Storyline: Before the days of Instant Replay games were won and lost by decision. Here’s a story about an all-time NFL controversy.
Years ago the Houston Oilers and Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the fiercest rivalries in the NFL. The Steelers won most of the time, too.
The two teams played in the 1978 AFC title game. Pittsburgh blew out the Oilers and went on to win the Super Bowl. Legendary Terry Bradshaw won his third Super Bowl ring.
A rematch was set in 1979. The Oilers, led by Coach Bum Phillips and quarterback Dan Pastorini, were looking for revenge — and the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance.
There’s a lot about the ’79 AFC Championship game that’s worth mentioning, but I’m going to focus on just one play–one of the most controversial plays in NFL history.
The Oilers were down 17-10 to the Steelers mid-way in the 3rd Quarter. Pastorini led the Oilers inside the Pittsburgh 20-yard line. The next play made history.
Courtesy: Alchetron
The Oilers’ line rushed out of the huddle, the receivers set. Pastorini took his time, walking up to the center, making sure his teammates were set and reading the Steelers’ defense.
Mike Renfro was one of Houston’s receivers on that play. Renfro, a rookie, was selected in the 4th Round (98th overall) in the 1978 NFL Draft. Renfro had proven his worth to the team and started as a rookie, registering 26 receptions for 339 yards and two touchdowns.
Renfro was lined up wide on the east side of the field. The ball was hiked, Pastorini dropped back, and saw Renfro heading to the corner of the end zone.
He throws a floater. Renfro made the catch in the back corner of the end zone near the pylon with both feet in play. He then slid out of bounds, the result of cold-weather field conditions in Pittsburgh that day.
The Oilers sideline goes wild, but Coach Phillips realized the officials hadn’t signaled TD. He then sees Renfro rush to the official closest to him. The official tells him no touchdown.
Renfro is upset–very upset. He spins around, thinks about spiking the ball, but decides to throw the ball to the ground and walk off the field.
Meanwhile, the officials get together and talk. Pastorini rushes in, trying to get them to listen to his side of the story. In Pastorini’s book, Taking Flak: My Life in The Fast Lane, he wrote that one of the officials that day was a friend. He yelled at him to make the right call!
But it didn’t work. The play was ruled incomplete. The Steelers would go on to win the game and, later, notch yet another Super Bowl victory.
That play, which has been featured in numerous documentaries, is ranked by ESPN as the #4 most controversial play calls. If the play had been called a touchdown, the Oilers might have won a Super Bowl. But fans can only debate. We’ll never know the answer.
Less than ten years later (1986) the NFL installed instant replay. That play in 1979–the touchdown that never was–played a big role in that decision.
