Franco Harris is a Keepr

Franco Harris was probably one of the great running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers ever.  He was in there with Terry Bradshaw and they played phenomenal. This past weekend was the anniversary of Harris’ immaculate reception and it has me fondly recalling the memory. I was at the game of the immaculate reception. The immaculate reception was a deflected ball that Harris caught and ran in for a touchdown. It was a phenomenal catch and a great run after the catch. The ball was almost on the ground and he caught it. It was so low and it was amazing. Some think that the ball touched the ground but I think it was just a great catch. They definitely went to and won the Super Bowl on that play itself. It is the play that made Franco Harris go down in NFL history and made him a Keepr.

Franco Harris was a very special athlete. He lasted a long time in the league and went to the pro-bowl 9 times during his career.  They had a great team. Chuck Noll was the coach who came from Baltimore over to Pittsburgh. He put the team together and got them really focused. They’ve done a pretty good job.

I knew a lot of Pittsburgh guys because I was born in Pittsburgh but grew up in Cleveland. So, when they played each other it was tough for me to decide who to cheer for.

In the 60’s, Pittsburgh wasn’t a great team and when we (Baltimore Colts) played them, they were an easier team to beat. Then, around the time of the immaculate reception that changed and they became a great team. Franco Harris deserves to be in the pro-football hall of fame, there’s no doubt about that. He really is an NFL Legend.

Joe Montana is a Keepr!

We wanted the first release of our Keepr media collectibles to make a statement. Football is great. The NFL is legendary. So, our first releases were pretty obvious. Joe Montana is a Keepr Legend. This quarterback made his career with the San Francisco 49ers and played his final year with the Kansas City Chiefs. Drafted in 1979 as a third round pick, Joe went on to be a hall of fame worthy quarterback. From 1979 to 1994, Joe made 273 touchdowns and played in 8 pro-bowls. He was also named NFL MVP in both 1989 and 1990. Sports Illustrated named him “Sportsman of the Year” in 1990. He had an overall quarterback rating of 92.3 (Johnny Unitas rating was 78.2).

Joe Montana and “The Catch” is something we will remember in the NFL forever. Joe Montana threw winning touchdown reception to Dwight Clark in the NFC Championship game in 1982 against the Dallas Cowboys. The Catch refers to the winning touchdown reception by Dwight Clark off a Joe Montana pass in the January 10, 1982, NFC Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. He was MVP of Super Bowl XVI, XIX, and XXIV. He has 4 Super Bowl rings. 

Joe's career is highlighted in the new Joe Keepr. It contains footage covering the span of his career, photos of the man in action, and all of his statistics. 

Joe Montana was inducted into the pro football hall of fame in 2000, is ranked as #4 on NFL.com’s Top 100 Players of All Time, and IS an NFL Keepr Legend.

  

Week 11 Ravens vs. Steelers Recap

This past Sunday was week 11 in the 2012 NFL season. We saw a lot of good games this Sunday but the number 1 rivalry in the NFL is still on everyone’s minds. The Ravens-Steelers game was a serious knock down and sock ‘em type of football game. The Ravens knew they were going up against the best defense in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they knew it was going to be an intense battle. I was really happy to see our offensive line step up.  They did a really good job. Plus, our defense really came around and shut down the Pittsburgh players. Roethlisberger being gone really helped us out. However, going up against the toughest defense in the league and being able to come out on top was something I found to be very impressive. I think John Harbaugh did a good job coaching that game. It was no doubt a tough fought game, but those are the games you HAVE to win. Some have said that the Ravens victory was a result of the Steelers being without Roethlisberger and I say it could be a true statement.  However, in football, you play one game at a time and the objective is always to win that game. Don’t worry about the previous games or your future games. Focus on the game at hand The Ravens did that and they won the game. Now, next time we play the Steelers, I don’t know if that’s going to happen again. It’s going to be a flip of the coin, because I still think Pittsburgh is one of the best teams in the national football league. We definitely have the capabilities, but we’ve also had some very serious injuries. We have overcome these setbacks so far and we’ve picked up some players who’ve really helped us out. On top of that, our special teams have played superb and our defense really stepped up their game. The game was close and I give credit to the coaches of both teams because they really did a phenomenal job.

Remembering Johnny Unitas

Johnny Unitas and I were very close. He was my favorite golf buddy in the off season. We even played Racket Ball together. One of the strangest days we had took place in 1968. The two of us traveled to the Towson YMCA, like any other outing, to play Racket ball. The two of us teamed up again two young ladies who were racket ball members of the YMCA. We were having a great time. John and I made a great pair on and off the field. Our fun was stopped short when at the front of the court John fell to the ground. “You tripped me!” he yelled back at me. I was standing in at the back of the court when I responded “John, I couldn’t have tripped you from all the way back here.” I quickly rushed him to Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore. I wasn’t happy to call Coach McCafferty to tell him the news. “Mack, John just tore his Achilles’ Tendon” I said into the cold telephone connecting me to the coach. I had a reputation for being the team prankster and wasn’t surprised when Mack responded “Tom, that’s not funny.” I wish it had been a joke but I told him “Mack, I’m not trying to be funny. John really did tear his Achilles’ Tendon.” I don’t know what sort of stress the coach must have been in at this point but I had to be in Havre De Grace that evening. Driving to the restaurant in Havre de Grace, my stomach didn’t feel right. I assumed it was stress from a day at the hospital. I was wrong. I became very sick. I was taken to Union Memorial Hospital. Unfortunately, I had to call the coach for the second time that day with bad news. I too was in the hospital but at the time I had no idea why. Turns out, it was acute appendicitis. In less than 24 hours John and I went from Racket Ball partners to hospital roommates.

The whole hospital was humming. Johnny Unitas and Tom Matte were both in the hospital and our friends were visiting. All of our friends brought a case of beer with them. They wanted us to be able to have a couple of drinks when they visited. By the end of the day we had eight cases of beer against the wall! We actually had a good time in that hospital… but we were both happy to get out of there.

John and I had a lot of good times but I will always admire him. He was the epitome of professionalism. He always had a game plan. He had a great arm and he was always thinking. He practiced intensely. He’s the reason I was in the league for 12 years. He helped me understand what the defenses were and how to read them like he read them. He told me that if I could read the defense the same way he could, then he could always anticipate where I’d be on each and every play. He was right. We had a great rapport with each other.He said he knew where I would be every play and he wanted me in his back field, and his back field is where I was. John was a true leader on the field. When we got into a huddle, there wasn’t a peep. We waited silently because when John spoke, we all listened. We were incredibly successful all the years we played.

It’s because of my admiration as well as what Johnny Unitas means to football that we decided to release his Keepr collectible first. He really is a Keepr Legend. His Keepr card will have his hall of fame speech, his statistics, different head shots, different posing shots, his two minute offense, and his interviews. We dug into the NFL vaults to get footage of Johnny Unitas that people haven’t seen in 40 years.

Johnny Unitas’ legacy will live on and what he’s done will never be forgotten. I’m excited to give a Johnny Unitas Keepr to my grandson so I can show him why Johnny Unitas is a legend.