By Jonathan Comey
Cold, Hard Football Facts staff writer
It was 50 years ago today that one of the most important meetings of the 20th century took place.
On July 7th, 1957, a young music group called the Quarrymen played a not-so-prestigious garden party at a church in England.
After the show, the band's 17-year-old lead singer/guitarist met a 15-year-old kid who could play and sing a little too.
John Lennon, meet Paul McCartney.
That night, after the Quarrymen played a second show (admission: two shillings), McCartney joined the band. And the rest, as they say, was history. By the time the two split in 1970, they had written some of the best songs of all time, a collection of standards that redefined pop music and that billions of people around the world know today.
But what would they have been if they hadn't met each other?
Would they still have become great on their own?
Would they have recorded something like this?
An interesting question.
And one that, like just about everything else in the ether, makes us think about football.
More specifically, it made us think about the great tandems in NFL history, the duos that came together and revolutionized the face of the game. Men who might not have done anything spectacular alone, but used their uncommon partnerships to become something special.
Some of these football fraternists shared a job like peas in a pod or beers in a six-pack.
Some were a perfect pigskin marriage of mind and execution.
Some were best friends. Some fought like cats and dogs. But all of them made beautiful music together.
We'll start in the thick of World War II, when one of the pioneers of the NFL hooked up with a man whose talent was just what the doctor ordered ...
1939-1942, 1946-1950: GEORGE HALAS and SID LUCKMAN
Luckman wasn't a quarterback in college, but Chicago's Halas saw something special in the kid from Columbia University. He thought that Luckman could run his new-fangled T-formation passing offense --
and he was right. Halas and Luckman won three titles together in 1940, 1941 and 1946. Halas missed a fourth title, in 1943, because he served in the military for three seasons during World War II. Hall of Famer Luckman
is still Chicago's all-time passing yardage leader, nearly 60 years after he last took a snap. The quarterback's commitment to the Bears was so great that Luckman passed up a $25,000-a-year offer to jump to the upstart AAFC in 1946.
1946-1955: PAUL BROWN and OTTO GRAHAM
Depending on who you ask, this was a pairing of
the greatest coach who ever lived with the greatest QB that ever lived. The results were inarguable:
10 title games in 10 seasons together with Cleveland, first in the AAFC, then in the NFL. In 1955, Brown coaxed Graham into playing one more season -- and they won the championship, 38-14. According to legend, when Graham came off the field to massive cheers upon being substituted late in the game, Brown said "Thanks, Otto," and Otto nodded. Remember when men were men?
1956-1967: JOHNNY UNITAS
and RAYMOND BERRY
Their numbers pale in comparison to
today's inflated pass catchers and throwers, but no aerial hookup was as good as long as Unitas to Berry. For their entire Colts career, they were effective, and when Berry left the game after the 1967 season, Unitas was never the same. A 20th-round pick (Berry) and a ninth-rounder (Unitas), they fed off each other for over a decade and won two NFL titles.
1958-1962, 1964-66: JIM TAYLOR and PAUL HORNUNG
For eight seasons (Hornung missed one for his gambling suspension), these two helped turn the Green Bay Packers into an institution. Taylor was the quiet fullback and Hornung the bubbly tailback, and together they ran the Packers sweep with their eyes closed. As Green Bay teammates, "Thunder and Lightning" combined for 11,599 yards and 131 touchdowns and four championships. Taylor made the Hall of Fame in 1976, Hornung followed a decade later.
1959-67: VINCE LOMBARDI and BART STARR
A classic case of which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did Starr make Lombardi in Green Bay, or did Lombardi make Starr? In 1959, Bart Starr was flirting with the scrap heap after three mediocre seasons in Green Bay (13 TDs, 25 INTs). And Lombardi was a 45-year-old getting his first shot as a head coach. Not exactly the dream scenario for a coach-QB combo, but man did it work. By 1960, Lombardi and Starr were on the same page -- and they remained there for five titles and nine great seasons.
