FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2001
Contact:
Brian McCarthy, National Football League, (212) 450-2000
Steve Brener/Nicole Jacobs, Brener Zwikel & Associates, Inc., (818) 344-6195
TAMPA SUPER BOWL HEROES
MARCUS ALLEN, OTTIS ANDERSON,
TOM FLORES AND BILL PARCELLS
TO TAKE PART IN SUPER BOWL XXXV COIN TOSS
AT TAMPA’S RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM
TAMPA, Fla. — Heroes from the two previous Tampa Super Bowls (XVIII & XXV) will be saluted in the pre-game coin toss for Super Bowl XXXV on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2001, at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, the National Football League announced today. Tampa Super Bowl MVPs, Marcus Allen (1984) and Ottis Anderson (1991), will be reunited with their coaches, Tom Flores and Bill Parcells, for the ceremony.
In Super Bowl XVIII on Jan. 22, 1984, the Los Angeles Raiders dominated the Washington Redskins from the outset and achieved what at the time was the most lopsided victory in Super Bowl history, 38-9, before 72,920 fans at Tampa Stadium. The Raiders took a 7-0 lead 4:52 into the game when Derrick Jensen blocked a Jeff Hayes punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. With 9:14 remaining in the first half, Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cliff Branch to complete a three-play, 65-yard drive.
Washington cut the Raiders’ lead to 14-3 on a 24-yard field goal by Mark Moseley. With seven seconds left in the first half, Raiders linebacker Jack Squirek intercepted a Joe Theismann pass at the Redskins’ five-yard line and ran it in for a touchdown for a 21-3 halftime advantage.
Raiders running back Marcus Allen took control of the game in the third quarter with touchdown runs of five and 74 yards. The 74-yard scamper remains the longest run from scrimmage in Super Bowl history and is one of the NFL Championship’s most recognizable plays. Allen rushed for a then-Super Bowl record 191 yards on 20 carries to earn Super Bowl XVIII most valuable player honors.
The victory over Washington raised Raiders coach Tom Flores’ playoff record to 8-1, including a 27-10 victory against Philadelphia in Super Bowl XV.
In Super Bowl XXV, played on January 27, 1991, at Tampa Stadium, the New York Giants won their second Super Bowl in five years with a 20-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills. Employing a dominating ball control offense, The Giants set a Super Bowl record for possession with 40 minutes, 33 seconds. The Bills, who scored 95 points in their previous two playoff games leading to Super Bowl XXV, had the ball for less than eight minutes in the second half and just 19:27 for the game.
Fourteen of New York’s 73 plays came on its initial 75-yard drive of the third quarter. The Giants consumed a Super Bowl-record 9:29 that culminated with running back Otis Anderson crossing the goal line for a one-yard touchdown. Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler kept the long drive going by converting three third-down plays, giving New York a 17-12 lead in the third quarter.
Buffalo jumped to a 12-3 lead midway through the second quarter before Hostetler completed a 14-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Stephen Baker to close the score to 12-10 at halftime. Buffalo’s Thurman Thomas ran 31 yards for a touchdown on the opening play of the fourth quarter to help Buffalo recapture the lead, 19-17.
After Matt Bahr’s 21-yard field goal gave the Giants a 20-19 lead, Buffalo’s Scott Norwood had a chance to win the game with seconds remaining. However, his 47-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right. Anderson rushed 21 times for 102 yards and one touchdown to capture most valuable player honors.
The tradition of the Super Bowl coin toss involving former greats of the game began at Super Bowl XII in 1978 with legendary halfback Red Grange. A specially-minted coin commemorating previous Super Bowl games has been used in 22 of the past 25 Super Bowls.
The 2001 Super Bowl coin, minted by Commemorative Brands, will feature the helmets of the two participating teams and the Super Bowl XXXV logo.
Allen (SB XXX), Anderson (SB XXX) and Flores (SB XXXI) will be participating in their second coin toss ceremony. Six other legends have participated twice—Bart Starr (SB XX & XXX), Joe Namath (SB XXVIII & XXX), Terry Bradshaw (SB XXIV & XXX), Tom Landry (SB XXXI & XXXIII), Doug Williams (SB XXX & XXXII) and Chuck Noll (SB XXVI & XXXI).
