This Day in Football History
1964 - Keith Lincoln rushes for 206 yards in AFL title
Fullback Keith Lincoln rushed for 206 yards on just 13 carries to help the San Diego Chargers thump the Boston Patriots 51-10 in the AFL championship.
Lincoln tallied 329 yards from scrimmage in the game, a would be NFL postseason record.
Both of these teams eventually become NFL franchises, while Lincoln spends his entire career in the AFL, playing for the Buffalo Bills for a season before returning to the Chargers.
1993 - Bears fire head coach Mike Ditka
The Chicago Bears fire legendary head coach Mike Ditka after a 5-11 finish to the season. The coach led the Bears to a Super Bowl victory in 1985.
Ditka, goes on to coach the New Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999, where he famously trades his entire 1999 draft to acquire the services of running back Ricky Williams. It's an inauspicious end to a brilliant career.
He is still revered in Chicago to this day.
Obligatory SNL Bill Swerski's Super Fans quote: "If I may shift gears for a moment gentlemen, Coach Ditka vs. The Hurricane, who would win? Hold on, hold on, hold on. The name of the Hurricane is Hurricane Ditka."
1997 - Bledsoe and Martin shred the Steelers
The New England Patriots' young tandem of quarterback Drew Bledsoe and running back Curtis Martin team up dominate the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-3 and move on to the AFC Championship.
The Patriots get all the way to the Super Bowl before losing to Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, but the talented Patriots are seen as a team on the rise.
Unfortunately, Martin moves on to the New York Jets and Bledsoe never reaches his full potential, usurped of his Patriot throne by a young Tom Brady a few years later. Don't feel too bad for the Patriots.
Birthdays
1938 - Jim Otto
1967 - Ray Crockett
1975 - Warrick Dunn