1961: George Blanda Throws 7 TD Passes Against NY Titans

The Houston Oilers, defending champions of the American Football League, had gotten off to a rough start in 1961. They were 1-3-1 after five games, and George Blanda (pictured above), the 33-year-old quarterback who had revived his pro football career in ’60 while leading the club to the title, was benched for two games.

However, owner Bud Adams fired Head Coach Lou Rymkus at that point and replaced him with Wally Lemm. There was an immediate turnaround, and by the time the Oilers hosted the New York Titans at Jeppesen Stadium on November 19, they had reeled off four straight wins. Blanda was back at the helm. In the preceding four contests, he had passed for 1076 yards (including 464 in a game at Buffalo alone) with 11 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.

The Titans, coached by legendary QB Sammy Baugh, were 5-4 coming into the game. While the offense was capable of providing some excitement, in particular due to the presence of split end Art Powell and flanker Don Maynard, the defense was porous, especially the defensive backfield. Having started off 3-1, New York was in danger of falling out of contention in the Eastern Division.

There were 33,428 fans in attendance at the small venue as Houston took command quickly and decisively. Blanda tossed his first touchdown pass, of 28 yards to flanker Charley Hennigan, at the conclusion of an 80-yard drive early in the first quarter. With 4:40 remaining in the opening period, Blanda tossed a six-yard TD pass to HB Billy Cannon to conclude a six-play possession that covered 31 yards. Before the first quarter was over, the Oilers scored again as Blanda threw another pass to Cannon that covered 78 yards for a third touchdown.

The Titans offense didn’t threaten until midway through the second quarter. Flanker Don Maynard put New York on the board, making an outstanding catch on a four-yard pass from QB Al Dorow, but DE Don Floyd blocked the extra point attempt.


Blanda poured it on as he connected with split end Bill Groman for a 66-yard TD and with Cannon once more for a six-yard score. The tally at the end of the first half was 35-6 and the veteran quarterback had set a new AFL record with five touchdown passes.

Three minutes into the third quarter, Blanda threw for his sixth touchdown, connecting with Groman on a 46-yard play. He tossed his seventh, tying the NFL record held at that point by Sid Luckman of the Bears and Philadelphia’s Adrian Burk, in the fourth quarter on a play that covered 11 yards to Groman.

Dorow, who was constantly harassed by the aggressive Houston defense, tossed a second TD pass, of 11 yards to TE Thurlow Cooper, to salvage a slight bit of pride for the Titans. Houston won by a final score of 49-13.

The Oilers rolled up 555 yards, to 347 for New York, and the Titans further hurt their cause by turning the ball over four times, as opposed to just once by Houston. There was plenty of aggressive play on both sides, and several fights broke out, including one that cleared both benches. Altogether, 18 penalties were called, resulting in 193 yards (11 for 128 yards on Houston, 7 for 65 yards on the Titans). Three players were ejected.

In throwing for seven touchdowns, George Blanda completed 20 of 32 passes for 418 yards and was picked off once. Three Houston receivers gained over 100 yards – Bill Groman led the group with 5 catches for 152 yards and three TDs, followed by Charley Hennigan, who caught 8 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, and Billy Cannon added 122 yards on 7 receptions with three scores. Cannon added another 41 yards on 14 rushes, behind FB Charley Tolar, who gained 58 yards on 11 carries, and FB Dave Smith with 49 yards on six attempts.

For the visitors, Al Dorow went to the air 47 times and had 21 completions for 278 yards with two TDs and three interceptions. HB Dick Christy led the club with 7 catches for 103 yards out of the backfield. FB Bill Mathis ran for 68 yards on 14 carries.

It was another big performance by the defending champions as they surged back into the Eastern Division race. Ultimately, the Oilers went undefeated the rest of the way, winning the division with a 10-3-1 record and again beating the Chargers for the AFL title. The Titans ended up in third place at 7-7.

