Fifty-one years ago this month, John Bassett shocked the sports world when he lured fullback Larry Csonka, wide receiver Paul Warfield and running back Jim Kiick away from the Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins to the Toronto Northmen of the fledgling World Football League.
Of course, the Northmen never materialized, and relocated to Memphis (where they became the Southmen).
If you’re a football history geek, you probably already know that.
But did you know that just five months before the trio’s debut – and the start of the WFL’s ill-fated 1975 season – there was a deal in the works to send them to Chicago’s new franchise?
In early March of 1975, there was still some question as to whether or not the WFL would be around for a second try. After the epic financial disaster of the 1974 campaign, new league commissioner Chris Hemmeter was overseeing a “reorganization” plan for the league, which wouldn’t be finalized until April.
Meantime, Bassett had announced on March 2 that he had offered a group of Chicago investors Csonka, Warfield and Kiick in exchange for a joint ownership of a new Windy City-based franchise.
The Chicago Fire, which played in 1974, had folded in January, 1975.
“I would hope Csonka, Kiick and Warfield don’t have to play in Memphis,” Bassett told the Commercial Appeal in Memphis for a March 2 story.
Bassett thought the Southmen were strong enough to be a winning team even without the three. By sending them to Chicago, it would give the WFL a boost by having them showcased in a major media market – thus possibly saving the circuit from extinction.
“Their contract is a very simple one,” Bassett said. “It is a standard player’s contract with a couple of alterations – the main alteration being that there are some personal guarantees, and the second one being that I have to be associated with the football team.”
Under Bassett’s plan, he would own both the Memphis franchise and be a part owner of the Chicago entry.
“It is conceivable that corporately we could have two separate football teams,” he told the paper. “The contract was originally signed with the Toronto Northmen, which is the general partner in Memphis. The contract is still with the Toronto Northmen.”
Bassett said the season ticket holders he had talked to in Memphis seemed to be fine with the potential loss of the NFL stars.
“We phoned every season ticket holder, and we only lost 35 subscribers – 19 had moved away or died,” he said. “We picked up 500. That was the week after the speculation, the Csonka-Kiick-Warfield story, broke. Fans could be really upset if we were 3-17, but we had the best record in North America in 1974 (17-4 with a playoff loss to the Florida Blazers).”
With stars in Memphis such as running backs J.J. Jennings and Willie Spencer, as well as wide receiver Ed Marshall, the Southmen already had plenty of weapons.
Chicago’s new team, however, needed to make a splash.
“Is it wrong to want to showcase the best you have in a suitable arena (Soldier Field) to get the maximum benefit from them?” Bassett asked. “I think not.”
Two weeks later, Csonka told the Commercial Appeal he wasn’t concerned about what team he’d be repping in ’75.
“To tell you the truth, I’m tired of hearing and reading about where we’re going to play,” the future Hall of Famer said. “One day it’s this city, the next day it’s somewhere else. As long as I get to play football, it doesn’t matter where.”
That said, the goings on behind the scenes in the WFL didn’t inspire confidence.
“It seems to me that while arguing over a sandwich, they’re going to miss dinner,” Csonka said. “It seems very, very shaky to me. I think the league is far behind schedule, and it disenchants me to know they aren’t any farther ahead at this point than they are.
“I would have thought they could have had all their groundwork completed for a second season, and be ready to go by now.”
As the calendar shifted from March to April, things got even more interesting.
Eugene Pullano had emerged as the principal owner of the Chicago franchise. And not only was he negotiating with Bassett for the “big three,” he was also trying to lure Joe Namath from the New York Jets.
Although Namath was past his prime, he would’ve certainly made the WFL a major news story.
Heading into league meetings, Pullano said he needed to close one or both deals or he wouldn’t join the league.
“Without Namath, I won’t accept the secondary package,” Pullano said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “If the WFL assures me in writing of Csonka, Kiick and Warfield, I’ll conditionally join the WFL. It’s one package or the other … we won’t go without them.”
On April 16, Hemmeter announced that the WFL was a go for 1975 and would feature at least 10 franchises. That same day, however, Bassett and Pullano broke off negotiations for Csonka, Warfield and Kiick.
“They will play for the Memphis Southmen, period,” Bassett told United Press International. “It did not become necessary for me to sell their contracts to the league in order for the WFL to continue.
“Initially, I never intended them to play anywhere else but in Toronto, but when I was forced to move to Memphis, I never intended for them to play anywhere else but Memphis.”
Namath ultimately turned down Chicago’s $4 million offer, but Pullano reconsidered and decided to move forward with the new franchise, nicknamed the Winds.
It was a bad idea.
Chicago was the first team to fold in the WFL’s second season, going cleats up after just five regular season games and finishing 1-4. Their final game, incidentally, was a 31-7 road loss to the Southmen.
The rest of the league followed suit after 12 weeks; Memphis fans got to see Csonka, Warfield and Kiick perform at the Liberty Bowl just seven times before waning fan interest – and a lack of a national TV contract – doomed the WFL for good.
“I still want to play some football,” Csonka said on the day the WFL folded – October 22, 1975. “But the league just fell out from under us.”