November 17, 1968
The game between the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders on November 17, 1968 featured two of the American Football League's marquee teams, and a combined 10 future Pro Football Hall of Famers.
With the Jets up by 3 with 65 seconds left, NBC switched away from the game to its 7:00 p.m. ET scheduled programming - the movie Heidi - and TV viewers never saw the Raiders emerge victoriously.
Play-by-Play
- With 65 seconds remaining in the game, the Jets kicked a field goal to take 32-29 lead. Jets kicked off and the Raiders returned the ball to their own 23-yard line.
- At Raiders' 23-yard line, Raiders QB Daryle Lamonica completed a 20-yard pass to HB Charlie Smith, who was facemasked by Jets S Mike D'Amato. The penalty put the ball at the Jets 43.
- Lamonica found Smith again, who outraced D'Amato down the sideline for a 43-yard touchdown. The extra point gave the Raiders a 36-32 lead with 42 seconds to play.
- On the kickoff, Jets kick returner Earl Christy fumbled the ball. It was picked up at the two-yard line by Raiders special teamer Preston Ridlehuber, who ran it in for a touchdown.
- The Raiders scored two touchdowns in a nine-second span and held on to win a most memorable game, 43-32.
There was an uproar when fans learned about the game's dramatic ending. NBC ran a "crawl" at the bottom of the screen during Heidi reporting the result more than 20 minutes after the game had ended.
The episode wound up having a major impact on the future of TV sports programming. It prompted the NFL to insert language into its TV contracts guaranteeing that, in the future, games of visiting clubs would be shown to their home markets in their entirety.
"Probably the most significant factor to come out of Heidi was, whatever you do, you better not leave an NFL football game," said Val Pinchbeck, the NFL's retired chief of broadcasting.
This meeting was voted the 10th Most Memorable NFL Game of the Century, not because of the game itself, but because its conclusion was not seen -- at least by millions of television viewers.
