1962 New York Titans / Buffalo Bills

[Halas Hall]

I read something yesterday that implied with Harry Wismer being out of money in 1962 the Titan's coaches were not getting paid and did not actively coach in the September 22nd 17-6 Titan victory in Buffalo. It implied players Larry Grantham handled the defense and Bob Mischak handled the offense. Has anyone ever heard this? Is there any validity to it? Just wondering

Thank you.

[Bob Gill]

Not really true. There are two good books that cover the Titans' 1962 season -- one by Lee Grosscup and one by Bill Ryczek -- and they agree on what happened:

The players were getting paid late (and often with checks that would bounce at the bank), so they went on strike on the Wednesday before the Buffalo game. They went back to work the next day, but in retaliation, Wismer ordered the coaches not to coach, so the players had to run their own practice, with Grantham and Mischak in charge. But the coaches returned on Friday, made the trip to Buffalo and coached the game as usual that weekend.

So something funny did happen, but it was the players who staged the brief strike. The coaches probably had their own problems with getting paid, but the one day they didn't run practice, they were following Wismer's orders, not defying him.

[Brian wolf]

Wasnt it George Sauer Sr, that basically held that team together? I read the players respected him tremendously.