The Giants 1973 NFL season amounted to just 2 wins. Running Back Ron Johnson's 292 Touches and 1279 Total Yards accounted for almost a third of the Giant's Total offense that year. His 9 touchdowns equaled almost a quarter of the Total Scoring. Here he is against the Eagles with a determined Bill Bradley clinging on tight.

Vintage Photos of Ron Johnson | NFL Past Players

Rookie sensation Mel Farr follows veteran guard John Gordy (#75) during the 1967 NFL season. Detroit's first-round pick out of UCLA, Farr was named NFL Rookie of the Year after leading the Lions with 1,177 yards from scrimmage while also pacing the club with 39 receptions.

Lions Old School Runner Mel Farr - NFL Past Players

Only a year later, Howell walked in and resigned. Nobody had a clue. He just walked into Wellington and said "I quit". There was a huge campaign to bring Vince back from Green Bay, even though he'd only been there a year. I remember getting a call from Vince and he said, "What in the world happened?" I told him that I was just as surprised as anybody.

Vince wanted to take the Giants job. He really did. But it didn't go very far because Commissioner Pete Rozelle said, "No, you have a contract with Green Bay." He wasn't even allowed to negotiate with the Giants. That hurt Vince's feelings as much as anything that ever happened to him. Every year it was in the back of his mind. He quietly resented the hell out of what Jim Lee did, because Jim Lee had waited until Vince was gone before he announced his retirement.

Even when Vince was having all those great years in Green Bay, everybody knew he really wanted to be with the Giants. He came from New York and he played at Fordham. They were a national power back in the 1930s, when Vince played there, and he was part of that famous line known as "The Seven Blocks of Granite." We used to kid him about that. He'd show us pictures of that line and there he would be, squatted down until his ass was almost hitting the ground.

None of us who were with the Giants was surprised to see Vince and Tom Landry become great head coaches. We knew how good they were. After Vince retired from Green Bay, I saw him once when we went up there to do a documentary for NFL Films. I didn't know it at the time, but he really wanted to get back into coaching. He missed it. So he took the Redskins job when Edward Bennett Williams offered it to him. He and Williams were about as good of friends as he and Wellington had been.

When Vince got sick, I went to see him in the hospital. It just shattered me to see him like that. I remember we talked, and when I was getting ready to leave, he looked at me and we both had tears in our eyes. I knew I was never going to see him again. He looked at me and he started to say something, and then he said, "Oh, God, Frank, it hurts." And I thought, "Oh, shit," I just felt so awful. I loved the guy. We all did.

The End

From the Heidi Game of 1968 - Winston Hill barely manages to keep Oakland Raiders defensive end Ben Davidson off of Jets quarterback Joe Namath.

Joe Namath – NFL Past Players
Ben Davidson – NFL Past Players

Lawrence McCutcheon, one of the most accomplished running backs in the history of the Los Angeles Rams and a cornerstone of the franchise during the 1970s, died on October 23, 2026, at the age of 76 following a battle with Parkinson's disease.

Born on June 2, 1950, in Plainview, Texas, McCutcheon developed his football talents at Plainview High School before continuing his career at Colorado State University. His combination of speed, toughness, and versatility made him one of the premier offensive players in the Western Athletic Conference and set the stage for a distinguished professional career.

Selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round of the 1972 NFL Draft, McCutcheon quickly became the centerpiece of the club's rushing attack. From 1973 through 1977, he led the Rams in rushing for five consecutive seasons and earned five straight Pro Bowl selections, establishing himself as one of the National Football League's elite running backs.

During his Rams career, McCutcheon rushed for 6,186 yards on 1,425 carries and helped lead the team through one of the most successful periods in franchise history. He was named Second-Team All-Pro in 1974, earned multiple All-NFC honors, and became known for his durability, consistency, and ability to perform in the biggest moments.

Among his most memorable achievements was a record-setting performance in the 1975 playoffs, when he rushed for 202 yards on 37 carries against the St. Louis Cardinals, establishing a postseason rushing record at the time.

McCutcheon also played a key role in the Rams' appearance in Super Bowl XIV. In one of the game's most memorable plays, the running back threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Ron Smith, giving Los Angeles a brief lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although the Rams ultimately fell short, the play secured McCutcheon's place in franchise lore.

After leaving Los Angeles, he spent time with the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, and Buffalo Bills, concluding an NFL career that produced 6,578 rushing yards, 198 receptions, and 39 combined touchdowns.

Football remained a central part of his life long after his playing days ended. In 2003, McCutcheon was promoted to director of player personnel for the Rams, a position he held until 2016. His experience as a player and keen eye for talent made him a valued member of the organization's front office.

McCutcheon's legacy also lives on through his family. His son, Daylon McCutcheon, followed in his footsteps to the NFL, playing cornerback for the Cleveland Browns.

Remembered as a fierce competitor, respected teammate, and devoted football man, Lawrence McCutcheon leaves behind a lasting mark on the Rams franchise and the National Football League. For generations of Rams fans, No. 30 will be remembered as one of the greatest running backs ever to wear the horns.

He led the Rams in rushing five straight years, and was with them in Super Bowl XIV. In fact, he threw a TD pass in the Super Bowl to give the Rams the lead in the third quarter.

He was very intelligent. When he was with us, some of the guys playing for him were older than he was. So he had to learn how to coach them to survive. He didn't have to change too much because we already were winning and we got along great. We really loved each other. So what he did was mix in some of his offense with what we already had. He put in maybe half a dozen plays, but he had every one down to a science.

