Hey, how about a post that ties it all together in one game. John Hadl, County Stadium, & the worst trade of all time?

Because as per usual, KY was there.

In October of '74, I went to Milwaukee with my crew of buddies to see the Pack play the LA rams. We all basically thought the Pack was gonna lose. The Rams were 12-2 the year before. One of their players I wanted to check-out was their QB, John Hadl. Hadl had been the NFC Most Valuable Player in '73. Hadl had also been a real big deal in the AFL for all those years, zinging long passes to Lance Alworth and those great Charger receivers. This shaped up to be a good ball game. It was a great game, but for the G&G, not the Lambs.

Hadl was impressive all right. He impressed me as a guy who was totally washed up. He looked shorter than he appeared in many highlight films of the past. He was stubby looking, short arms and legs. His passes were gross, his arm had apparently lost whatever zip it had once had. The Packer D was on fire, making 4 interceptions (3 by OLB Ted Hendricks). They added another TD on a punt return. The Rams benched Hadl in the 3rd quarter. He slumped on the bench and took off his Rams Horn blue helmet. He got lots of static for displaying his bald head while he was hunkered down on the Pine. The last pass he tossed would be the last ball he ever threw for the LA Rams. How Devine could make the trade he would pull 10 days later is beyond me. Five high draft picks over the next 3 years. 2 #1's, 2 # 2s, and a third. Ridiculous price for a has-been QB.


But Devine did have to do something. Packer QB Jerry Tagge was even worse. Tagge completed all of TWO passes. For a net yardage -1 yard. It remains today as the most pathetic display of QBing a team that I have ever seen. Tagge matched Hadl in another category. His last pass was the last one he ever threw for GB.

Tagge's trade value was zero. but so was Hadl. LA had one thing in it's favor. They had a pigeon in Dan Devine. And pluck their pigeon they did. Devine didn't care.

After the last game with Atlanta, pigeon Devine flew the coop for South Bend. He got the ND college job and never paid any attention to the carnage he caused in GB.

DD was a fool and an asshole.