This the best info I could find about it. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack, tho I found lots of interesting trivia. Seems Wismer was a borderline psychopath- "Baugh still had one more year left on his contract, at $20,000. Mercurial and cash-strapped owner Harry Wismer wanted to let Baugh go, but he didn't want to pay him either. Wismer decided to demote Baugh to kicking coach without informing Baugh (the coach learned about it by reading it in the newspaper), and Wismer also moved training camp without telling Baugh. Baugh discovered the new location through his players, showed up on time and happily stayed out of new coach Bulldog Turner's way while collecting his paycheck." http://newyork.sbnation.com/2012/11...any-other-jets-coaches-mark-sanchez-tim-tebow
what about a play that made you explode with rage? Like the butt fumble or Victor Cruz 100 yard TD on a screen pass
Yeah, that was a running joke. Here's the best I could find about it, on P. 116 - In the meantime, those Titans attendance figures- known as "Wismer Counts"- came to symbolize deep-seated doubts about the viability of the team and its owner... Warren Pack, of the Journal-American, wrote "Wismer announced the crowd as 20,898 today. Of this total, 19,000 came disguised as empty seats." https://books.google.com/books?id=Y...epage&q=Sammy baugh harry wismer feud&f=false
It's no wonder our beloved team has garnered so little respect from other teams and had such a sorry history. Upon learning more about its origins, I find it amazing that Werblin & Ewbanks were able to build a winner so quickly, but then just as quickly destroy it. Sad and pathetic.
I love hearing & reading about early Titans/Jets history. It takes me beyond the X's & O's. Being a Jets fan in the sixties wasn't a rational choice, if it was any kind of choice at all. Despite some shady history, the Jets changed football more than a lot of people realize. Werblin knew it was not just a game, that it was entertainment...the majority of owners didn't realize that. That we (and the AFL) survived at all is a small miracle. If, heaven forbid, we never win another SB trophy, there's a certain solace in the fact that the NY Jets win in SBIII changed pro football. Can you imagine Weeb announcing Namath as the starter to boost his confidence?
Wow, great pic. With Washington Heights looming in the background. Looking at it from the direction where Yankee Stadium stands, across the Harlem/East River
Well quality players like Boozer, Snell, Maynard, Namath, Elliot, Biggs, Lammons, Sauer assisted greatly in changing the team from losers to winners. Most thought the win of SB3 was fluke & was not a real victory like say GB were in SB 1 & 2
Right. I remember that. That tower on the right behind the trees is still there. I used to live north of there in the Bronx. Love seeing that old stuff. I guess that might be the NY Giants playing baseball
Wow, didn't realize that was Washington Heights. I lived up past there and Inwood, in Marble Hill for almost 5 years on Adrian Avenue (225 & B'way).
Yes, but Weeb and Werblin were responsible from bringing in, drafting, signing those players. Yes, I remember. The Packers were at the end of the Lombardi Dynasty. The Jets were the upstarts, with Joe Willie in his pantyhose, fur coats and white cleats and long hair. The Colts were heavy favorites. Then Joe Willie guaranteed the victory. How sweet it was!
Here's some more about that. For all the credit Werblin's given for turning the team into a success, he didn't actually get to be part of it. In one of the crueler twists of Mr. Werblin's career, by the time Namath led the Jets to their famous upset victory over the Baltimore Colts in the third Super Bowl, in Miami in 1969, the man who built the championship team was no longer an owner of the team. His partners, including Leon Hess, the chairman of the Amerada Hess Corporation, had become so miffed at all the attention paid to Mr. Werblin that they bought him out before the start of the 1968 season, paying him $1.2 million for a share that had cost him $250,000. In some ways Werblin was a lot like Wismer, only actually successful. Both had media connections, loved the spotlight, made rash decisions and spent money freely even if it wasn't theirs. Werblin just happened to have more of it. And neither got to be part of the success they started. If anyone's the culprit for the '70s travesty I'd say it's Hess. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/23/s...york-s-sports-extravaganza-is-dead-at-81.html
Those are some good names Champ. And Paulson and Atkinson and Philbin, a guy who's been criminally forgotten about. In '68 he was even voted 1st Team All-NFL/AFL, the combined best of both rival leagues. That just didn't happen because of the press's perception that NFL players were all superior. IMHO Philbin should be considered comparable to Klecko in team lore.
Amazing. Sad that Werblin didn't get to stay in ownership of the championship team he helped build. Sad for all of us and the future generations of Jets fans that Leon Hess was EVER a part of this franchise. I have always heard that he was a hard-nosed bastard in his business dealings with Hess. Many fans want to fondly remember him, and say what a great guy and kindly old man he was. The heck with that! Thanks for bringing truth to light regarding Hess and his role in leading to the countless legion of Jets fans' misery and suffering for decades.
