e Steelers had the first of eight consecutive losing seasons in 1964. There were, however, two solid performances.
Week 5 at Cleveland on a Saturday night. The Browns were 3-0-1 and were heavy favorites over the 2-2 Steelers.
The Steelers on defense put seven men on the line of scrimmage and confused the Browns the entire evening. They limited Cleveland Browns to one sustained drive and Jimmy Brown gained only 59 yards. On offense, the Pittsburgh Steelers had an overwhelming ground game with John Henry Johnson having a great night.
Johnson had touchdown runs of 33 and 45 yards in the second quarter. With Pittsburgh holding just a 16 to 7 halftime lead, I felt that the Browns would still win. Pittsburgh, after taking the second half kickoff, burned eight minutes off the clock with an 80 yard touchdown drive. John Henry Johnson scored on a four yard run. The Pittsburgh Steelers were never in any trouble and won 23 to 7.
For the evening:
–John Henry Johnson turned the best performance of any NFL runner in 1964; set a Steelers’ one game rushing record; and had the best game of his career. John Henry carried 30 times for 200 yards and, as stated, had touchdown runs of 33, 45, and four yards. Johnson also had the previous Steeler record of 183 yards, set against the Philadelphia Eagles in December of 1960 at Forbes Field in a 27 to 21 Pittsburgh win;
–Clarence Peaks also had an outstanding game gaining 96 yards on 21 carries;
–Quarterback Ed Brown completed nine of 11 passes for 126 yards;
–The offensive line opened up huge holes in the Cleveland defense the entire game. In total, Pittsburgh stabbed the Browns with 350 rushing yards.
Steelers in 1964; the first of 2 Great Victories
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Re: Steelers in 1964; the first of 2 Great Victories
Ed Brown had ability and a strong arm but never seemed to find the right team or time for his abilities.
He could win with the Bears and Steelers but had to worry about Blanda over his shoulder with Chicago and a decent but not overwhelming offensive line in Pitts. Had Harlon Hill never had his injury problems with the Bears or the Steelers never sent Buddy Dial to Dallas in 1964, he may have won more in those cities but it wasnt like those teams were going to sling the ball too much anyway. They both believed in running the football with Casares or Johnson.
He could win with the Bears and Steelers but had to worry about Blanda over his shoulder with Chicago and a decent but not overwhelming offensive line in Pitts. Had Harlon Hill never had his injury problems with the Bears or the Steelers never sent Buddy Dial to Dallas in 1964, he may have won more in those cities but it wasnt like those teams were going to sling the ball too much anyway. They both believed in running the football with Casares or Johnson.
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Re: Steelers in 1964; the first of 2 Great Victories
I'd guess that the second of these two great victories would be six weeks later at Yankees Stadium where they walloped Sherman's Giants, 44-17. But that very team who appeared in the last three NFLCGs was suddenly bad in '64. They were 2-6-2 going in, coming off a tie at Busch, and would lose-out the rest of the way starting with that blowout. And the Steelers, meanwhile, lost their last five since that big win at Cleveland; most of those losses being lopsided. They would win just one more game at Washington two weeks later and that would be it. Parker would get fired and so it began - the final leg of Pittsburgh's notorious four-decade-long pre-Dynasty losing span.
As for Parker's time in the 'Burgh, and Jimmy Johnson's time with the Dolphins, each posted three winning seasons. Whereas much greater playoff expansion in Johnson's time, he was able to appear in the post-season all three of those times with 9-7, 10-6, and 9-7 non-division-winning marks. Now for Parker, 7-4-1, 9-5, and 7-4-3 just wasn't going to be enough to cut it in that era; especially with only division-winners making it along with bigger divisions to boot! But as much as I think that Parker should get inducted into Canton, the gap in Jimmy's favor between both is a bit wider than I may have seen previously. First, JJ built his championship teams from scratch as Parker - though he should still get ample credit - at least took over a respectable team with that core of players in-place. And back to those three winning seasons apiece with their second teams...Jimmy's winners were in a much more concentrated time-period. Just four seasons, as a matter of fact, and those three winning seasons being consecutive. '97-thru-'99 vs '58, '62, '63 for Parker.
That said, Parker did immediately bring Detroit to a winning season in '51 followed by back-to-back League Championships! Took them right back to the title game the following year, and set the table for a third Detroit title of the decade (as Jimmy did for Switzer). As for the Steelers team Parker took over? Generally not bad throughout the '50s, but not as good as Shula's early-'90s Dolphins. Jimmy should have gotten inducted first of the two as he has, but just saying.
As for Parker's time in the 'Burgh, and Jimmy Johnson's time with the Dolphins, each posted three winning seasons. Whereas much greater playoff expansion in Johnson's time, he was able to appear in the post-season all three of those times with 9-7, 10-6, and 9-7 non-division-winning marks. Now for Parker, 7-4-1, 9-5, and 7-4-3 just wasn't going to be enough to cut it in that era; especially with only division-winners making it along with bigger divisions to boot! But as much as I think that Parker should get inducted into Canton, the gap in Jimmy's favor between both is a bit wider than I may have seen previously. First, JJ built his championship teams from scratch as Parker - though he should still get ample credit - at least took over a respectable team with that core of players in-place. And back to those three winning seasons apiece with their second teams...Jimmy's winners were in a much more concentrated time-period. Just four seasons, as a matter of fact, and those three winning seasons being consecutive. '97-thru-'99 vs '58, '62, '63 for Parker.
That said, Parker did immediately bring Detroit to a winning season in '51 followed by back-to-back League Championships! Took them right back to the title game the following year, and set the table for a third Detroit title of the decade (as Jimmy did for Switzer). As for the Steelers team Parker took over? Generally not bad throughout the '50s, but not as good as Shula's early-'90s Dolphins. Jimmy should have gotten inducted first of the two as he has, but just saying.
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Re: Steelers in 1964; the first of 2 Great Victories
Sorry, 74_75_78_79 but I disagree ... Parker should have been in the Hall Of Fame LONG before Johnson made it. His team dominated the Browns before finally losing to them in their third consecutive championship game with the Lions. Yes, Bobby Layne takes much of the credit but Parker built a great team that still won when he departed in 1957. Bart Starr never took the credit from Lombardi and Parker should be recognized as well. Unlike Lombardi, Parker had multiple winning seasons with another team like the Steelers who hardly ever won ballgames. I still believe had he embraced more younger, hungry black players out of the draft from the get-go, he might have won a championship with Layne or Brown at QB. In his book, Johnny Sample believed so as well but knew Parker couldnt relate to the black players and lashed out at the team too much when he was drinking alcohol ...