The Top 10 Bad Ass Mofos in Sports History

[DanT]

Originally Posted by Skip Towne

Lambert WAS a badass. There was a widely circulated rumor during the Seelers glory years that Lambert kicked Joe Greene's ass in the locker room. And Lambert weighed 220 #.

There is widely-circulated film of Dick Butkus actually tackling ball-carriers by himself before the whistle is blown.

[Skip Towne]

Originally Posted by DanT

There is widely-circulated film of Dick Butkus actually tackling ball-carriers by himself before the whistle is blown.

Say what you will about Lambert, everybody in the league was convinced he was bad. There is a good reason why he was the MLB on one of the best D's of all time. I've never heard of anyone accusing Lambert of late hits or any kind of dirty football and I watched the whole thing.

[DanT]

Originally Posted by Skip Towne

Say what you will about Lambert, everybody in the league was convinced he was bad. There is a good reason why he was the MLB on one of the best D's of all time. I've never heard of anyone accusing Lambert of late hits or any kind of dirty football and I watched the whole thing.

He was accused in the very article at the top of this thread:

...He had a particular taste for Cleveland Browns QB Brian Sipe, who Lambert hit so hard, so late, so many times, Pete Rozelle had to call him in for a meeting. "Brian has a chance to go out of bounds and he decides not to," Lambert said later. "He knows I'm going to hit him. And I do. History."

I'm just going by my own memory of him as a kid. I remember him jumping on a lot of piles; I do not remember any impressive solo hits he made.

[DanT]

Here's a link to a good article on Jack Lambert that was written by Paul Zimmerman for the Sporting News in 1984. The article is on a site dedicated to Jack Lambert and should be of interest to his fans.

Based on what the article says, I can see why he was so widely hailed for his greatness as a linebacker. A lot of what he was assigned to do probably didn't come across to a kid like me watching him on TV. Like I said, I never saw him make a hit that impressed me, but that may speak more to the fact that I was just a kid. And so maybe I didn't see the things that made the announcers gush so much about his overall play.

http://www.mcmillenandwife.com/lambe..._of_steel.html

[Skip Towne]

Originally Posted by DanT

Here's a link to a good article on Jack Lambert that was written by Paul Zimmerman for the Sporting News in 1984. The article is on a site dedicated to Jack Lambert and should be of interest to his fans.

Based on what the article says, I can see why he was so widely hailed for his greatness as a linebacker. A lot of what he was assigned to do probably didn't come across to a kid like me watching him on TV. Like I said, I never saw him make a hit that impressed me, but that may speak more to the fact that I was just a kid. And so maybe I didn't see the things that made the announcers gush so much about his overall play.

http://www.mcmillenandwife.com/lambe..._of_steel.html

I don't remember him standing out so much but look at all the great players he had around him. It would have been hard to do. But he did have the rest of the league intimidated. At least from what I read and heard. And at only 220# it was even more remarkable.

[Skip Towne]

Originally Posted by DanT

He was accused in the very article at the top of this thread:



I'm just going by my own memory of him as a kid. I remember him jumping on a lot of piles; I do not remember any impressive solo hits he made.

Thanks, Dan , for that article. I read all of it and it very much jibes wih my memory. The Sipe thing is puzzling as Sipe was an also ran that never gave the Steelers any trouble that I remember. And it looks like there were 3 late hits over a four year period with Ben Dreith calling two of them. As to the painting that Rooney showed Lambert, I know exactly what it must have depicted that Rooney feared would enrage Lambert. Lambert would stare across the line at the QB, snarling and drooling. Yeah, really drooling. They said he looked like he was insane. Lambert was the real deal and was the leader of the "Steel Curtain".

[DanT]

Originally Posted by Skip Towne

Thanks, Dan , for that article. I read all of it and it very much jibes wih my memory. The Sipe thing is puzzling as Sipe was an also ran that never gave the Steelers any trouble that I remember. And it looks like there were 3 late hits over a four year period with Ben Dreith calling two of them. As to the painting that Rooney showed Lambert, I know exactly what it must have depicted that Rooney feared would enrage Lambert. Lambert would stare across the line at the QB, snarling and drooling. Yeah, really drooling. They said he looked like he was insane. Lambert was the real deal and was the leader of the "Steel Curtain".

You're welcome. It would be fun to watch some of the old Steelers games now that I'm older and have a better idea of what's going on. I'd also like to see some of the Chiefs games from the 1960's and early 70's.

[Skip Towne]

Originally Posted by DanT

You're welcome. It would be fun to watch some of the old Steelers games now that I'm older and have a better idea of what's going on. I'd also like to see some of the Chiefs games from the 1960's and early 70's.

Yeah, me too. I'd love to see some of the old games fom the 60's. I remember them as played at a slower pace without as much shifting and other strategy like nickle defenses we see today. It was more of a line up and run over them mentality. 17 points would win nearly any game. Both the '72 Dolphins and the great Steeler teams had one thing in common. Consistancy on offense. They were both grind it out ball control offenses. Both had a great WR, Miami's Warfield and Pittsburgh's Lynn Swan but neither made many big plays. They both would keep the ball for what seemed like hours and if you did manage to stop them they would three and out you and start over again. Both were truly complete teams.