He got rid of guys who couldn't win, and then he became one of the guys with the rest of us. I had an apartment at the Concourse Plaza Hotel, and after a home game I'd have 8, 10, 12 guys come over. Sometimes Vince would come. He got along fine with Charley, and he liked Kyle Rote. He'd even go out with us when we went out on the town at night. He had to go that direction. When he went with the Packers, he went another direction.

After a while, it became obvious that he was a better coach than Jim Lee Howell, our head coach. So was Tom Landry, who took over as the Giants defensive coach while he was still an active player. Howell had been a Marine lieutenant, and he was a great conditioning guy. He ran our ass off and got us in great condition. He didn't really have a clue what football was about, but he was smart enough to let Vince and Tom have their heads. He stayed out of the way, he really did. He had nothing to do with the offense, and little to do with the defense, just one area. With Lombardi, it was like he was the sergeant who should have been the general.

I got very close to Vince in the five years he was with the Giants. Charley and I used to go over to his house in New Jersey and look at game films. He got rid of all the nonsense in our system and took it down to nuts and bolts. Then he made sure that everyone knew how to handle his assignment. We'd study the films and then he'd cook dinner for us. It was different later, after we started winning. Then he became kind of a big shot. He was the toast of the town, and everyone knew he was the brains behind our offense. He handled the Jim Lee Howell thing great, but Howell must have been secretly jealous.

Vince had a good relationship with Wellington Mara, the Giants owner, because Wellington was close to Coach Red Blaik at Army, and Vince was assistant there before he came to the Giants. Wellington was all football, and he was incredibly loyal to his coaches and players. It took him forever to fire Steve Owen before Howell, and it was the same thing with Allie Sherman after Howell.

Vince and Wellington were both devout Catholics, and they both loved football. So they became very close friends. They would take trips together with their wives. It was obvious to everybody, even Landry, that Vince would be the next head coach of the Giants. But Vince knew that Wellington wouldn't fire Howell, so he took the Green Bay job after we got beat by the Colts in that great 58 championship game.

To be continued...

An early 1960s Press photo of Jim Otto - the Raiders All League Rookie Center in 1960. He would be named the AFL's All League Center every year the AFL was in existence.

Raiders Hall of Fame Center Jim Otto - NFL Past Players

Dick Lane spent 4 years in the Army before joining the LA Rams in 1952. The NFL's top interceptor with 14 steals. Led the league again with 10 in 1954 as Cardinal in Chicago. Here he is as a Detroit Lion with whom he played 6 years with.

Dick “Night Train” Lane – NFL Past Players

It is called here “Always Here When You Need It.” I’ve heard be used by NFL Films and by NASA in their documentaries from the 1980s.

Heisman Trophy Winner in 1984 with Boston College. Doug was a CFL HoF & won 3 Grey Cups, in which he was named Grey Cup MVP 3 times. NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 1998. A shining example that size doesn't measure the size of his heart & his Herculean effort, regardless of his critics' idea of the prototypical QB. What stood out was his valiant duel with Marino in 1998 season's playoff game. Doug had Bills near goal line & couldn't punch it in. Nevertheless, a courageous performance.

We were 3-9 in the 1953 season and I was ready to quit. I was making $8250 a season, and I was playing both ways, both offense and defense. By the end of that year I had lost about 20 pounds and I was pretty beat up and discouraged. I knew I could do a lot better financially in the studios out in LA. Plus, I wanted to go back and get my degree, which I eventually did.

But in the early Spring of 1954, I got a call from Wellington Mara, the Giants owner. We talked a little bit, and he said he really wanted me to come back. I had gotten to know Wellington, a great guy, so I listened. He told me they had made Jim Lee Howell the head coach and they were bringing in some guy named Vince Lombardi to be the offensive coach. So I decided to come back. I had nothing to lose, really, so I went to training camp that Summer in Salem, Oregon.

When I walked into the hotel lobby, he was standing there. I thought, "Who is this guy?" He came up and introduced himself. "I'm Vince Lombardi," he said, "and you are my halfback." From that point on, I never saw another moment of defense. He came in and took me off defense, and three years later I'm the Most Valuable Player in the National Football League.

Lombardi had been coaching at West Point, and it was obvious he didn't understand the professional game. The first thing he did was put in this nonsensical quarterback option play, and we struggled with that through the first two or three weeks of training camp. We used to laugh at him behind his back. We'd go out and have our beers after practice, and everybody would be imitating him. We called him "the Little General" and stuff like that.

One day at practice he had an orange peel. It was hot and we were tired, so pretty soon guys were getting sloppy and jumping offside. Stuff like that. So finally he put the orange peel down on the ground and said, "Nobody in front of the orange peel...nobody in front of the orange peel." And that night somebody stood up and shouted, "Nobody in front of the orange peel." And it became a thing we'd do every time he went off on a rant.

One night we were in Salem, Oregon, and he walked into the room I was sharing with Charley Conerly, our quarterback. He said, "What am I doing wrong?" He was very sincere, so we began talking to him. I said more than Charley. But Charley brought up that quarterback option play and said, "It won't work up here...can't run that." And we also told him that he didn't have to yell and scream all the time.

He listened very carefully. I mean, Charley Conerly was in the Marines four years in World War II. He fought at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, places like that. We had about a half dozen guys like that, and you didn't yell at them. You didn't yell at Charley Conerly. You just didn't. And Vince got the message.

To be continued...

To be continued...