1962-1971: DEACON JONES and MERLIN OLSEN
The greatest odd couple in history. DT Olsen, a frat boy blue-chipper from Utah, and DE Jones, the bad-ass 14th-round project from Florida. They started together on the left side of the Rams' defensive line for a solid decade, and both made the NFL's all-1960s team. Like our duo from the Beatles (remember them?), you have to wonder whether these two easy Hall of Famers would have gotten into Canton without the other.
1963-1974: BUCK BUCHANAN and BOBBY BELL
Buck and
Bobby. Buchanan and
Bell. It felt right, and it was. For 12 seasons, DT Buchanan and LB/DE Bell played together in Kansas City, rooming together on the road and finishing each other's sentences on the football field. Both huge for their time -- Buchanan at 6-7, 280, Bell at 6-4, 240 -- they played in eight straight Pro Bowls together between the AFL and NFL, won the 1966 AFL title and then helped fully legitimize the upstart league by pounding the mighty Vikings in Super Bowl IV. Bell went on to greater honors: as a stalwart on
the CHFF All-Time 11.
1965-1971: GALE SAYERS and DICK BUTKUS
Sayers and Butkus were like a great two-man band that couldn't sell their records. Drafted in the same 1965 class by the Bears, Sayers was to offense what Butkus was to defense. Sayers was the ultimate game-breaker, Butkus the ultimate dream-crusher. Both Hall of Famers, both made the all-75th anniversary team. And yet, the Bears couldn't win with them. In the five years both men were at their prime, the Bears went 29-38-3 with no playoff appearances -- the first three seasons with the great Halas stlll on board.
1968-1981: GENE UPSHAW and ART SHELL
Upshaw (union boss) and Shell (coach) have become unpopular figures in their post-football career together, but they had an untroubled run together as players. For 14 long, winning seasons, Shell lined up to Upshaw's left on the Oakland offensive line. Upshaw ended up as a first-ballot HOFer while Shell got in on his second try.
1969-1978: AL DAVIS and JOHN MADDEN
The meddling ways of Raiders owner Al Davis have been a deal-breaker for many a coach (and league official) over the years, but Madden was his perfect foil. Davis brought in every miscreant in the league, and Madden dealt with them -- flawlessly. Madden turned guys like Ken Stabler, John Matuszak and Ted Hendricks into crazed heroes, and his lifetime .750 winning percentage was a testament to his ability to channel Davis' genius into success on the field. The success continued after Madden retired, but nothing would ever be quite like those 70s Raider teams.
1971-80: FRANCO HARRIS and ROCKY BLEIER
Halfback Harris was the star of the Steelers backfield, a likeable palooka that ran fast and looked sharp. FB Bleier was the thoughtful Vietnam vet who spent five long years getting back from a war injury. And for the length of the Steelers' Super run, these two were as golden as their uniform pants. Harris got the glory, Bleier did the dirty work, and they both loved it. So did Steeler fans. In their seven years starting together, they ran for 11,000 yards, 86 TDs and won four Super Bowl rings.
1974-1982: JACK HAM and JACK LAMBERT
Speaking of four Super Bowl rings ... the two Jacks played together in Pittsburgh for nine seasons and Hawaii for eight. They both made the AFC Pro Bowl roster from the linebacker spot from 75-82 -- Lambert inside, Ham outside. Lambert's known as a soft-spoken mountain man, while Ham grew up to be a radio commentator, but they were perfect together in the second level of the Steeler D. They were both first-ballot Hall of Famers -- no small feat, seeing as there have only been 20 first-balloters from the defensive side of the ball.
1979-1988: BILL WALSH and JOE MONTANA
Although George Seifert and Steve Young would prove no one is truly irreplaceable in the NFL, Walsh and Montana started it all in San Francisco. Walsh and Montana turned the Niners from a penny stock into a blue chipper, making it look easy for a decade. Walsh provided the unique vision, and Montana put his own genius spin on it in the execution. From 1981-88, they won 10 playoff games and three titles together.
