Post by TheShadow on Nov 14, 2007 19:30:10 GMT -5
www.contracostatimes.com/
The Raiders and 49ers combined to go a paltry 7-21 in a forgettable season
By Bill Soliday
MISERY LOVES COMPANY. And it's hard to remember when the misery in the Bay Area's pro football arena was worse.
Two legendary teams both stand at 2-7 10 weeks into the season. That's a paltry four wins combined and, worse for those shelling out dollars for their Sunday entertainment, only two of them occurred on Bay Area soil. There was the Raiders' 26-24 squeaker over Cleveland in Week 3 and the 49ers' 20-17 win over Arizona in the opener. Both victories were stolen in the closing moments.
The 49ers have lost seven in a row, the Raiders five. It is bad now, but now the prospects arise this season will eclipse the Bay Area's lowest point ever by December's end. In 2004 the two teams combined for a 7-25 record (Raiders 5-11, Niners 2-14).
Yes, it's revolting and sad, but if you're looking for consolation of any kind, here it is:
It has been worse.
Fortunately/unfortunately to find a season that compares (dis)favorably to this one, you'd need to be probably over 50 years old unless you started out tailgating on baby formula.
It happened way back in 1962. John F. Kennedy was president and the big news was the Cuban missile crisis.
That season, the 49ers under Howard "Red" Hickey started 3-6 with John Brodie and J.D. Smith in the backfield. Starting in 1970, Brodie would take the 49ers into the playoffs three straight seasons, but about the only thing fans had to look forward to in 1962 was Abe Woodson returning kickoffs at a 31.3-yard pace -- none of his 37 returns were run back for scores, either.
Meanwhile, after playing first at Kezar Stadium and then Candlestick Park the first two years of their existence, the Raiders finally made their East Bay debut at Frank Youell Field near the Laney College campus.
Under erstwhile rugby coach Marty Feldman, the first regular-season game was played there Sept. 9, 1962. The Raiders lost to the New York Titans 28-17 before a crowd of 12,893. Things didn't get better for the next 31/2 months as Oakland not only started 0-9 but remained winless after 13 games.
Think the current Raiders and 49ers have quarterback issues? In the fall of 1962, Oakland's Cotton Davidson threw for seven touchdowns and 23 interceptions.
Ex-Raiders coach Tom Flores played quarterback for the Raiders in those days, but in 1962 he found himself sidelined by tuberculosis and writing postgame columns for the Oakland Tribune.
"I remember trying to embellish," Flores said of the task of writing insider stories about a team that at one point had lost 19 straight. "I remember Fred the Hammer (Williamson) intercepted a ball and went like 90 yards for a touchdown. I wrote it up like it was the play that won the game. It was the only exciting play of the day. We lost the game, but you had to dig for anything you could find."
Eventually, the Raiders found their victory but had to wait until the season finale. They blanked the Boston Patriots 20-0.
The Patriots, who finished 9-4-1, had been heavily favored. Even the victory had a taint, though.
"Boston needed Houston to lose to win the East, but Houston won," Flores said. "In those days Houston played on Friday night. So by the time Sunday came around, I don't think any (of the Patriots) had been to bed. They knew it didn't matter, so on Sunday they could barely walk they were so tired from partying. That was the only reason the Raiders won.
"But after the game, you would have thought we had won the championship. Horns tooted for an hour after the game all over Oakland. It was like New Year's Eve."
Nine weeks into that 1962 season, the two Bay Area teams had a cumulative 3-15 record -- all three wins belonging to the 49ers. Their contribution to disaster was benign compared with the bleakness that was the Raiders season. It was the only time either Bay Area team opened 0-9.
Not than many sports fans noticed the Raiders. The 49ers, in their 17th season, were kings then. Five years earlier, they had played for the Western Conference championship (losing to Detroit). But the Raiders were in their third season, were part of the fledgling American Football League and barely registered in the Bay Area's consciousness.
Now it's different. Games are plastered on television, bloggers go hog wild on the Internet and headlines scream how pitiful the 49ers and Raiders are.
Doubters risk being accused of living in denial. But there actually was a time when things were worse. And for those who want to be No. 1 whether it's No. 1 good or No. 1 bad, consider this postscript to our story of futility.
Until this year, never before in the history of Bay Area football have both teams reached the nine-week mark five games under .500.
It has been a total team effort.
AS BAD AS IT GETS
Ten worst combined starts by Bay Area teams
First 9 games (since 1960)
(1982-94 not included when Raiders were in Los Angeles)
Finish
Raiders 49ers Combined Oak/SF
1962 0-9 3-6 3-15 1-13/6-8
2007 2-7 2-7 4-14 TBD
2004 3-6 1-8 4-14 5-11/2-14
2005 3-6 2-7 5-13 4-12/4-12
2006 2-7 4-5 6-12 2-14/7-9
2003 2-7 4-5 6-12 4-12/7-9
1979 5-4 1-8 6-12 9-7/2-14
1978 5-4 1-8 6-12 9-7/2-14
1961 2-7 4-4-1 6-11-1 2-12/7-6-1
1963 5-4 2-7 7-11 10-4/2-12
The Raiders and 49ers combined to go a paltry 7-21 in a forgettable season
By Bill Soliday
MISERY LOVES COMPANY. And it's hard to remember when the misery in the Bay Area's pro football arena was worse.
