It was an unseasonably warm 60 degrees in Baltimore the day before Christmas, 1977, and Lydell Mitchell, the Baltimore Colts' all-purpose back, remembers standing on the Memorial Stadium sidelines, near exhaustion, as the AFC playoff game with the Oakland Raiders began its second overtime period.
"I told [kick returner] Howard Stevens, 'This is a great game, and you like to be a part of history. But I'm beat and sore. I sure hope we win this thing, but I'll be glad when it ends.' "
This NFL sudden-death classic ended in the opening minute of the second overtime, with Oakland winning, 37-31, on Ken Stabler's third touchdown pass to tight end Dave Casper.
Win or lose, the 60,763 zealots realized they had witnessed something special and gave the players a three-minute standing ovation as they walked off the field.
In a sense, they had witnessed the end of the glory years for the Colts, who would go 26-62-1 the next six years under three head coaches before leaving in the dead of night for Indianapolis.
Memorial Stadium will be home to another playoff game Saturday when the Baltimore CFLs face the Toronto Argonauts, but for Mitchell, linebacker Stan White and quarterback Bert Jones, the real Colts died on Christmas Eve 17 years ago.
"We probably had the best young team in pro football back then," said White, now an attorney and radio sports talk host. "But everything started to fall apart after losing that game.
"Lydell got in a contract hassle and was traded to San Diego, [tight end] Raymond Chester went to Oakland and [wide receiver] Freddie Scott was traded to Detroit. And the next year, Bert hurt his shoulder during the exhibition season and played in only three games.
"But the biggest thing in my mind was that 1977 was Joe Thomas' last year as our general manager.
"He was the architect of that playoff team. A lot of people didn't like Joe, but he knew talent. When he left, [owner Robert] Irsay became more involved, and all the front-office decisions were strictly based on money. It would never be the same for the Colts."
That is why memories of that 1977 playoff game remain so vivid for the players who participated.
"I remember it was a game we should have won," said Jones, now president of a lumber business in Ruston, La.
"We were winning 31-28 late in the fourth quarter when Stabler threw up this dying duck to Casper -- a Hail Mary pass. Casper should have never caught it, but somehow he got behind Tim Baylor."
The catch set up Errol Mann's game-tying, 22-yard field goal with 26 seconds left, and also triggered endless second-guessing by grandstand quarterbacks who believed Colts coach Ted Marchibroda had become too conservative in protecting the lead.
"I thought Teddy got a bad rap," said Jones. "Heck, we scored 31 points that day. And in the first overtime, I missed Chester wide-open on a third-down pass.
"What people don't remember was that we weren't very good on defense that season. So we used our offense to stay on the field as long as possible. But that playoff game lasted so long, it was tough to keep the adrenalin going.
"The other thing was we were in the AFC, which was by far the tougher conference, with Oakland, Pittsburgh and Denver. We were playing our Super Bowl with Oakland before the season ended. We just didn't have a happy ending."
Mitchell still says the outcome could have been different if the Colts had remained aggressive after going ahead 31-28 in a wild game in which the lead changed hands nine times.
"Ted always talked to me and Bert on the sidelines, seeking our advice," said Mitchell, who still ranks as the Colts' all-time leading rusher.
"We were keeping their defense off balance all day, with Bert calling a lot of play options. We were mixing things up, with me and Ron Lee running the ball and Bert hitting Chester and LTC Freddie Scott on slant passes, even throwing on first down early in the first quarter.
"But when we got the lead the last time, Teddy told Bert, 'I want you to run, run and run.' Hey, I loved running the ball as often as I could. But turning conservative that way played right into their hands."
For White, the clutch catch by Casper, in the Raiders' playbook as "Ghost to the post," was simply a defensive breakdown.
"Casper made a great over-the-shoulder catch like Willie Mays," said White. "But Baylor got fooled. [Linebacker] Tom MacLeod held Casper up at the line, and Baylor, who was filling in for [injured] Lyle Blackwood, figured it was going to be a run.
"Casper just kind of drifted out there, and then he beat Baylor to the post. That was the real killer."
White also remembered a critical play in the scoreless first overtime.
"I got inside a block, hit their back, Clarence Davis, and he fumbled the ball. [Cornerback] Nelson Munsey fell on it, but [offensive tackle] Art Shell stole it back by the time the referees got there."
That would be the Colts' last real chance for a victory, and the players still living in Baltimore were left with only bittersweet memories of the days they proudly wore blue horseshoes on their helmets.
"I got the money I wanted moving to San Diego," said Mitchell, now operating a national baking business with former Penn State teammate and Pittsburgh Steelers star Franco Harris.
"But it really wasn't the same with the Chargers. You can still enjoy the game physically, but leaving the Colts the way I did broke my soul. Yeah, 1977 was a real tough Christmas."
RAIDERS 37, COLTS 31
Oakland 7 0 14 10 0 6 -- 37
Baltimore 0 10 7 14 0 0 -- 31
First quarter
Oak -- Davis 30 run (Mann kick)
Second quarter
Balt -- Laird 61 int ret (Linhart kick)
Balt -- FG Linhart 36
Third quarter
Oak -- Casper 8 pass from Stabler (Mann kick)
Balt -- Johnson 87 KO ret (Linhart kick)
Oak -- Casper 10 pass from Stabler (Mann kick)
Fourth quarter
Balt -- Lee 1 run (Linhart kick)
Oak -- Banaszak 1 run (Mann kick)
Balt -- Lee 13 run (Linhart Kick)
Oak -- FG Mann 22
Second overtime
Oak -- Casper 10 pass from Stabler (no PAT)
... ... ... ... ... ... ... Oak ... ... ... ... ... Bal
First downs ... ... ... ... 28 .. .. .. ... ... ... 22
Rushes-yards .. ... ... ... 47-167 ... ... .. .. .. 50-187
Passing yards ... ... .. .. 324 ... ... ... ... ... 114
Return yards ... ... ... .. 42 ... ... ... .. .. .. 83
Passes ... ... .. .. ... .. 21-40-2 .. ... .. .. .. 12-26-0
Punts ... ... ... .. ... .. 8-47 ... ... ... ... .. 13-34
Fumbles-lost ... ... ... .. 4-2 ... ... ... ... ... 1-0
Penalties-yards ... ... ... 7-65 .. ... ... ... ... 8-82
RUSHING -- Baltimore, Mitchell 23-67, Lee 11-46, Leaks 8-35. Oakland, Van Eeghen 19-76, Davis 16-48, Banaszak 11-37.
PASSING -- Baltimore, Jones 12-26-0-164. Oakland, Stabler 21-40-3-345.
RECEIVING--Baltimore, Mitchell 3-39, Scott 2-45, Lee 2-22. Oakland, Biletnikoff 7-88, Branch 6-113, Casper 4-70.
A60,763.