Editor’s note: In the Colorado Classics series, The Denver Post takes a weekly look at individuals who made their mark on the Colorado sports landscape and what they are doing now.
Who would think a 36-year-old kicker was going out for a pass?
Even today, Jim Turner asks that question with a wink of the eye because it turned out to be a loaded question for the Oakland Raiders.
On Oct. 16, 1977, Turner was an aging kicker for the Broncos and the receiver on a fake field goal that turned into a 25-yard touchdown catch of a pass from holder Norris Weese.
The play caught the Raiders’ defense so much by surprise that Turner had a clear path to the end zone in completing one of the most memorable plays in Broncos franchise history. The Broncos upset the Raiders 30-7 in Oakland to improve to 5-0 on the way to a magical 12-2 season and their first appearance in the Super Bowl.
“I kicked 304 field goals in my career and people talk about that touchdown,” Turner said. “I went the opposite way from where Norris was looking and no one was near me. I’m glad I didn’t have any farther to run, because I would have died. I know the Raiders weren’t happy about the call. John Madden hasn’t gotten over it yet.”
The fake field goal that tormented the Raiders was one of many right calls that season by first-year coach Red Miller. Turner led the team in scoring with 76 points as the Broncos beat everyone on their regular-season schedule except Oakland (24-14 in the return match at Mile High Stadium) and Dallas 14-6 in a meaningless regular-season finale because Denver already had clinched home-field advantage for the playoffs.
The magic continued in the postseason, making it perhaps the most memorable for Broncos fans. With Turner accounting for 10 points on two field goals and four extra points, the Broncos beat Pittsburgh 34-21 in an AFC divisional playoff game.
Then, Turner kicked two extra points as the Broncos beat the Raiders 20-17 in the AFC championship game, and it was off to Super Bowl XII to play Dallas.
Turner kicked a 47-yard field goal and an extra point, but the Cowboys won 27-10 at the Louisiana Superdome.
Although the euphoria from Broncomania was cooled, Turner remembers it being hot in New Orleans.
“Thousands of fans drove from Denver,” Turner said. “We couldn’t get on the elevators at our hotel because of the crowds. The Cowboys were America’s team, but when I walked in the stadium and looked around, there were Broncos fans everywhere.”
But it was another Super Bowl that changed the NFL forever, and Turner was a part of it.
Thirty-eight years ago, Turner and an underdog New York Jets team played the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. He agrees with many pro football historians that the outcome made it the most important game in Super Bowl history.
The NFL and the AFL had not yet merged, and the Green Bay Packers had made it appear the AFL teams didn’t belong, beating Kansas City 35-10 in the first matchup of the league champions and Oakland 33-14 in the second.
“It was important that the AFL win that game to prove to the NFL owners that we were capable of playing against their teams in the game,” Turner said.
Joe Willie Namath, the Jets quarterback, guaranteed a victory.
“I think the Colts were favored by 18 points,” Turner said. “The AFL was looked at as a pitch-and-catch league and something to be looked down on. I know Joe meant it when he said we would win. We all meant it.”
Turner kicked field goals of 32, 30 and 9 yards and an extra point as the Jets took a 16-0 lead and won 16-7.
“We had the good fortune of having Weeb Ewbank as our coach with the Jets,” Turner said. “He knew a lot about kicking. I played for a couple of coaches who felt it was a failure if it came down to a field goal, but points are points.”
Turner’s stay with the Jets ended when he demanded a new contract. He was traded to the Broncos instead and came west for an anticipated fresh start.
Turner has made his home in Denver since. He moved into radio and television coverage of sports and was a member of the Colorado Baseball Commission, which engineered a successful election campaign to fund the building of Coors Field and later Invesco Field at Mile High.
He is now in the NFL’s Play it Smart program as a counselor of high school-age students through the Broncos and owner Pat Bowlen.
Turner, 65, is a member of the Broncos’ Ring of Fame. His scrapbook includes appearances in the NFL’s first Monday night game and the infamous “Heidi” game involving the Jets and Raiders that was pulled off TV early to air the movie. He once scored 19 points on six field goals and an extra point in a game against Buffalo. When he retired, he was second only to George Blanda in NFL career scoring with 1,439 points.
“I was pretty fortunate to have 16 years of doing something I still miss,” Turner said. “I’d give anything to walk out on the field today and attempt a field goal with two seconds left on the clock. That will get your ticker going.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
