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Wow. I drive by that airport often during trips up to the Adirondacks.Eagles One wrote: ↑Mon Oct 02, 2023 5:24 am Russ Francis, former tight end with the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers died on October 1st, at the age of 70:
https://www.lakeplacidnews.com/news/loc ... dentified/
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ ... anRu00.htm
Yes, that was in reference to the infamous 1976 Pats-Raiders AFC Playoff game which came to be known as the Roughing the Passer Game. What ticked Francis off was Raiders LB Phil Villapiano holding him on a crucial 3rd and 6 on the Pats' drive that preceded Stabler's GWing drive. And when I say holding I mean holding. He wrapped both arms around Francis, pinning his arms to his side. The ball hit him square between the 8 and 1 on his uniform and fell incomplete. No call. Pats missed a long FG attempt and you know the rest. On a flight to the Pro Bowl I believe Villanpiano ended up sitting next to Francis on the plane which set up that exchange. As Francis told it Villapiano turned white and didn't say a word to him the entire flight!Awful. Strangely I was just watching that old NFL films clip where Francis talks about taking some Raider player on a flight in his private plane and then (jokingly) kicking the door open and threatening to boot him out.
Another thing happened to Russ Francis in that game. While running on a pass play that went elsewhere, Raider strong safety George Atkinson threw an elbow breaking Francis' nose, which got more attention at the time.RRMarshall wrote: ↑Mon Oct 02, 2023 5:19 pmYes, that was in reference to the infamous 1976 Pats-Raiders AFC Playoff game which came to be known as the Roughing the Passer Game. What ticked Francis off was Raiders LB Phil Villapiano holding him on a crucial 3rd and 6 on the Pats' drive that preceded Stabler's GWing drive. And when I say holding I mean holding. He wrapped both arms around Francis, pinning his arms to his side. The ball hit him square between the 8 and 1 on his uniform and fell incomplete. No call. Pats missed a long FG attempt and you know the rest. On a flight to the Pro Bowl I believe Villanpiano ended up sitting next to Francis on the plane which set up that exchange. As Francis told it Villapiano turned white and didn't say a word to him the entire flight!Awful. Strangely I was just watching that old NFL films clip where Francis talks about taking some Raider player on a flight in his private plane and then (jokingly) kicking the door open and threatening to boot him out.
Francis just may have been the best athlete on those late 70s Patriots teams. Terrible tragedy. Howard Cosell didn't name him "All World" for nothing.