The honor roll for the Super Bowl coin toss is as follows:
Super Bowl XII Red Grange
Super Bowl XIII George Halas
Super Bowl XIV Art Rooney
Super Bowl XV Marie Lombardi
Super Bowl XVI Bobby Layne
Super Bowl XVII Elroy Hirsch
Super Bowl XVIII Bronko Nagurski
Super Bowl XIX President Ronald Reagan and Hugh McElhenny
Super Bowl XX Bart Starr
Super Bowl XXI Willie Davis
Super Bowl XXII Don Hutson
Super Bowl XXIII Nick Buoniconti, Bob Griese and Larry Little
Super Bowl XXIV Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Art Shell and Willie Wood
Super Bowl XXV Pete Rozelle
Super Bowl XXVI Chuck Noll
Super Bowl XXVII O.J. Simpson
Super Bowl XXVIII Joe Namath
Super Bowl XXIX Otto Graham, Joe Greene, Ray Nitschke and Gale Sayers
Super Bowl XXX Super Bowl Most Valuable Players (Joe Montana tossed coin)
Super Bowl XXXI Mike Ditka, Tom Flores, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, George
Seifert and Hank
Stram
Super Bowl XXXII Joe Gibbs, Eddie Robinson and Doug Williams
Super Bowl XXXIII Raymond Berry, Roosevelt Brown, Art Donovan, Frank
Gifford, Sam Huff,
Tom
Landry, Gino Marchetti, Don Maynard, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, Andy
Robustelli
Super Bowl XXXIV Bud Grant, Lamar Hunt, Bobby Bell, Paul Krause, Willie
Lanier, Alan Page,
Jan
Stenerud
Super Bowl XXXV Marcus Allen, Ottis Anderson, Tom Flores, Bill Parcells
MARCUS ALLEN
One of the greatest running backs in pro football history…Excelled as a runner, receiver, blocker and leader…Considered one of the game’s best goal-line and short yardage runners…Played 16 NFL seasons, 11 with the Raiders and five with the Chiefs…Ranks third all-time in touchdown (145) and seventh in rushing yards (12,243)…His 206 games are the most by an NFL running back, while his 576 pass receptions also are tops for a running back…In 1995, he became the first player to rush for more than 10,000 yards and catch passes for 5,000 yards…Earned six Pro Bowl trips, one with the Chiefs in ’93 and five with the Raiders (’82 and ’84-’87)…Was MVP of Super Bowl XVIII when the Raiders defeated the Redskins, 38-9, at Tampa Stadium…Is the second-oldest player to rush for 100 yards in a game, doing it at 35 years, 252 days (John Riggins was 36 years, 84 days old)…Holder of the NFL record for most consecutive games with 100 or more rushing yards with 11 (10/28/85-9/14/86)…Was The Sporting News’ NFL Player of the Year and PFWA NFL MVP in ’85…Was the 10th overall pick out of USC by Oakland in the first round of the ’82 draft…As a senior at Southern Cal, he won the ’81 Heisman Trophy and set what was then the all-time single-season rushing record with 2,342 yards…Was a consensus All-America choice and was named College Player of the Year by Walter Camp, Maxwell Club and Football News…Established 12 NCAA records and tied another, including single-season records for average yards rushing per game (212.9), most 200-yard games (eight), most carries (403), highest average per carry (5.8), most all-purpose running plays (432) and most all-purpose yards (2,559)…born March 26, 1960, San Diego, Calif.
OTTIS ANDERSON
Played 14 NFL seasons with St. Louis (’79-’86) and the New York Giants (’86-’92)…Ranks 13th on the NFL rushing list with 10,273 yards…Rushed for more than 1,000 yards six times (once with the Giants and five times with St. Louis)…Led the Giants to a 20-19 victory in Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium, gaining 102 yards to earn MVP honors…Named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in ’89, gaining 1,023 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns…Obtained by the Giants from St. Louis in a trade on October 12, 1986…In his NFL debut with St. Louis in ’79, rushed for 193 yards on 21 carries against Dallas…Earned Rookie of the Year honors in ’79, as well as being named to the Pro Bowl and All-NFL with 1,605 yards rushing…Broke Chuck Foreman’s career rushing record at the University of Miami…Became the first Hurricane to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark in one season (1,266 yards) during his senior year…He was a first-team All-American selection by both The Sporting News and Football Coaches Association…born January 19, 1957, West Palm Beach, Fla.
TOM FLORES
Served as an NFL head coach for 12 years, including nine seasons (’79-’87) with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders and three seasons (’92-’94) with Seattle…Recorded 102 regular season victories…Compiled a postseason record of 8-3 (72.7%)…In nine years with the Raiders, he compiled an 83-53 regular season record (61%) and won two Super Bowls…His Raiders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10, in Super Bowl XV after the 1980 season to become the only wild-card team to win the Super Bowl…The Championship came in just his second season as an NFL head coach, joining the Baltimore Colts’ Don McCafferty in 1970 and the San Francisco 49ers’ George Seifert in 1989 as the only coaches to win titles in their rookie seasons…The Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII at Tampa Stadium after the 1983 season…In nine seasons with the Raiders, Flores captured three AFC Western Division titles (’82,’83 and ’85) and two AFC championship games (’80 and ’83)…He was named AFC Coach of the Year by UPI and the Professional Football Writers’ Association in 1982…Flores is one of only two people in NFL history, along with Mike Ditka, to earn a Super Bowl ring as a player, assistant coach and head coach…born March 21, 1937, Fresno, Calif..
BILL PARCELLS
One of the most successful coaches in NFL history…Served as an NFL head coach for 15 seasons, eight with the Giants (’83-’90), four with New England (’93-’96) and three with the Jets (’97-’99)…Took Jets team that finished 1-15 in ’96 and guided them to nine wins in his first season as head coach…The following year, Parcells led the Jets to a 12-4 record and an AFC East Championship…The Jets 20-game improvement during those two years marked the greatest improvement in pro football history by a team that had won only one game…Named USA Today AFC Coach of the Year in ’98…Guided the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI in ’96…In his eight seasons with the Giants, won three NFC East titles and two Super Bowls…Defeated Buffalo 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium and captured Super Bowl XXI at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., 39-20 over Denver…Named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, United Press International, USA Today, Pro Football Weekly Football Digest, College and Pro Football Newsweekly AFC Coach of the Year and earned the Maxwell Award Coach of the Year, all in ’94…Named NFL Coach of the Year in 1986 after leading the Giants to a 14-2 record and a Super Bowl title…born August 22, 1941, Englewood, N.J.
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