From the archives: Pete Rozelle, career highlights

This story was originally published in Newsday on Dec. 8, 1996

IT WAS HIS final appearance on the international stage of Super Bowl week, and NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle was on the offensive.

This was two days before the 49ers' memorable comeback victory over the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII in January, 1989, when Joe Montana orchestrated that winning drive, and Rozelle surveyed the thousands of reporters gathered to hear his annual state of the league. His face was puffy now, the latest sign that he had reached the end of his magnificent tenure, that it was time to step aside, and he reached into his coat pocket for a piece of paper.

On it were passages from assorted sportswriters bemoaning the condition of the game. One was from the late 1970s, when the Steelers' dynasty was in full bloom, and the writer was whining how the league was boring because only one team seemed capable of winning every year. Another was from the mid-1980s, when another columnist was complaining that the NFL had turned into an abject failure because there were no longer any great teams like the Steelers of the '70s, that parity had conspired to ruin the integrity of the sport.

Rozelle didn't feel the need to comment on any of the remarks, only to read them and let the audience draw its own conclusions. As he neared the end of the passages, Rozelle smiled, content that he had made his point: Under the nearly three decades of his stewardship, which would effectively end three months hence, pro football had achieved the rare distinction of having it both ways. Whether an era was dominated by a dynasty or defined by an air of unpredictability, Rozelle's NFL was unmatched in its ability to draw in unprecedented numbers of fans and keep them riveted with the intriguing mix of power and suspense that only football can deliver on a consistent basis.

Rozelle gave us the spectacle of the Super Bowl, the bright lights of Monday Night Football and the historic merger of two competing leagues. But more than anything, Rozelle gave football its blueprint for prosperity, the plan that is the sporting world's equivalent of American democracy, a system that has survived and created a self-perpetuating formula for success that is the envy of all others.

So as we honor Rozelle upon his passing at the age of 70, I want you to remember him for having the foresight to build the competitive marvel that is the NFL. Whenever someone takes his name in vain by complaining that parity will eventually result in the ruination of football, I want you to hold up the scoreboard page of this newspaper, point your finger at the myriad playoff possibilities that make football in December so special, and tell him that this is what Rozelle intended. That this is Rozelle's genius, and that this is why pro football has become what it is today: the perfect sport.

Panthers proving parity

Had someone suggested before the season that today's game between the second-year Panthers and the five-time Super Bowl champion 49ers probably would decide who wins the NFC West, your reaction probably would have been something along the lines of: Yeah, and that $70 million or so Leon Hess spent on free agents would leave the Jets at 1-12 after 13 games.

Welcome to the world of the unpredictable NFL, where the Panthers indeed are playing for a division title and Hess' Jets are playing farther into their abyss.

As unlikely as either scenario might have appeared only four months ago - remember, the Jets were expected to win a half-dozen games or so - the Panthers' virtually instantaneous rise from the imagination of team owner Jerry Richardson into a playoff contender is unprecedented for any expansion team in any sport.

Unlike previous expansion teams, the Panthers and Jaguars have had the benefit of unrestricted free agency, a salary cap and other conditions that helped level the playing field. But they still were starting from scratch, and you would think the 28 established organizations would have had obvious advantages.

Then again, none of those 28 teams had Bill Polian.

"I think we've begun to coalesce as a team," said Polian, the Panthers' general manager, whose brilliant construction of the roster has been the impetus behind their early rise to prominence. "We've been beaten up this year in terms of injuries, but the one thing I have every faith in is that our coaches work like the devil and our players play hard. I think those two things will take you a long way in this league."

Those two things have taken the Panthers to today, where they can take a decisive step toward becoming only the third team other than the 49ers to win the NFC West in the last 15 seasons. They have gotten this far after losing their franchise running back, rookie Tshimanga Biakabutuka, to a season-ending injury Sept. 29, after going five games without starting quarterback Kerry Collins because of knee and shoulder problems, withstanding the four-week suspension of center Curtis Whitley because of a substance-abuse problem, and almost weekly shifts injury, suspension, or ineffectiveness.

The Panthers have managed to overcome those problems because of the solid relief of running back Anthony Johnson, who has a chance to break the 1,000-yard mark today; the excellent play of backup quarterback Steve Beuerlein, who has won three of his five starts; but most of all because of a defense that's arguably the best in football.

Carolina has allowed the fewest points in the league (164) and is first in sacks (47), first in third-down defense (32.2 percent) and seventh in yardage allowed (287.8). The most impressive statistic of all: The Panthers have allowed only 46 second-half points.

The Panthers have a chance to become the first team in a decade to keep its opponents to fewer than 200 points, which has happened only four times since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Every one of those teams featured what many considered among the greatest defenses of all time: The "Steel Curtain" Steelers of 1978 (195); the Broncos' "Orange Crush" the same year (198); and the great Bears teams of the mid-1980s (198 in '85 and 187 in '86).

