By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor
(HALL OF FAMER)—Lemar Parrish was one of the premier defensive backs in the National Football League for many years throughout the 1970s. A lot of people think he hasn’t gotten the post-career honors he deserves.
Last week, it was announced that Lemar Parrish is a part of the 2024 class of enshrinees in the Black College Football Hall of Fame.
Parrish played for Lincoln University in Jefferson City, 1966-1969 as a kick returner and defensive back. He was named an All-American in his final year, the same year he set a school record by running a punt back 95 yards for a touchdown against what is now Missouri State University. He averaged 16.8 yards per punt return. That record and his career average of 15.5 yards also are still school records. LU won 23 games during his career, almost ten percent of all the victories in school history (248).
He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round. In his rookie year he had five interceptions, one fumble recovery, 194 yards of punt returns and 482 yards returning kickoffs.
In 1970, against the Buffalo Bills, he took a kickoff return 95 yards for a touchdown and scored another one on an 83-yard blocked field goal attempt. Two years later, against the Houston Oilers, he scored touchdowns on interception returns of 33 and 25 yards. Against the then-Washington Redskins in 1974, he scored on a 93-yard punt return and a fumble return of 47 yards.
While he was with the Redskins he was named Football Digest’s 1979 Defensive Back of the Year.
When he left the Bengals in a contract dispute he held the team record for touchdowns scored by
return or recovery. Four came on interceptions, four on punt returns, three on fumble recoveries, with one kickoff return and one on that blocked field goal. Three times, he scored two return-or-recovery toughdowns in a game. In his eight years in Cincinnati, he was named to the pro bowl six times. His 25 career interceptions is still the fifth-most in franchise history and he still holds records for career punt returns for touchdowns, kick return averae and single-season punt return average. He was named to the Bengal’s All-Half-Century Team in 2017, five years after Lincoln University enshrined him its all of fame.
In the entire history of the NFL, only twenty defensive backs have been picked for eight Pro Bowls. LeMar Parrish is one of them. He was a three-time All-Pro first team player and a two-time second teamer.
The list of inductees into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame goes back to 1951. LeMar Parrish’s name is not on that long, long, long list. It’s hard to understand why it isn’t.
(MIZ)—The Missouri Tigers hit the snooze button halfway through the first half against Seton Hall and didn’t get a wakeup call until the second half was about two-thirds gone. Once again unable to play a 40-minute game, the Tigers took the loss, their fifth of the year to go with seven wins and facing a big game next weekend against 16th-ranked Illinois (7-2).
Missouri led early, 16-10 but dozed off, missing five of six shots and turning the ball over twice while the Pirates went on a 16-3 run and led 42-38 at the half. Seton Hall outscored the Tigers 33-18 in the first fourteen minutes of the second half. Missouri woke up down 75-56 and pulled within six with 3:32 left. But that was as close as they got in the 93-87 loss.
The game was decided in the paint where Missouri’s bigs made no impression on Seton Hall at all. The Tiger Trees (Trent Pierce at 6-10, seven-footer Jordan Butler, 7-foot-2 inch Mabor Majak, and Seven-five Connor Vanover) combined for just 26 minutes on the court, 12 points (two dunks by Vanover and Pierce going 3-3 including two from outside the arc), 3 rebounds, one steal amd three blocks while Seton Hall was going 17 for 21 on layups and scoring 44 points in the paint. Missouri scored just 30 points inside.
Missouri outscored Seton Hall 31-18 in the last six minutes but both teams scored 17 points in the last 3:32. (zou, weakly)
(CHIEFS)—The Kansas City Chiefs handed the New England Patriots their seventh home loss in eight games this year Sunday, dropping the Patriots to 3-11. The Chiefs started slowly again and trailed 207 in the second quarter before getting their second touchdown just before halftime to take a lead, then adding 13 points in the third quarter and going scoreless in the fourth.
The Chiefs had a chance to score on their opening drive but Harrison Butker chose that moment to miss his first field goal of the season, ending a streak of 61 straight threes, one short of his own team record. The Patriots took the lead in the second quarter when Patrick Mahomes threw his 13th interception of the season, which ties him for career-most, set in 2021. It was hs only pick of the game, however, and he finished with more than 300 yards passing and appears to be a lock on another 4,000 yards passing year. He has never had a year of less than 4,000 yards since be became the Chiefs’ fulltime quarterback.
The Chiefs meet the Raiders on Christmas Day. The Raiders are coming off a 63-21 shellacking of the Los Angeles Chargers, afer leading at the half 42-0.