1981-90: LAWRENCE TAYLOR and BILL PARCELLS
These two had something special going from the get-go, even before Parcells got the head jon in 1981. After a decade together, Taylor was the league's greatest defensive disruptor and Parcells was its most visible coach -- and they had two Super Bowl rings. Stories about the two and their interaction were legion, but knowing what we know now about Taylor's problems, it's hard to imagine anyone could have gotten more from LT than the Big Tuna did. And clearly, the Big Tuna wouldn't have been as big without No. 56.
1995-1998: JOHN ELWAY and TERRELL DAVIS
All Bronco QB John Elway ever needed was a great running back, and in Davis he got one of the greatest of all time over a short span. Davis used the threat of Elway's pass to great advantage, and in his four years with No. 7 he averaged over 1,500 yards and 14 TDs, with an average of 4.8 a push. But in the playoffs, they took it to another level -- seven wins in a row, by an average of two touchdowns a game, and with Davis averaging 5.5 a carry.
1998-????: PEYTON MANNING and MARVIN HARRISON
It seems that when Manning and Harrison are done playing football, we'll all look back and say "How the hell did they do that?" But for now, we get to enjoy it in all its easy beauty -- Manning and Harrison have. In nine years, they have connected almost 900 times (885) for 108 touchdowns and just under 12,000 yards. Harrison is 35 this year, and now that the Colts have that Super Bowl win under their belts, we'll see just how big the numbers get. But if they both retired tomorrow, it'd be a quick out route to Canton for both of them.
2000-????: BILL BELICHICK and TOM BRADY
Just as historians will wonder at the sheer visceral power of the Manning-Harrison offense, New England's remarkable run will come down to the coach in the sweatshirt and the dimple-chinned QB. Like Starr and Lombardi, it wasn't exactly a likely scenario: Brady was a nobody sixth-round draft pick. Belichick was the coach with the .420 winning percentage who had been labeled insane by his previous employer. But when it's all said and done, it's possible that only Brady and Belichick will wind up in Canton from New England's great teams -- and that's not something you can say of any of the NFL's other dynasties. But the pairing has been that special. If you believe internet rumors, this could be Belichick's last year in New England -- which would be bad news for Patriot sfans, but interesting for curious NFL minds. Was Brady responsible for their success? Or was it Belichick?
And who was better, Lennon or McCartney?
ALSO WORTH MENTIONING
- Norm Van Brocklin-Bob Waterfield (Rams QBs played together for six years in the golden years, both Hall of Famers)
- Hank Stram-Len Dawson (the little coach and his big QB from KC)
- Chuck Noll-Terry Bradshaw (the Steeltown genius and the country boy)
- Don Shula-Bob Griese (two great minds thinking alike)
- Buddy Ryan-Mike Ditka (two stubborn minds making each other mad and getting even)
- Emmitt Smith-Daryl Johnston (how many of Emmitt's big runs came behind Moose?)
- Lynn Swann-John Stallworth (the 70s wouldn't have been the same without them)
- Torry Holt-Isaac Bruce (in 8 years together, they've averaged 160 catches and 2300 yards per)
- L.C. Greenwood and Joe Greene (the left side of doom, from before the Steelers were great to afterward)
- Mike Munchak-Bruce Matthews (Hall of Fame Oilers linemates never got to the big game)
- Mark Gastineau-Joe Klecko (the famous half of the New York Sack Exchange)
- Cliff Harris-Charlie Waters (Cowboy safeties were like ham and eggs)
- Joe Schmidt-Yale Lary (Hall of Famers in the back seven for Detroit, played on Lions' last winner in '53)
- Mark Duper-Mark Clayton (neither ended up in the Hall of Fame, but the Marks Brothers were underrated greats)
- Brett Favre-Frank Winters (QB-center combo, best buddies and big winners for Green Bay)
- Bob Lilly-Chuck Howley (led Cowboys defensive charge for a decade)
- Jason Taylor-Zach Thomas (not only great defensive teammates, but brothers-in-law)
