My grandmother was quite the acheiver. She played football for nearly 30 years, and raised a rather large family. In addition, she had a bit of a sordid life off the field (but what great football player doesn't?).

I thought it would be fitting to pay tribute to her on my webpage.

On the field

Granny started her career during the second world war when our brave men were overseas. She figured she'd entertain those here in the states by taking up a sport. But, she couldn't play baseball, and football "looked like fun."

Her tryout with the Decatur Staleys went well, and she spent time with them in '42. Then, she was traded to the Steagles in '43 and spent 6 years there. She took a year or two off to have children, then returned to the sport she adored. She played for the Redskins and Colts for a total of 5 years, then retired.

But, then, she got the bug to play again, and had a brief stint in Green Bay under the tutelage of Lombardi. That was 1964, and little did we know her career was only half over. She was released, and decided to play in the AFL for a while. She spent time with the Chargers and then went to the Jets. She loved them when she got there. But, that showboat Joe Namath was too much for her, and now all she wanted to do was play against them.

In the 70s, she was lucky enough to be on both the Dolphins and Steelers championship teams, and no one could beat my grandmother then! She abruptly retired in 1979, only to have Shula call her during the strike in 1982 to ask if she'd like to come back. Did she ever!

She played on that team, and was instrumental in helping them get to the superbowl. Her experience and leadership paid off for Shula. She stuck with the team for a couple more years, mostly as a reserve, and then retired for what, the fourth time. And then came the strike of '87. Granny was the first NFLer to cross the picket line, and again she returned to Shula's team. Again, her leadership was critical, and she says that Marino personally thanked her for helping to end the strike.

She hung around through the rest of the Shula years, but only played a little. She was more of a consultant to the team, and she'd listen to anybody. When JJ took over, he told his confidants that he couldn't possibly cut his grandmother. So, he kept a roster spot open for her.

Then, finally, in 1998, she hung them up for good. She's been enjoying life with her great grandkids, but she has the dish, and watches every game she can. And don't think for a moment that she doesn't get animated about it!

Last year, it was decided that granny, in association with the NFL, will be called the Belle of the Ball.

Granny's beau's...

 After she left grandpa in the dust, granny decided to allegedly make company with a number of prominent indivuduals.
Tony Randall It was the opposite of what Tony Randall had before he died. At the time, my grandmother was the older woman, and Tony was a young, unknown comic. When he took the job on *that show* with Jack Klugman, it was all over. Now, when granny sees him she's like "Hey, Tony Randall!"
JFK He got around, she got around, you knew they had to get together.
FDR. Ditto. Or at least that's what granny tells me.
George Washington Is it true? Did granny really date him? She did say he had some great choppers!
Grover Cleveland Alexander Fastballs & Screwballs
Don Shula "He needed some help"

Fabio 		She taught him how to do his hair.

John Tesh 		She went slumming. (yeah, I didn't understand that one, either)

Gene Kelly 		She taught *him* how to dance!

Marla Maples 		"experimental" ... after the Donald and she broke up ...

Donald Trump 		He took Merv Griffin for a ride. Granny took him for the ride of his life.
The NY Jets fun while it lasted, but ended in bitterness
Jim Kelly when he was at UM, before he became "The Enemy"..and then again, after he became The Enemy. consolation for losing all those Super Bowls
JJ Jimmy James, not Jimmy Johnson. She was the *true* Hot Lips.
Tony Blair he might lie about Iraq, but he's never lie about love!
Peter Sellers being there, doing *that*
Pierre Trudeau after the Quiet Revolution, freedom to love!
Charles Shulz He called her "Lucy" and, he let her kick the football
Tom Bosley She says she dated him after his happy days were over, and before he joined the clergy. The "C" in Mr. C stood for cool.
John Travolta but Battlefield Earth was *not* her idea
Granville "Granny" Liggins Granny and Granny were quite the item (editor's note: yeah, its obscure; that granny was a star in the CFL, he is one of the most recognized of former Toronto Argonauts in his adopted city, he is one of the nicest and most approachable as well. Liggins first showed up in Toronto following a trade with the Calgary Stampeders in 1973. Strangely enough, Liggins was on the opposite side of the ball in the 1971 Grey Cup when the Stampeders edged out Joe Theismann's Toronto Argonauts to extend the Double Blue Grey Cup drought. Liggins' career started with the Stamps in 1968 but reached its zenith when he was named an All-Star and won team MVP honours in 1976. Remember that those were some heady days for Argonauts. They consistently played in front of crowds numbering 47,000 or better.)
Pedro Martinez, followed by Grady Little. "Who's your granny?"
Joe Theismann And Joe Theisman was so good with Granny that she gave him a trophy. That's why he changed the pronunciation of his name. And something about how she was so out of this world that that Argonaut became a Grannynaut (exploring "strange new worlds").

"Halleluiah, it's raining men...the men from Granny's life!"
Photo album:
Here's a shot of Granny at a reunion with her first pro team. Unfortunately, Ebenezeer Goldfarb was attending his grandson's wedding, and couldn't make it.
Granny briefly played the other football. In 1979, at the "height of popularity" for MLS, she signed a 1-year $400,000 deal with the Minnesota Strikers. She decided that she preferred the full contact of american rules football, and returned to it in 1981.
After downing the NY Jets 31-10 in the old Shea Stadium, granny and her friends told the local town what they thought of them.
Granny poses with Freddie Jones for some publicity shots. The ad campaign said "who's afraid of a little ole' granny? Fred is. And you should be, too."
Granny getting in shape for her last season in 1997.
My grandmother's nemesis was Charlotte Chambers. Charlotte and my grandmother grew up together around Orlando and squared off often on the football field. Their rivalry was intense, and once, in grade school the other kids stopped playing because it got too rough. The two women, though, were undaunted and continued to play to a 7-0 finish, though its not entirely clear who actually won as it got dark and both now claim they scored the TD.

The two of them turned the rivalry up a notch because of "the incident" in 1978, when someone stole someone else's boyfriend. John Travolta was "reconsidering his options" around the time he was making "Saturday Night Fever."





..Of course the facts contained herein can not be indepentedly verified. All information was provided by my grandmother, and I know she can exaggerate (like once when she said she owned an african elephant; I mean, I know what the ears look like, and that was clearly an indian elephant).

Photos are linked from various sites.

Please email Dave if you have questions about the content or the site.