Denver Broncos: Super Bowl struggles in the ‘80s

John Elway was the quarterback for the Denver Broncos for

all three Super Bowls they appeared in, and lost, in the 1980s.

Source: https://www.profootballhof.com/
players/john-elway/stats/
(May be subject to copyright)

It is still one of the funniest sports cartoons I have ever seen. Charlie Brown is going to kick a football and Lucy Van Pelt is about to pull it away as she always does. Except in this case, Charlie Brown is wearing a shirt that says “Denver Broncos” and the ball has “Super Bowl” written on it.

Nothing could better describe what happened to the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl in the 1980s better than that cartoon.

They were one of the most successful teams of the decade, but every time they made it to the Super Bowl, which was three times in four years, they could not win the championship. Worse, they lost by some of the widest margins in Super Bowl history.

Such is the legacy of the Denver Broncos in 1980s.

Prelude to a championship
The Denver Broncos had been a pretty good team in the AFC since their run to the Super Bowl in 1977. They became an instant contender in the conference when, through a trade with the Baltimore Colts in 1983, they acquired John Elway. He would become their franchise quarterback for the better part of 16 years.

Elway’s first season was 1983, when the Broncos went 9-7, finished third in the AFC West and qualified for the AFC Wildcard Game. However, they lost to the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 31-7.

In 1984, they finished 13-3, their best record in franchise history, and won the AFC West. However, they were upset by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Divisional Game.

The next season, 1985, they finished 11-5, good enough for second in the AFC West. However, in an incredibly strong AFC that year, they did not make the playoffs.

Still expectations were large going into the 1986 season.

Over one hump
The Broncos finally lived up to the expectations that had been placed on them. A year earlier, many observers had picked them to go to the Super Bowl, yet they didn’t even make the playoffs.

Things changed in 1986.

Denver once again finished 11-5, but this time that was good enough for first place in the AFC West. Awaiting them in the AFC Divisional Game was the New England Patriots, the defending AFC Champions. The Broncos prevailed by a score of 22-17 and were off to their first AFC Championship Game since 1977.

They would face the Cleveland Browns in one of the most memorable games of the decade. The Browns led by seven points with about five minutes left, and pinned the Broncos inside their own two-yard line. Elway trotted out and led Denver straight down the field, tying the game with 39 seconds left on a pass to Mark Jackson. The Broncos then got the ball in overtime, after forcing Cleveland to punt, and drove 60 yards for Rich Karlis’ game-winning field goal.

That game-tying sequence became forever known simply as “The Drive”. I knew it was destined to succeed when, on one play, the centre snapped the ball early while a receiver was in motion. The ball skipped off the receiver but Elway managed to corral the ball and continue the drive.

The Broncos were heading to their first Super Bowl since 1977, and looking for their first championship.

Giant defeat

Standing in the way were the New York Giants who had a stingy defence led by Lawrence Taylor, and an offence led by Phil Simms. After Denver led 10-9 at the half, the Broncos fell apart in the second half. The Giants scored 30 points in the final 40 minutes. In response, the Broncos could only muster 10, as New York won their first Super Bowl by a score of 39-20.

New York quarterback Phil Simms turned in one of the best performances in Super Bowl history. He went 22 of 25, for 268 yards and three touchdowns. That included throwing the ball away once intentionally. He also carried the ball three times for 25 yards, on his way to being named most valuable player of the Super Bowl.

This time, I knew New York was destined to win, by two plays the Giants made for touchdowns. In one play, after tight end Mark Bavaro scored, he dropped to one knee in the end zone and made the sign of the cross. Only later did I learn that, not only was he a Catholic like me, but he attended my beloved Notre Dame. In the other play, Simms threw a pass to Bavaro. The ball went through his hands, but receiver Phil McConkey was right behind the big tight end in the end zone. He dove, catching the ball on the deflection for the touchdown.

The Giants were destined to win.

That 39-20 beating would be the closest Denver came to winning a Super Bowl in the ‘80s, and they would have more chances.

Capital offence
The following season, 1987, was plagued by a players’ strike that involved replacement players and shortening the season by one game. The Broncos still prevailed in the AFC West, finishing first with a 10-4-1 record and a date in the AFC Divisional Game. They would the Houston Oilers, who had defeated Seattle in the AFC Wildcard Game.

The Broncos beat Houston 34-10, punching their ticket to their second straight AFC Championship Game where they would face – the Cleveland Browns.

Hungry for redemption after coming so close the year before, the Browns went toe to toe with Denver. Late in the game, trailing 38-31, Cleveland drove deep into Bronco territory and were poised to score the tying touchdown. Then, runningback Earnest Byner, fighting to score the tying touchdown, had the ball ripped loose and the Broncos recovered the ensuing fumble. They ran three plays then conceded a safety, making the score 38-33. They did not want to punt the ball out of their own end zone and give Cleveland good field position. Instead, the Browns got the ball back, but ran out of time, sending the Broncos back to the Super Bowl. That play became an another instant classic, dubbed “The Fumble” for all eternity.

Awaiting the Broncos in the Super Bowl was the Washington football club, denizens of the United States capital and champions of the NFC. I missed the first part of the game, but found out in line at the cafeteria that Denver led early on a long pass-and-run touchdown from Elway to Ricky Nattiel. I got in front of the TV in time to see Rich Karlis tack on a field goal, and give the Broncos a 10-0 lead after one quarter.

Then, one of the most improbable quarters in Super Bowl history unfolded. Starting with an 80-yard touchdown bomb from Doug Williams to Ricky Sanders, Washington reeled off a Super Bowl record 35 straight points in the second quarter to give the club a 35-10 halftime lead. After a scoreless third quarter, Washington tacked on one more touchdown in the fourth quarter to make the final score 42-10.

The Broncos suffered an even bigger blowout in 1987 then they had in 1986. It was certain they would be seeking some sort of redemption.

Blowout
It did not come in 1988, when Denver fell to 8-8, finishing second in the AFC West and out of the playoffs.

So the 1989 season was not even as much about redemption in the Super Bowl, as just returning to respectability. They did just that, going 11-5, finishing first in the AFC West for a date with the surprising Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Divisional Game. The Broncos would outlast Pittsburgh by a score of 24-23 to advance to their third AFC Championship Game in four years.

Looming on the horizon was none other then their old foe – the Cleveland Browns. With memories of “The Drive” and “The Fumble” abounding, this game was not as close as its two predecessors. The Broncos took control early and cruised to a 37-21 victory and a third Super Bowl appearance in four years.

The task would be even bigger this time around. San Francisco was the defending Super Bowl champion and they had mowed through the NFC, with a 14-2 record. They faced no real resistance in the NFC playoffs either, and were gunning for a second straight Super Bowl, and fourth in nine years.

