I just got back from a fun-filled weekend with my dear friend Mark Zarb. The focal point of the trip was the Monday Night Football game between the Jets and Bears; however, there was still plenty of time to get in a game of APBA Football. Since I never had the chance to use the 1972 card set, I thought it would be appropriate to play a game between the Jets and Bears in preparation for the evening’s actual game. The game played out as follows:

Chicago 38, New York 14 – At Soldier Field, capacity attendance. The Chicago Bears averaged 6.6 yards per carry and rushed for a whopping 317 yards. Jim Harrison gained 100 yards on 18 carries but the star of the game was Bobby Douglass. Bobby completed 8 of 14 pass attempts for 122 yards with one interception; however, he killed New York with his legs. He ran 15 times for 134 yards with three touchdowns. After Chicago posted 21 points in the second quarter, New York was forced to scrap a balanced attack and rely on Joe Namath’s right arm. Broadway Joe chucked the ball 41 times and completed 18 passes for 304 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

                                Chicago                7              21           10           0             – 38

                                New York             0              7              0              7            – 14

                Chi – Douglass 1 run (Percival kick)

               Chi – Shy 4 run (Percival kick)

               Chi – Douglass 11 run (Percival kick)

               Chi – Douglass 19 run (Percival kick)

               NY – Barkum 61 pass from Namath (Howfield kick)

               Chi – FG Percival 21

                Chi – Shy 2 run (Percival kick)

                NY – Caster 23 pass from Namath (Howfield kick)

Now I don’t know if the “table-top game” set the tone for the actual game, but Geno throwing a “pick six” just as we took our seats, a muffed punt, horrible officiating, and failing to score more than one touchdown in seven “Red Zone” trips might have had something to do with it. The guys sitting behind us must have thought we were nuts because we would be correlating APBA Football “Play Result Numbers” to the action on the field. For example, Chris Ivory picked up 14 yards on an outside run and we both look at each other and said “16”. Fun stuff!!

Regardless of the outcome of either game, I had an incredible visit with my “APBA Football Brother”.