The offense in particular achieved many superlatives. George Blanda threw 36 touchdown passes, exceeding the existing NFL record of 32, and also led the AFL in passing yards (3330), yards per attempt (9.2, almost two yards per pass better than the runners-up), yards per completion (17.8), and percentage of TD passes (9.9). Considering he had actually missed two full games due to being benched, it was an amazing overall performance. Blanda was selected as AFL Player of the Year by the Associated Press and UPI.


Bill Groman, with his three touchdown catches against New York, caught a TD pass in his 8th consecutive game. While he was shut out the next week, he ended up with 17 touchdown receptions to not only lead the league but tie the existing NFL record. Groman caught 50 passes for 1175 yards.

Charley Hennigan set a single-season record with 1746 receiving yards that not only was never beaten in the AFL, but wasn’t exceeded in the NFL until 1995. He ranked second in both receptions (82) and receiving touchdowns (12).

Billy Cannon led the AFL in rushing with 948 yards on 200 carries and was also the league’s all-purpose yardage leader with 2043. The 1959 Heisman Trophy-winner out of LSU scored a total of 15 touchdowns (6 rushing, 9 receiving). As his performance against the Titans demonstrated, Cannon was a potent pass receiving threat out of the backfield and caught 43 passes for 586 yards.

1970: Blanda Comes Off Bench for First of Five Straight Clutch Performances

Entering the 1970 NFL season, Oakland’s 43-year-old George Blanda was typically viewed as an over-the-hill backup quarterback who was still able to play pro football because of his placekicking ability. He had thrown just 13 passes in 1969 in relief of Daryle Lamonica, who had been selected Player of the Year by UPI in the American Football League’s last season and was still in his prime at age 29. Moreover, Ken Stabler had been drafted out of Alabama in the second round in ’68, and while injuries had kept him sidelined, he was expected to be ready for a more active role in ’70.

Blanda had been around for 20 years after being taken in the 12th round of the 1949 NFL draft out of Kentucky by the Chicago Bears. In 10 years with the Bears (he was briefly dealt to the Colts in 1950 but was brought back after just a week), he had a contentious relationship with owner/Head Coach George Halas and battled for playing time at quarterback. He handled the placekicking competently and even had occasion to play at linebacker and in the defensive backfield.

Blanda retired from the Bears following the 1958 season but returned to pro football in ’60 with the Houston Oilers of the new American Football League. The Oilers won the first two league championships with Blanda at the helm, and he set a then-record with 36 touchdown passes in 1961 (he set a more dubious record by tossing 42 interceptions in ’62). The Oilers released him after the 1966 season and he signed with the Raiders as a placekicker/backup QB. Behind Lamonica, he started one game in three years.

The Raiders were off to a slow start in ’70 and were 2-2-1 as they hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 25. In the second quarter, with the score tied at 7-7, Lamonica was sidelined with a bad back. Head Coach John Madden, who at 34 was nine years younger than the 21st-year veteran, sent Blanda into the game. An apparent scoring pass to TE Raymond Chester was called back due to a penalty, but on the next series a 44-yard pass to WR Warren Wells counted for a touchdown and put the Raiders ahead at 14-7. Before the half was over, Blanda kicked a 27-yard field goal and tossed another TD pass, of 19 yards to Chester.

In the third quarter, Blanda tossed a second touchdown pass to Chester that covered 43 yards and Oakland cruised to a 31-14 win. Blanda had come off the bench to complete 7 of 12 passes for 148 yards with three touchdowns against one interception. But the heroics were only just beginning.

The following week at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium, Lamonica was back behind center as the Raiders were locked in a tight struggle against the defending-champion Chiefs. With eight seconds left to play, Kansas City was ahead by a 17-14 score, but Blanda was successful on a 48-yard field goal into the wind that salvaged a 17-17 tie.

The Raiders were now in first place as they hosted the Cleveland Browns on November 8. Early on, it seemed as though Oakland had the contest in hand as they took a 13-0 lead in the second quarter, thanks to two Blanda field goals of nine and 42 yards with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Lamonica to HB Charlie Smith in between. But Cleveland scored on a 10-yard pass from QB Bill Nelsen to HB Leroy Kelly and then Don Cockroft booted a 42-yard field goal to narrow the Raiders’ lead to 13-10 at halftime.