Meanwhile Denver was looking to put the ghosts of the two previous Super Bowls to resist.

It did not happen.

If at all possible, the Broncos were blown out even worse than the 42-10 debacle two years earlier. After San Francisco scored on their opening possession, Denver responded with a field goal to cut the 49er lead to 7-3. That was okay, right? San Francisco scored another touchdown but missed the point after, to lead 13-3 after the first quarter. Then things fell apart – again – for the Broncos. The 49ers would go on to score two touchdowns in each of the four quarters, while Denver responded with a touchdown in the third quarter to make the final score 55-10.

It was the worst margin of defeat in Super Bowl history and the most points scored in one Super Bowl by one team. San Francisco also became the only team in Super Bowl history to score two touchdowns in each of the four quarters of a game. It capped off the decade with a third one-sided loss by the Denver Broncos in three years.

Parting thoughts
The odd thing about the Denver Broncos' struggles in the Super Bowl in the 1980s, was that it was eclipsed by an even bigger spell of frustration. The next season and the three seasons after that, the Buffalo Bills went to and lost four straight Super Bowls. Except for the 1990 Super Bowl where the Bills could have won on a last-play field goal, they were blown out by large margins too.

It continued a streak of NFC dominance that would run until the 1997 season.

That season, a much older, wiser and determined John Elway led his Denver Broncos to an upset victory in the Super Bowl over the defending champion Green Bay Packers. For good measure, the Broncos repeated as Super Bowl champions the following season with a convincing win over Atlanta.

The Broncos finally had their Super Bowl redemption.

Coach Tom Landry: Up and down with the Dallas Cowboys in the ‘80s

Tom Landry was the first coach of the Dallas Cowboys

and took the team to five playoff appearances

in the 1980s, including three straight

NFC Championship Games to start the decade.

Source: https://wrtla.org/legacy-giving/
(May be subject to copyright)

He lived through some of the most historic times in National Football League history, from the merger that created the modern NFL to five Super Bowl appearances.

At the dawn of the 1980s, it looked as if Coach Tom Landry and his Dallas Cowboys would continue on building that legacy, but as the decade ended so did the coach’s time with the team.

I recently read Tom Landry’s autobiography and it was very telling not only of the game and the teams he coached, but of the man himself.

Dawn of the decade
It looked very much like business as usual for the Dallas Cowboys as the calendar flipped to 1980. Although their star quarterback Roger Staubach, who had taken them to Super Bowl glory had retired, venerable back-up Danny White stepped in without missing a beat.

NFC Championship Game – Act 1

The Cowboys had finished tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East Division title in the 1980 season. However, they lost a tiebreaker and had to take the long way to the NFC Championship Game. The Cowboys defeated the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wildcard Game then upset the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons to advance to the NFC Championship to face the upstart Eagles. Philadelphia had been a perennial doormat, but found new life under head coach Dick Vermeil and quarterback Ron Jaworski, and were threatening to go to their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

The game was held in the cold of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, and the Eagles used home-field advantage to defeat the Cowboys by a score of 20-7.

NFC Championship Game – Act 2

However, the Cowboys were back in the NFC Championship Game in 1981. It would turn out to hinge on one of the most famous and memorable plays in football history.

Dallas went 12-4 to win the NFC East Division. They defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Playoff to face the upstart San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. This was where legends were born. The teams went back and forth until Dallas led 27-21 late in the game. San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana took over and drove the ball down the field. In what looked like an innocuous play, he was flushed out of the pocket and running to his right. To avoid a loss, he just seemingly threw the ball away. Then receiver Dwight Clark leaped high in the air and caught the ball, landing with both feet in bounds for the winning touchdown. It has become one of the game’s iconic moments and really began San Francisco’s run as one of the best teams of the century. They went on to defeat Cincinnati to win their first of four Super Bowls in the 1980s.

NFC Championship Game – Act 3

Still, the Cowboys were not done yet, advancing to their third straight NFC Championship Game in 1982. This time they were in a dogfight with their NFC East rivals from Washington. However, there were no divisional rivalries per se that year. A player strike shortened the NFL schedule from 16 games to nine games, forcing a realignment of the playoffs. Instead of divisional champions and wildcard teams qualifying for the playoffs, in 1982 the top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs in a self-styled Super Bowl tournament. First place would play eighth place, second would play seventh and so on.

The Cowboys finished second in the NFC behind Washington who went 8-1. That gave them a first-round game against Tampa Bay for the second year in a row. They beat Tampa Bay, advancing to the semi-final where they defeated Green Bay to move on to the NFC Championship Game against Washington. But, for the third straight season, the Cowboys could just not make it past the NFC Championsgip Game, falling 31-17 to Washington, who would go on to defeat Miami to win the Super Bowl.

It would be the last time the Cowboys would get that far in the playoffs under Tom Landry.

Slow descent
The Cowboys broke the record for most consecutive playoff appearances at nine in the 1983 season. They finished second to Washington in the NFC East, and played the Los Angeles Rams in the Wildcard Game, losing to the Rams.

That streak would be broken in 1984 when the Cowboys missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. They went 9-7 and finished fourth on the NFC East.

Dallas was back in the playoffs in 1985, finishing 10-6 and first in the NFC East. That put the Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Game which they lost to the Rams by a 20-0 score. It was the last time Dallas would make the playoffs under Tom Landry.

In 1986, the Cowboys went 7-9 finishing third in the NFC East, followed by a 7-8 record and second in the NFC East in the strike-shortened 1987 season.

It all came to an end in 1988. The Cowboys fell to 3-13, missing the playoffs for the third straight season. It was the worst record in the NFL. It was also the worst record in franchise history since they went winless in 1960. That year, however, the team was an expansion franchise.

Winds of change
Tom Landry had been the first and only coach in Cowboys’ history. He served under Tex Schramm, who had been general manager from the start, and Clint Murchison, who was the owner and founder of the Dallas Cowboys.

They forged a winning relationship that took them to five Super Bowls, and two championships. The key to success was that Murchison left Schramm to be general manager and Schramm left Landry to be coach.

Things began to change in 1984 when Murchison got sick and sold the Cowboys to Bum Bright. He left things pretty much status quo, until he sold the team to Jerry Jones in 1989.

Change was coming.

End of an era
Rumours started almost immediately that Jones was going to make some changes. It didn't matter who was with the Cowboys when he bought them, nor for how long.

The rumours ramped up he was going to name Jimmy Johnson the new coach of the Cowboys. Johnson was Jones' old college friend and was currently the head coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes. 

Landry was never kept in the loop, and began preparing for the next season, just as he had the previous 28 seasons. He had hired new coaches and scheduled team meetings.

Rumours intensified. Pretty soon Schramm was let go, and Tom Landry went out the door right along with him.