(THE PRICE OF SOUNDING OFF)—It’s not nice to blast NFL officials, especially if it appears you were wrong. ESPN’s Adam Schefter says the league has decided coach Andy Reid’s criticism of the offsides call that might have cost the Chiefs the game against the Bills was worth a $100,000 penalty for violating “long-standing rules prohibiting criticism of game officials.” Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is $50,000 lighter in the wallet for the same thing and for unsportsmanlike conduct on the sidelines after the call.
Now we wait to hear in the NFL goes after Kadarius Toney, the accused scofflaw who was offside. Toney says the call was ‘pretty much bogus.” He claimed he had gotten no warning form officials about where he stood as the play was called. That’s not what the officials said. A fine for Toney? We’ll see.
(ROYALS)—After being relatively quiet in the early trading/signing period, the Kansas City Royals have started assembling the improvements they want to make for 2024. Tops on the list is Michael Wacha, once one of the young arms for the Cardinals, who has signed a $16 million one-year deal with a player option for 2025.
Wacha will be 33 next July. He’s 88-54 after eleven years in the Bigs with an ERA of less than 4. Last year with San Diego he was 14-4 with a 3.22 ERA, his best season since he went 17-7/3.38 as a 25-year old starter for St. Louis.Wacha’s career has been limited by injuries. He’s been out with shoulder problems in five seasons. The last time he started 30 or more games and pitched more than 134.1 innings was 2017.
The past week also saw the Royals add other guys. Seth Lugo, also a Padres starter last year, signed for two years at $30 million with a $15 million player option for 2025. Lugo spent seven years with the Mets before moving to the other coast with San Diego. He’s 40-31 in his career that has mostly been in the bullpen although he started 26 games last year. He’s another guy with a career ERA under 4 (3.50).
While Wacha and Lugo’s numbers aren’t big given the number of years they’ve been in the majors, they add veteran experience to a young Royals pitching staff of Cole Ragans, Brady Singer and Jordan Lyles, who showed promise last year
Earlier, Reliever Will Smith got a one-year contract for five million. Reliever Chris Stratton has a one-year deal at $3.5 million and a $4.5 million option for ’25. Outfielder Hunter Renfroe joins the team for $5.5 million in 2024 and a $7.5 million player option for the next season. Renfro has a chance to rebuild himself in Kansas City. He started last year with the Angels, hit .242 with 19 homers and 56 RBIs before he was put on waivers when the Angels shed a lot of salaries and was picked up by the Reds. But he was only in 14 games for them, hitting only .128, before he was designated for assignment, then cut at the end of September.
(CARDINALS)—The Cardinals have gone quiet, presumably because they’ve entered a new negotiating phase with somebody.
(SPENDING)—New York Times columnist Jeff Passan has ranked the teams’ free agent spending on new players so far this year and both of our teams are in the top six:
Dodgers $717 million (plus $135 millon for the five-year deal with pitcher Tyler Glasnow, picked up in a trade)
Phillies $172 million
Diamondbacks $122 million
Giants $113 million
Royals $105 million
Cardinals $99 million
(X-CARD)—Good Heavens, Matt Carpenter is still around. He’s been traded by the Braves to the Padres, who have given up an outfielder prospect. The Padres also sent pitcher Ray Kerr and cash to Atlanta, the cash going to pay part of the $5.5 million player option salary the Padres would have had to pay him. The Padres didn’t need him after picking him up from the Yankees after he seemingly rediscovered his bat while with the Yankees in ’22. But in San Diego, he went back to being the Carpenter that Cardinal fans remembered in his final years in St. Loui: a .176 batting average, five homers and 31 RBIs. He played in only 76 games.
And this note about one of sports’ greatest trophies:
(THE SILVER FACE)—-It’s the only trophy in all of sports that has every winner’s face engraved in three dimensions in silver. The trophy is almost five and a half feet tall and weighs more than 110 pounds.
It’s the Borg-Warner Trophy, originally designed in 1935, and each year the sterling silver face of the winner of the Indianapolis 500 is placed on it. A few days ago, the face of Josef Newgarden was added in a special ceremony in Indianapolis.
Back on a warm day in May, Newgarden made a last-lap pass and a daring move as the field charged to the finish line at more than 200 mph to win the Indianapolis 500 for the first time. He called having his face on the trophy “the highest honor you can have in motorsports.”
What became the bas-relief Newgarden face is the work of sculptor Will Behrends who first created a life-sized clay bust of Newgarden that is the basis for a tiny version that becomes a wax mold sent to a jeweler who turned it into the silver image.
Part of the process involved Newgarden sitting as a model while Behrends put the finishing touches on the bust. The result turned into a special selfie.
(Photo Credits: Wacha—MLB; Newgarden—Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including screenshot from trophy unveiling)