Bounty Bowl I: The 1989 Thanksgiving Classic
| Texas Stadium, the site of the game | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | November 23, 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Texas Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Irving, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Gene Barth | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Philadelphia -17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Pat Summerall and John Madden | ||||||||||||||||||
On November 23, 1989, Philadelphia Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan found himself at the center of yet another controversy. The Eagles defeated Dallas by a score of 27-0, Dallas' only Thanksgiving game shutout. During the lopsided game, vitriol came to the surface on the field as the rivals got into several skirmishes, most notably when Dallas placekicker Luis Zendajas left the game with a concussion following a hard tackle by linebacker Jessie Small after a kickoff.
Following the game, broadcast on CBS with Pat Summerall and John Madden calling the game, Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson alleged that Ryan had taken out a bounty on two of his players, Dallas (and former Philadelphia) kicker Luis Zendejas and quarterback Troy Aikman. Johnson said:
| “ | I have absolutely no respect for the way they played the game, I would have said something to Buddy, but he wouldn't stand on the field long enough. He put his big, fat rear end into the dressing room. | ” |
Zendejas claimed that when he was with the Eagles, a player had once received $200 – $100 each for hits on a punter and kicker. This is what led his coach Jimmy Johnson to make the accusation that a bounty had existed in this game as well.
Buddy Ryan responded to Johnson's accusations:
| “ | I resent that. I've been on a diet, lost a couple of pounds. I thought I was looking good. | ” |
This game marked the first time a most valuable player was picked for a Thanksgiving game. John Madden handed out the first "Turkey Leg Award" to Reggie White. Such an award became an annual Thanksgiving tradition among CBS and Fox (and later, the NFL Network).
In 2008 and on April 11, 2010, the game was included on a list of the ten most memorable moments in the history of Texas Stadium by ESPN.
This series of events set the stage for the scheduled rematch two weeks later in Philadelphia, dubbed "Bounty Bowl II."
Read more about this topic: Bounty Bowl
Famous quotes containing the words bounty, thanksgiving and/or classic:
“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep. The more I give to thee
The more I have, for both are infinite.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“For years, they have all been dying
Out, the classic buck-and-wing men”
—James Dickey (b. 1923)