It was the end of an era.

By the book
Landry’s autobiography reveals a lot of interesting behind-the-scene information. The book starts with his imminent departure from the Cowboys and just how little Jerry Jones kept him informed of his plans.

It then traces Landry’s rise from player to coach. He was the defensive coordinator of a powerhouse New York Giants coaching staff that included Vince Lombardi as offensive coordinator. When Dallas was granted an NFL expansion franchise for the 1960 season, Landry would be named the team’s inaugural coach.

Meanwhile, Lombardi would go to Green Bay to coach the Packers and, once the Cowboys got rolling, the two franchises, and their coaches, would become intense rivals for the NFL Championship.

That rivalry was obviously very important to Landry, because he spends a lot more time describing all those losses to the Packers than some of his Super Bowl victories. In fact, he spends a lot of time talking about Dallas’ playoff futility leading up to their win over Miami in Super Bowl VI. Later on, he spends just one page on the Cowboys’ Super Bowl win over Denver at the end of the 1977 season.

The book also talks about various relationships with players. Most notably for me was the relationship with Roger Staubach, who was one of the first players I ever really liked a lot. The book chronicles how Staubach was drafted out the Naval Academy and had to fulfill military service before joining the Cowboys. Then he went through a quarterback controversy with Craig Morton and ultimately prevailed, in time to lead Dallas to their first Super Bowl win, over Miami. One of the interesting aspects of their relationship was the disagreement they had over play calling. Landry insisted on calling the offensive plays while Staubach constantly agitated to call his own plays.

Landry also discusses his dislike for the Cowboys being called America’s team, the relationship he had with all-star runningback Tony Dorsett and more.

The book concludes with his ouster by Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson, and how much protest came not only from Dallas, but from all of Texas and the entire country.

I got the sense that gave Landry a bit of closure. It showed him how much all his efforts as the first, and to that point only, coach of the Dallas Cowboys was really appreciated.

Parting thoughts
Some times what is not written in an autobiography is just as telling as what is. Looking back, I am still struck by how humble he was about his victories and, consequently, did not go into much detail on them. Yet he spent a great deal of time on his setbacks and failures, but also how the Cowboys ultimately overcame them.

Although he does not whine or complain, I definitely could sense the hurt Tom Landry felt at the way Jerry Jones replaced him. It is true that Landry began as an innovator but, as things tend to happen, over time he fell behind the times. Football was not the same game in 1988 as it was in 1960.

It probably was time for Landry to move on from coaching the Cowboys. Yet, it could have been handled with much more class and respect, so the coach could leave with his dignity, and his head held high.

Still, he was one of the greats.

He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990, and passed away in 2000 at the age of 75.

The last phase of his success was in the 1980s, where he went to three straight NFC Championship Games and made the playoffs five out of the 10 seasons of the decade.

Most teams would die for that type of success.

For Tom Landry, it was just par for the course.

Herschel Walker: Turning pro

Herschel Walker played for the New Jersey Generals

of the United States Football League,

where he set a single-season professional football

rushing record for most yards in a season.

Source: https://fs64sports.blogspot.com/
2010/02/1983-herschel-walker-signs-with-usfl.html
(May be subject to copyright)

It was seismic shock in the annals of professional football.

After completing a record-breaking junior season capped off by a Heisman Trophy, Georgia runningback Herschel Walker was poised to have a massive senior year. However, he decided to turn pro.

The thing was, the NFL did not allow underclassmen into the draft.

That meant, Walker would forego the NFL. Instead, he give instant credibility to an upstart league – the United States Football League.

That was how Herschel Walker turned pro.

What’s next?
Herschel Walker dominated college football for three years. Barring injury, he would likely have cemented his legacy as the greatest college player ever. Instead, he decided to turn pro.

Interestingly, there had already been one attempt to chisel Walker out of college football and turn pro. The Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, had a new and aggressive owner named Nelson Skalbania. He tried to lure Walker to Canada after his freshman season, but Walker refused. (Skalbania would go on to sign several NFL players, including star quarterback Vince Ferragamo of the Los Angeles Rams, and college standout David Overstreet from the Oklahmoma Sooners. In turn, the CFL adopted a rule similar to the one in the NFL barring underclassmen from turning pro).

The United States Football League, who would play football in the spring, were set to start their first season in 1983. Signing the reigning Heisman Trophy winner would give them instant credibility.

In addition to money, the United States Football League offered another incentive – Walker could sign wherever he wanted. Because he was looking at securing some endorsement deals, he wanted to go to a team based in the New York area.

After much hype, Herschel Walker made his decision. He was on his way to New Jersey to play for the Generals in the inaugural season of the United States Football League.

Record breaking
Just like in college, Walker would play three years in the USFL. However in this case, instead of Walker leaving the team, the team and the league left Herschel Walker. After three seasons, the USFL folded.

In those three years, playing in an 18-game schedule, Herschel Walker rushed for more than 5,000 yards, and had more than 7,000 yards from scrimmage. He also set the single-season professional rushing record in 1985 with 2,411 yards. (Eric Dickerson holds the NFL record with 2,105 yards, in 16 games, and Mike Pringle holds the CFL record of 2,065 yards in 18 games).

In 1983, Walker rushed for 1,812 yards on 412 carries with a long of 80 yards and 17 touchdowns to lead the league in rushing. He also caught 53 passes for 489 yards, one touchdown and a long of 65 yards. The Generals finished with a 6-12 record, finishing third in the Atlantic Division and out of the playoffs. Walker was also named the USFL Outstanding Runningback, and to the USFL All-League team and the Sporting News USFL All-Star team.

The following year, 1984, Walker rushed for 1,339 yards on 293 carries with a long of 69 yards and 16 touchdowns, to finish third in the league in rushing. He also caught 40 passes for 528 yards, with a long of 50 yards and five touchdowns. The Generals went 14-4 finishing second in the Atlantic Division and making the playoffs as a wildcard team, but losing to Philadelphia in the Divisional Playoff.

In 1985, as mentioned earlier, he set a record by rushing for 2,411 yards on 438 carries with a long of 88 yards and 21 touchdowns to again lead the league, and the world, in rushing. He also caught 37 passes for 467 yards with a long of 68 yards and one touchdown. The Generals went 11-7 finishing second in the Eastern Conference but losing to Baltimore, which was the same Philadelphia team they lost to the previous season, in the quarter-final game. Walker was the USFL most valuable player and the Sporting News USFL player of the year. He was also named to the USFL All-League team and the Sporting News USFL All-Star team.

Parting thoughts
Recently, it was announced the United States Football League was re-launching, in the wake of talk of the XFL striking a partnership with the CFL. It has been a long time since the USFL took the field, 35 years to be exact, and the latest incarnation will have a tough row to hoe after leagues, such as the AAF and XFL, could not even complete a season.

