Sweet memories of the 1978 Rider season.
This grizzled gargoyle of the media routinely scours YouTube in search of vintage football footage — the alternative being to, you know, have a life.
Occasionally, there are rewards to be derived from inveterately wallowing in the past.
The other day, for example, I found a complete CBC telecast of an Oct. 8, 1978 CFL game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal Alouettes. So, naturally, I watched the entire thing.
The game is noteworthy because it was the last start at Taylor Field for Ron Lancaster, who retired as a player after that season, but there are so many other nuggets from that contest of nearly 40 years ago.
Most notably, I was reminded of the fact that the Roughriders’ first “13th-man” meltdown against Montreal actually occurred 31 years before the 2009 Grey Cup.
For organisms like me, stuff like this is fascinating. (For everyone else, you may stop here. Please visit us again in the potentially vain hope of finding something you deem to be interesting. Good-bye for now ...) (Still there? Good. Onwards ...) The aforementioned 1978 contest took several turns, leading up to a last-second, 51-yard field-goal attempt by Montreal’s Don Sweet.
Sweet’s kick into the wind was short, but there was a snag. The Roughriders were flagged for ... you guessed it ... too many men on the field.
A future Canadian Football Hall of Famer, Sweet was given another chance — from 41 yards away — with time expired, but was wide left on the second try. Brian O’Hara caught the ball and returned it out of the end zone to preserve the tie.
Not much was made of the “13thman” gaffe at the time. After all, Sweet missed on his second attempt, whereas Damon Duval made his 33yard do-over to give Montreal a 28-27 victory over Saskatchewan in the 2009 league final.
But it did seem interesting to me that history — albeit obscure history — did end up repeating itself on Nov. 29, 2009 at McMahon Stadium.
In fact, the entire 60 minutes (plus one play with no time remaining) made for riveting viewing fare on a laptop computer screen in the middle of the night.
I am, you see, a dynamic individual.
Consider the degree to which I was fascinated by one of the game’s offensive plays.
After a short gain on a running play by the Roughriders, the linemen on both sides began to unpile. On the back of one of the Alouettes’ jerseys, I saw “COWLINGS.”
Naaah ... it couldn’t be ... could it? Yup. Al Cowlings.
THE Al Cowlings.
Remember the driver of the Ford Bronco during the O.J. Simpson freeway chase of 1994?
That Al Cowlings!
After starring for the USC Trojans, with whom he was a teammate of Simpson’s, Cowlings played in the NFL from 1970 to 1977. He then ventured northward, playing four games with the 1978 Alouettes. In one of those four games, he returned a fumble for a touchdown.
Then it was back to the NFL as a member of the 1979 San Francisco 49ers — whose roster also included the one, the only O.J. Simpson.
The 1979 49ers also welcomed a rookie quarterback named Joe Montana, who on Nov. 18 of that year threw his first NFL touchdown pass — a 16-yarder to Bob Bruer.
Why do I mention this? Because Bruer spent parts of the 1977 and 1978 seasons with the Roughriders.
In fact, he had been released by the Green and White on Oct. 4, 1978, only four days before the Saskatchewan-Montreal game that I found so riveting. Bruer’s roster spot was taken by Joey Walters, who made a leaping touchdown catch of a Lancaster aerial against the Alouettes. Honestly, it’s must-see TV.
The telecast, so kindly uploaded to YouTube by a character named “Newton Minnow,” shows priceless images from Taylor Field.
The video quality is first-rate. Ditto for the audio. The sideline microphone picks up Lancaster’s cadence with amazing clarity as he calls signals.
If you look closely, you might even see an old friend or two on the sidelines or in the stands. For example, one shot of the north end zone showed Regina Leader-Post photographer Patrick Pettit in the line of duty.
Roughriders versus Alouettes, 1978, is a treat to watch from beginning to end. And, yes, that includes some classic commercials.
Check it out!
Sorry for giving away the ending, by the way.