1974 Season Book - Week 4

Sports Daily

July 31, 1974

WFL SCANDAL

100,000 free tickets given away in Philadelphia; 45,000 in Jacksonville; Entire league suspect.

The World Football League was shaken by scandal during the week of July 28th. In Philadelphia, reports surfaced that of the 120,000 fans that attended the Bell's first two home games over 100,000 were let in for free- decreasing the actual paid attendance for the Bell opener from 55,534 to 13,855, and the second Bell home game against New York from 64,719 to a pathetic 6,200. The gross gate receipts were slightly over $80,000, or $1.50 for each person in the stands. As the story broke, Philadelphia official Barry Leib confessed, "I admit I lied. I never thought those figures would get out, but if we had told the truth we would have been a joke. I told those figures to so many people I started believing it myself. I never considered a reporter a priest." The outrage of the other WFL owners was evident. Larry Hatfield told the Los Angeles Times, "This is an outrage, now we're all suspect." The league's credibility, after only four weeks, had suffered a major blow. On the field, Chicago Fire running back Mark Kellar scored five touchdowns to set a WFL record- due to the game being in Hawaii, the papers on the east coast didn't know of his feat until the next day. Hawaii's Norris Weese led the WFL in passing completing 65 of 122 attempts for 843 yards and eight touchdowns. James Scott of the Chicago Fire led in receptions with 23 for 283 yards and two touchdowns and Tommy Durrance lead the league in rushing with 335 yards and one touchdown. After four weeks of play the Chicago Fire and Birmingham Americans remained undefeated.

Fire Routs Hawaii 53-29; Kellar Scores WFL Record Five Touchdowns

Chicago Fire 53, The Hawaiians 29.

honolulu, hw.; Mark Kellar (pictured above) ran for three touchdowns and caught passes for two others, to lead the Chicago Fire to a 53-29 rout over the Hawaiians. A crowd of 12,608 witnessed Kellar's five touchdown performance (a WFL record). Fire quarterback Virgil Carter completed 17 of 25 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns. Chicago, undefeated in four games, scored on a four play, 69-yard drive, capped by Kellar's two yard touchdown run with only two minutes gone in the game and never looked back. At half time, Chicago extended their lead to 30-7. Hawaii rallied late in the game on touchdowns passes from Norris Weese to Grady Richardson and Tim Delaney but it wasn't enough to tame Chicago. This game was played on Sunday, July 28, 1974.

Hawaiians; Passing � Weese 24-52-338- 3t-3i, Rushing � Preston 1-30, D. Williams 6-9, Buchanan 3-3, Taggares 1-0, Brice 1-2, Weese 3-4, Powell 1-15; Receiving � Delaney 9-124, Kelsey 4-67, Taggares 3-37, D. Williams 3-31, Powell 2-43, Richardson 1-12.

Chicago Fire; Passing � Carter 15-21-205-3t, 0, Daigneau 2-4-8-0-0; Rushing � Kellar 14-51, 3t, Wyatt 19-47, Pinder 4-43, Heath 5-15, Carter 1-1; Receiving � Scott 6-68, Dolbin 3-78, Kellar 3-35-2t, Wyatt 2-14, Thomas 2-8, Burchfield 1-10.

Portland Looking For First Win, Loses To Philadelphia 25-7

Philadelphia Bell 25, Portland Storm 7.

portland, ore.; Jim "King" Corcoran directed the Philadelphia Bell to a pair of touchdowns and a field goal in the second quarter as the Bell defeated the Portland Storm 25-7 before 15,339 at Civic Stadium. Corcoran, threw a 3-yard scoring pass to LeVell Hill with 7 minutes and 52 seconds remaining in the second period. A 43-yard punt return by Ron Mabra and a 28-yard pass from Corcoran to Don Shanklin set up the score. Hill also caught a 11-yard scoring pass from the "King" early in the final quarter. Portland scored their only points on a 5-yard pass from Greg Barton to wide receiver Darren Mitchell. (pictured above, John Land dives over Storm defender Frank Andruski)