The one thing that would help immeasurably to give it instant credibility would be to land a star, as the USFL did back in 1983.

However, the stars may not align again because there is no college star of the stature of Herschel Walker.

Besides, there will never be another Herschel Walker.

Herschel Walker: College football legend

Herschel Walker, who played for the University of Georgia Bulldogs from 1980 to 1982,

is considered one of the best college football players of all time, if not the best.

Source: https://www.ajc.com/sports/mark-bradley-blog/why-herschel-walker-a-big-deal-in-georgia-heres-why/C7VXU5WBMNGXDIYZJMJARBGWYI/(May be subject to copyright)

The Georgia Bulldogs were near the goal line, on about the five-yard line and poised to score. They handed the ball off and, like so many backs of the day, he dove head first over the pile-up on the line. However, he was so athletic, he landed on his shoulders short of the end zone and was not touched, so he re-gained his balance and ran into the end zone.

That was my introduction Herschel Walker, college legend, and perhaps the best college player in history.

College numbers
Herschel Walker played three seasons at Georgia – 1980, 1981, and 1982.

In 1980, his first season with the Bulldogs, Walker rushed for 1,616 yards on 274 carries, with a long of 76 yards and 15 touchdowns. He set an NCAAA freshman rushing record, was a first team All-American, and finished third in Heisman voting, behind winner George Rogers and runner-up Hugh Green. He also helped Georgia to an undefeated season and the Bulldogs’ last national championship, capped off by a win over Notre Dame in the 1981 Sugar Bowl.

The next year, the 1981 season, Walker rushed for 1,891 yards on 385 carries, with a long of 32 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was again named a first team All-American and finished second in Heisman voting to winner Marcus Allen. He led the Bulldogs to a 10-1 record and a berth in the Sugar Bowl. Their only loss came to number-one ranked Clemson, so Georgia was ranked number two in the country with a chance to win the national championship. They would need help though. Only if Georgia defeated Pittsburgh in the Sugar Bowl and Clemson lost to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl would the Bulldogs have any hope of winning the national championship. However, Georgia lost to the Panthers and Clemson capped off a perfect season by defeating the Cornhuskers to win their first national championship.

In 1982, Walker's third and final season of college football, he rushed for 1,752 yards on 335 carries, with a long of 59 yards and 16 touchdowns. He won the Heisman trophy and was again named a first team All-American. He added the Maxwell Award as the best all-around football player to his resumé as well. He led Georgia to a perfect 11-0 record, a number one ranking and a berth in their third straight Sugar Bowl. This time they would face the number-two ranked Penn State Nittany Lions for the national championship. The Nittany Lions would prevail, handing Georgia their first and only loss of the season and taking the national championship.

It would be Herschel Walker’s last game of college football.

From a distance
I never saw Herschel Walker play live in college. Peasant vision never carried regular season college football. The only college games we saw were the New Year’s Day bowl games. Back then, those were the biggest games of the year and they were all on one day, unlike now when they are stretched over weeks.

On the news they had a preview leading up to the Sugar Bowl, which the Bulldogs played in all three of Walker’s seasons at Georgia, and I have a few memories. The biggest was the hype surrounding Walker. I still remember seing highlights of just how athletic and powerful a runner he was. He initiated contact with would-be tacklers, consistently moved the pile, and it always took more than one defender to bring him down. I also remember his quarterback, who had the perfect name to quarterback the Georgia Bulldogs. His name was Buck Belue.

Parting thoughts
A few weeks ago, the current edition of the Georgia Bulldogs faced Clemson. With the Bulldogs leading late in the game by a touchdown, they needed one more first down to clinch the game. So they handed the ball to Zamir White, a young runningback. He not only gained the necessary yards for the first down, but he bulled his way through and ran over would-be tacklers. It reminded me of the running style of the greatest Bulldog of all – Herschel Walker.

After three years at Georgia, Walker was more than ready to take his game to the next level. With pro scouts lurking, he took an unexpected path that took him to professional football, but not yet the NFL.

Wally Buono: The end is the beginning in the 1980s

Wally Buono as a player with the Montreal Alouettes.
Source: https://www.cflapedia.com/
Players/b/buono_wally.htm
(May be subject to copyright)

He started the decade winding down a playing career that included two Grey Cup championships. By the end of the decade he was poised to embark on a career that would make him the winningest coach in Canadian Football League history.

So, in many ways the end was the beginning in the 1980s for Wally Buono.

The end
As the 1980s opened, Wally Buono was finishing up his playing career, which spanned from 1972 to 1981, including two Grey Cup victories in 1974 and 1977. He had first come to my attention the first full year I watched football when his Montreal Alouettes played the Calgary Stampeders. He was playing linebacker, but what caught my attention was that he punted too.

Further research revealed he played double duty for awhile, and never missed a game in his 10 seasons in the CFL. By the time he retired in 1981, he had recorded 11 career interceptions with a career high of four in 1978, and eight career fumble recoveries. His career punting totals were 525 punts for 21,070 yards and a 40.1-yard average. His longest punt was 90 yards and he recorded 16 singles.

The beginning
After retiring in 1981, Buono was hired in 1983 as an assistant coach with the Montreal Concordes, who were essentially another incarnation of the Alouettes.

He joined the Calgary Stampeders in 1987 under new head coach Lary Kuharich. He would remain an assistant through 1989, then things changed dramatically.

Kuharich moved to B.C. to become head coach of the Lions. Eerily, it would be something Buono himself would do in 2002.

In his place stepped Wally Buono as the new head coach of the Calgary Stampeders. The league would never be the same.

Immediate impact
As the 1990s started, Wally Buono served notice things would be different in Calgary. In his first year prowling the sidelines for the Stampeders, Buono compiled a record of 11 wins, six losses and one tie, to finish first in the West Division for the first time since 1971. They would lose the Western Final, but the next year, after finishing second in the West, they advanced to their first Grey Cup in 20 years. The year after that they would win their first Grey Cup in 20 years.

And the Stampeders were off.

Coaching excellence
Wally Buono would go on to win three Grey Cups with Calgary in 1992, 1998 and 2001, and be named coach of the year in 1992 and 1993. He moved on to the B.C. Lions where he won two more Grey Cups in 2006 and 2011, and was named coach of the year in 2006 and 2011. In 2009, he passed Don Matthews as the winningest coach in CFL history. He would finish with a total of 282 career wins, 165 losses and three ties.

Parting thoughts
The 1980s were very much a decade of transition for Wally Buono. At the outset, he was finishing up a playing career that took him to five Grey Cups in 10 years, and be exposed to a lot of experienced and knowledgable football people. Perhaps the most notable was Marv Levy, his coach in Montreal, who would go on to coach the NFL Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances.

