A different era of NFL violence
The recent passing of NFL legend Bucko Kilroy, who was memorialized by Bob Ryan this weekend, reminded me of another time in NFL history where violence was making headlines. Unlike this temptuous summer of Michael Vick and Pacman Jones, it was the play on the field that caused outrage in the 1950s.
According to the excellent book, The Pro Football Chronicle by Dan Daly and Bob O’Donnell, Kilroy was called one of the league’s “bad men.” As part of a large expose in Life magazine entitled Savagery on Sunday, Kilroy was accused of injuring a Giants quarterback’s spine with a deliberate knee.
Sports Illustrated also ran articles on dirty play, linebackers like Hardy Brown were known as enforcers who would tally their knockouts, and coaches were accused of calling plays to deliberately go after opposing players. Superstars like Otto Graham pleaded publicly for the league to address the issue.
Kilroy and Eagles linebacker Wayne Robinson eventually sued Life for libel, causing a riotous trial years later than included NFL Commissioner Bert Bell. Kilroy earned significant damages in the case and went on to become a legendary talent evaluator in the NFL, perhaps the man who “invented modern football scouting,” according to Ryan.
The NFL, of course, survived all the negative P.R. quite well. From what I’ve read, they publicly denied the problems and continued a laissez-fair policy towards dirty play. The issue eventually resolved itself. In an era of 24-hour sports news coverage, taking a hands-off approach is a luxury the league can no longer afford.
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