July 23, 1976, College All-Star Football game

by steelerinchicago on Aug 3, 2008 11:27 PM EDT

WGN meteorologist Tom Skilling has a blog. He answered a question about the 76 All Star game which pitted the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers vs. a group of college all-stars.

original post here --

"Dear Tom,
I just heard a tape of the July 23, 1976, College All-Star Football game at
Soldier Field. The game was stopped by rain. What happened?
Tony Warren

Dear Tony,
The game started in very warm, muggy conditions with temperatures in the
upper 80s. There was a threat of severe weather, and it began to rain
heavily as the game began. Small hail and gusty winds accompanied the
thunderstorms. The rain ended, and the game continued on a sloppy field.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers leading the College All-Stars 24-0 late in the
third quarter the heavens opened up again as severe thunderstorms struck.
Winds gusted to 64 m.p.h. as the rain fell in torrents. The game was
stopped, but as the players left the field unruly fans ran out and knocked
down both goal posts. Even though the rain let up the game was cancelled. It
was the last College All-Star game ever played."

More details from wikipedia about the all-star game here

"The last game took place during a downpour at Soldier Field on July 23, 1976. Despite featuring stars such as Chuck Muncie, Mike Pruitt, Lee Roy Selmon and Jackie Slater, the rookies were hopelessly outmatched by the Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of Super Bowl X. Pittsburgh was leading 24-0 late in the third quarter when weather conditions made play impossible and the officials called for a delay. The players left the field and were replaced by unruly fans who tore down the goal posts. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle decided the game would not be restarted. Chicago Tribune Charities Inc., the sponsor of the game, elected not to bring it back for 1977."

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I remember

watching that game. The rain was surreal. Harder than anything I had ever seen. Harder than the Monday night Miami game last year with the punt in the mud. Harder than the monsoon game in Miami in the late 80’s with Bubby Brister that Carnell Lake scored a TD in.

When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen

by 5020 on Aug 4, 2008 9:31 AM EDT reply actions

I don’t remember these, but was around back then. Just wondering how these games were played – I mean, did the college kids come out and really try to take it to the pros, or was it more of a pro-bowl type deal (i.e. almost an exhibition)? Sounds interesting, but these days you could imagine that the pros might be a little anxious to put the hurt on the new guys (maybe I’m wrong – but I can imagine it).

by SCSteeler on Aug 4, 2008 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Pro Bowl Vs Super Bowl

For the NFL guys it was like the first exhibition game or a Pro Bowl game. For the College kids it was their Super Bowl. It was their chance to prove they belonged. From what I remember, the pro players (usually the SB champ as i recall) used to beat the college all stars handily.

When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen

by 5020 on Aug 4, 2008 9:08 PM EDT reply actions

The College All Stars

Held their own quite well in the beginning. They’d win occasionally and were favored occasionally. The turning point of that game seemed to be the turning point of the entire NFL – when John Unitas led the Colts to that nationally televised overtime win over the Giants. The NFL took the game and pride for the game to whole new level. In fact, only once since then did the college all stars win and that was against the 63 Packers. Lombardi was humilated. The next two times Green Bay played in that game the college kids didn’t come close to scoring. They never won again. Actually the games were fairly competitive. The scores were typical football scores of 28-17, 17-3 type of stuff. However, the pros were mainly playing scrubs while the college team was, well, all stars, so that helped to keep the score closer. The Steelers won the last two of them.

by maryrose on Aug 5, 2008 8:48 PM EDT reply actions