Portland Storm; Passing- Barton 16-33-161- 1t, 3i, Van Galder 4-8-25-0-0, Clark 0-1-0; Rushing � Mitchell 3-54, Kendricks 15-35, Ferguson 12-34, N. Jones 3-22, Barton 2-7, Christiansen 1-9, Van Galder 1-2; Receiving � Specht 7-66, N. Jones 4-23, Ferguson 3-42, Matthews 2-39, Kendricks 2-7, Mitchell 1-5-1t Christiansen 1-4.

Philadelphia Bell; Passing � Corcoran 19-28-182-2-0, Yancheff 1-4-24-0-2i; Rushing � Land 12-65-1t, Thompson 5-20, Watts 8-16, Bowens 2-16; Receiving � Shanklin 4-68, Cole 4-39, Hill 4-32-2t, Watts 3-24, Thompson � 2-24, Land 2-19.

Defensive Battle Ends With Texans Over Blazers 7-6; Jim Nance Scores Game Winner

Houston Texans 7, Florida Blazers 6.

houston, tx.; John Mallory set up the games' only touchdown with a 59-yard pass interception as the Houston Texans defeated the Florida Blazers 7-6. Mallory picked off a pass from Bob Davis early in the first quarter and carried it to the Florida 1. Running back Jim Nance swept the left side on the next play for the score. A crowd of 16,268 in the Astrodome saw the Texans even their record to 2-2, and Florida fell to 3-1. (Pictured above, Jim Nance takes the handoff from Mike Taliaferro and runs for the game winning touchdown against Florida).

Houston Texans; Passing � Mays 7-17-67-0-1i, Taliaferro 1-3-11-0-0 Rushing � Nance 10-29-1t, Cole 20-16, Gipson 8-14, Blackney 3-9, Mays 3-7, Richardson 1-4; Receiving � Eber 5-46, Odom 1-13, Blackney 1-11, Cole 1-8.

Florida Blazers; Passing � Davis 5-18-54-0-2i, Crone 0-0-0; Rushing � Reamon 15-21, Whitfield 7-15, Strong 10-14, Latta 1-10, Gatti 2-8; Receiving � Strong 3-27, Latta 1-17, Maslowski 1-10.

Reed Leads Ams In Win Over Wheels; 21-18

Birmingham Americans 21, Detroit Wheels 18.

ypsilanti, mi.; Matthew Reed, playing for injured quarterback George Mira, scored on a 9-yard sweep with 2 minutes and 12 seconds remaining to play to pull the Birmingham Americans to a 21-18 win over the Detroit Wheels. 14,614 fans at Rynearson Stadium watched as Reed's touchdown capped a 67-yard, five-play drive after the Wheels had overcome a 14-7 deficit with a touchdown run by David Mims and a 29-yard Rick Guthrie field goal. On the game winning touchdown, Detroit cornerback Floyd Priester was taken off the field in a ambulance after he tried to tackle the 6-foot-4, 225 pound Reed at the goal line. The Americans remained undefeated, and the Wheels fell to 0-4. (Pictured above, American defender Dicky Lyons breaks up a pass intended for Detroit's Dennis Macholz)

Birmingham Americans; Passing � Reed 8-21-207-0-0; Rushing � Robinson 16-48, Bartles 13-41, Reed 2-9; Receiving � Homan 4-110, Jenkins 2-35, Powell 1-32, Robinson 1-30.

Detroit Wheels; Passing � Wyche 19-32-190-1t-1i, Sadler 0-0-0; Rushing � Mims 9-128-1t, Scarber 7-33, Wyche 4-30, Sadler 10-16, Phillips 1-10; Receiving � Henderson � 6-84, Scarber 4-42, Macholz 3-19, Mims 2-2, Cullen 1-20-1t, Phillips 1-18, Bryant 1-5, Sadler 1-0.

