1975 Season Book - Week 2

Sports Daily

August 9, 1975

WFL Enters Second Week of Play

Memphis Welcomes 'Big Three'

The World Football League entered its third week of games on August 9, 1975. WFL officials were pleased with the play on the field although the games had only averaged 15,335, a 27% decline from 1974's season-ending average. In Memphis, Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield all scored touchdowns for the hometown "Grizzlies" (as they were called by local media). The WFL was still in awe over the play of the San Antonio Wings. The Wings moved to first place in the Western Division with a decisive win over favorite Southern California, and drew over 20,000 to Alamo Stadium. The Memphis Southmen signed Mike Storen as their executive officer to replace Leo Cahill, who departed for the Chicago Winds. Storen, former officer of the Memphis Tams of the ABA, is also a former commissioner of the ABA. Track star Ricky Scales tried football back in 1973 and hasn't looked back since- Winds coach Abe Gibron wished he had. Scales led the Steamer to a 21-point fourth quarter in their win over Chicago. Gibron and G.M. Leo Cahill also voiced concern over quarterback Pete Beathard's inability to move the Winds offense. In Las Vegas, booking agents announced their picks for the WFL West; Southern California, San Antonio, Shreveport, Hawaiians, Portland and Chicago, and a dog fight in the WFL East between Memphis and Birmingham.

"Big Three" Each Score In Win Over Hornets

Csonka, Kiick and Warfield lead Memphis back from 11-0 deficit

Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield lead Memphis

memphis, tn.; The Memphis Southmen staged a second-half comeback and overwhelmed the Charlotte Hornets 23-11 before 19,729 fans at Memphis' Memorial Stadium. The "Big Three" of Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield each scored a touchdown as the Southmen recovered from a 11-0 deficit. Running back Larry Csonka gained 112 yards and caught a 10-yard pass from John Huarte for the first Memphis score. Huarte then passed to Paul Warfield in the third quarter to put Memphis ahead 15-11, and later Jim Kiick added a touchdown run to finish off Charlotte. The win moved Memphis to 2-0, and dropped the Hornets to 0-2.

Charlotte Hornets; Passing - B. Dowling 9-15-91-1t-1i, T. Sherman 4-9-48-0t-1i; Rushing - D. Highsmith 26-63, L. Jolley 6-28, B. Dowling 1-5, T. Sherman 1-1, Blake 1-4; Receiving - D. Highsmith 6-64, A. Young 3-42, L. Jolley 3-23, K. Kapitan 1-8-1t.

Memphis Southmen; Passing - J. Huarte 8-18-101-2t-0i, D. White 2-3-13-0-0; Rushing - L. Csonka 24-112, J. Kiick 12-66-1t, D. White 2-11, W. Spencer 4-9, J. Huarte 1-1; Receiving - J. Kiick 3-38, L. Csonka 3-23-1t, E. Marshall 2-20, G. Shirk 1-23, P. Warfield 1-10-1t.

Defense Leads Shreveport to 38-18 Win Over Chicago Winds

Shreveport's defense stifles Chicago

shreveport, la.; 10,661 fans at Shreveport's State Fair Coliseum watched as Ricky Scales led a fourth-quarter attack that gave the Steamer a 38-18 win over the Chicago Winds. Winds quarterback Pete Bethard dominated the third quarter with pin-point passing, and Cyril Pinder climaxed a 74-yard, 14-play drive with a 1-yard run bringing Chicago to within 17-11 of the Steamer. Then Scales broke a 47-yard reception to the Chicago one, and running back Jim Nance powered over for the touchdown to give Shreveport a 24-11 lead. Scales then caught a 26-yard pass from quarterback Edd Hargett to finish off Chicago. Steamer running back Virgil Robinson gained 94 yards in the first half, and Chicago could do nothing on the ground with Cyril Pinder rushing for 26 yards on 14 carries. Winds receiver John Gilliam caught six passes for 100 yards. The Steamer celebrated their first win of the season; the Winds fell to 0-2.

Chicago Winds; Passing - P. Beathard 22-42-294-0t-3i; Rushing - M. Kellar 14-54, C. Pinder 12-26-1t, B. Wyatt 5-5, P. Beathard 1-3, M. Williams 1-1-1t, J. Gilliam 1-13; Receiving - J. Gilliam 6-100, M. Kellar 4-64, M. Adkins 4-52, T. Gillespie 2-15, B. Wyatt 2-8, C. Pinder 2-2 M. Williams 1-56, P. Beathard 1-3.

Shreveport Steamer; Passing - E. Hargett 11-16-152- 2t-0i, D. Nobles 0-1-0-0t-1i; Rushing - V. Robinson 16-1081t, J. Nance 14-61-1t, G. Smith 3-10, H. Brandon 3-4, Receiving - J. Nance 4-23, R. Scales 3-82-1t, R. Eber 1-15, G. Smith 1-14-1t, D. Davis 1-10, V. Robinson 1-8.

Matthew Reed's Two Touchdowns Leads Vulcans Over Bell, 23-17

J.J. Jennings is stuffed by the Vulcans defense

birmingham, al.; Matthew Reed scored two touchdowns in the final quarter to carry the Vulcans to a 23-17 victory over Philadelphia. The Bell drove 60 yards in the fourth quarter and scored on a Claude Watts 3-yard run for a 17-15 lead. Reed then drove Birmingham down the field and rolled out from the 10 yard line and ran for a score to give the Vulcans the win. An announced crowd of 21,000 attended the game at Legion Field.