Pretty heady company, wouldn't you agree? Of course, beating the 49ers on the road would add to that list and further enhance the Panthers' reputation. Though a win today and a division title might be beyond their reach, their meteoric rise is incredible nonetheless. Even if they lose today, there's some measure of consolation: At least they're not the Jets.

Switzer: Cowboys no different

Defensive tackle Leon Lett last week became the fifth Cowboys player in the past year to be suspended for substance abuse, but coach Barry Switzer said the problem is not unique to his team.

"I wrote a book Bootlegger's Boy' five or six years ago, and I made a statement in that book that I never thought in my latter years of coaching, the most important thing I'd say to my squad is, Have you urinated for the trainer today?' Drugs have affected the game. We are all part of society and no one is immune. It's a national epidemic. It's not just a Cowboys problem, but is a national problem and happens in every organization."

True enough, Barry. But passing the issue off as a societal problem doesn't absolve the Dallas organization of an atrocious failure in the area of substance abuse.

Jimmy: Veterans beware

Jimmy Johnson had some choice words for several of his veteran players. Seems many of them have indulged in a playful practice of having rookies bring them food. Not any longer. "No more veterans telling rookies to bring them a sandwich," Johnson said. "We've got veteran backups telling rookies to bring them food. You rookies, the next time a veteran tells you to get food, tell them to go bleep themselves." Hmm. Did someone say Roster Purge Part II in '97?

Extra points

Don't be surprised to see former Bengals coach David Shula resurface as the Bears' offensive coordinator. Shula has been mentioned as a replacement for outgoing Ron Turner, who will take over at the University of Illinois after the regular season is over . . .

The Yogi Berra quote of the week goes to Saints interim coach Rick Venturi, who has this to say about why his players should stop listening to criticism in the media: "It's just like anything else. Like the Pavlovian rat. When they get stung enough times, they don't come back for the cheese anymore. We've got to take the stingers off." . . .

Lions quarterback Scott Mitchell, who is unsigned after this season, probably will stay in Detroit if the team hires Jim Fassel to replace Wayne Fontes. Fassel was Mitchell's college coach at Utah . . . Ever wonder why Fontes seems immune to the barrage of criticism aimed his way? Well, there's a good reason. He has no clue about what anybody has been saying about him. "I give our press whatever they want," Fontes said. "I talk to them. I smile at them, because I have no idea what they're saying, other than what I hear they are saying. Is it tough on me? Sure it is. But to see all the things that are really out there, I'm kind of blinded to that." . . .

If the Jets wind up taking Ohio State junior tackle Orlando Pace with their first draft pick next year, former Buckeyes running back Eddie George would approve. "Orlando has a defensive player's mentality," said George, an Oilers rookie. "He doesn't just want to dominate his man. He wants to humiliate him. He wants blood." . . .

Jekyll-Hyde stat of the week: The Oilers are 2-4 at home, the second-worst home record to the Jets (0-6). But Houston is 5-2 on the road, the second-best road record to the Broncos (5-1).

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Career highlights of Pete Rozelle:

1960: Elected commissioner as a compromise on the 23rd ballot. Moves league headquarters to New York.

1963: Indefinitely suspended Green Bay's Paul Hornung and Detroit's defensive tackle Alex Karras for placing bets on their own teams and other NFL games. They were reinstated March 16, 1964.

1963: Ordered that NFL games be played two days after the Kennedy assassination, a move he later said was his biggest mistake as commissioner.

1966: Announces merger of NFL and AFL after a series of secret meetings. The move created an annual AFL-NFL World Championship Game, later called the Super Bowl.

1969: Negotiated television contract creating "ABC's Monday Night Football," starting in the 1970 season.

1969: Tells Jets quarterback Joe Namath to sell his interest in his nightclub, Bachelors III, because of the undesirable characters that frequented the club or face suspension.

1974: Rozelle is given a 10-year contract effective January 1, 1973.

1982: The NFL signed a five-year, $2.1-billion contract with the three television networks to televise all regular-season and postseason games starting in 1982.

1980: The Oakland Raiders joined the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission's antitrust suit against the NFL. The suit contended the league violated antitrust laws in declining to approve a move by the Raiders to Los Angeles.

1982: A jury rules against the NFL in the antitrust trial. The verdict cleared the way for the Raiders to move to Los Angeles.

1985: Rozelle elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

1986: After an 11-week trial, a jury in U.S. District Court in New York awarded the United States Football League one dollar in its $1.7-billion antitrust suit against the NFL. The jury found that the NFL violated antitrust laws, as the USFL claimed, but the jury awarded the USFL only $1 in damages, which was trebled.

1987: Announced three-year television contracts worth $1.428 billion with ABC, NBC and CBS for 1987-89. ESPN also received a three-year deal for 13 prime-time games to become the first cable network to get an NFL contract.

1988: In a 3-0 decision, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld the verdict of the jury that in July, 1986, had awarded the United States Football League $1 in its $1.7-billion antitrust suit against the NFL.

1989: Rozelle announces his retirement.

- ASSOCIATED PRESS