Two legendary teams both stand at 2-7 10 weeks into the season. That's a paltry four wins combined and, worse for those shelling out dollars for their Sunday entertainment, only two of them occurred on Bay Area soil. There was the Raiders' 26-24 squeaker over Cleveland in Week 3 and the 49ers' 20-17 win over Arizona in the opener. Both victories were stolen in the closing moments.
The 49ers have lost seven in a row, the Raiders five. It is bad now, but now the prospects arise this season will eclipse the Bay Area's lowest point ever by December's end. In 2004 the two teams combined for a 7-25 record (Raiders 5-11, Niners 2-14).
Yes, it's revolting and sad, but if you're looking for consolation of any kind, here it is:
It has been worse.
Fortunately/unfortunately to find a season that compares (dis)favorably to this one, you'd need to be probably over 50 years old unless you started out tailgating on baby formula.
It happened way back in 1962. John F. Kennedy was president and the big news was the Cuban missile crisis.
That season, the 49ers under Howard "Red" Hickey started 3-6 with John Brodie and J.D. Smith in the backfield. Starting in 1970, Brodie would take the 49ers into the playoffs three straight seasons, but about the only thing fans had to look forward to in 1962 was Abe Woodson returning kickoffs at a 31.3-yard pace -- none of his 37 returns were run back for scores, either.
Meanwhile, after playing first at Kezar Stadium and then Candlestick Park the first two years of their existence, the Raiders finally made their East Bay debut at Frank Youell Field near the Laney College campus.
Under erstwhile rugby coach Marty Feldman, the first regular-season game was played there Sept. 9, 1962. The Raiders lost to the New York Titans 28-17 before a crowd of 12,893. Things didn't get better for the next 31/2 months as Oakland not only started 0-9 but remained winless after 13 games.
Think the current Raiders and 49ers have quarterback issues? In the fall of 1962, Oakland's Cotton Davidson threw for seven touchdowns and 23 interceptions.
Ex-Raiders coach Tom Flores played quarterback for the Raiders in those days, but in 1962 he found himself sidelined by tuberculosis and writing postgame columns for the Oakland Tribune.
"I remember trying to embellish," Flores said of the task of writing insider stories about a team that at one point had lost 19 straight. "I remember Fred the Hammer (Williamson) intercepted a ball and went like 90 yards for a touchdown. I wrote it up like it was the play that won the game. It was the only exciting play of the day. We lost the game, but you had to dig for anything you could find."
Eventually, the Raiders found their victory but had to wait until the season finale. They blanked the Boston Patriots 20-0.
The Patriots, who finished 9-4-1, had been heavily favored. Even the victory had a taint, though.
"Boston needed Houston to lose to win the East, but Houston won," Flores said. "In those days Houston played on Friday night. So by the time Sunday came around, I don't think any (of the Patriots) had been to bed. They knew it didn't matter, so on Sunday they could barely walk they were so tired from partying. That was the only reason the Raiders won.
"But after the game, you would have thought we had won the championship. Horns tooted for an hour after the game all over Oakland. It was like New Year's Eve."
Nine weeks into that 1962 season, the two Bay Area teams had a cumulative 3-15 record -- all three wins belonging to the 49ers. Their contribution to disaster was benign compared with the bleakness that was the Raiders season. It was the only time either Bay Area team opened 0-9.
Not than many sports fans noticed the Raiders. The 49ers, in their 17th season, were kings then. Five years earlier, they had played for the Western Conference championship (losing to Detroit). But the Raiders were in their third season, were part of the fledgling American Football League and barely registered in the Bay Area's consciousness.
Now it's different. Games are plastered on television, bloggers go hog wild on the Internet and headlines scream how pitiful the 49ers and Raiders are.
Doubters risk being accused of living in denial. But there actually was a time when things were worse. And for those who want to be No. 1 whether it's No. 1 good or No. 1 bad, consider this postscript to our story of futility.
Until this year, never before in the history of Bay Area football have both teams reached the nine-week mark five games under .500.
It has been a total team effort.
AS BAD AS IT GETS
Ten worst combined starts by Bay Area teams
First 9 games (since 1960)
(1982-94 not included when Raiders were in Los Angeles)
Finish
Raiders 49ers Combined Oak/SF
1962 0-9 3-6 3-15 1-13/6-8
2007 2-7 2-7 4-14 TBD
2004 3-6 1-8 4-14 5-11/2-14
2005 3-6 2-7 5-13 4-12/4-12
2006 2-7 4-5 6-12 2-14/7-9
2003 2-7 4-5 6-12 4-12/7-9
1979 5-4 1-8 6-12 9-7/2-14
1978 5-4 1-8 6-12 9-7/2-14
1961 2-7 4-4-1 6-11-1 2-12/7-6-1
1963 5-4 2-7 7-11 10-4/2-12