Birmingham Vulcans; Passing - 5-10-78-0t-0i, D. Duron 3-4-90-1t-0i; Rushing - J. Musso 15-88, J. Profit 6-40, A. Cantrelle 12-37, M. Reed 4-37-2t, B. Brown 1-15, B. Rudder 1-0, T. Powell 1-6; Receiving - D. Homan 2-64, B. Brown 2-59, A. Cantrelle 2-23-1t, J. Bishop 1-20, J. Musso 1-2.

Philadelphia Bell; Passing - J. Corcoran 12-19-106-0t-0i; Rushing - J. Rackley 3-56, J. Land 14-46, J. Jennings 11-33-1t, C. Watts 6-30-1t, J. Corcoran 1-4; Receiving - J. Land 5-33, T. Kwalick 3-33, L. Izzo 3-26, J. Jennings 1-14.

Thunder Mistakes Result In 25-24 Hawaiians Win

Hawaiians QB Sonny Sixkiller scrambles from Thunder DT Dave Costa

portland, ore.; A Civic Stadium crowd of 7,709 welcomed the World Football League back to Oregon as the visiting Hawaiians defeated the Portland Thunder 25-24. Portland's offense lost four fumbles, and dropped a potential game-tying action point. The defense did its best to stop Hawaiians running back Calvin Hill, but three of the offenses' four fumbles resulted in Hawaiians scores. Hawaiians quarterbacks Sonny Sixkiller (pictured above) and Rick Cassata both threw for touchdowns. The Hawaiians capitalized when Phil Andre ran 43 yards for a touchdown on a Portland fumble to take a commanding 25-17 lead with less than five minutes remaining. The Thunder marched 47 yards for a touchdown, led by a fourth down five-yard run by Rufus Ferguson and a 15-yard pass from Don Horn to Jim Thorpe. The touchdown came when Horn hit tight end Bob Christiansen with a 12-yard pass. Portland tried to tie the game on the action point attempt, but reliable back Rufus Ferguson dropped the pass in the end zone. The Thunder had one final chance with: 11 remaining on their 43 after holding the Hawaiians on downs. After two desperation passes that fell incomplete, kicker Don Warner attempted a 64-yard field goal that fell way short.

Hawaiians; Passing - R. Cassata 4-9-52-1t-1i, S. Sixkiller 8-15-58-1t-1i; Rushing - C. Heath 22-51, V. Clements 6-25C. Hill 9-18, R. Cassata 2-19, S. Sixkiller 2-10; Receiving - T. Delaney 4-35, G. Richardson 3-31-1t, D. Atkinson 2-23-1t, C. Hill 1-8, V. Clements 1-7, C. Heath 1-6.

Portland Thunder; Passing - D. Horn 17-34-263-2t-0i; Rushing - R. Ferguson 14-24-1t, J. Evenson 7-25, I. Hammon 1-4, D. Horn 2-8; Receiving - J. Krieg 5-76 -1t, B. Christiansen 4-86-1t, J. Evenson 4-28, J. Thorpe 3-19, E. McCullouch 1-54.

31 Third Quarter Points Lead San Antonio To 54-22 Rout of Southern California

Expansion Wings improve to 3-0

Wings RB Steve Conley

san antonio, tx.; The San Antonio Wings erupted for 31 points in the third quarter on their way to a 54-22 rout of the Southern California Sun. 21,000 fans at Alamo Stadium watched as the Wings held Sun star running back Anthony Davis to only 45 yards on 13 carries, and used a powerful running game of their own to score four touchdowns. Running back Steve Conley scored from 2 and 3-yards out, Billy Sadler scored from the 2, and veteran Jim Strong added another to lead the expansion Wings. The win put San Antonio at 3-0, and dropped Southern California to 1-1.

Southern California Sun; Passing - P. Haden 24-40-313-3t-3i, M. Ernst 4-9-44-0t-3i; Rushing - A. Davis 13-54, B. Kramer 3-11, P. Haden 1-6, K. Denson 1-3, D. Shy 2-0, B. Ferrell 2-0, G. Dixon 2-0; Receiving - C. Bradley 6-114-1t, T. Lindsey 6-68, D. Williams 5-43-2t, D. Shy 4-46, J. McKay 3-35, K. Denson 2-33, G. Herd 1-10, G. Dixon 1-8.

San Antonio Wings; Passing - J. Walton 10-20-182-0t-2i, D. Yaege 1-1-35-1t-0i; Rushing - B. Sadler 16-51-2t, J. Strong 10-30-1t, S. Conley 6-13-2t, L. Crowe 2-7, J. Ettinger 2-7, B. Gatti 3-8; Receiving - Ed. Richardson 3-48, B. Sadler 3-47, D. Morris 2-69-1t, J. Strong 2-35, W. Frazier 1-18.

WFL Week Two MVP:

Larry Csonka, Memphis Southmen

WFL Week Two Top Performers:

Passing - Don Horn, Portland Thunder 17-34-263-2t-0i

Rushing - Virgil Robinson, Shreveport Steamer 16-108-1 touchdown

Receiving - Dave Williams, Southern California Sun 5 receptions 43 yards 2 touchdowns

WFL Standings:

WFL Transactions:

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