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NFL 1970s Trivia

NFL 1970s Trivia Quizzes

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4 NFL 1970s quizzes and 50 NFL 1970s trivia questions.
1.
  NFL in the 1970s #2   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
You remember the undefeated Dolphins team. You remember the Steel Curtain. You'll have to remember a lot more to tackle these 10 challenging questions (but I promise you'll learn a few things and have fun doing it)!
Average, 10 Qns, d2407, Mar 17 05
Average
d2407
2589 plays
2.
  A Decade of NFL Football   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
Let's see if you were paying attention to pro football in the 70s.
Average, 15 Qns, sedgewick, Dec 03 06
Average
sedgewick
4900 plays
3.
  NFL in the 1970s #1   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
While a nation grew 'afros' and danced to the Bee Gees, the NFL put on a show of its own. Enjoy ten easy questions about football in the days leisure suits roamed the earth.
Tough, 10 Qns, d2407, Mar 13 10
Tough
d2407
2200 plays
4.
  Football in a Decade    
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
Obscure trivia from the 1970s.
Difficult, 15 Qns, Dolfantasy, Dec 03 06
Difficult
Dolfantasy
3246 plays
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NFL 1970s Trivia Questions

1. What happened in 1973, making it easier than ever before for NFL fans to watch all of their hometown team's games?

From Quiz
NFL in the 1970s #2

Answer: The league lifted rules that had prohibited the televising of home games

Since 1951, the NFL had prohibited television stations from broadcasting games being played within 75 miles of the station, forcing fans to either attend the games in person, or drive far enough away to be able to watch the game in a distant city. Beginning with Super Bowl VII, played in Los Angeles in January 1973, the league allowed home games to be televised, if they had been sold out for 72 hours prior to kickoff. The 1973 season set a new record for in-person attendance at NFL games, so the new rules satisfied both fans and the league.

2. Whose over-the-shoulder touchdown catch helped the Cowboys defeat the Broncos in Super Bowl XII?

From Quiz Football in a Decade

Answer: Butch Johnson

Replays showed the ball touched the ground as Butch tumbled.

3. Who was known as 'White Shoes'?

From Quiz A Decade of NFL Football

Answer: Billy Johnson

Billy 'Whiteshoes' Johnson was the founding father of the endzone dance.

4. A friend invites you over to watch a tape of a game (from which year, he's not sure) featuring the Electric Company squaring off against the 'No Name Defense'. You want to politely decline. Which of the reasons below could you accurately use?

From Quiz NFL in the 1970s #2

Answer: You already know who won

The Electric Company was the clever name given to OJ Simpson's Buffalo Bills offensive line from the 1970s (they "turn on the Juice," get it?). The Miami Dolphins defense of the 1970s created the nickname "No Name Defense" after hearing too many cracks that they lacked any players with name recognition. Bitter divisional rivals since the Dolphin franchise started in 1966, the teams locked horns twice each season. Although they had many memorable contests, Miami managed to win every one of the 20 games from 1970 through 1979. So whatever drama those games may have had, if you're watching a Miami-Buffalo game from the 1970s, you can easily predict the winner.

5. What team drafted Joe Theismann in the 4th round?

From Quiz Football in a Decade

Answer: Miami Dolphins

With Bob Griese in his way, Joe opted to return punts in the CFL over signing with the Dolphins.

6. Who is the speedy Oakland Raiders receiver who once caught 13 touchdown passes in one season?

From Quiz A Decade of NFL Football

Answer: Cliff Branch

Number 21 Cliff Branch, out of Colorado University ... they said he'd never catch the ball ...

7. How did Clint Longley make a name for himself in a 1970s NFL game?

From Quiz NFL in the 1970s #2

Answer: Led a thrilling comeback win by the Dallas Cowboys over the Washington Redskins on Thanksgiving Day

"The triumph of an uncluttered mind", was how Dallas Cowboys lineman Blaine Nye described 22 year old Clint Longley's 1974 moment in the sun. On Thanksgiving day that year, the archrival Washington Redskins built up a 16-3 third quarter lead over the Cowboys, then knocked starting quarterback Roger Staubach out of the game. Longley, the backup quarterback, entered the game and went 11 for 20 with two touchdown passes, including a 50 yard bomb with 35 seconds remaining, to give the Cowboys an improbable 24-23 win over the Redskins. The following week, Staubach returned, and Longley's NFL career had only two years and 48 passes left in it. After his Thanksgiving heroics, he became enamored of himself, to the great annoyance of his teammates. During training camp in 1976, Staubach promised to "knock those Bugs Bunny teeth out of Longley's mouth", arranged for some friends to distract the coaches, then beat Longley. Two days later, Longley told friends he'd figured out a way to get traded and punched Staubach. He was dealt to San Diego within days.

