Today In Patriots History O/T: 40th Anniversary of the Snow Plow game

[Steve102]

Like it happened yesterday

I dunno about yesterday but 40 years seems like a lot.

 

[Tom Tupa]

I wasn't alive for this, but always loved the highlight, and always loved that Shula was so mad about it for the rest of his life. Also, it feels like it's been a long time since we've had a real snow game in Foxboro. We could use one for the Bengals or Dolphins games coming up.

 

[BTTA]

I'd love for Belichick, during a game with snow cover, to send one out to some random part of the field, well away from the line of scrimmage. Clear a small area of no consequence, just to watch the opposing team and fans go nuts. And for the TV commentators to ask, for the rest of the game, "What was Belichick up to?" assuming he was doing it for some advantage that they can't figure out. After the game, when asked, he could say something like, "I was just honoring people who are working hard at rehabilitating themselves, like Mark Henderson was. It is important for us to use the NFL platform toward good social causes."

 

[captain stone]

Hate to think what current commish would do….you know reparations

The game would've been declared a Tie, if not a forfeit Loss.

 

[FCB02062]

I was 8 years old for this game. I do not remember it at all - not that I was watching football and understanding at that age. Anyone know if this was on local TV? If you watch videos the game was on NBC but the seats are definitely nowhere near full....doesn't mean it wasn't sold out, though. Just wondering if anyone older remembers if it was on local TV....this was definitely back when lots of Pats games were blacked out

 

[captain stone]

I was 8 years old for this game. I do not remember it at all - not that I was watching football and understanding at that age. Anyone know if this was on local TV? If you watch videos the game was on NBC but the seats are definitely nowhere near full....doesn't mean it wasn't sold out, though. Just wondering if anyone older remembers if it was on local TV....this was definitely back when lots of Pats games were blacked out

I wasn't in MA then, and I know I didn't watch it live either... I've just left a message with my brother to see if he remembers...

 

[NormZauchin]

I don't think so...I remember Bokamper and Baumhauer getting pretty pizzed off and I remember Brudzinski getting hit more than once...I remember Shoes wanted the snowplow guy arrested...he was out and there on work release if I remember correctly...LMAO

Yeah, you're right. Hard to send a guy to jail who's already in jail. I think Henderson was doing time for burglary. Would have been great, if, after plowing the field, he rifled through the Dolphins locker room and took as many Rolexes and wallets as he could fit in his parka.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Hate to think what current commish would do….you know reparations

He already did it...thrice

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I wasn't in MA then, and I know I didn't watch it live either

Me too

I've just left a message with my brother to see if he remembers...

Mine already emailed me

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Shula called the commish like a baby
"I called the commissioner [Pete Rozelle] and told him it was the most unfair act that had ever happened in a football game," Shula tells the Times-Dispatch. "He agreed. I asked him what he was going to do about it. He said, 'Nothing.'"

'Snowplow Game' still stings Shula

Paul Woody of the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch chats with former Dolphins coach Don Shula, who is opening one of his steakhouses in the area. And as Shula reflected on his career, he came back to a date that resonates with Patriots fans -- Dec.

www.espn.com

The New England Patriots Complete Cheating History

The New England Patriots are TOUCH BELOW AVERAGE NFL cheaters. They have executed 8 cheats and have a CheatScore of 27!

yourteamcheats.com

SUMMARY: On December 12, 1982, the Dolphins and Patriots played the "Snowplow Game" in the middle of a New England blizzard. Conditions were so bad that the teams combined to attempt just 11 passes, while rushing got them a combined 375 yards and zero touchdowns. Through the first three and a half quarters, the two teams only attempted two field goals: both unsuccessful.

With just over four minutes left in the game and the Patriots about to attempt another field goal, the stadium snowplow operator Mark Henderson -- who by mutual agreement had been clearing off the yard markers throughout the game -- veered from his line cleaning duties and cleared a spot on the field for New England kicker John Smith.

Dolphins coach DD Don Shula* went apeshit on the sidelines, but Smith made the kick and the refs allowed it. The Pats won 3-0.

A little known fact about the game from participant and Patriots Hall of Famer John Hannah: "The Dolphins were also offered the use of the snowplow by the head referee to clear the field for their final kick, but with complete indignation and certainty the game would be nullified for the unfair[sic] use of it by the Patriots, Coach Shula* adamantly refused to stoop to such tactics" and chose to play as the field lay.

As the Dolphins drove down the field for a potential game-tying field goal, Henderson drove the snowplow with them, remaining at the ready for the call from the referee to clear a spot for Dolphins kicker Uwe Von Schamann. On fourth down, however, Shula* decided to go for it and failed, effectively securing the game for the Patriots.

The act wasn't a breach of NFL rules as there was no rule in place forbidding it. A year later, however, the NFL banned the use of snowplows on the field during games. In a 2007 interview for an NFL Network segment about the game, Shula* recalled protesting what he perceived as an "unfair" act, to which Commissioner Pete Rozelle responded that without a rule explicitly barring such use of the plow, the act wasn't illegal.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I don't think so...I remember Bokamper and Baumhauer getting pretty pizzed off and I remember Brudzinski getting hit more than once...I remember Shoes wanted the snowplow guy arrested...he was out and there on work release if I remember correctly...LMAO

If Tom Landry had done the same thing at Texas Stadium he would have been hailed as a genius innovator and lauded by Shula.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I dunno about yesterday but 40 years seems like a lot.

