History of the NFL's exhibition basketball teams

[Bryan]

I remember my mom getting into an argument with Glen Campbell because Campbell was yelling at kids who were trying to get autographs. Good times.

So they weren't gentle on his mind? By the time he got to Phoenix, perhaps he reconsidered.

Gary Campbell...and I knew I was going to mess up and type "Glen Campbell". And who would ever yell at Glen Campbell?

[rhickok1109]

I remember my mom getting into an argument with Glen Campbell because Campbell was yelling at kids who were trying to get autographs. Good times.

So they weren't gentle on his mind? By the time he got to Phoenix, perhaps he reconsidered.

Gary Campbell...and I knew I was going to mess up and type "Glen Campbell". And who would ever yell at Glen Campbell?

I would gladly yell at him to stop singing

[Gary Najman]

I remember my mom getting into an argument with Glen Campbell because Campbell was yelling at kids who were trying to get autographs. Good times.

So they weren't gentle on his mind? By the time he got to Phoenix, perhaps he reconsidered.

Gary Campbell...and I knew I was going to mess up and type "Glen Campbell". And who would ever yell at Glen Campbell?

He was one of my favorite players growing up (I liked his Hawaiian roots and name: Kalani), it was a shame that he had to retire before the Super Bowl Shuffle season, he would've been a good part of the 1985 Bears.

[Rupert Patrick]

I never realized these basketball teams were so prevalent in the 60's and into the 70's. The rising salaries and risk of injury ended them, and this is another reason why you don't see active athletes playing in non-league sanctioned physical events such as the aforementioned Superstars TV show or things like that.

[rhickok1109]

The Packers had a basketball team as recently as 2012.

http://www.wiscnews.com/portagedailyreg ... 963f4.html

[nicefellow31]

Drew Pearson was involved in a car accident that ended his career and claimed the life of his younger brother in 1984. I remember this because the Dallas Hoopstars played a series of exhibition games against the Redskins basketball team that were highly attended by fans. If memory serves me correct he was enroute to the airport or coming back from the airport from one of those games.

[BD Sullivan]

Drew Pearson was involved in a car accident that ended his career and claimed the life of his younger brother in 1984. If memory serves me correct he was enroute to the airport or coming back from the airport from one of those games.

Actually returning from a basketball games the Dallas "Hoopsters" played in Coalgate, Oklahoma. He fell asleep at the wheel at about 1:30 a.m. and slammed into a truck that was parked on the side of the road with its flashers blinking. Sadly, his brother was in the passenger seat and died from his injuries.

[nicefellow31]

Drew Pearson was involved in a car accident that ended his career and claimed the life of his younger brother in 1984. If memory serves me correct he was enroute to the airport or coming back from the airport from one of those games.

Actually returning from a basketball games the Dallas "Hoopsters" played in Coalgate, Oklahoma. He fell asleep at the wheel at about 1:30 a.m. and slammed into a truck that was parked on the side of the road with its flashers blinking. Sadly, his brother was in the passenger seat and died from his injuries.

Thanks. Was able to find this article and their next game was to be against the Skins. I was in H.S. at the time and the upcoming games were advertised heavily in the D.C. area.

The bus carrying the Dallas Hoopsters arrives at the Cowboys practice facility at Forest Lane and Abrams around 1 a.m. Pearson loves managing the Cowboys basketball team, but there is a lot to do before he leaves in 12 hours to fly to Washington, D.C., for a series of three exhibition games against the Redskins. The first thing is to drop off his younger brother.

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas ... rent-faces

[Mark L. Ford]

I've been working on an article about that subject, and compiled a list of 100 exhibitions between NFL basketball teams, as well as a table of highest listed scores for individual players. Basically, the longest continuing operation is the Steelers Footballers, who still make appearances every spring. For the most part, however, offseason basketball is discouraged because of the risk of injury. Up until the mid-70s, however, players would supplement their incomes, provide good will for the teaqm, and stay in shape during the offseason by playing basketball against school faculties, local police, and the "all stars" in the small towns they were visiting.

Some trivia from these-- the Cleveland Browns used to put their star players on the court for games, with Paul Brown's approval-- in the early 50s, it was possible to see Graham and Motley at forward, Groza at center, and Lavelli and Willis as guards, with Weeb Ewbank assigned to coach. The Packers also had their stars appear in games, and Ray Nitschke was usually the high scorer.

Jim Brown and Ernie Davis were the high scorers for the Browns in a 1963 game, played while Davis was ill with leukemia and four months before he died.

The Browns and the Steelers played basketball against each other before the NFL-AAFC merger, and the 49ers and Raiders did the same prior to the NFL-AFL merger agreement. The most famous team vs team game was probably on April 4, 1976, Dallas beating Pittsburgh 81-73 in front of 8,479 people at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1235834 ... asketball/

As far as the question of the best of the teams, the Buffalo Pros claimed in 1974 that they had a record of 429 wins and 15 losses in their first 13 seasons; the article will probably run sometime next March.

[BD Sullivan]

In 1982, Browns' DB Judson Flint suffered a severe concussion early in a game, where he grabbed a rebound and fell, striking his head. The game was stopped and the team signed autographs for the fans-which I assume they were going to do anyway. He ended up spending a night or two in the hospital.