“Going Long” Don Maynard Allie Sherman

You should get a Google Books excerpt starting on page 21…which recounts why Maynard was cut by the Giants. (Only the first of a long list of stupid mistakes by Allie Sherman.)

Also noted is the reason Maynard was signed by the Titans. He played against Sammy Baugh’s team in college and the Titan’s coach knew what Maynard was capable of.

A running back in college, Maynard was drafted by the Giants in 1957 in the 9th round as a futures pick. That sounds pretty far down in the draft, but #109 is equivalent to an early 4th round selection in 2009. Given it was a futures pick (Maynard didn’t play till 1958) it was probably equivalent to an early 3rd.

Than you Allie Sherman.

1) Someone above mentioned the wide-open DB game going on at the time, yet still Maynard prevailed! Tip: Go back up and look at the arms of the guy in the 1st and 3rd photos — he may have been all of 12 lbs., sure, but damn, he was solid muscle. And one mean Texan — a little like Nolan Ryan was. Rest assured, those DBs got the snot clubbed out of them, just as well as they dished it out.

2) Maynard’s records are impressive as well because they came at a time when the AFL was the Wild West Show, which is why most of us who were kids at the time loved that league so much. Every AFL team was doing it, not just the Jets. So these records beat out a lot of heavy competition. The NFL was Dust off tackle; Dust off right tackle; Dust up the middle; 8-yd. pass; repeat. Borrrrring. But, OH-MY-GOD, the AFL…the ethic was “just stomp people” on D, and on O, it was just drop back five and fling it as far as you could and run down and catch it, which gave birth to a whole string of strong-armed QBs and lightning quick WRs. Imagine Prime Favre-to-Clowney all day long! Madness! Balls were flying all over the damned place! DBs would devise every cheat they could think of, to grab both balls and receivers! They’d be running their asses off all afternoon. These QB/WR combos were simply unstoppable, league-wide. So, every Sunday saw shootout after shootout. All at the same time you had: Daryl Lamonica to Warren Wells or Lamonica to Fred Biletnikoff in Oakland; John Hadl to Lance Alworth in San Diego; Jack Kemp to Haven Moses in Buffalo; Steve Tensi to Al Denson in Denver; Len Dawson to either Otis Taylor or Frank Pitts in KC; Bob Griese to Jack Clancy on those expansion guys in Miami; Babe Parilli to Gino Cappelletti in Boston; George Blanda to Charley Frazier or Pete Beathard to Lionel Taylor in Houston. It was a league of madness, which is why the NFL pissed on the AFL’s shoes so much. It wasn’t “proper football” the NFL sniffed. Then, along came Joe Willie & Co. Oops, new story.

Actually, it’s hard to see from so far away, but we football fans are the ones who really lost in that 1970 merger. When the AFL became the AFC, something was lost. The animals were tamed. With a few exceptions, the AFL teams began to smooth out the wrinkles and dumb down the product to more closely match the NFL model, which loosened up only a little. Out went the Wild West Show, and sadly we’ve all watched a much tamer brand of football since. Then, once Parcells won with a Giants grind-it-out game, that was it for any chance for the joy of a wide-open game (Jet-Miami shootouts notwithstanding).

Believe me, when we see the Jets take the field v. the replacement Houston team, if Ryan is true to his word and our assumptions, we’ll see a Jets team that is far closer to the Baltimore Colts of SBIII than to the NY Jets of that day.

Sigh…

After the game I interviewed Maynard about picking on the rookie and he ranted at me, “Wining! Winning that’s all that’s important!” NFL Films has used that quote often without my question but I was honored to get him out of his quiet shell.

In the Super Bowl, I believe he had a leg injury and wasn’t up to full speed to create his usual separation but he was a great decoy and gave the best handed receiver,George Sauer, a chance to really shine. Sauer made one catch turning completely around as the ball got there. Highlights of the game usually show that miraculous catch.

Here’s hoping Woody and the Jets develop a more pronounced and open connection to the legacy left behind by these hundreds of green-clad (and navy & gold) warriors. They’re all Jets. And all our heros. I know the team’s doing more in that direction, but the hope is that they make it as much a part of team culture as the Yankees do (OK, yeah, I know, without the titles).

For Maynard to go in along with Wesley Walker is a true joy. Someone yesterday tried to compare/contrast these two, which is just silly. It’s like comparing apples and apples. They’re both Great Jets, were both fluid and lithe and impossible to cover, and always found a way to settle under that floating pass in stride, thereby giving opponents fits and Jets fans untold pleasure and fun. Equal greats from different eras.

Great pick, thanks!