I remember when the Beatles broke up.

I felt sad; but it's other older people I never did or would meet.

I was just a kid beginning to get into their music.

Anyway, most people are mostly connected to the here and now. It's clearly normal.

Myself, I was sick a lot as a child and I lived vicariously through others, and I used sports fandom that way. Boston is a hell of a place for a sports fan. So I think that has a lot to do with me having no sense of time. You're staring into an electronic box at people you're not having any direct contact with. 1970, 2022, doesn't seem to make a difference.

So, to quote Bill Shatner, "Get a life!!" Or at least put entertainment in its proper perspective.

Okay TBH I want Mac to go down, and Bailey to lead us to glory with Patricia running the stupid ball at least 25 times a game.

Is that so bad?

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I am legally required to post this GIF:

Imagine Tom wearing that jersey his whole career here

As he should have

 

[BTTA]

The New England Patriots Complete Cheating History

The New England Patriots are TOUCH BELOW AVERAGE NFL cheaters. They have executed 8 cheats and have a CheatScore of 27!

yourteamcheats.com

SUMMARY: On December 12, 1982, the Dolphins and Patriots played the "Snowplow Game" in the middle of a New England blizzard. Conditions were so bad that the teams combined to attempt just 11 passes, while rushing got them a combined 375 yards and zero touchdowns. Through the first three and a half quarters, the two teams only attempted two field goals: both unsuccessful.

With just over four minutes left in the game and the Patriots about to attempt another field goal, the stadium snowplow operator Mark Henderson -- who by mutual agreement had been clearing off the yard markers throughout the game -- veered from his line cleaning duties and cleared a spot on the field for New England kicker John Smith.

Dolphins coach DD Don Shula* went apeshit on the sidelines, but Smith made the kick and the refs allowed it. The Pats won 3-0.

A little known fact about the game from participant and Patriots Hall of Famer John Hannah: "The Dolphins were also offered the use of the snowplow by the head referee to clear the field for their final kick, but with complete indignation and certainty the game would be nullified for the unfair[sic] use of it by the Patriots, Coach Shula* adamantly refused to stoop to such tactics" and chose to play as the field lay.

As the Dolphins drove down the field for a potential game-tying field goal, Henderson drove the snowplow with them, remaining at the ready for the call from the referee to clear a spot for Dolphins kicker Uwe Von Schamann. On fourth down, however, Shula* decided to go for it and failed, effectively securing the game for the Patriots.

The act wasn't a breach of NFL rules as there was no rule in place forbidding it. A year later, however, the NFL banned the use of snowplows on the field during games. In a 2007 interview for an NFL Network segment about the game, Shula* recalled protesting what he perceived as an "unfair" act, to which Commissioner Pete Rozelle responded that without a rule explicitly barring such use of the plow, the act wasn't illegal.

This is part of what makes me crazy about these "cheating" labels. If it wasn't against the rules, it isn't cheating. It shouldn't be on the Patriots' "cheating" resume.

 

[captain stone]

I wasn't in MA then, and I know I didn't watch it live either... I've just left a message with my brother to see if he remembers...

Me too

Mine already emailed me

My brother remembers watching the game on live TV, but he was living in Greenfield MA at the time, which might've actually been outside of the Boston Blackout curtain... So nothing definitive on this end...

 

[jimnance]

I was 8 years old for this game. I do not remember it at all - not that I was watching football and understanding at that age. Anyone know if this was on local TV? If you watch videos the game was on NBC but the seats are definitely nowhere near full....doesn't mean it wasn't sold out, though. Just wondering if anyone older remembers if it was on local TV....this was definitely back when lots of Pats games were blacked out

I was living in Boston(JP) then and watched it live on local TV. One of the coolest things I've seen live on TV, along with the first moonwalk.

 

[jimnance]

I was living in Boston(JP) then and watched it live on local TV. One of the coolest things I've seen live on TV, along with the first moonwalk.

Correction. The game was blacked out. I probably listened to it on radio and saw the highlights on the news. Can't remember. Hey it was 40 f'n years ago, so sue me, mfers

 

[jimnance]

Correction. The game was blacked out. I probably listened to it on radio and saw the highlights on the news. Can't remember. Hey it was 40 f'n years ago, so sue me, mfers

Double correction. I mighta been at someone's house outside the blackout area and watched it live. Could also been at a bar outside the blackout zone.
And I was possibly blacked out myself.
But I remember the snowplow and the kick.
Maybe I watched it on the news.
Maybe I dropped too much acid back in the day and I'm having unreliable flashbacks.

 

[captain stone]

Double correction. I mighta been at someone's house outside the blackout area and watched it live. Could also been at a bar outside the blackout zone.
And I was possibly blacked out myself.
But I remember the snowplow and the kick.
Maybe I watched it on the news.
Maybe I dropped too much acid back in the day and I'm having unreliable flashbacks.

I don't know what amuses me more, thinking I was somewhere when I wasn't or actually being somewhere and not remembering... Not during this century mind you, but in my youth I've been approached the following day or week and been told that I was having a good time at a show or a party, and my first question is I was where?

 

[jimnance]

I don't know what amuses me more, thinking I was somewhere when I wasn't or actually being somewhere and not remembering... Not during this century mind you, but in my youth I've been approached the following day or week and been told that I was having a good time at a show or a party, and my first question is I was where?

I know I've asked that question more than once. Mind you, only in the previous century