sending in a messenger that he told the media, players, and just about anyone who would listen about this latest advancement.

His opponents, the New York Giants, learned of this and decided to use it to their advantage. They found which frequency Brown and Graham were communicating with and listened in. The New York Giants knew every play the Browns would make before the ball was snapped.

As a result, the Giants obviously had no shortage of success in this particular game. It wasn't until late in the game before Brown and Graham realized that they were being spied upon. They switched back to the regular method of calling plays, but it proved to be too late.

The Giants beat the Browns, 21-9.