He would also utilize the strengths and experience of former players, most notably his longtome Montreal teammate Chuck McMann who followed him to Calgary and B.C.

Buono would serve an apprenticeship first with the Montreal Concordes then the Calgary Stampeders, before closing out the decade ready to embark on what became a prolific and profound coaching career.

It was the 1980s that prepared him for the success ahead.

Believe it or Not: Remembering the Theme from The Greatest American Hero

It was such a good song, I not only recorded it directly off TV, but it was one of the first singles I ever bought on a .45 record.

It was just like John Sebastien’s “Welcome Back” from “Welcome Back, Kotter” before it, and B.J. Thomas and Dusty Springfield’s “As Long as We’ve Got Each Other” from “Growing Pains” after it.

“Believe it or Not” by Joey Scarbury from “The Greatest American Hero” was much more than just a theme song from a TV show. It was a bonified chart success.

The song
The creators of “Believe it or Not” were a blend of experience and youth. The song was composed by Mike Post who was legendary in TV anthem circles for shows such as “The Rockford Files”, “The A-Team”, “Hill Street Blues”, “Magnum P.I.”, “L.A. Law”, “Quantum Leap”, and “NYPD Blue”.

It was sung by Joey Scarbury (although I heard it mis-pronounced often as Joey Scarborough), after he began working for Mike Post.

Together, they created an unforgettable song.

Chart success
“Believe it or Not” was recorded both as a full length single, which I bought on .45, and cut down to about a minute for television.

The song benefitted from the exposure the show gave it. “Believe it or Not” entered the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 countdown on June 13, 1981 and went all the way to number two for two weeks in August. It could just not displace from the number one spot that powerful ballad “Endless Love” by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. It spent 18 weeks in the Top 40 and ended 1981 as the number 11 song of the year. It also hit number 1 on the US Cash Box Top 100 and number three on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.

The time after
“Believe it or Not” would also be part of 1981's “America’s Greatest Hero”, Scarbury’s first and only studio released album. That album had some heavy hitters with songs written by Bruce Hornsby and Dan Seals.

Scarbury would team up with Mike Post again in 1984 to perform the song “Back to Back”. It was the theme song for part of the second season of the drama “Hardcastle and McCormack”, another Stephen J. Cannell Production. "Back to Back" had replaced “Drive”, which was the initial theme song for the first season. “Back to Back” was the theme song for the first 12 episodes of the second season but, because of fan backlash, “Drive” returned for the 13th episode, and remained through the second and all of the third and final season.

I have another odd memory. There was this comedy called “Jennifer Slept Here”, starring Ann Jillian as the ghost of an actress. I noticed Scarbury sang the theme song for that show as well, but that was the last I ever saw of him.

Personal memories
I loved “Believe it or Not” so much, I recorded the song off the TV, using this old tape recorder my brother left me, with the microphone it came with and a blank tape I bought at Radio Shack. I listened to it over and over to try and learn the words. The recording was not the best, so I actually taped it again off TV. It was better, but not the best. So, one Saturday when I went to Lethbridge with my parents, my Mom and I paid a visit to Anglo Stereo and Photo. It was the premiere music store in Lethbridge, with a massive selection in the basement. It was there I bought “Believe it or Not” on .45.

I took it home and used my Mom’s old record player to play that song over and over until I could sing along when “The Greatest American Hero” started.

Everyone at school knew I loved the song. We had a little dance in our classroom in Grade 7 or 8, when Mrs. Ober was our home room teacher for both years. Some of my classmates pushed aside all the desks and I heard my friend Tony Curtis call my name.

I looked up just as Tony started dancing, with his partner Michelle, to the sounds of – “Believe it or Not”.

Resurgence
What prompted my memories of “Believe it or Not” was hearing it in a commercial for State Farm insurance on TV. Earlier this year “Believe it or Not” was also in a Tide detergent commercial, which ran during the 2021 Super Bowl.

Parting thoughts
The other night I decided to watch one of my favourite episodes of “The Greatest American Hero” on demand. The minute I saw the space ship approaching Earth and “Believe it or Not” starting to play, I was taken back all those years ago. I could still sing along, because the words are still in my head.

Then an interesting thing happened. I couldn’t get the song out of my head the whole next day.

That just shows the power of that song.

It still remains one of my favourite all-time songs – believe it or not.

Taking off with The Greatest American Hero

Connie Sellecca, as Pam Davidson; William Katt as Ralph Hinkley, the Greatest American Hero; and Robert Culp as FBI Agent Bill Maxwell in "The Greatest American Hero".
Source: https://tvline.com/2017/09/08/the-greatest-american-hero-reboot-abc-female-pilot/
(May be subject to copyright)

Imagine you’re alone in the desert and your car stops working. Helpless, suddenly it sounds like your radio starts talking to you. Then, you see this blinding light that compels you to leave your car only to disover a space ship hovering over head.

Obviously aliens are making contact with you. However, these ones present you with a gift – a suit that gives you special powers.

What do you do? Try it on? Sure. Look for an instruction book to tell you what the suit does? Definitely.

How about losing the instruction book? Not a good idea.

That is exactly what high school teacher Ralph Hinkley did in the pilot of “The Greatest American Hero”.

It would go on to be my favourite show – when I could find it on the peasant vision dial.

Love at first sight
I saw the pilot of “The Greatest American Hero” on Channel 7 on the peasant vision dial, and it caught my attention immediately. It was the perfect combination of comic book super hero story with a touch of espionage. It was funny too. William Katt, who was relatively unknown at the time, played Ralph Hinkley who was summoned by aliens and given that suit. However, he was not alone. At the same time Ralph was in the desert, FBI agent Bill Maxwell, played by Robert Culp, had also been summoned, so he was there too when Ralph got the suit. They were compelled to work together, which often meant Ralph would help Bill with one of his cases. Some times something in Ralph’s life would command attention. Helping them along the way was Pam Davidson, a lawyer and Ralph’s eventual girlfriend then wife, who was played by Connie Sellecca. While they solved crimes, Ralph learned about his powers through trial and error. One he never mastered was flying. He was always out of control and the only way he landed was by crashing into something. It was always funny and it never got old.

“The Greatest American Hero” was a mid-season replacement in 1981, so the first season was only a handful of episodes – nine in total, but I loved it immediately.

Student body
Another part of the show that provided a lot of drama was Ralph’s students. There were two in particular who drew Ralph’s attention, Tony Villicana, who was kind of a hood, and Rhonda, who was kind of his girlfriend and the smartest student in class.

