This Post is Brought to you by our friends at Havokk Coffee. For those that run towards the chaos – not from it
My dad worked nights, so he wasn’t at home. But my mom was home and had been sound asleep for a while, having to get up early to be at work at 6 a.m.
So, I had to be quiet as I watched the telecast of the final moments of the Browns’ game against the host San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football on Nov. 13, 1972. As usual, I had the sound turned down on the TV so I could listen to the call on the radio of Browns iconic play-by-play announcer Gib Shanley.
Trailing 17-14, the Browns were driving. They could settle for a Don Cockroft field-goal try to tie the game if they had to (there was no overtime for regular-season games back then, so ties stood), but what they really wanted was to score a touchdown to win.
They got the latter as third-year quarterback Mike Phipps, who had taken over as the starter from an ailing Bill Nelsen earlier in the season, lobbed a perfect strike to wide receiver Frank Pitts as he raced into the clear down the right sideline for a 38-yard touchdown and a thrilling 21-17 victory.
“Phipps to Pitts!,” Shanley exclaimed.
Then I exclaimed, too, but, thankfully, only briefly so as to not rouse Mom.
For the next several weeks, “Phipps to Pitts!” became a rallying cry for the red-hot team. That was the fourth consecutive triumph for the Browns, who, after a tough start, improved to 6-3. They would capture two more victories to push the winning streak to six and go to 8-3 on their way to finishing 10-4 and earning the AFC’s lone wild-card playoff spot. The triumph over the Chiefs, plus a last-second 26–24 decision over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the rain, snow and mud at Cleveland Stadium the following week, were their two best wins of the season.
Pitts died recently. He was 82.
He was born and raised in Atlanta and played collegiately at Southern. He was taken in both the NFL and AFL drafts in 1965 (the combined draft did not begin until the following year), but chose to sign with the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. He played six years with the Chiefs and was part of their Super Bowl championship team following the weather1969 season. He came to the Browns in a trade in 1971 and played with them for three seasons, through 1973, before finishing his 10-year NFL career with the Oakland Raiders in 1974.
Pitts had his most productive seasons with the Browns, having 94 receptions for 1,424 yards (15.1 average) and 16 touchdowns. His best numbers came in that 1972 season, when he had 36 catches for 620 yards (17.2) and eight touchdowns.
Steve King