On the last play of the third quarter, Browns FB Bo Scott took off on a 63-yard touchdown run that put Cleveland in the lead by 17-13. On the next Oakland series, Browns DE Ron Snidow blind-sided Lamonica, causing him to leave the game with an injured shoulder. The Raiders punted, but CB Nemiah Wilson intercepted a pass deep in his own territory. However, it seemed as though the Blanda luck had run out when the old pro immediately tossed an interception in return.

Four plays after Blanda was picked off, Cockroft kicked a 32-yard field goal to extend the Cleveland lead to 20-13. Oakland’s offense took over with 4:11 remaining on the clock. Blanda completed three passes, and on a key fourth-and-16 play at the Browns’ 31 yard line threw an off-balance pass that WR Fred Biletnikoff caught for 17 yards and a first down. On the next play, Blanda threw for the end zone and connected with Wells for a 14-yard touchdown. Blanda kicked the extra point, and the game was tied at 20-20 with only a little over a minute remaining.

It looked as though the Raiders might end up with a tie for the second straight week (regular season overtime in the NFL was still four years away), but CB Kent McCloughan intercepted a Nelsen pass and returned it to the Oakland 46. Now down to 34 seconds and no time outs left, Blanda threw two incomplete passes – and was hit hard by DE Jack Gregory after each. A pass to FB Hewritt Dixon gained nine yards to the Cleveland 45 and with three seconds remaining, Blanda attempted a 52-yard field goal – his longest as a Raider. The kick was good, to the wild delirium of the crowd at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and Oakland came away with a stunning 23-20 win.

The heroics continued for a fourth straight week at Denver’s Mile High Stadium. Once again, Lamonica threw two TD passes and Blanda kicked a field goal to stake the Raiders to a 17-6 lead after three quarters. The Broncos rallied, with QB Pete Liske throwing a 10-yard TD pass to TE Jim Whalen and then running the ball over on a quarterback sneak to take a 19-17 advantage. And once more, Blanda rallied the Raiders in the last minute on a drive that culminated in a 20-yard touchdown pass to Biletnikoff and 24-19 win.

Finally, while Lamonica went the distance in a home game against the San Diego Chargers, it was Blanda breaking a 17-17 tie in the fourth quarter with a 16-yard field goal that produced a 20-17 victory for the Raiders. Over the course of five consecutive weeks, the 43-year-old veteran had made the game-saving plays that allowed Oakland to go 4-0-1 in that span. The streak caught the imagination of football fans across the country, making the gruff veteran something of a modern folk hero.

It all ended with a loss at Detroit, and the Raiders split their remaining games to end up topping the AFC West with a record of 8-4-2. They defeated Miami in the Divisional round but lost to the Baltimore Colts in the first AFC Championship game – even Blanda’s relief efforts couldn’t overcome the tough Baltimore defense.


George Blanda appeared as a quarterback in six games and completed 29 of 55 passes (52.7 %) for 461 yards (8.4 yards per attempt) with six touchdowns and five interceptions. He was, of course, the placekicker in all 14 contests and was successful on 16 of 29 field goals and all 36 extra point attempts for a total of 84 points. Even with his limited play at quarterback in addition to the kicking, Blanda received the Bert Bell trophy as NFL MVP from the Maxwell Club.

Blanda went on to play another five years, even seeing brief action at quarterback in his final season at the age of 48. At the end of his career in 1975, he was the NFL’s all-time scoring leader (counting his AFL seasons as well) with 2002 points. He also held the career record for field goals (335) and extra points (943), as well as passes intercepted (277). Except for the career extra points, all of those have since been eclipsed (he lived to see Brett Favre break the record for career interception passes, one he was glad to no longer hold) but perhaps most significantly, his record for most seasons played (26) remains. Blanda was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.