Tony was played by Michael Paré, who used “The Greatest American Hero” as a spring board for a number of roles. He would go on to feature in three theatrical movies – ; “Eddie and the Cruisers” in 1983; and “The Philadelphia Experiment” and “Streets of Fire” in 1984. He was back in 1986 in the police drama “Houston Knights”, playing a Chicago cop who has to re-locate to Houston.

Rhonda was played by Faye Grant who also used “The Greatest American Hero” as a springboard. In her case, she had one of the main roles on the chilling science fiction mini-series “V” where she played a scientist suspicious the visiting aliens are not as innocent as they appear. She reprised that role in the successful sequel “V: The Final Battle”, and the subsequent show “V: The Series”.

What’s in a name?
It was one of the strangest things. I was visiting my sister in Lethbridge when an episode of “The Greatest American Hero” was on. From the word go, something was off. One of the students referred to Ralph as “Mr. Hanley”. That was not right, I said, it was Hinkley. My sister was not sure, because she was not into the show as much as I was. Then, as if to accentuate the point, Ralph gets a new office and they show his name, “Ralph Hanley”, stencilled on the door.

Ralph’s name did return to Hinkley for the season two premiere, about Ralph playing professional baseball, which I also watched at my sister’s. Yet the whole thing always puzzled me until just a few years ago.

I learned that, while the show was in production, John Hinkley Junior tried to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The producers thought it best to not draw attention to the would-be assassin, so they changed their main character’s name from Hinkley to Hanley.

I wasn’t seeing things or mis-remembering after all.

Memorable moments
There were several episodes that really stuck out for me. The most memorable centred on J.J. Beck, a wealthy man who is dying. He has Ralph and Bill kidnapped to help him recover his will. Beck plans to leave everything to charity. The will was stolen so it could be destroyed and his estate taken. Beck seems to know a fair bit about the suit too. Along with him, Ralph and Bill meet Marshall Dunn, another man who knows way too much about the suit. It turns out, the aliens had been to Earth before and gave a suit to Beck, while Dunn became his partner. Essentially, they were the original Ralph and Bill. However, instead of using the suit for good, Beck used it to become rich and famous. The aliens eventually came back and took the suit away. In the end of this episode, the aliens return and take the two old men away with them.

There was also an episode where Ralph goes undercover as a pitcher for the fictitious California Stars baseball team, to do battle with the equally fictitious Oakland Mets. There's another episode where Ralph goes undercover to play pro quarterback. He is there to help his boyhood friend Price Cobb (who Ralph called “Pridey”). Cobb was played by Stephen Shortridge, who was best known at that time for his role as Beau in "Welcome Back Kotter". Cobb is being pressured to shave points and throw an important game, but Ralph intervenes.

There was another one that I started to watch, but we had a power outage and I never did see it. In this episode, the aliens returned to give Ralph and Bill another instruction book. I was curious to see what happened, namely if he would lose the instructions again. The next morning on the school bus, one of my buddies tried to explain what happened in the rest of the episode, but it sounded too weird, I didn't believe him. I have the entire season available on-demand, so maybe I will eventually get to see it.

In production
Another aspect of “The Greatest American Hero” was the end credits. It was a “Stephen J. Cannell Production”. It was the first show that used that credit.

Cannell was one of my heroes, a television writer I tried and aspired to be like, and it all started with “The Greatest American Hero”. I just liked the way he wrote, and I connected with the premises for his TV shows. Some of his more popular shows were “The A-Team”; “Hardcastle and McCormack”; “Riptide”; and “Hunter”. I dreamed of having a company like his that put out the shows I wanted to write.

Where is it?
Peasant vision could be so frustrating. Shows would not air when they said they were in “TV Guide”, or would be moved around. They also changed channels. “The Greatest American Hero” was on Channel 7 in its first year, but moved to Channel 13 in its second year and beyond. Then it was gone.

Fate of the show
I was not sure if it had been cancelled, or Channel 13 just stopped airing it.

One afternoon, when I was home from school, William Katt appeared on daytime TV, “The Alan Hamel Show” I think. They mentioned that his show was on hold. It had not been cancelled, but it hadn’t been renewed either. Back then, there weren’t as many entertainment shows and magazines talking about cancellations and renewals either.

I finally found out the fate of "The Greatest American Hero" in an odd way. I was reading the fall preview issue of “TV Guide”. There I saw Connie Sellecca co-starring in a new show called “Hotel”. Well, obviously she wasn’t going to be on two shows.

That meant disaster had struck.

“The Greatest American Hero” had been cancelled.

The years after

Mother and son

William Katt will be best known as Ralph Hinkley, but he had a special role after "The Greatest American Hero". He was the son of Barbara Hale, an actor who would actually play Ralph's mom in "The Greatest American Hero". However, she was best known for her role as Della Street, Perry Mason's secretary in the television legal drama of the same name. In 1985, NBC began airing Perry Mason television movies. The other regular on the original show was a private investigator Perry used named Paul Drake. The actor had died before the remakes, so William Katt played Paul Drake Junior in nine TV movies. Son was reunited with mother.

Not a suit but a shirt

The first time I saw it, I wasn't sure I believed what I was seeing. It was an episode of "The Big Bang Theory" and uber-science fiction nerd Sheldon Cooper regularly wore t-shirts with comic graphics on them. On this day, it was the symbol from Ralph's suit on "The Greatest American Hero". Wikipedia confirmed for me that in fact was the case. It was a nice touch.

Parting thoughts
I was surprised to learn that only 43 episodes of “The Greatest American Hero” were made over three seasons, from 1981 to 1983. That makes sense with the first season being a mid-season replacement and the last season put on hold after nine episodes.

In that short a time, it had quite an effect on me. It just had something that connected with me. Maybe it was Ralph’s idealism and the desire to use the suit for good, or Bill’s cynicism but still doing the right thing.

I do believe it was the combination of super hero story, espionage, and comedy. The show didn’t take itself too seriously at times, but at other times it really did. People were killed and in danger. The stakes were high, and Ralph and Bill did have to save the world.

My only wish is that it could have been given more time to explore more stories. But maybe that would have just made it run out of steam.

We’ll never know.



What I do know was that for a 12-year-old kid in 1982 it was must-see viewing – when I could find it.

The Thorn Birds: Remembering the miniseries

Rachel Ward and Richard Chamberlain in "The Thorn Birds".
Source: http://bookorbigscreen.blogspot.com/2011/10/one-superlative-song-existence-price.html
(May be subject to copyright)

It was one of the most watched television events of the 1980s, and a symbol of one of those things we have lost – the epic television miniseries.

For four nights, record numbers of viewers faithfully tuned in to see if a priest played by Richard Chamberlain, would bow to carnal desire and finally get together with Meggie Cleary, played by newcomer Rachel Ward.

“The Thorn Birds” was one of the most memorable miniseries of the 1980s.

