1977 NFC Title Game (Fire in the stands)

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1977 NFC Title Game (Fire in the stands)
Started by JoeZagorski, Sep 19 2014 07:43 PM

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12 replies to this topic

#1 JoeZagorski
PFRA Member
Posted 19 September 2014 - 07:43 PM
Hey Guys: Another tough investigative question here. During the early moments of the second quarter of the 1977 NFC Championship Game between Minnesota and Dallas at Texas Stadium, a fire occurred in the lower stands behind the Vikings' bench. Does anyone out there know the particulars of the fire (i.e. who caught on fire, how did it start, how was it extinguished, and injuries, etc.)? Thanks for any info that you can provide.
Sincerely,
Joe Zagorski

#2 3243
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Posted 19 September 2014 - 08:10 PM
A fan wearing some sort of costume was either warming his hands or heating some food over a lit can of Sterno when his sleeve ignited. Within only a couple of seconds his entire costume went up. Some other fans put him out. He did suffer first- and second-degree burns over I don't know how much of his body, but according to news reports of the time, he was not seriously injured and did not have to spend much time in the hospital.

#3 slats7
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Posted 19 September 2014 - 10:47 PM
crank the volume

#4 BD Sullivan
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Posted 19 September 2014 - 10:57 PM
According to the 1/2/78 Dallas Morning News, Daniel Yoder was walking down an aisle (Section 9) when he brushed against a flaming can of Sterno held by a 16-year-old girl selling hot chocolate in the stands.

Yoder, who had rented the snowman costume for a party earlier in the week, caught fire around the shoulders and started to panic. He stumbled into the girl, and the liquid fuel from the Sterno was poured down the front of the costume. He ended up with second degree burns over 15 percent of his body--mostly on the legs and neck. He was released six days later

The main guy to save him, Clarence Walters, was unhurt, but the fire burned off his mustache and the hair on his right side--not to mention the fur collar on his coat. He was obviously OK, because he sat back down and watched the rest of the game.

Naturally, by the end of the week, Yoder's lawyer announced he was going to sue Texas Stadium and the costume company. The lawsuit was either never filed or settled quietly because there's no stories about Yoder after he was released from the hospital.

#5 JoeZagorski
PFRA Member
Posted 20 September 2014 - 11:33 AM
Thanks for the info guys!

#6 MIKETOUHY
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Posted 21 September 2014 - 02:32 PM
Another incident I can think of was with one of the Boston Patriots (later NE Pats.) one of there Boston locations also had a fir in it's stands.

#7 BD Sullivan
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Posted 21 September 2014 - 06:08 PM
MIKETOUHY, on 21 Sept 2014 - 2:32 PM, said:
Another incident I can think of was with one of the Boston Patriots (later NE Pats.) one of there Boston locations also had a fir in it's stands.
That was during an 8/16/70 preseason game against Washington, which I believe was at Harvard Stadium:

#8 oldecapecod 11
PFRA Member
Posted 21 September 2014 - 06:57 PM
BD Sullivan
Posted Today, 06:08 PM
"That was during an 8/16/70 preseason game against Washington, which I believe was at Harvard Stadium:"

No; it was in Alumni Stadium at Boston College (Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts) and I was there with my older son.

#9 lastcat3
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Posted 21 September 2014 - 07:15 PM
I actually have this game on dvd. They don't really make a big deal out of it at all in the broadcast. They just show it inbetween plays and go back to the action when the next play is snapped. Then if I remember right you hear nothing about it again until later on in the game when they mention the fan is alright.

#10 Timmy B
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Posted 22 September 2014 - 10:22 PM
lastcat3, on 21 Sept 2014 - 7:15 PM, said:
I actually have this game on dvd. They don't really make a big deal out of it at all in the broadcast. They just show it inbetween plays and go back to the action when the next play is snapped. Then if I remember right you hear nothing about it again until later on in the game when they mention the fan is alright.
I obviously don't have the dvd, but going from memory, CBS showed the incident. Vin Scully and Alex Hawkins called the game. Scully showed what happened and Hawk said something like, "Boy, crazy things do happen here in Dallas!" Later in the game, Roger Staubach was seen trotting off the field after a Cowboys score and Hawkins said something like, "That Roger Staubach runs like a sissy, Vin!" Scully, a little startled at first, came back with, "They tell me you didn't always wear your helmet, Alex!"

#11 BD Sullivan
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Posted 22 September 2014 - 10:55 PM
Timmy B, on 22 Sept 2014 - 10:22 PM, said:
I obviously don't have the dvd, but going from memory, CBS showed the incident. Vin Scully and Alex Hawkins called the game. Scully showed what happened and Hawk said something like, "Boy, crazy things do happen here in Dallas!" Later in the game, Roger Staubach was seen trotting off the field after a Cowboys score and Hawkins said something like, "That Roger Staubach runs like a sissy, Vin!" Scully, a little startled at first, came back with, "They tell me you didn't always were your helmet, Alex!"
Alex was arrested just days later in Atlanta for drunk driving and being in possession of a small bit of pot. He must have been pretty lit up (pardon the pun), since he was also cited for abusive language with the cops.

#12 Chrisskreager
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Posted 23 September 2014 - 05:29 AM
According to an excerpt I read from the book "Dallas Cowboys: The Outrageous History of the Biggest, Loudest, Most Hated and Loved Football Team in America":

Yoder was actualy supposed to dance after the game with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. He bumped into a vendor selling hot Dr. Pepper, and its canned heat came into contact with his snowman costume, which then caught flame.

#13 SixtiesFan
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Posted 23 September 2014 - 10:44 AM
BD Sullivan, on 22 Sept 2014 - 10:55 PM, said:
Alex was arrested just days later in Atlanta for drunk driving and being in possession of a small bit of pot. He must have been pretty lit up (pardon the pun), since he was also cited for abusive language with the cops.

As I recall, CBS thought (mistakenly) Hawkins would be their version of Don Meredith.