8. How many games did the 49ers win the season before they won their first Super Bowl?

From Quiz Football in a Decade

Answer: 6

Steve DeBerg was their QB that year.

9. Which Vietnam war veteran won a purple heart as well as a Super Bowl ring?

From Quiz A Decade of NFL Football

Answer: Rocky Bleier

No one thought he could play pro ball, too slow ... but he rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season at least once during the 70s and helped the Steelers to dominance in the middle and latter part of the decade.

10. What player came within inches of blocking Tom Dempsey's record 63 yard field goal?

From Quiz Football in a Decade

Answer: Alex Karras

Most of the defense didn't even rush the kick because they didn't feel there was a chance Dempsey would make it.

11. Big afros were an important part of the look during this decade. This Denver Bronco wide receiver (number 25) was at the top of the big afro list.

From Quiz A Decade of NFL Football

Answer: Haven Moses

Moses's touchdown catch vs. the Raiders in an AFC championship game helped put the Broncos in their first ever Super Bowl.

12. The New York Giants were the nomads of the league in the 1970s, having more home venues than any other team in the decade. Which of the stadiums listed below did not host a New York Giant home game in the 1970s?

From Quiz NFL in the 1970s #1

Answer: Fordham Stadium

The Giants moved into Giants Stadium in 1976, but construction delays on the stadium required the team to be creative for a few seasons. Yankee Stadium, their home since 1956, was closed for renovations after the 1973 baseball season, with the Giants playing their final game there on September 23, 1973. The team played its remaining five home games that year, plus all its 1974 home games, at the Yale Bowl in nearby New Haven, CT. Still waiting for their own stadium, they shared Shea Stadium with the Jets in 1975, before finally being able to unpack their boxes at Giants Stadium.

13. Known for distance and hang time, which punter was a perennial 70s all-pro at Oakland.

From Quiz A Decade of NFL Football

Answer: Ray Guy

Blanda was a kicker. Jennings played for the Giants, and Gerela kicked for the Steelers.

14. When a sportswriter asked Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John McKay about his team's execution, how did McKay respond?

From Quiz NFL in the 1970s #1

Answer: I'm in favor of it

McKay, who won national titles while coaching the USC Trojans in college, had some significant adjustments to make when the expansion Buccaneers hired him as their first coach. The team went 0-14 in its 1976 inaugural season, then lost the first 12 games of 1977. When they beat New Orleans to win their first game after 26 losses, he declared it to be, "the greatest win in the history of the world".

15. What team did Jake Scott finish his career with?

From Quiz Football in a Decade

Answer: Washington Redskins

Scott won Super Bowl MVP playing for the Dolphins against the Redskins.

16. Who was the tough defensive tackle on the 'No Name Defense'?

From Quiz A Decade of NFL Football

Answer: Manny Fernandez

Miller Light: 'Hey, you're Nick Bounticonti, but what about Manny Fernandez? They were Miami Dolphins.

17. Quarterback Bobby Douglass completed 43% of his passes during his career, threw 36 touchdown passes, and had 64 interceptions. So why is he still remembered by many NFL fans?

From Quiz NFL in the 1970s #2

Answer: He rushed for 968 yards in 1972

If Woody Hayes had seen Bobby Douglass play, he might have changed his famous adage ("There are three things that can happen when you pass, and two of them are bad") to say "and they're all bad." Douglass's 1972 Chicago Bear season saw him obliterate the existing NFL rushing record for quarterbacks, with his 968 yards almost cracking the list of the league's top 10 rushers. Typically for Douglass, this was far more impressive than his passing line for the year (38% completions, nine TDs, 12 INTs). In 10 NFL seasons, Douglass only once completed more than half his passes, never had more touchdowns than interceptions, and somehow wound up with a rushing average (6.5 yards per carry) that dwarfed his passing average (5.5 yards per completion).

18. Larry Csonka and Paul Warfield left the Dolphins to join the WFL in 1975. Who was the third Dolphin to defect that year?

From Quiz Football in a Decade

Answer: Jim Kiick

Larry Csonka finished his career where he started it, in Miami, 1980.

19. Who had great speed for his position, wore number 8 ... noted thrower, son is a star at the same position ... played many years in a domed stadium?

From Quiz A Decade of NFL Football

Answer: Archie Manning

Archie Manning was stuck under the dome playing for the infamous 'Aints.'

20. What was the historic significance of the 35-35 tie game played by the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos on September 22, 1974?