The story
Chamberlain plays Father Ralph de Bricassart, an ambitious young Catholic priest, who is posted to a small community in Australia. He gets the attention of Mary Carson, a local matriarch, who tries desperately to tempt him to break his vows, but never succeeds. Ralph curries her favour in the hopes she will make a sizeable contribution to the Catholic Church and further his own ambition. Meanwhile, over time, he grows closer to young Meggie Cleary who grows into an attractive woman.

When Mary Carson dies, it is discovered she has left the bulk of her estate to the church and made Ralph the executor. That forces him to choose between ambition and staying close to Meggie. It was a master manipulation from the grave by a jealous Mary Carson. Ralph chose to pursue his ambition.

The remainder of the miniseries focuses on what becomes of Ralph and Meggie. He goes off to Rome and progresses all the way to the position of cardinal. Meggie will marry Luke O”Neill, a farm worker who does not fulfill Meggie, and eventually she will leave him. Inevitably, Ralph and Meggie will cross paths from time to time resulting in no end of drama.

It was a riveting story.

The mini-series
One of the hallmarks of television in the 1980s was the mini-series.

It all really started in the 1970s with “Roots”, which became the most watched mini-series of all time. “The Thorn Birds” would be number two.

It was so successful that I did not watch it when it first aired in March of 1983. Instead, my mom told me all about it. “The Thorn Birds” was so popular, I watched it when it was rerun in January of 1985. Because it was so dense with detail, my mom’s explanation was not a spoiler at all. It just whet my appetite.

Richard Chamberlain, who played Ralph de Bricassart, became a mini-series legend. He started in a miniseries called “Centennial” in 1978 then really hit it big with “Shogun” in 1980. That mini-series, set in feudal Japan and based on the James Clavell novel, was a real television event.

There would be many more – “Rich Man, Poor Man”; “The Blue and the Gray”; “North and South”; “Masada”; “Winds of War”; “War and Remembrance”; “Marco Polo”; “Space”; “Master of the Game”; and so many more.

It was such a big part of television viewing back then. The mini-series allowed producers to tell longer stories than could fit in a two-hour made-for-TV movie, yet were not meant to be series television.

It was the epitome of appointment viewing, because everybody tuned into whatever minis-series it was, and it was all the talk at school the next day.

Parting thoughts
This was another idea that sat at the bottom of my blog’s closet for a long time. I initially wrote it down when I heard Colleen McCullough, who wrote the book “The Thorn Birds”, passed away in 2015.

It brought back some interesting memories. “The Thorn Birds” cemented Richard Chamberlain’s place as a mini-series star, while it launched the careers of Rachel Ward, who played Meggie, and Bryan Brown, who played Luke. Interestingly, Ward and Brown met on the set of “The Thorn Birds”, fell in love and got married. They are together to this day.

“The Thorn Birds” would go on to be nominated for 11 Primetime Emmy awards, winning for outstanding achievement in makeup; outstanding art direction for a mini-series or movie; outstanding film editing for a mini-series or movie; outstanding lead actress in a mini-series or movie for Barbara Stanwyck who played Mary Carson; outstanding supporting actor in a mini-series or movie for Richard Kiley; and outstanding supporting actress in a mini-series or movie for Jean Simmons. Chamberlain was nominated for outstanding lead actor; Brown and Christopher Plummer were nominated for outstanding supporting actor; Piper Laurie was nominated for outstanding supporting actress; and “The Thorn Birds” was nominated for outstanding mini-series or movie.

What I will always remember was how much my Mom loved “The Thorn Birds” the first time she saw it, and told me all about it. I really don’t know why I didn’t watch it that first time in 1983.

I did not make that mistake twice when it re-aired in 1985.

Sitting there beside me all four nights to watch it again, was my Mom, and she loved it just as much the second time around.

I could see why.

Richard Kiel: Much more than a giant

Richard Kiel as Samson in "The Longest Yard".
Source: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/215258057167832167/
(May be subject to copyright)

He could have just been another giant on screen – a one dimensional oaf, a goon, a barbarian.

Instead, Richard Kiel represented his size well, playing multi-dimensional giants. Sometimes he was terrifying, sometimes he played his part for laughs, and sometimes he was just plain endearing.

In the two parts I remember best, he was a hulking inmate who was part killer and part softie in “The Longest Yard”, and a villain who turned good and loving in two James Bond movies.

Along the way he also dabbled in some television in the 1980s.

I was sad to hear Richard Kiel passed away a few years ago, and I had been meaning to explore his career a little closer.

His name lurked near the bottom of a list of ideas in a dusty old folder on my computer’s desktop, but now it is seeing the light day.

Early roles
Richard Kiel was seven feet two inches tall, the result of too much growth hormone growing up. He would break into acting in the 1960s and often play the bad guy in everything from “The Wild, Wild West” and “The Man from U*N*C*L*E” to “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Monkees”.

Richard Kiel as a Kanamit in "To Serve Man",
one of my favourite episodes of "The Twilight Zone".
Source: http://martingrams.blogspot.com/
2013/03/the-twilight-zone-to-serve-man.html
(May be subject to copyright)

“To Serve Man”
He also had a role in perhaps my favourite episode of the original “Twilight Zone", which I did see in the 1980s.

Kiel played a Kanamit, a member of a towering alien species who have come to Earth in friendship. They eradicate the world’s problems and appear to be a dream come true. One day, the Kanamit leaves a book at a press conference, and American linguists work to decipher it. They start with the title, “To Serve Man”. That puts everyone at ease, because that means they are there to help – to serve. Meanwhile, the story really revolves around one man, played by Canadian actor Lloyd Bochner. As the episode progresses, he becomes more comfortable with the Kanamits and decides to take them up on their offer of a trip to their home world. As he starts to board the departing ship, his friend comes running up, yelling the rest of the book has been deciphered.

“It’s a cook book!” she yelled, but it was too late for him to escape.

It was awesome.

I saw that episode as part of one of the “Twilight Zone” marathons Channel 7 played one weekend when I was in junior high. I was hanging out at my sister’s place in Lethbridge on a Saturday afternoon when I saw it.

Interestingly, in the 2019 re-boot, the Kanamits make another appearance and hint at still dining on humans when they decide to order out and get some “extra crispy”. It is unfortunate Richard Kiel died before that and could not complete that circle.

Life on the gridiron
Perhaps the first role I saw Richard Kiel in was as “Samson” in “The Longest Yard” where he played this towering inmate. When Paul Crewe, played by Burt Reynolds, goes to see him about playing on his football team, Samson is lifting 400-pound barbells with ease and says he was Mr. Florida 1964. He does not seem too eager to play football. Then Crewe tells him they are playing the guards. Samson smiles, says he would like that, and is looking forward to it. Then he returns to lifting 400 pounds like it was nothing.

