Greatest Bronco plays of all time: #2 Floyd makes a great catch after being "fired"

[titan]

On my sports blog at http://sportsindenver.blogspot.com/

#2 on my list of the greatest bronco plays of all time:

What happened on November 24, 1968 has become legend among longtime Bronco fans. On that day the Broncos played the Buffalo Bills. Clinging to a 31-29 lead and running out the clock, future Bronco Hall Of Famer Floyd Little fumbled. Buffalo recovered and kicked the go ahead field goal. Listen to Floyd and Bronco coach Lou Saban tell the story in this old 1980 tv special I recorded:

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This catch by Floyd is #2 on my list on the greatest bronco plays of all time. You can't really see from the above video what a great catch this was. I was a 12 year old sitting in the South Stands for this game, and the long Briscoe to Little pass was coming right towards me. Floyd dived for the ball and made one of the greatest catches I have seen by a Bronco to this day.

What would have happened if Floyd had not made this spectacular play? Would Saban really have fired Floyd? Probably not, but the incident may have caused a rift between the two that would have created a Cutler like trade in the late 60's. Afterall, Saban did get rid of the quarterback who threw that pass, the amazing Marlin Briscoe, and he might have had enough with Floyd, too.

Floyd Little was an inspiration to kids growing up in Denver in the late 60's/early 70's like myself. This play showed his never give up attitude and great talent on the football field. When Floyd gets inducted into the Hall Of Fame in August this old South Stander will have a smile on his face - remembering all the thrills Floyd gave me and especially this great play.

Next: #1 on my countdown of great bronco plays - champions at last!

[RKBronco]

I gotta tell ya, Floyd Little is THE reason I am a Bronco fan. We had moved from Chicopee, Mass. to Colby, Ks. in 1966, when I was but 4 years old, and indifferent to football. Somehow, my older brother had become an avid Raider fan, and sibling rivalry was high.
He tuned into a Bronco/Raider game on one of our 3 B/W channels sometime in the 60's, and I had to root against him. I saw Floyd running the ball with those crazy bow-legs, driving my brother crazy, and I was getting hooked. I soon realized that the Broncos were the lovable losers of the AFCW, and I was more hooked. I remember some game where Floyd got plowed in the side of the leg, that should've ended his season, but his bow-legs were unfazed, and he kept running. Then one year, I was so proud when Floyd led the league in rushing! All my friends were mighty Chiefs fans, and tried to pull me to thier dark side, but when we made our first trip to Denver, and I saw the backdrop of the Rockies, it was over. Nothing in Kansas looked that beautiful.
Every Christmas after, I begged for a Bronco uniform, offered with no. 44 in the catalog. Then one Christmas, every present I opened was Bronco-related, sometime in the earl 70's, and I thought this might be the year. I opened the present I was told to open last, and there was the box! I pulled out the awesome blue helmet with the horse D, then the shoulder pads, the basic white pants with the snap-in, slide-in pads. Last came the jersey, but someting was wrong. The blue was wrong, and the numbers were gray! I pulled it out, and to my horror, someone at the plant had packed the box with a Detroit Lions no. 54 jersey! I was both ecstatic and dejected, and I hated having to explain the jersey to all those damn Chiefs fans, and my a-hole brother! Those were the days!
I salute you, Floyd, and congrats on your place in the hall.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Great post RKBronco, and :welcome: to Broncos Forums :salute:

[topscribe]

I gotta tell ya, Floyd Little is THE reason I am a Bronco fan. We had moved from Chicopee, Mass. to Colby, Ks. in 1966, when I was but 4 years old, and indifferent to football. Somehow, my older brother had become an avid Raider fan, and sibling rivalry was high.
He tuned into a Bronco/Raider game on one of our 3 B/W channels sometime in the 60's, and I had to root against him. I saw Floyd running the ball with those crazy bow-legs, driving my brother crazy, and I was getting hooked. I soon realized that the Broncos were the lovable losers of the AFCW, and I was more hooked. I remember some game where Floyd got plowed in the side of the leg, that should've ended his season, but his bow-legs were unfazed, and he kept running. Then one year, I was so proud when Floyd led the league in rushing! All my friends were mighty Chiefs fans, and tried to pull me to thier dark side, but when we made our first trip to Denver, and I saw the backdrop of the Rockies, it was over. Nothing in Kansas looked that beautiful.
Every Christmas after, I begged for a Bronco uniform, offered with no. 44 in the catalog. Then one Christmas, every present I opened was Bronco-related, sometime in the earl 70's, and I thought this might be the year. I opened the present I was told to open last, and there was the box! I pulled out the awesome blue helmet with the horse D, then the shoulder pads, the basic white pants with the snap-in, slide-in pads. Last came the jersey, but someting was wrong. The blue was wrong, and the numbers were gray! I pulled it out, and to my horror, someone at the plant had packed the box with a Detroit Lions no. 54 jersey! I was both ecstatic and dejected, and I hated having to explain the jersey to all those damn Chiefs fans, and my a-hole brother! Those were the days!
I salute you, Floyd, and congrats on your place in the hall.

Just a great anecdote! Thank you for that. Just adds to the memories. http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh256/AZDynamics/Smilies/thdrink.gif

I hope you stick around RK. We need some good story tellers. :welcome:

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[topscribe]

What a memory that was! Of course, I had no clue what had happened on the
sideline. But the play had me yelling so wildly that my sister said I had gone
insane.

Another memory was toward the end of Little's career. Off the top, I don't
remember exactly what game it was, but I do remember the play. It was a punt
return, and the defender was right on top of Little when Little caught the ball. He
had him dead to rights. Then Little shakes and bakes and soars around the right
flank.

The announcer gets excited. He blurts out, "He's got speed!" (Little was wrongly
considered not to have good speed. In fact, he ran a 4.4 40). Little goes about
20 yards further down field before he's taken down.

Immediately after the play, the camera focuses on something sitting out in the
middle of the field. A shoe! Little had faked the defender out of his shoe!

Some things, you just never forget . . .

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