Southmen Keep Pace In WFL Central, Win 25-15

Memphis Southmen 25, Southern California Sun 15.

memphis, tn.; A crowd of 25,175 watched in humid, 80 degree weather, as the Southmen beat the Southern California Sun 25-15. Willie Spencer and JJ Jennings scored touchdowns within a four minute span of the third period to lead Memphis. Southern California, which led 15-10 at half time, threatened only once in the final period when Cleveland Vann recovered a fumble and raced 36 yards to the Memphis 9. The Southmen defense then sacked Sun quarterback Gary Valbuena twice, and kicker Rod Garcia failed on a 31-yard field goal attempt. Memphis improved to 3-1 to keep pace in the WFL's competitive Central Division. This game was played on August 1, 1974 and was the WFL TVS Game of the Week.

Memphis Southmen; Passing � Huarte 9-18-158-0-2i, Harvey 1-113-0; Rushing � Spencer 20-99, Jennings 11-71, Harvey 10-50, Miles 2-1, Huarte 1/-6; Receiving � Jennings 4-69, Marshall 3-56, Wallace 2-41, Spencer 1-5.

Southern California Sun; Passing � Adams 10-19-124-0-1i, Valbuena 2-5-13-0-1i; Rushing � K. Johnson 13-37, McAlister 8-27, Adams 2-12-1t, Emery 3-2, Nelson 1-1-1t; Receiving � Harris 4-43, K. Johnson 4-25, Williams 2-66, McAlister 2-13.

Stars Knock Out Sharks 24-16 At Downing

New York Stars 24, Jacksonville Sharks 16.

new york, ny.; The New York Stars won their second game of the season 24-16 over the Jacksonville Sharks. 15,648 fans at Downing Stadium watched as all the excitement was saved for the final quarter. The Stars had sent two Shark quarterback (Kay Stephenson and Kim Hammond) to the locker room with concussions. Sharks' coach Bud Asher turned to Jeff Davis, a graduate from Mars Hill College, to play quarterback (a position he played in high school as a freshman). The 24-year old rookie moved the Sharks' to the Stars 9-year line with option plays and short passes. Then Davis rolled out, with the Stars in hot pursuit, and fired to Tony Lomax in the end zone. Lomax apparently caught the touchdown pass but an official ruled him out of bounds, preserving the New York win. (pictured above, the Stars watch in disbelief as Jeff Davis leads the Sharks to a potential game winning touchdown).

New York Stars; Passing � Sherman 8-15-114-0-1i; Rushing � Sherman 8-67-1t, Gladieux 19-67-1t, E. White 6-36, A. Huff 9-33-1t, Hermanni 1-13, Ford 1-5; Receiving � Young 3-36, Sauer 2-24, E. White 2-12, Parson 1-32.

Jacksonville Sharks; Passing � Stephenson 5-12-94-1t, Davis 1-6-12-0-1i, Hammond 0-0-0; Rushing � Durrance 22-78-1t, Lake 13-52, Davis 5-48, Lamb 4-21, Stephenson 4-13; Receiving � Buie 2-22, Hughes 1-56-1t, Lomax 1-12, Durrance 1-10, Whittier 1-6.

WFL Week Four MVP:

Mark Kellar, Chicago Fire

WFL Week Four Top Performers:

Passing - Virgil Carter, Chicago Fire 15 of 21, 205 yards, 3 touchdowns

Rushing - Jesse Mims, Detroit Wheels 9 carries, 128 yards, 1 touchdown

Receiving - Tim Delaney, Hawaiians 9 receptions, 124 yards, 1 touchdown

WFL Standings:

WFL Transactions:

NOTE: This page was researched and written by Jim Cusano. This page appeared on the former World Football League Hall of Fame Website and is used with permission. The WFL transactions were researched and compiled by Mark Speck.