We see his softer side in practice one day when he is slugged by Shockner, the meanest of the prisoners. Samson laments he broke his nose and Shockner did it in purpose. Crewe soothes him, saying he didn’t. Not only does he reset Samson’s nose, but he gets Shockner to apologize. Samson is just ecstatic like a little kid, telling everyone Shockner said he was sorry.

Then, during the big game, Samson is playing defence and gets a dirty hit from a guard. He vows to clothesline that son of a b—ch if he comes through the middle again. Sure enough he does, and Samson clotheslines him. Samson stands over him and exclaims joyously, “Hey, I think I broke his f—king neck!”. The medic comes over and says, “I think he broke his f—king neck!”

“I told you I broke his f—king neck!” Samson responds, and the whole defence mobs him with delight.

Even the public address announcer gets into the action.

“I think he broke his f—king neck!” he says over the loud speakers.

It was awesome.

Richard Kiel as Jaws in two James Bond films.
Source: https://variety.com/2014/film/news/
james-bond-villain-richard-kiel-dies-at-74-1201303251/
(May be subject to copyright)

Man with the steel teeth
Richard Kiel would turn his heads in the James Bond espionage thriller “The Spy Who Loved Me” in 1977, as a gigantic assasin with steel teeth named Jaws. He easily kills his victims with a combination of strength and those teeth, yet Bond eludes him. The time I remember best, is when Jaws has Bond in a death grip and the only way the spy can escape is by breaking a lamp and shocking Jaws in the teeth to release his grip. Jaws also survives everything and just keeps coming, and is seen to survive at the end of the movie.

He returns in 1979 in “Moonraker”, once again employed by a villain Bond has to battle. This time around, Jaws finds a girlfriend that softens his temperament. He turns against his employer, and helps Bond. The last time we see him is in space, being left behind with the love of his life. We discover they did make it back to Earth safely.

He had become a good guy, and it was awesome.

Hulking out – almost
Something I just recently discovered was that Richard Kiel was one of the actors tapped to try out for the role of the Hulk in the television series “The Incredible Hulk”. It was 1977, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was also considered for the part. Kiel made it to the pilot stage, but the producers realized they wanted someone more muscular, and not so tall, and Kiel so replaced by body-building champion Lou Ferrigno.

The 1980s and beyond
Richard Kiel didn’t have a lot of parts in the 1980s, but he did make guest appearances on TV in both “The Fall Guy” and “Simon and Simon”, as well as roles in movies such as “Cannonball Run II” and “Pale Rider”.

Richard Kiel kept working on television, films, most notably “Happy Gilmore” and “Inspector Gadget”, and in video games as Jaws, until 2012. He died in 2014 at the age of 74.

Parting thoughts
Richard Kiel had a productive and fruitful acting career, playing a wide variety of roles.

At a time when he could have so easily been typecast as a villainous giant, or a lovable oaf, he gave a humanity and sense of humour to roles that could have been one dimensional.

That made him much more than a giant.

Remembering AM 106: An indelible impression

The familiar logo of popular
Calgary radio station AM 106 in the 1980s.
Source: https://forum.calgarypuck.com/
showthread.php?t=143255
(May be subject to copyright)

It was kind of a strange thing.

With two really good pop and rock music radio stations in Lethbridge, often my ghetto blaster or car radio found itself tuned to a station broadcast from Calgary, and often the reception wasn’t very good.

But it had some compelling features that made me and some of my friends want to keep tuning in.

It was called AM 106, sounding more like an FM station, although it was 1060 on the AM dial.

Tuning in
To be honest, I am not sure why I tuned in to AM 106 for the first time. I knew I had heard about it from somewhere, likely someone at school or maybe one of my music-savvy cousins, because I did not find it by accident I don’t think. However, it was so close to 1090 CHEC on the dial, maybe I did find it by accident.

Whatever the origin, once I found it, there was a lot to keep me coming back.

Playing the hits
AM 106 had a couple features I just loved – the Top 6 at 6 and its sibling the Top 10 at 10. They were both countdowns based on the number of votes each song received through the station’s “hitlines”. That meant people had to phone in to register votes, which is really impressive because back in the ‘80s, the only phones were land lines. People did not have phones with them 24/7 like now, they had to seek them out to make a call.

What I and a couple of my friends really liked was, if you wanted to know the name of a song or you wanted to tape it off the radio, the Top 6 at 6 and the Top 10 at 10 were guaranteed spots to hear those songs.

A good example was back in 1986 when I was working with my buddy Mat and some other friends cleaning out some chicken coops. There was a ghetto blaster playing, and I heard a song that sounded like new Chicago. It couldn’t be that sound tough, because their lead singer, Peter Cetera, had left. After the song ended, I waited for the deejay to say who sang it but, as was often the case, he didn’t.

So that night, I tuned in the Top 10 at 10 and heard the song again – plus an explanation. The song was “The Glory of Love”, the first solo release for – Peter Cetera.

Thank you AM 106.

Showdown
Another feature was “Showdown” where two songs went head to head. One was the “Champion” because it had earned the most votes on the day’s “Hitlines” the day before. The other was the “Challenger”, which was a new song trying to de-throne the “Champion”. To do that, all it needed to do was get more votes than the champion. If the champion kept winning night after night, it was retired after a certain number of nights, I want to say five for a complete week.

It was a good way to hear brand new releases.

“Showdown” was much like what TSN does with its “One-V-one” highlight of the night.

Win a prize
AM 106 also had the “Designated hit”. The station would announce a particular song as the “Designated hit”. When it played, the first person who heard it and called it in won a prize. It engaged listeners and was another reason to tune in.

Voices of radio
Through the magic of the Internet, I re-discovered another vital part of AM 106’s appeal – the deejays. There were two in particular who came to mind – Rick Sadler and Glen Slingerland. Sadler is still in Calgary while Slingerland has been in BC this century.

However, I was able to find some recordings of both Sadler and Slingerland, and others, and it took me right back to the 1980s.

Here are some links:

Rick Sadler: 1988 – https://soundcloud.com/westernbroadcasters/rick-sadler-am-106-april-14-1988

Glen Slingerland: 1988 – https://www.radiowest.ca/sound/cfcnslingerland880414.mp3

Don Stevens: 1987 – https://www.pugetsoundradio.com/2014/07/04/106-calgary-aircheck-1987/

Parting thoughts
I keep thinking AM 106 had to have something different if me and so many others were willing to brave static and poor reception to listen to it.

Getting a chance to listen to some snippets of it online reminded me that AM 106 just had something different. It had this unique sound. Maybe it was the deejays and the Top 10 at 10, or just the music.

Whatever it was, AM 106 left an indelible impression on my musical memories of the 1980s.