From Quiz NFL in the 1970s #2

Answer: It was the first regular season overtime game in NFL history

The NFL became increasingly frustrated with the prevelance of tie games. Starting in 1972, the league began counting ties as half a win and half a loss in the standings (previously, they had counted as neither), hoping to encourage teams to play for a win. There had been nine ties in 1970 and eight in 1971; the number dropped to five in 1972, but increased to seven the following year. Hoping to eliminate ties altogether, and anticipating a good amount of excitement from using overtime, the NFL again changed the rules in 1974, mandating a ten minute overtime period for regular season games that were tied after 60 minutes. However frustrated the league must have been when the first overtime game ended in a tie, they must have been delighted with the long-term results: after the Steeler-Bronco contest, there were only two more tie games for the remainder of the 1970s.

21. When the Buccaneers opened the 1979 season 5-0, what player appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated?

From Quiz Football in a Decade

Answer: David Lewis

The team they beat to go 5-0, the Rams, later defeated the Bucs in the NFC championship game.

22. Which future Hall of Fame running back became the first rookie to lead the NFL in rushing since Jim Brown had done it in 1957, as he slammed through defenses like a well-oiled piece of construction equipment?

From Quiz NFL in the 1970s #2

Answer: Earl Campbell

Campbell joined the Houston Oilers in 1978 and came into the league like a sledgehammer, leading the NFL in rushing each of his first three years. He piled up 9,407 yards during his career, but his love of slamming into people took a quick toll on him, putting him out of the NFL after just eight seasons.

23. From its 1970 debut, Monday Night Football was an immediate hit with football fans and the viewing public. By the end of the 1979 season, which member of its broadcast team had covered the most games for the program?

From Quiz NFL in the 1970s #1

Answer: Howard Cosell

When Monday Night Football debuted in 1970, it used three announcers, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, and Keith Jackson. Jackson was unceremoniously dumped from the broadcast team after the 1970 season when ABC was able to sign Frank Gifford from CBS. Cosell stayed in the booth through the 1983 season. Gifford remained through 1997. Meredith left ABC from 1974-1976 for an opportunity to act and cover sports for NBC, before returning to the team from 1977-1984. So at the end of the 1979 season, Cosell had 10 years on MNF, Gifford nine, Meredith seven, and Alex Karras (Meredith's replacement) three.

24. He was traded for Delvin Williams in 1978. Who was he?

From Quiz Football in a Decade

Answer: Freddie Solomon

The Dolphins also sent a draft pick to the 49ers for Williams.

25. Which former Dallas Cowboys quarterback enjoyed popularity in the broadcast booth during the 70s Monday Night Football years?

From Quiz A Decade of NFL Football

Answer: Don Meredith

Dandy Don, Gifford, and Howard Cosell ... still the best team you'll ever hear from the booth!

26. John Madden won 75% of his games coaching the Oakland Raiders, a winning percentage higher than that of any other 20th century NFL coach. Which are the only NFL teams that managed to win more than half their games against Madden's Raiders?

From Quiz NFL in the 1970s #2

Answer: Seattle Seahawks & New England Patriots

The best the NFL had to offer was no match for Madden's Raider teams. Against the Dolphins of Shula, the Steelers of Noll, and the Vikings of Grant, they were 9-3-1. Against the NFC East, which included Tom Landry's Cowboys and George Allen's Redskins, the Raiders went 7-0. Yet somehow, the Seahawks (16-28 while Madden was coaching) managed to take two of three from his Raider teams, and the Patriots (61-81) took three of five. Other than going 1-1 against three NFC West opponents (49ers, Falcons, Rams), Madden's Raiders had winning records against every other team in the league.

27. On November 19, 1978, quarterback Joe Pisarcik and running back Larry Csonka played a memorable role in a last minute 19-17 win by the Philadelphia Eagles. What is note worthy about that?

From Quiz NFL in the 1970s #1

Answer: They were playing for the New York Giants

"The Miracle of the Meadowlands" was one of the most notorious blunders in football history. With the Giants leading 17-12 in the final minute, Pisarchik "took a knee" to kill the clock. For reasons unknown, the Giants coaches then ordered him to hand off to Csonka on the next play. Fearing for his job if he overruled their command, he went ahead with the play, bobbled the snap, fumbled, and Herman Edwards of the Eagles picked up the bouncing ball and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown.

28. He was the first player taken in the NFL draft, and did not sign with the team that drafted him?

From Quiz Football in a Decade

Answer: Tom Cousineau

He joined the CFL, then was drafted bt the Bills.

29. What NFL season record did Joe Namath hold?

From Quiz Football in a Decade

Answer: Passing yards

He was the first ever to throw for over 4,000 yards in a season.

30. This pair were bird flying bandits on the cover of Sports Illustrated, as Butch and Sundance.

From Quiz A Decade of NFL Football

Answer: Csonka and Kiick

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